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!

Biscoff Spread!!!!

Remember the crazy Vegan Speculoos Spread Craze of 2009? All the vegan food bloggers and PPK-er's were raving about homemade spread made from Speculoos cookies. I mean, we're talking a peanut butter-like spread made from ground-up cookies! Nothing could be more awesome.

In America, Speculoos cookies are the same as Biscoff cookies. So back then, I bought a pack of Biscoff cookies at Walgreens and made my own DIY cookie spread using Mihl's awesome recipe. It was delicious, but it wasn't shelf stable. I had to store it in the fridge, and part of it ended up going bad.

But because Memphis is always behind a few years, I finally stumbled on a jar of official Biscoff Spread at Whole Foods last weekend:

I seriously almost pooped my pants! There was no price on the shelf, so I took my chances. I would have paid, like, $10 for that jar (see yesterday's post). But when I got to the register, it was only $4.99! Whoa! Less than $5 for cookies in a jar!

On Wednesday morning, I tried the spread on bagels in its pure, unadulterated form:

Result? Delicious! There's really nothing better than cookies spread on a bagel! But this morning, I put a couple of tablespoons into a bowl of oats with maple syrup:

OMG! Best idea ever! Check your local Whole Foods for this stuff! You need it in your life. Yes, you do.

Vegan Finances 101

I'm cheap. I rarely buy new clothes, shoes, socks, and other necessities. When something breaks around the house, it can take months before I finally convince myself to shell out the money to replace it. I'm too much of a tightwad to spend money on cable. The other day, I bought a shirt on sale for $5! And I spent the rest of the night feeling guilty for spending $5 on clothes.

But I don't think twice about paying $5 for a delicious vanilla soy latte or $20 to $30 on one restaurant meal with wine or beer. I surely didn't have a single guilty thought about forking over $6.50 for this small loaf of vegan Garlic-Herb Foccacia from Lady Bugg Bakery in Midtown's Yolo yogurt shop:

I wasn't sure how much the loaf would cost when I brought it to the register. Though it was marked with a "6" sticker, I didn't realize that was a "6" or that $6 could possibly be the price. I had gone into the vegan-friendly bakery for a strawberry cupcake (which was delicious!) when I saw the red "vegan" sticker on the savory foccacia bread. When something is labeled "vegan" in a place that isn't exclusively vegan, I have to have it right away. The cashier could have told me $10 and I would paid that too.

When I got the bread home, I heated a small piece and bit into a garlicky piece of vegan heaven. Worth every precious penny, and so much tastier than that $5 shirt. Granted, the bread is gone now, and I still have the shirt. But delicious food makes for cherished memories for me.

Does that make me a foodie? If so, I promise I'm not the pretentious gourmond foodie type. I just enjoy the taste of good vegan food more than just about any other life experience. I live to eat.

Do you prioritize food spending over spending on other essential items?

Soba-briety!

Sorry, I couldn't resist the silly title, but this post has nothing to do with sobriety. It does, however, have everything to do with soba noodles!

I'm attempting a bit of a pantry purge. I'm a total food hoarder. My pantry is straight outta TLC's Hoarding: Buried Alive. Well, it's not really that bad. More like a stockpile room on Extreme Couponing. Yea, I watch way too much TLC. Anyway, I'm focusing on using up staple ingredients for a few weeks, only buying the ingredients I need to use those pantry staples in recipes.

I've had a half-package of soba noodles floating around the noodle/carb shelf for some time. When I saw the Ginger Bok Choy with Soba in Appetite for Reduction, I knew it was the perfect chance to use up those noodles:

This simple, low-cal recipe is made with sauteed bok choy, ginger, garlic, red pepper flakes, and onion. I dry-fried some tofu, low-fat Isa-style to boost the protein (okay, really it had nothing to do with the protein ... I just like tofu in everything!). Simple, wholesome, delicious.

When it comes to food hoarding, my weaknesses are noodles and nut butters. I have jars and jars of flavored hazelnut, almond, peanut, and other butters, as well as loads of Ramen, spaghetti, and various shaped pastas.

