Event Announcement: Vegan Picnic Class at Whole Foods

Hey there! Tonight's post features a Memphis-centric announcement for my local and Mid-Southern readers.

I want to talk about an upcoming cooking class at our Whole Foods. Since the Whole Foods Salud cooking school has opened, the Poplar Avenue store has scheduled several vegan classes. But some have been canceled because they didn't get enough sign-ups! We can't let this happen! So I'm helping Whole Foods spread the word when they have vegan classes coming up.

There's a Vegan Picnic class on Wednesday, July 22nd from 6 to 9 p.m. It's $59, but that includes hands-on instruction in making a full menu (details below). If you're interested, you can register here. Or check out the full Salud Summer schedule here.

And if you want to learn more (and you know you do!), here's a little Q&A with one of the class's instructors Brianna Rogers. She and Amy Schiller will be helping class participants work their way through all of the recipes!

Bri and Amy leading a class at Salud

  

Vegan Crunk: What inspired the Vegan Picnic class?

Brianna: We always try to offer both vegetarian and vegan classes with each of our course schedules. With this being summer and the height of festivals and camp-outs, a vegan picnic class seemed like a great class idea. Plus, one participant in the class will receive a picnic basket with goodies to get them started!

Can you give a brief rundown of what you'll be making?
Menu for the class is Fresh Corn and Tomato Salad with Herbs and Avocado, 7-Layer Salad with Cashew Mayonnaise and “Faux” Bacon, Dilled Eggless Egg Salad Wraps and Curried Chicken-less Salad Wraps, Raw Date and Nut Truffles, Strawberry Lemonade.

Is there anything special, like a skill or an ingredient, that you're excited to share in this class?
Honestly, I am excited about the cashew mayo in the 7-layer salad. Nut creams are so tasty and add such a wonderful flavor to food, and I’m really excited to use them to add a sweet, nuttiness to the salad. Plus, this will help show this technique to others and help them branch out a bit instead of just using a storebought vegenaise.

The workshop is described as hands-on. Does that mean that class participants get to try making stuff?
Definitely! In our hands-on classes, we mean exactly that: hands-on. We have the recipes mise en placed (ingredients measured and prepped) but the students do the chopping, sautéing, mixing, baking, etc. We try to have them do as much hands-on as possible. With this class, we’ll work on all of the recipes together as a group – some classes we’ll ‘divide and conquer’ and have teams make different menu items, but that is more often due to time constraints with the recipes.

Should folks come with empty stomachs or should they eat a light meal first?
Definitely do not eat a huge meal before you come – because then you won’t be hungry when you sit down to enjoy the meal you created! We do have a snack ready for participants when they arrive but everyone gets to eat a meal – it’s not just a sampling of the food created. We try to have everyone seated and enjoying their meal (and wine!) by the 2:15 mark of a three hour class. For most of our evening classes this is around 8:15pm.

I've heard there's a prize for one participant. Can you give us a sneak peek?
Yes! With this class we are giving away a picnic basket loaded with tools that you need to set the perfect picnic table: reusable plates, cups, silverware and napkins for 4. Valued at over $35.00

What are your vegan picnic essentials?
I love to pack our roasted, unsalted, mixed nuts from the Bulk department here at Whole Foods Market – great variety and super delicious. A small cutting board and knife is perfect for cutting up whole fruits (apples, peaches, pears); and don’t forget the corkscrew for the bottle of wine! Try packing salads in jars with the dressing at the bottom – large mason jars are perfect for this. All you have to do is shake and serve!

What's your favorite place to picnic in Memphis?
I love the grounds at the Metal Museum. The tall, old trees provide great shade and the view of the river is spectacular. I’m a Midtowner so Overton Park and the concerts at the Levitt Shell are always a great place to show of your picnicking prowess.

Anything else you want to share?
Salud website: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/service/salud-cooking-school-memphis We're currently working on the Fall schedule, which should be posted in August.

Behind the Scenes with the Vegan Roadie!

So y'all know the Vegan Roadie, right? If you don't, you should catch up right now! Dustin Harder, aka the Vegan Roadie, is the host and creator of the awesome Vegan Roadie web series. He travels all over the country, sampling vegan delights and highlighting awesome local businesses. He just wrapped up season one, and you can find the episodes on his website or his YouTube channel. There's one for Austin, Denver, Philly, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Boston, and more!

And now Dustin is working on a new series called The Vegan Roadie: OMG! That's Vegan!? Back in June, he emailed me to ask if I would like to be featured on the show!! I was honored and thrilled, and of course I said yes. Well, Dustin is in Memphis filming this week, and I've spent the last couple days with him. First, we met up for a get-to-know-ya dinner last night at Imagine Vegan Cafe.

