Lulu's Pop-Up Biscuit Brunch

Our friends Don and Kenzie of Lulu's Baked (a pop-up restaurant/bakery/cheese maker/pizza cult leader) hosted their second pop-up vegan brunch at Fuel Cafe, where Don works by day as a pizza chef. Fuel is closed on Sundays, unless Don is hosting a special brunch! A few weeks ago, a few friends and I attended the first brunch, and you can read all about that here.

This second brunch was all about the biscuits! Don is a master breadmaker, so he made lots of sourdough bread for the last event. And this time, he created hundreds of flaky, melt-in-your-mouth biscuits. The biggest hit was the Breakfast Slider Plate, which most of us, including myself, ordered. This had biscuits and country gravy, a biscuit slider with chicken-fried tofu and a peach pickle, and a slider with blackeyed pea sausage, cashew cheese, tofu egg, and jam.

SOOOOOOO GOOOD. I wish I could eat this for brunch every weekend. The chicken-fried tofu slider was a table fave! And he should really start selling his blackeyed pea sausage because it's stuff of magic.

I also ordered a cup of coffee, which was served by a woman who roasts beans locally. The beans are sourced from central Kenya. They're wet-processed and sundried. The brew was tart and almost cranberry-like in flavor. Very different from the beans I'm used to but very good. I'm working on being a better coffee snob.

Simon deviated from the rest of the table and ordered a plate of Biscuit & Gravy — just a bigger portion of what was on our slider plate.

He also ordered the Gazoz, a ginger/peach/rosemary soda, which was made to order.

A few people also ordered sides of Chunky Potatoes. I knew the slider plate would be enough for me, so I didn't. But they looked good.

Here's the full menu. I saw a few people in the restaurant with bowls of the Tomato & Tofu Breakfast Stew, and it looked very good! I almost asked a random stranger if I could take a picture of his food, but then I thought better of it.

I loved that they included this note about the sourcing of ingredients. It highlights the local products, as well as the ethicalness of each ingredient. It's nice to know where your food comes from. They also included a note about the average rent price in Memphis versus how much people make, and it's startling. Nice little social justice fact thrown in!

Lulu's next pop-up brunch at Fuel Cafe is September 30 from 11 am-2 pm. Be there!

Another Perfect Day

Back in November, I blogged about a "perfect day" of eating, following No Meat Athlete podcaster/cookbook author Matt Frazier's guidelines for how he aspires to eat in a day. The "perfect day" prescription is in his 7 Daily Foods Cheat Sheet, which you can download for free here.

But it really comes down to a simple formula — smoothie for breakfast, salad for lunch, green/grain/bean bowl for dinner,  and whole foods-based snacks. And that's what I did today! I've been eating a lot of desserts lately since our new plant-based cafe is open at Crosstown Arts, where I work (and we have vegan danishes!). So I needed a day free of sugar and full of wholesome things. By the way, expect a full post about that cafe very soon!

Anyway, my morning started with half a Nature's Path Superfood Dark Chocolate Peanut snack bar (made with peanuts, chocolate, chia, and other whole foods) before a lovely bike ride around Midtown. After my workout, I had this giant smoothie made with the recipe for Matt's Kid-Friendly Everyday Double Berry Banana Smoothie from the No Meat Athlete Cookbook. 

This has one-and-a-half bananas (for one serving; recipe makes two), a frozen berry mix, almond milk, spinach, ground flax, and raw walnut butter (recipe called for walnuts, but I was out so I used walnut butter). I rarely make smoothies without protein powder, so this was different. And still pretty filling! I loved how creamy it was with all that banana.

Morning snack at work was Baby Carrots & Roasted Red Pepper Hummus — which I've been eating every day at work this week.

And I went home for lunch to this lovely and giant Salad with Chickpeas, Quinoa, & Oil-Free Garlic Tahini Dressing! Filled up a whole mixing bowl. It also had carrot, cherry tomato, cucumber, green olives, red onion, broccoli, raisins, and Trader Joe's Seedy Salad Topper (a mix of almonds, pepitas, and some mystery seeds that are kinda spicy!).

Afternoon snack was Watermelon!! The personal-sized melons have been on sale at Kroger for $1.50 for the past week or so, and I've gone through two now. Served with pink salt, of course.

Dinner wasn't exactly a bean/green/grain bowl because it didn't have grains. Instead I used a base of steamed potatoes for this Pinto Broccoli Nacho Bowl. 

Steamed white potatoes on the bottom, topped with sauteed broccoli, slow-cooked pintos (made in my slow cooker all day!), a noochy cheese sauce (from Cookin' Crunk), salsa, and avocado.

After all that great eating, I had to reward myself with a beer! We had a Crosstown Memphis CDC meeting tonight at Midtown Crossing Grill, so I ordered a Crosstown Brewing Co. Margarita Gose beer to toast to my health. :-) Given how often Matt and Doug talk about beer on the NMA podcast, I think they'd approve of working beer into a perfect day!

