Farm Vegan Retreat, Part Three

Over the past couple of days, I've been sharing pictures from my weekend Vegan Retreat on the Farm in Summertown, Tennessee. The retreat began Friday night with a dinner and went all day Saturday with cooking demonstrations, yoga, and a Farm tour.

On Saturday night, the retreat attendees attended the wedding reception of Rick and Rose at the Farm Community Center.

Rick is a part-time Farm resident, and he used to work for the Book Publishing Company. In fact, he was the first person I met at BPC when he would send me books to review on this blog. Now, the Book Publishing Company is publishing my cookbook, and if it wasn't for me forming a friendship with Rick, I might have never decided to send them a proposal. Rose, his awesome new wife, is a ball of positive energy. I had the pleasure of meeting her at my last vegan retreat in February, and she's just as fun as can be.

The two spontaneously got hitched on a recent vacation to Hawaii, but they held their reception with all their Farm friends back home. To celebrate, there was a lovely vegan spread prepared by the Farm's fantabulous cook, Roberta. Here's the Spinach Dip:

And an ADORABLE heart-shaped block of Uncheese!! Not sure what recipe this is, but I feel certain it's from Joanne Stepaniak's The Uncheese Cookbook:

And check out these perfectly roasted Sweet Potatoes:

When I was at the Farm last February, I demonstrated how to make my BBQ Tempeh and Carrot Sliders. Rick and Rose requested the recipe to serve at their reception!! Here's a slider stuffed onto my plate of veggie sushi (made by the retreat class), crackers, uncheese, and dip:

The night before the reception, Rick and Rose made a Vegan Wedding Cake using one of Fran Costigan's recipes from More Great Good Dairy Free Desserts. Sadly, Paul and I had to leave for Memphis before the cake was cut since we had a 3 1/2 hour drive home. I'm sure it was delectable!

Just as we were headed out the door, a few of the Farm's musicians formed a little jam session! Cute!

Anyway, that's all for my Farm Vegan Retreat recap. Back to regularly scheduled Mofo-ing tomorrow!

Farm Vegan Retreat, Part Two

Yesterday, I filled y'all in on the happenings and food sampling on Friday night and Saturday morning at the Farm's second Vegan Retreat. Now I'll go into what happened after lunch.

When we returned from the Farm tour, I got to work on my cooking demos. I showed attendees how to make my Creole Steamed Sausages, Vegan Pimento Cheese, and Tomato Salad, all recipes from my vegan Southern cookbook. Here I am stirring the tomato salad:

Here's my Creole Steamed Sausages, all fried up, cut up, and ready to serve:

And a tiny Vegan Pimento Cheese Sandwich:

And a small scoop of my Tomato Salad. Somehow I managed not to get many tomatoes on my plate, but I assure you they were in there. Also, you may be wondering why I'd make such a summer-y salad in the fall. Well, it's still in the 80s here, and our tomato plants are booming. My home plant has nearly 30 little tomatoes on it, and I hope it stays warm long enough for them to ripen. By the way, you can find the recipe for this salad here on the Jazzy Vegetarian website, but you have to scroll down the page to see it.

After my demos, Douglas showed us how to make his Raw Crackers. Douglas is, by far, the BEST raw cracker maker in the world. I've had a lot of raw crackers in my day, and his are just phenomenal. He uses a mixture of nuts and seeds, ground up in the food processor, and mixed with cumin, salt, and tomatoes.

Douglas also showed us the old-school Farm way to make seitan, or gluten as they call it there. Basically, it's old high gluten flour method where you knead and rinse the dough in water over and over until it runs clear. That's the way I always did it when I first went vegan. It might seem to be pain in the ass these days, when seitan can easily be made from vital wheat gluten flour or purchased pre-made in the store. But this stuff is so much more tender and delicious. It's worth the work:

Then Douglas made the Indian street snack, Bhel Puri. I'd never tried this before, and it was unlike anything I'd had before — crumbled Ramen (you KNOW I loved that), spicy mint chutney, unsweetened puffed rice, garam masala, tomatoes, and some other spices. I'll certainly be making this again!

And finally, Douglas showed us how to make his simple Raw Raspberry Truffles. These are just made with freeze-dried raspberry powder, dates, raw cacao powder, and a little agave. And then they're rolled into coconut:

After dessert, we all made Veggie Sushi to take to a party on Saturday night at the Farm. Farm resident Rick was in town with his new married partner Rose, and they were having a tropical wedding reception in the Farm's Community Center. Here's Ebony, our class's master sushi roller, cutting the sushi:

And here's our Veggie Sushi, all plated and ready to go. Inside each roll is avocado, carrot, bell pepper, and cucumber!

I'll be back tomorrow with one final Farm Vegan Retreat post on the delicious eats at Rick and Rose's wedding party!