Dustin ordered the vegan Shrimp Po'Boy and a side of Mac & Cheese. Of course, you know how vegans are, always taking pictures of their food.

I got my old stand-by — Vegan Cheese Quesadilla with Portabella Mushrooms, Guacamole, and Sour Cream. Of course, I immediately doused it in hot sauce.

And we split an order of the Spinach-Artichoke Dip.

Then, today, I met Dustin at his Airbnb to shoot the segment! Here's Dustin setting up camera one.

And here's me attempting a selfie in camera two, which was actually Dustin's iPhone.

For the cooking segment, I made my Deviled Tofu Bites, which are like vegan deviled eggs. Dustin got all the ingredients mise en place before I even arrived.

And here's the finished dish (after we ate a few on-camera, of course!).

I won't give away too much, but I think the show is going to be super-cute. Dustin is hilarious and super-animated. We played some games and got really silly. And yes, we are in Memphis, so he had to get some Elvis in there. Check out the sweet Vegan Roadie trucker hat he gave me.

One other cool thing to note: When Dustin isn't busy trying all the vegan things all over the country, he works as a handler for the dogs on the touring Broadway production of Annie. His boss, William Berloni, is about to launch a reality show called From Wags To Riches, all about his life working with theatrical animals. And the Annie pup stars — Macy and Sunny — got to travel to Memphis with Dustin. They were hanging in the Airbnb with us. I had to get a pic with these celebrity dogs!

I'll keep y'all posted about The Vegan Roadie: OMG! That's Vegan!? And when I find out when it'll be airing, I'll let y'all know!

Bluff City Vegan Eats: The Blue Nile

So y'all know about my love affair with Ethiopian food, right? SO IN LOVE RIGHT NOW! I mean, I've loved Ethiopian food for years, but Kittee Berns' Teff Love cookbook really just reignited my passion for injera and wat and firfir and fitfit and all that deliciousness.

Memphis was already home to two awesome Ethiopian restaurants (Abyssinia and Derae). But now we have a new Ethiopian joint, and it's right in the heart of Midtown (where I live). It's called The Blue Nile, and it just opened a couple weeks ago. My editor Susan, our intern Alexandra, and I checked it out last Wednesday for lunch. Look at the walls! So pretty.

I went with the Ethiopian Vegetarian Platter because injera.

There is just nothing tastier than a spicy lentil stew sopped up with spongy, tangy injera bread. The Misir Wat (the red lentil dish) is my very favorite Ethiopian dish, and The Blue Nile's version was spot-on. The yellow split pea wat was also amazing. And the greens. And the cabbage. And the potato and carrot dish. Everything was just perfect.

Susan, who is also a vegetarian, and I agreed to split a few things, so I shared the platter with her. And she shared this Lentil Sandwich with me. It's a cold lentil salad with tomato and lettuce on soft bread. Owner Ermyias Shiberou came by our table and told us he was going for a vegan version of a chicken salad with this. And he nailed it. Such a tasty sandwich.

We also split an order of the Tofu Kabobs. 

Let me just talk about these kabobs for a second. So Ermyias also runs a food truck called Stick 'Em that specializes in kabobs. He's been traveling around town, peddling food on a stick for quite some time. And Susan and I have long agreed that Ermyias' tofu kabobs are made with THE BEST TOFU IN TOWN. No kidding. There's a lot of tofu to be had in Memphis, and Ermyias has the best. It's firm and chewy and juicy and full of char-grilled flavor.

The Blue Nile had a few other vegan dishes on the menu that I can't wait to try. There's a Vegetarian Firfir (injera soaked in the wat!!), Shiro Wat (chickpea stew), and you can get Mesir Wat with injera by itself. You can also order the veggies separately, and the Tofu Kabobs can be ordered in a platter with rice and veggies.

The Blue Nile is located at 1788 Madison Ave. Call 901-474-7214. Or check out their Facebook page!

Seitan a la King

Still working on that next cookbook — the retro vegan one. Yea, it's been three years now, but I'm in no hurry. I've just been developing three to four new recipes a month. At this rate, I'll be done in, oh, another three years. Ha! Seriously though. I'll try to get it done sooner than that.

Anyway, this past weekend, I developed a recipe for Seitan a la King (like Chicken a la King) to be included in the 1910-1919 chapter.