Pretty(ish) Food & Ugly Food

Sorry I didn't post yesterday. I had a post planned, but it's a sponsored recipe post, and I forgot that the brand wanted me to wait and post it on a certain day. So that one will have to wait. But until then, I've got a another — very short — Stuff I Ate round up. And I have to warn y'all, it's not very exciting (or pretty). But it accurately reflects how I've been eating this week, so here ya go.

We'll start with this lovely breakfast that I've been enjoying this week. And I think it's actually pretty nice to look at. I bought some homemade Cranberry Walnut Bread at the Church Health bake sale last week. I sliced it and froze it so I could pull out slices as needed. This week, I've been enjoying the bread for breakfast with a smear of Miyoko's Creamery Plainly Classic Vegan Cream Cheese. 

I was sooooooo stoked to find this cream cheese at Sprouts! It's the first time I've seen it sold around here.

Yesterday morning, a co-worker came to my desk with an offer of Vegan Fig Streusel Muffins from Lucy J's Bakery, the new bakery in Crosstown Concourse. They just opened, and they're working on adding vegan options. So I was excited to try these. And they were amazing!! Way to go Lucy J's! Nailed it.

And now for the not-pretty part. I found a bunch of frozen meals on clearance at Kroger a few weeks back, including an Amy's Vegetable Korma entree for $2! Not pretty but pretty darn yummy for a frozen meal.

I don't eat frozen meals often, but sometimes, you need something fast and quick. And yesterday was one of those days. I was so busy catching up from the holiday that I needed something like this. I ate this at my desk at work with a side salad that I packed.

Labor Day Weekend Eats!

Paul and I grilled out Sunday night since it seemed like the thing to do on Labor Day weekend. But it was late by the time we were done — 8 pm! (I usually eat dinner around 5:30 pm) — and I was so famished that I forgot to take a picture of my plate! That almost never happens, so you know I was hangry. Anyway, we made Beyond Sausages (the best!) with grilled corn on the cob and grilled squash.

Besides that, I've been eating pretty well over this long weekend. On Thursday night, I made some Purple Hull Peas from my CSA, as well as Kickin' Corn Muffins from The Engine 2 Cookbook, Steamed Kale with Mushrooms, and Corn on the Cob (with Just Mayo Chipotle mayo and TJ's bagel seasoning). I ate the leftovers throughout the weekend. As you can see, I like to eat my cornbread on top of my peas.

On Sunday morning, I slept in until 8:30 am! And then I enjoyed my favorite weekend ritual — ramen, Netflix, PJs. This is the Koyo Asian Vegetable Ramen (it's baked, not fried) with air-fried tofu, kale, mushrooms, corn, and green peas. Plus, lots of TJ's Green Dragon sauce. Y'all, Memphis' Trader Joe's store is opening September 14th and I AM SO EXCITED.

This morning, I slept in again, but this time, until 9 am! I could really get used to these long weekends without training. Anyway, I made myself a proper Labor Day brunch of Cranberry Walnut French Toast with Maple and Banana. The bread was whole wheat cranberry walnut bread from the Church Health bakery. Church Health is a nonprofit located in our building, Crosstown Concourse, that provides healthcare for the uninsured. They had a bread sale fundraiser last week, and I picked up this loaf and froze it for later. I used Follow Your Heart VeganEgg for the egg batter to make French toast. Perfect! 

After brunch, I went on a little bike ride to the park since biking is about all I can do with my foot injury right now. When I got back, I was hungry again, so I made a quick Chickpea, Kale, Squash & Quinoa Bowl with Thai Peanut Sauce. The kale was leftover from my dinner a few nights before. The squash was leftover from grilling out last night, and the chickpeas were from a can. The sauce was a bottled vegan Thai peanut coconut satay sauce that is delish. And the quinoa cooked up in 15 minutes. Topped with harissa and habanero sauce.

Cauliflower Crumble Bowls & Organic Meals!

Last Saturday, my friend Cassi and I stopped by Kroger for her to grab a couple things, and then we stumbled upon a killer sale on Green Giant Cauliflower Crumble bowls. They're ready to eat bowls — found in the produce section — that feature raw veggies, sauces, and toppings. They're normally $4 each, but they were on sale for $1 a piece. Score! We both got one of each flavor.

The Ramen Bowl was my fave! It had butternut squash noodles with cauliflower crumbles, dry-roasted edamame, sweet potato, and a vegan powdered broth. All you do is add a little water and heat in the microwave. I added some air-fried tofu for extra protein and calories!

The Burrito Bowl was just cauliflower crumbles and an ancho-black bean sauce. I topped it with a slice of melty vegan Chao cheese and some fresh cherry tomatoes and enjoyed with corn tortillas.

