Come See Me Cook Brinner at the Memphis Plant-Based Food Fest!

This weekend, I'll be doing a food demo at the third annual Memphis Plant-Based Food Fest, along with my friend/fellow blogger/future restaurateur Cassi, legendary Memphis raw foodist Balewa, my friend Amy from Whole Foods, and other awesome Memphis vegans.

Plus, there will be speakers on everything from herbology to natural birthing to organic gardening to juicing. And there will be yoga classes, meditation, musical performances, and vendors selling all kinds of hippie soaps and stuff. This will be my third year doing a food demo at the fest, and I can attest that it's always a great time. And it gets bigger every year. Here are recaps I wrote in 2012 (okay, there were two posts in 2012) and 2013.

If you're in Memphis or the surrounding area, come on down! It's at Audubon Park on Saturday, August 23rd from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. My demo will be at 11:30 a.m., and Cassi goes on at 1 p.m.  Here's the full schedule. And yes, there will be free samples of my dishes and plenty of others. If nothing else, come for the FREE FOOD!

I'll be cooking up brinner this year! I'm making my Tofu Scramble and my Sweet Potato Hash from Cookin' Crunk. I always do a run-through about a week prior to a demo, so I can make sure I've got a good list of equipment and ingredients. So that's what I had for dinner tonight, along with some Ezekiel bread spread with Earth Balance and orange marmalade.

I love breakfast at breakfast time, but somehow, it tastes even better at dinner! By the way, if you can't make it to the fest, you can find my scramble recipe here (and in my book, of course!).

Unfortunately, my Sweet Potato Hash recipe isn't online. But it is in Cookin' Crunk. It's a fun spin on Southern hash with grated sweet potato, homemade TVP "beef," onions, and a touch of parsley.

Tresomega Nutrition Coconut Oil Giveaway!

Last week, I posted about some yummy vegan chicken & cheese quesadillas that I made by sauteeing peppers and mushrooms in coconut oil and layering them into a brown rice tortilla with Match vegan chicken and Follow Your Heart Fiesta Shreds.

That coconut oil in the veggies was Tresomega Nutrition Coconut Oil, an organic extra-virgin coconut oil made from 100% cold-pressed young coconuts. It's non-hydrogenated and free of trans-fats. Since it's cold-pressed and extra-virgin, the oil retains a very coconutty flavor that's light, fresh, and subtly tropical.

Tresomega Nutrition sent me that jar to sample and review, and as I confessed in that quesadilla post, I really love this stuff. I buy all brands of coconut oil, and while I've never met one I didn't like, I definitely favor some over others. I'm partial to the oils that retain their coconut flavor. They add fantastic flavor to raw desserts and smoothies. But they also lend just a touch of coconut — but not too much! — to sauteed veggies.

Tresomega wants to give away a jar to a lucky Vegan Crunk reader! All you have to do is leave me a comment letting me know your favorite use for coconut oil. I'll randomly select a winner on Sunday night (9 p.m. CST). Please leave your email address in your comment so I can contact you if you win (unless you have a blog with an email address in your profile). Also, we're gonna make this open to U.S. readers only because of shipping costs.

Just for funsies, here's something I cooked up with the Tresomega oil tonight. I made tacos (Taco Tuesday!), and on the side, I made my recipe for Jalapeno Hominy from Cookin' Crunk. But I subbed coconut oil for the Earth Balance I typically use.

Here's the recipe. If you've never had hominy, well, you're missing out! It's a Southern staple that's made when field corn is soaked with lye. The result is a chewy kernel with a lot of flavor. That flavor is complemented with spicy jalapenos (I used red and green ones in this batch) and lots of black pepper.

Spicy Jalapeño Hominy
Yields 4 servings

1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 jalapeño, minced
1 14-ounce can white hominy, drained
1 14-ounce can golden hominy, drained
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Sea salt, to taste

Melt the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the minced jalapeño and cook and stir for about 2 to 3 minutes or until soft.

Stir in the hominy, black pepper, and salt. Turn the heat up to medium-high and cook and stir for about 10 to 12 minutes or until hominy is heated through.