What pantry items do you hoard?

Crosstown Vegan

This is the Sears Crosstown building, an abandoned 1.4 million square foot hulk of a building in my Midtown neighborhood:

It's been empty for years, ever since Sears moved its headquarters elsewhere. But unlike some big empties, folks here haven't given up hope for this sleeping giant. A group called Crosstown Arts wants to salvage the 84-year-old art-deco building through retail and residential development. In an ideal world, the building could house artist live/work space and exhibition space.

I had the pleasure of touring the building a few months back, an opportunity I'd dreamed of for years and years. I love urban spelunking. Here's an inside shot of one of the warehouse floors. Floor after floor looks just like this:

So what does this have to do with delicious vegan food? Last Thursday, Crosstown Arts hosted its second MemFEAST Dinner on the roof of the old Sears parking garage. I went to the first MemFEAST back in October, which you can read about here. At each dinner, artists present public art proposals for my neighborhood. At the end, everyone present votes and the winner gets $5,000 to make the project happen.

And of course, diners enjoy delicious catered vegan food from Another Roadside Attraction while we listen. Here was my plate — Quinoa Tossed with Seared Tempeh, Warm Spring Veggies, and an Heirloom Lettuce Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette. Not pictured is my dessert of rum-soaked strawberries:

There was also a pork loin dish offered for meat eaters, but most options were vegan. My vegetarian friend Greg also lives in my 'hood, and he loved the quinoa:

As did I, but I really wanted seconds of the warm veggies:

Unfortunately, we didn't make it back for more food in time. Everything ran out because it was so delicious.

Artist Robin Salant had the winning proposal. She plans to install glowing, colored lights on timers in the large water tower of the building, as well as white lights all across the top. If she can secure additional funding, she will also put colored lights in some of the warehouse floor windows. It's going to be awesome!

Sushi Deconstructed

I love sushi! Like, I super puffy heart sushi. But let's face it: sushi is a pain in the ass to make at home. My rolling skills aren't so stellar, and unless I'm feeding a big crowd, I rarely make DIY sushi. Unfortunately, sushi rolls purchased at restaurants are typically way overpriced.

But of course, Isa Chandra Moskowitz has a solution for that (Doesn't she have a solution for everything?!) — the Sushi Roll Edamame Salad with Green Onion-Miso Dressing from Appetite for Reduction:

It's everything that should be in a veggie sushi roll, but minus the roll. Lettuce, cucumber, carrot, avocado, edamame, nori, green onion, sesame seeds, and more. It may not be quite as fun to eat with chopsticks, but it's tasty and much faster to prepare than homemade sushi.

My sushi salad was even better eaten with my favorite wasabi paste:

I buy this stuff at the Viet Hoa Food Market in Midtown. It's squeezable wasabi in a tube! Perfect for topping bites of salad.

What would you put on your dream sushi salad?

Low-Fat Asian-ish Eats

Yea, I have Internet again!! Thankfully, Comcast got right on that, and my connection was working by mid-day. And it looks like the storms are gone for a few days. To celebrate, I had a delicious meal from Appetite for Reduction tonight — Hoison-Mustard Tofu Wraps:

And Scallion Potato Pancakes:

The hoison-mustard tofu is ridiculously amazing. I pressed the tofu overnight in my Tofu Xpress tofu press, so it was super-firm. Then it's lightly fried with bell peppers, hoisin sauce, mustard, and red pepper flakes. I added extra hot chili peppers because I can take the heat. The spicy tofu is paired with cool and crunchy romaine hearts for a low-fat, yummy entree.

Isa suggests pairing the tofu with her Scallion Potato Pancakes, a baked potato pancake that could rival any fried version. The mashed taters are mixed with scallions and spices and then dredged in panko. After shooting this pic, I smothered these babies in sriracha. Oh, and I served some steamed farmer's market kale on the side. Veggie heavy, low-cal, and delicious.