Yesterday's lunch at work was the Buddha Bowl — with the cauliflower, plus sweet potato and brussels, a tahini sauce, and roasted chickpeas — over some quinoa that I cooked separately. Very good!

The Rancheros Bowl suggested serving with eggs for breakfast. So I topped this cauliflower/sweet potato bowl with fried vegan tofu eggs and served with corn tortillas. Made a nutritious breakfast on Monday morning. All of the bowls were pretty high in sodium though (thanks to the sauce), and I could feel that sodium hangover later. But they were all tasty. If I made these again, I'd probably not use all the sauce packet.

I've been eating at Mama Gaia a lot lately. We had our Vegan Drinks at Mama Gaia's Ballet Memphis location on Tuesday night, and I got the Cena Burger (veggie patty topped with mushrooms) with vegan cheese, plus a side of Veggies and Hummus. I washed it down with a Square Smash cocktail (bourbon, lemon, mint, and agave).

And today's lunch came from the Crosstown Concourse location. I had the Copia Petittza (pita pizza with oven-roasted eggplant, leeks, red onion, bell pepper, and zucchini) with vegan cheese and a side of Potato Tokens. Plus, a raw vegan brownie for dessert!

Reubens & Ramen & Cupcakes!

On Sunday, my friend Megan, Paul, and I went to the grand opening of a new REI Co-op in Memphis. We've been without an REI, and now we have one and we are so stoked! They were doing gift card and Nalgene water bottle giveaways, plus extra free gifts for Subaru owners (that's me!), so we waited in line for an hour for the store's grand opening. Then there was an outdoor fest with more free goodies and merch. So all told, we were there from 8 am to 11:45-ish, and by the end, we were HUNGRY.

So we headed to brunch at Imagine Vegan Cafe, where our friend Pam was waiting. I ordered the Reuben Sandwich with Garlic Kale. Imagine has a fantastic reuben made with thinly sliced seitan, housemade vegan white cheese sauce, & kraut on rye toast. So good.

But the main reason we went to Imagine was VEGAN DOUGHNUTS! Owner Kristie makes doughnuts every few months, and we never miss a doughnut day. I had a Vanilla Sprinkle Doughnut. Yes, I have been eating a lot of doughnuts lately. And yes, this makes me very happy.

Saturday was my friend Susan's birthday, and she wanted ramen. So we had dinner at Lucky Cat, where we got the Yuzu Veggie Ramen. Lucky Cat makes the best, flavorful veggie broth! I added pressed garlic and chili oil toppings.

I baked Susan some Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream using my favorite recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. These are always a hit.

And now that you've seen all these mouth-watering photos, here's a not-as-pretty picture of a frozen Vegan Tomato-Basil Frittata. I got these on clearance at Kroger, and they're pretty good (despite the pic). The base is made with organic pumpkin seeds, and this one had potatoes. The package said tomato-basil, but I did not see any evidence of tomato in here. I also bought a potato-parsley one, and I feel like maybe they mixed up the flavors in the boxes. Would rather have potato anyway! I had this for lunch at work one day with a side salad.

Doughnuts & Pastries & Bowls!

Since I do these random meal "Stuff I Ate" round-ups several times a week, I think I'm going to stop calling them all "stuff I ate" and maybe just think of some better names. Does anybody even care? Ha! Probably not!

Anyway, as this post indicates, I've been eating some delicious sweets. Our Crosstown Arts cafe — the arts organization where I work — is opening to the public next week. And our pastry chef/baker has been hard at work perfecting her vegan baked goods. Last week, we had a staff meeting and she made Vegan Chocolate Doughnuts!!!!!!

The cafe staff also made all kinds of savory stuff for staff meeting. Vegan Grandma Pizza Slices, Pasta with Eggplant Alfredo, Salad, Collard Greens, & Sauteed Green Beans. I was stuffed after this meeting! It's hard to get any work done after a lunch like that!

Later that night, I needed something light for dinner so I had a salad with tofu and 365 oil-free garlic tahini dressing (my new fave).

More Crosstown Arts cafe pastries! We had Vegan Blueberry Danishes and Croissants today! The cafe isn't open to the public yet, but it has been open for staff as a sort of test run. This morning, I had a danish and an oat milk cappuccino. The danish was perfectly flaky and buttery. Perfect mid-morning pick-me-up.

Here's a Fire-Roasted Veggie Bowl that I ate for lunch one day last week. I had some leftover tempeh-veggie kabobs from grilling out. So I served the kabobs over quinoa amd steamed kale, topped with Breakfast Hummus (a noochy, spicy hummus) from the No Meat Athlete Cookbook. One of the best bowls I've had in awhile! And I eat a lot of bowls.

I've also been enjoying that Breakfast Hummus on Toast for breakfast! Because it is breakfast hummus after all. With Trader Joe's Everything But the Bagel Seasoning.