Will Tuttle Gets Crunk!

Okay, so former Buddhist monk/vegan activist Will Tuttle didn't really get all that crunk (at least not that I know of). But the World Peace Diet author did make a stop in Memphis over the weekend for a few events, one of which was our monthly Food Awareness vegetarian club meeting at Escape Alley Sundry. Stopping in Memphis kinda equals gettin' crunk, right? That's just how we do in the Dirty South!

But anyway, the super-awesome Tuttle gave a great speech on his bestselling pro-vegan book, World Peace Diet, which I have yet to read. But I'm definitely inspired to read the book now. He's such a kind and compassionate dude, and he's been vegan for 30 years!

After Tuttle's inspiring lecture, our group of about 30 people moved into the dining area at Escape Alley Sundry, a cute little diner tucked into an alley off of Marshall Ave. They offer a few vegan options on their regular menu (veggie chili and veggie dogs, which can be combined to make a veggie chili dog with the works!). But since owners Russell and Jo knew we were coming, they worked up a special vegan menu for us. We were offered Red Bean & Rice with Tofurky Kielbasa, Vegan Loaded Nachos, a Mushroom Pasta, a variety of nut butter sandwiches, and more.

In true Memphis spirit, I went with the BBQ Tofu Sandwich with Vegan Coleslaw:

Super good! The tofu was super-saucy, and the coleslaw was fantastic. And if that wasn't enough, Escape Alley even offered us a few vegan cupcakes! I went with the Vanilla Almond Cupcake because I'm a vanilla kind of gal:

The desserts were created by a talented local baker named Karina Khan, who makes ridiculously-good vegan cupcakes. She also sells her cupcakes and layer cakes at the brand-new Imagine Vegan Cafe in Cooper-Young.

On that note, Imagine Vegan Cafe, Memphis' ONLY all-vegan food restaurant, opened its doors last Saturday, and it is AMAZING! I'll be doing a massive Imagine post later this week, as I'm trying to collect photos of as many dishes as possible. That means lots of eating out. The life of a food blogger is so hard. ;-)

Anyway, thanks to Will Tuttle and Escape Alley Sundry for one of our best Food Awareness meetings ever!

Seitan 101

On Saturday, I led a seitan-makin' class for our local vegetarian group, Food Awareness. A few new members had requested a vegetarian cooking class, and I volunteered to lead it. The topic was up to me, and I thought it'd be fun to show folks how to make seitan from scratch and how to use that seitan to make my Seitan Hot Wangz. I also demonstrated how to make gluten-based Creole Steamed Sausages.

I have a roomy kitchen, so we held the demo at my house. Here I am kneading the seitan dough. Oh, and check out my new hair!

This is Mary Carmen. She's new to our group, and she's not yet a vegetarian. This was her first time trying seitan, and she went back for seconds before she had to leave to catch the Memphis Grizzlies in the play-offs:

After we made our dough and boiled the seitan chunks in broth, I demonstrated my Seitan Hot Wangz recipe. It's in my cookbook, which will be coming out around the end of the year:

And then we made my Creole Steamed Sausages, also from the cookbook:

Six people (well, eight if you count my friends Greg and Pat who conveniently showed up just in time for samples) turned out for the class, and all the bite-sized samples were gone by the end. Seitan success!

Have a Heart for Animals!

Happy Valentine's Day, y'all! When you're gettin' gushy with your loved ones, don't forget about the creatures who need our love the most. Every year, on the weekend before Valentine's Day, our local veggie group Food Awareness puts on a "Have a Heart for Animals" demo at the busy corner of Poplar and Highland in East Memphis.

I didn't take any shots this year (oops, forgot!), but here's a snap from last year's demo. The people in the back — Vaughan and Barbara — organized this year's demo, but the guy in the front (Mark) wasn't able to come this past Saturday:

I believe we ended up with about 10 people, all holding signs with pro-vegan, Valentine-themed messages. Here's my sign (it's the same one I've used for the past several years):

After lunch, we all caravaned to Mosa Asian Bistro, a regional eclectic Asian eatery with lots and lots of vegan options. Our server was so amazing. He literally went through every dish on the menu, explaining what was and wasn't (or what could be made) vegan. After much deliberation (I don't do choices well!), I finally settled on the Thai Curry with Brown Rice:

Unlike some Thai curries, this one is naturally fish sauce-free. It was all coconutty, and Mosa was quite generous with the fried tofu and veggies (potatoes, carrots, broccoli, and onions). I ate every last bite, including that giant mound of brown rice. Of course, I doused the dish in sriracha and Mosa's hot chili sauce first.

For more on Mosa or other Memphis vegan dining options, check out my Memphis Vegan Dining Guide.