Seattle VegFest!

I'm back! I spent the weekend in rainy Seattle, where I did two food demos, signed copies of Cookin' Crunk, and stuffed myself silly with amazing vegan food at Seattle VegFest. I have lots of mouth-watering food pics, so I'm dividing my Seattle posts into three. Tonight, I'll share with y'all some pics from the festival and then tomorrow and Thursday, I'll show y'all everything else I ate outside the fest (and the cool vegans I hung out with).

My publisher — Book Publishing Company — is super sweet to send me and other BPC authors to speak and sign books at VegFests across the country. This time, I joined some of my fave author friends Ellen Jaffe Jones, Miyoko Schinner, and Alan Roettinger. We stayed at the Inn at Queen Anne, a historic boutique hotel just a few blocks from the Space Needle.

I didn't have time to ride to the top though because I was too busy with VegFest (and too busy eating — let's be honest). I did demos, one on Saturday and one on Sunday, on BBQ Tempeh and Black-eyed Pea Corn Fritters. Tofu Mom's friend snapped this cool shot with the recipe in the foreground. I think it's kinda funny that they called me a "chef." I'm totally not a chef. Ha! Just a cook.

After my demos on both days, I signed books and met some awesome Northwest vegans, like Tessa from Spokane.

I also saw some cool things, like this bumper sticker — Eat People, Not Animals. I would so put that on my car if I could find one.

Ellen Jaffe Jones, author of Eat Vegan on $4 a Day, Kitchen Divided, and co-author of Paleo Vegan, is a book-selling wiz. We could all take some tips from her if only we had her tireless stamina. She's steady-sellin' all day everyday at VegFest without even taking food breaks. And it pays off. Ellen sells a TON of books! That cool dude in the white shirt is my publisher, Bob.

I didn't snap any pics of Alan Roettinger at the fest (but I have some from hangout time outside the fest, so I'll share those later). Alan, author of Speed Vegan, Extraordinary Vegan, and co-author of Paleo Vegan, made minty chocolate truffles to hand out. So good! There's a pack of truffles on top of he and Ellen's new book.

Miyoko, the master vegan cheese-maker, was there too! She made mozzerella from Artisan Vegan Cheese on Saturday, and on Sunday, she made recipes from her other book, Japanese Vegan Cooking. She came out in a kimono and spoke Japanese, and it blew everyone away. Here she is backstage! (Btw, Miyoko is starting her own vegan cheese company, so it'll soon be available in stores!!!!)

 Here are all of our books together at the BPC table!

Of course, VegFest isn't just about demos and speakers. It's also about the FOOD SAMPLES! OMG! Samples galore. On Saturday, I didn't even leave the fest for lunch because I was able to make a meal out of samples. There were lines for just about every sample table, but it was worth it.

Mighty-O was there with tiny vegan doughnuts! I might have eaten a million of these.

And Field Roast was sampling their new burgers. Whoa! Best vegan burger ever. Seriously. If I can find these at my Whole Foods, I'll probably never buy another brand.

I also fell in love with Neat Burger. It's a dry burger mix made from nuts. You can form it into meatballs, patties, or crumbles. I'll definitely be ordering some of this.

There was soooo much more, of course. But I was too busy eating to take pics. I'll be back tomorrow with pictures from a few meals outside the fest!