The Return of the Wafflewich

Move over, KFC ... with your nasty, cruelty-infested Double Down. There's a new sammich in town, and it's tasty and vegan. Meet (or if you've been a long-time Crunk follower, re-introduce yourself to) the Fried Tofu "Chicken" Wafflewich:

Yep, it's another cookbook tester, but I promise its worth waiting for. I developed this ode to Southern-style chicken and waffles back in 2008. But I'm testing and testing and testing again. This filling all-in-one meal combines my Southern Fried Tofu "Chicken" (which is also delicious on its own) with my Savory Sandwich Waffle and a special maple-dijon sauce. It's hefty and satisfying and somewhat sinful thanks to the beer-battered fried 'fu.

On an unrelated note, I wanted to show y'all my poor puppy's injured paw:

Poor Datsun! He was staying with a friend while I was at Bonnaroo last weekend, and the friend took him to the White River in Arkansas. Little did she know, Datsun is actually part fish. He loves to swim more than anything in the world ... more than his favorite ball ... more than belly rubs ... probably even more than he loves me!

While my fish-dog was swimming, he managed to cut his paw on a sharp rock in the water. He bled so much that my friend had to take him to the animal ER. He had emergency paw surgery and got quite a few stitches. Of course, Datsun acts like the paw doesn't phase him. No limping and lots of playing.

Bluff City Vegan Eats: Pizze Stone

If I lived in a far-off magical land like Portland or San Francisco, I'm sure I'd have access to vegan cheese takeout pizza. But I live in Memphis, and if I want vegan cheese pizza, I've gotta get my butt in the kitchen and make it my damn self.

A few places around here offer "vegan pizza," which is really just a roasted veggie pizza with no cheese. And that's all fine and good. But I typically take the leftovers home, top 'em with Daiya, and pop 'em in the oven. Pizza is just better with cheese, especially vegan cheese.

But Pizze Stone, a new-ish pizza joint in my 'hood, offers something just as tasty as vegan cheese pizza — Hummus Pizza!

A personal pan-sized crisp cracker-thin pizza crust is topped with creamy hummus, tomatoes, cucumbers, and minced red onion. Though it typically also comes with feta and goat cheese, it's no problem to leave those off.

Funny story: My mom, dad, and boyfriend ate at Pizze Stone a couple of weeks ago. I ordered the Hummus Pizza, while they all ordered melty cheesy pizzas. When the pies arrived, I immediately dug in. The Hummus Pizza is served cold like a salad pizza, but my dad didn't realize that. He saw me shove pizza in my face, and assumed the pies weren't very hot. So he took a big bite of his cheese pizza and burned the roof of his mouth! Well, at least he'll know better from now on.

Pizze Stone is located at 1545 Overton Park Avenue. Call 901-725-7806 or visit their website here.

Bonnaroo Update: Part 2

Back again with a run-down of days three and four at Bonnaroo Music Fest in Manchester, Tennessee. Check out yesterday's post for a recap of days one and two (and some bad ass pictures of Tori Amos and Jack Black, if I do say so myself).

On Saturday morning, my friend Shara, her boyfriend Tyler, my boyfriend Paul, and I were already pretty worn out. Camping in weather with a heat index of over 100 degrees takes a lot out of a person. But we trudged on and managed to pose in this yellow submarine in the press tent. Left to right: Shara, Tyler, Paul, and me (yes, I know my legs are hanging out of the sub ... oops!):

Also while in the press tent, Shara ran into Buzz Osborne from The Melvins:

After lounging in the shade at the media tent, we headed to see Weezer. I took some shots in the photo pit for the first few songs. Rivers Cuomo is by far the best musician I've ever shot. He's so expressive!

Other than Tori's show on Friday, Weezer played the best set of the weekend. I hate it when bands play all their new stuff and neglect the old hits. But Weezer stuck with all the crowd pleasers — the Sweater Song, Buddy Holly, Say It Ain't So, and Surf Wax America. They even played a mash-up cover of MGMT's Kids and Lady Gaga's Poker Face.

After Weezer's set, I was starving. I managed to find a pizza stand serving vegan pizza!!! Here's my wood-fired flatbread with Daiya mozzarella, kale, carrots, and yellow beets:

Later, we caught the Flaming Lips but I'd already put away my camera. I'm not the biggest Lips fan, but the effects were awesome. Wayne Coyne rolled out in a giant hamster ball into the audience. And they played She Don't Use Jelly ... that made me happy.

On Sunday, Paul and I caught Against Me:

And the Dropkick Murphys:

Both shows were super-fun and punk rock. Unfortunately, I didn't make it to the Rise Against show afterward. If I have one regret for the whole weekend, it's missing Rise Against.

I did, however, buy these cute earrings from some hippie chick selling spacers and other jewelry:

Bonnaroo Update: Part 1

I survived Bonnaroo Music Festival! 90-plus degree temps, very few trees for shade, tent camping, nasty camp showers, and nothing but port-a-potties for 4 days (okay, so we did sneak out a few times to use the public bathrooms at a nearby Wal-Mart ... you know you're roughin' it when Wal-Mart bathrooms seem fancy!).

