A Pig! A Donkey! A Potluck!

Kristie, who co-owns Imagine Vegan Cafe with her husband Adam, had a birthday last week, and they held a little vegan potluck and bonfire out at their house in Mississippi Friday night (for my non-local readers, Mississippi is just across the border from Memphis — like 20 minutes away). There was tons of delicious food. And I finally got to meet their rescue pig and donkey!

Here's Kristie with her newest baby Aspen. Adam and Kristie have four kids, six dogs, four cats, a pig, and a donkey, and they run a restaurant full-time. They're pretty much superheroes. Or robots. No idea how they manage all that.

Even though it was potluck, Kristie made most of the food. She made these Vegan Chicken Sliders with veggie bacon, Gardein scallopini, and Imagine's homemade white cheese.

And there were Onion Rings! Lots of them.

She also made a big ole dish full of Vegan Cheese Scalloped Potatoes. These came out of the oven after most people had eaten, so I took a couple servings home to enjoy this week.

Kristie's French Onion Dip is insane! When I was a kid, french onion dip was my favorite food group. And this was just like the stuff I remember. She just mixes Tofutti sour cream with Lipton Onion Soup Mix (yes, it's vegan), and it's so perfect. I need to start making this! She also made a bean dip that was delicious with Spicy Sweet Chili Doritos (yep, they're also vegan), but I failed to take a picture.

There were Gardein Chicken Tenders because they're awesome.

Kristie's oldest daughter's best friend Svea is an excellent cook, even though she's only a teen. And she made the most amazing Stuffed Bread Rolls. She stuffed Pillsbury Pizza Crust (yes, it's vegan) with shredded Gardein chicken and Daiya cheese and then rolled it up and baked it. Wow! 

I brought Muhammara Pit-za triangles from Vegan Finger Foods. These are tiny pita pizzas topped with a homemade aged cashew-almond cheese and a roasted red pepper-walnut spread. They're really yummy, and Kristie's kid Sierra (who is 6) was extremely impressed that there were tiny pizzas at the party. She declared that day the "best day of her life."

After dinner, we all gathered around the bonfire in the backyard, and Kristie let Miss Piggy (the rescue pig) and Diego (the rescue donkey) out of their barn. Diego came out first, and we didn't see Miss Piggy. So Diego went back into the barn and coaxed Miss Piggy out by bumping her butt with his nose. Cutest thing ever. Here's Diego. 

Diego is really protective of Miss Piggy, and he didn't want us to get too close at first. But once he decided we were cool, he let us feed Miss Piggy slices of bread. She LOVES bread, and she makes the best snorty pig sounds while she's eating. 

It was awfully chilly on  Friday night, and the animals were far enough away from the bonfire that I got cold quickly. I ended up sneaking back inside to warm up, and everyone else got the same idea too. Here's Stephanie and I.

And Megan and Joey!

Once our dinner had settled, it was time for birthday cake! Stephanie — a professional vegan baker — made Kristie a giant sheet cake. It was chocolate cake with raspberry frosting and chocolate ganache. So good!

Happy Birthday, Kristie!