Farm Vegan Retreat, Part One

Hey everybody! I'm back from my weekend at the Farm's Vegan Retreat in Summertown, Tennessee. I was asked to come back and do a cooking demonstration for this one. The first such retreat was last February, and I demoed at that one too.

For any who aren't familiar with the Farm, it's a community of vegans and vegetarians who've been living on several thousand acres of land in middle Tennessee since the early 1970s. The original Farmies traveled to Tennessee from San Francisco in a caravan of school buses in 1971. In the mid- to late-70s, the Farm became a destination for progressives looking to practice the principle of nonviolence and shared respect for Mother Earth. It's still going strong, and they've begun holding Vegan Retreats (the next one is scheduled for February 24th-26th) a couple times a year filled with cooking demos and fun!

As a little disclaimer (and shameless plug), I should also mention that the Farm's on-site Book Publishing Company (yes, that's its official name) is publishing my Southern vegan cookbook. Due out in April!

Paul and I arrived on Friday night just in time for dinner! We missed the demonstrations, but the results were delicious. This is Oven-Baked Tofu, Fried Okra (from the garden), Potato Salad, and Fresh-Picked Salad Greens with Homemade Italian Vinaigrette:

Here's the dinner table minus a few latecomers. Douglas, the event's host, is the guy raising his glass of blueberry wine in the back. To his left are newlyweds Rick and Rose (more on their spontaneous wedding later) and me. To his right are his wife Deb and retreat attendees Tasha and Linda:

Ebony, another retreat attendee, arrived after dinner. But she heated up some leftovers before enjoying this tiny ice cream cone filled with the Farm's homemade Pina Colada Ice Bean. They make this creamy vegan ice cream on the Farm, and the folks who live there keep it stocked in their freezers. I've tried several flavors over the past year, and I can attest that this is the BEST vegan ice cream on the planet. I wish they could mass market this stuff:

That was it for the first night. We all retired early because we had yoga at 8 a.m. After yoga at the Farm's yoga studio on Saturday morning, we went back to Douglas' house for coffee and a tour of his home garden:

Then we went inside, where Douglas demoed the best smoothie I've ever tasted — frozen strawberries, soymilk, flax oil, hemp oil, and acai berry powder:

While we drank our smoothies, Douglas showed us how to make his Baked Coconut Granola and his Raw Granola. I mixed both together in this bowl with soymilk and some of the Farm's homegrown dehydrated pears:

But breakfast didn't stop there. Douglas also showed us how to make a traditional Farm breakfast — Yeast Crepes! These were so simple. Just a 1/4 cup of flour mixed with 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast and a little water. He added in fresh bell pepper and tomatoes that cooked into the bottom. You fry it in a skillet with a little oil and serve with hot sauce and soy sauce. Douglas said the original Farm folks made this often in the community's early days:

After breakfast, we got started on lunch. Here's Chelsea and Ebony stuffing husks with masa, vegan sausage/tomato sauce, bell peppers, and olives for our Homemade Tamales:

And here's the tamales, all wrapped and ready to steam:

After the tamales were prepped, Douglas took us on a Farm tour. We stopped at the lush community garden:

The garden, maintained by multiple Farm residents, has lots of pretty flowers!

And the veggie plants are still producing plenty of food. I'd never seen an okra plant before and was amazed to learn it has pretty flowers too!

Later on the tour, near Farm attorney Alan Graf's eco-friendly underground house, we ran into this ferocious beast!

At the end of the tour, we stopped by the Farm Store, where several of us loaded up on the Farm's homemade tofu, soy yogurt, and other yummy treats. Then we headed back to Douglas' for lunch and a few more demos (including mine). But that's enough pics for today. I'll share more Farm adventures tomorrow.

Sweet Peppers & Sweet Potatoes

I probably don't eat enough veggies. I really, really like protein and carbs, and most of my meals tend to rely more heavily on tofu, tempeh, seitan, fake meat, bread, pasta, and whole grains. I mean, I do add veggies wherever I can, but some days, I know I don't get the recommended daily allowance.

That's why I love meals like this one! Everything — grains, protein, fat, and veggies — are packed into these Ground "Turkey" Stuffed Peppers:

I found the recipe on the Yves website when I was looking for a use for some Yves Ground "Turkey" I'd bought on sale. The roasted peppers are stuffed with a mixture of the "turkey," brown rice, chopped mushrooms, tomato sauce, and Daiya Cheddar Shreds. Then there's even more Daiya on top. God, I could eat nothing but Daiya for the rest of my life and be happy (but then, of course, I wouldn't be getting enough veggies).

I served these with a side of Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Moroccan Spices from World Vegan Feast:

These were simple, yummy, and wholesome. They were spiced with cumin, coriander, and mustard seed. I didn't realize those were Moroccan spices, but now I know.