The crappy conditions were all worth it though. My friend/co-worker Shara, her boyfriend Tyler, and my boyfriend Paul took in lots of awesome bands though we didn't quite make it to everything we wanted to see.

The music fest is held in the tiny town of Manchester, Tennessee, but it draws about 80,000 people. Showers cost $7 for the general population, but we were staying in the special V.I.P. guest camping area so ours were free (thank god!). Lots of folks chose to forgo showers and rinse off under this mushroom, which spews out soapy water (for some reason, it wasn't turned on yet in this picture):

Huge bobbleheads of the festival's founders were located throughout Centeroo, the music and vending area:

When we arrived on Thursday, Shara and I headed over to the media tent for a free press dinner. They had veggie burgers! And we each got two free cups of Sweetwater 4:20:

Later that night, we took in an awesome electronica show with Afrojack and Dieselboy, and we rode this ferris wheel:

On Friday, we saw my favorite comedian Margaret Cho in the comedy tent:

We missed Conan O'Brian's show because it had a limited number of seats, and we didn't make it to the line in time for tickets. But I did get a glimpse of Conan introducing the Tenacious D show:

I caught a few minutes of Tenacious D (love Jack Black!). They opened with "Pick of Destiny":

And then I hopped over to the Tori Amos show. Tori Amos is my all-time favorite musician. I've loved, loved, loved her for years. I own all of her albums and quite a few bootlegs. I even own the first album she recorded with Y Kant Tori Read! Her performance was absolutely magical!

Though I mostly ate sandwiches and canned goods at my campsite, I ended up springing for an overpriced veggie burrito on Friday night:

This thing was $10! Festival food is always ridiculously over-priced. It was okay. Just rice, black beans, tomatoes, jalapenos, and corn. It could have used some salsa or guac, but they didn't have that.

I'll post more from the festival tomorrow!

See Y'all on the Flipside!

Hey y'all! I'm off to Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee. It's a four-day stinky hippie fest with music from Tori Amos, Jay-Z, Tenacious D, Les Claypool, Rise Against, the Dropkick Murphys, Against Me, Weezer, you name it. Oh, and there's a comedy tent with Margaret Cho and Conan O'Brian!

The best part? I'm shooting the event for the newspaper I work for (the Memphis Flyer), so I'll be close and personal in the pit near the stage.

Soooo ... I won't be posting for a few days. I'm sure I'll have tons of vegan food photos (and other crazy stuff) to share when I return. Until then, much love homies! I'll leave you guys with this adorable picture of the hugging carrots I picked up at the Memphis Farmers Market last week.

Almost too cute to eat, huh? Um, but I ate 'em anyway.

Cajun Cookin'

Though much of my cooking is influenced by the down-home Dirty South dishes (like beans 'n' cornbread, biscuits, casseroles, and the like) my mama and granny made when I was growin' up, there's no denying the importance of the Cajun cuisine of New Orleans. My cookbook will be a mix of dishes from various areas of the South, including my beloved NOLA.

Though I've never lived in New Orleans, the Crescent City has been a favorite vacation destination for years. One of my all-time favorite dishes from the deep, deep South is red beans and rice. But I wanted to mix things up a bit, so I made Cajun Red Beans 'n' Quinoa instead:

That's topped with extra hot sauce and some Slap Yo Mama Cajun seasoning (picked up on my last excursion there in the fall).

I served this hearty main with one of my all-time favorite sides — Fried Green Tomatoes (another cookbook recipe):

It may sound weird, but I've been enjoying these locally-grown fried green 'maters with a side of homemade strawberry jam. The savory cornmeal crust pairs perfectly with the sweet and fruity strawberry spread. Try topping your fried tomatoes with a teaspoon or so of jam next time you make 'em.

Ain't No Mountain High Enough...

... to keep us away from Diana Ross. The Queen Supreme Diana Ross played an outdoor show at the Memphis Botanic Gardens on Saturday night, but we didn't have tickets. Rather than miss an opportunity to hear the Detroit diva live in concert, my friend Nathan and I planned a sneaky let's-catch-the-show-for-free picnic at Audubon Park. The park is located a few blocks from the outdoor show, so we were hoping to hear the performance.

Nathan popped open a bottle of bubbly for the occasion:

I brought some ciabatta bread and a couple of spreads from my cookbook for toppin' — this tasty vegan Pimento Cheeze Spread:

And some Garlicky Black-Eyed Pea Hummus:

On the side, we had my Granny's recipe for Southwestern Corn Salad (also in the cookbook):

And some tortilla chips with this tasty Sweet Onion Salsa:

Here's my plate:

And here I am stuffing my face as usual:

After we filled our bellies, we sat around and talked for a bit. And lo and behold, we suddenly heard a thumping bass line in the distance. I looked at my clock, and sure enough, it was Diana time. So we packed up the picnic gear and made our way across the park's golf course toward the show. It was dark outside, and though the course was closed, we were hidden from view. We got as close as we could without tickets, and we could see the fabulous lighted stage and the occasional glimpse of Diana's glittery attire. I heard my fave gay anthem, "I'm Comin' Out" and we felt so very sneaky.

Would the view have been better if we'd bought tickets? Sure, but I doubt we'd have had quite so much fun!