Sure, this meal had some processed ingredients, but who cares? I still got my veggies and whole grains in.

Do you have trouble getting enough of any food group?

Donuts That Are Just Okay?!

I never thought I'd say a donut was "just okay." But that's how I felt about these Cinnamon Donut Holes from Sarah Kramer's 2011 Go Vegan Wall Calendar:

I've LOVED every recipe I've ever made from Sarah, so I'm blaming my oven for this. My oven has failed me a few times before, and I didn't consult an oven thermometer first because I'm lazy like that.

But I had high hopes for these little cinnamon-coated boogers! They sound so yummy, and actually they taste yummy too. It's the texture that's just a little too dry for me. Fresh out of the oven last night, they were perfect. But as they cooled, the cakey donuts dried out on the insides. I intended to take these to work today, but since most of my co-workers are omnis, I only like to feed them recipes that turn out just right.

However, I didn't want to waste, so I dunked a few of these holes in a little soymilk to soften. And they were perfect. I've always had a thing for baked good dipped in liquid (true story: when I was in kindergarten, I liked to dip my Oreos in my cherry Kool-Aid during refreshment time at school).

Anyway, I'll probably eat all of these dipped in soymilk, and they're also better when heated in the microwave for a few seconds.

What do you do when baked goods don't come out as planned?

Ramen to the Rescue!

I rarely review cookbooks that aren't vegan, but sometimes a cookbook's theme is so awesome that I just can't turn down a free copy in exchange for a review. I always warn the publisher that I'm vegan, so I can't review all of the recipes, but if they don't mind me subbing out vegan ingredients, I don't mind giving it a shot.

Y'all know how I love ramen noodles, right? Well, even though Ramen to the Rescue isn't vegan, it seems like the perfect book for me. Every single recipe in this book contains ramen, and there's even a "Meatless Meals" section. The meatless chapter isn't totally vegan, but it's easy to substitute out soymilk and Daiya for dairy milk or cheese. Most recipes in other areas of the book are also easy to veganize, and there are accidentally vegan recipes peppered throughout the book.

I wanted to start with something crazy, like Ramen-Mallow Crispy Treats or Zucchini Boats with Ramen and Mushrooms. But I needed a quick side dish on Monday night, so I opted instead for the Asian Cabbage Slaw:

My mom makes the BEST ramen slaw in the world, and though nothing can touch hers, this one was pretty tasty and way more low in fat than my mom's. There's only a 1/2 teaspoon of oil in this recipe, but there's about a stick of vegan butter in my mom's!

This slaw also contains naba cabbage, snow peas, sliced almonds, cilantro, sesame seeds, and scallions mixed with a dressing of mustard, sesame oil, and rice vinegar. You're supposed to throw out the flavor packet (as is required in many recipes in this book), but I sprinkled a little of the packet into the slaw because I figured it could only enhance the taste. Most importantly, the slaw is topped with crunchy, raw ramen noodles. They soften a little in the dressing, but they maintain a nice crunch.

I'll be making more from this book throughout the month, and I'll share my thoughts here. Don't be surprised if you see Ramen Pizza, Blueberry Peach Crisp with Ramen-Oatmeal Topping, Ramen Pad Thai, or Spicy Peanut Noodle Wraps. All those recipes are in the book!

Post Punk Kitchen Cookbook Challenge: Week Three

Week Three of the Post Punk Kitchen Cookbook Challenge was easy! We're supposed to make something from one of Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's cookbooks — either The Vegan Table or Color Me Vegan. Since I'm, like, Colleen's number one fan (not in a crazy stalker way, I swear), I just so happen to have all of her books.

Just like in PPK Challenge week's past, I opted to make a breakfast dish from one of Colleen's books. Neither The Vegan Table nor Color Me Vegan have breakfast sections, per se, but breakfast dishes are peppered throughout the books. I found her recipe for Peanut Butter Pancakes in Color Me Vegan:

Yummy! But not so colorful for a recipe in Color Me Vegan, right? It's okay. I found this in the Brown & Black chapter, which places emphasis on healthful colorless foods like mushrooms, sea veggies, and chocolate.

The pancake recipe doesn't call for chocolate chips, but Colleen mentions in a side note that several testers suggested the addition. And since nothing beats the combo of PB and chocolate, of course I tossed some in! I doused these in maple syrup, washed them down with a cold glass of soymilk, and served them with a side of my steamed Creole seitan sausages.

By the way, I've mentioned this before, but for anyone who claims not to have time to make pancakes for breakfast during the week, you should know that I don't either. I make a full batch on Sundays, and then refrigerate them. I microwave a pancake or two each morning throughout the week, and they taste just as fresh as if they were made that morning.

How do you like your pancakes?