This has chopped seitan (made using my steamed seitan recipe that will also be in the book), sliced mushrooms, green bell peppers, and pimientos in a chicken-like cashew cream sauce. It's served over brown rice. So good! Cashew cream really is the best thing in the world.

The origins of chicken a la king are a little fuzzy. Wikipedia says there are conflicting stories claiming it came about in the 1880s or 1890s, and several hotel cooks in different places are credited with its invention. But one guy — William "Bill" King of the Bellevue Hotel in Philadelphia — got credit for the dish his New York Tribune obit in 1915. So, in honor of Mr. Cook, I'm placing this dish in the chapter corresponding with his death date.

Here's an excerpt from King's obit (from Wikipedia):

"The name of William King is not listed among the great ones of the earth. No monuments will ever be erected to his memory, for he was only a cook. Yet what a cook! In him blazed the fire of genius which, at the white heat of inspiration, drove him one day, in the old Bellevue, in Philadelphia, to combine bits of chicken, mushrooms, truffles, red and green peppers and cream in that delight-some mixture which ever after has been known as 'Chicken a la King.'"

Independence Day Eats!

Gosh, I wish the Fourth of July would always fall on a Saturday! Our office closed Friday, so I got a three-day weekend, and I got to stay out as late as I wanted on the night of the Fourth. We had lots of fun! And of course, it all started with food.

We pulled out our cheap-o grill and fired it up. And then I loaded it with veggie burgers and fresh veggies. Here's Paul and I (and Datsun) waiting for the food to finish cooking. Paul set the timer on his phone.

We grilled Beyond Meat Beast Burgers, Corn on the Cob with Miso Butter, Zucchini and Summer Squash.

Paul also grilled some non-vegan brats. But he had a Beyond Meat burger too. Have y'all had these yet? THEY. ARE. SO. GOOD. They're meaty and juicy and have a great char-grilled flavor. My only complaint is that they're way too pricey. My Whole Foods charges about $6.50 a box, and a box only contains two burgers. I'd been wanting to try these for awhile, but I couldn't bring myself to pay that much. And then Whole Foods ran them on sell for $4.50, which is still too much for two burgers. But I figured I'd never get to try them if I didn't grab them on-sale.

Here's a close-up of the burger. I topped mine with tomato, red onion, lettuce, sriracha mustard, garlic pickles, and garlic aioli.

After dinner, we went downtown to Butler Park to watch the Mud Island fireworks show from the river bluffs. We do that every year because they put on such a great show. And then we went back home for dessert! I bought this Daiya Strawberry Cheezecake about a month ago, but I was waiting for the right time to open it. Fourth of July seemed as good a time as any!

I topped my slice with So Delicious CocoWhip and a fresh strawberry!

I was so impressed with this cheezecake! It tasted just like I remember from my pre-vegan days. The graham cracker crust was just perfect.

After dessert, we went to an empty parking lot by our house to light off our own fireworks. I don't like to spend much on fireworks because it seems like such a waste of money, but we had some semi-decent fireworks. Mostly roman candles and sparklers though. And bottle rockets. Paul loves bottle rockets. Here's a very blurry pic of Paul attempting to jump over a shower of sparks. Because he's crazy.

After our fireworks, we headed back downtown for a DJ party at The Five Spot in the South Main Arts District. DJ Stacy Kidd was spinning some good old-fashioned house music. After the show, we went to the after-party at Dave Silver's (the party's promoter) loft, and I met Stacy Kidd!

We were supposed to hit up another party too, but we just didn't make it. Too many parties, so little time!

Stuff I Ate

Hey friends! Happy Fourth of July! We have a lot of reasons to be proud to be an American right now — marriage equality, the Affordable Care Act being upheld, the South finally giving up its stupid, racist symbols. So I hope you have a blast whatever you're doing. I'm not even sure what I'm doing for the 4th. I'm sure there will be fireworks involved. Anyway, here's a rundown of some stuff I've been eating.

The old vegan standard — Avocado Toast — has been a regular at my breakfast table lately. My new fave way to eat it is with Earth Balance Avocado Oil Spread, mashed avocado, black salt, pepper, and Yellowbird Habanero Sauce (it's the new sriracha, if you haven't heard).

But also Cinnamon Toast — baked in the oven with Earth Balance Cinnamon Culinary Spread and cinnamon sugar. I'm loving all the varieties of EB spreads right now. I picked up several free product coupons for Earth Balance at Vida Vegan Con, and I'm stocking up.

Speaking of Vida Vegan Con, I picked up a new habit at the con back in Austin. You see, the coffee bar they set up for us had all manner of vegan creamers and sweeteners, and at the end of the table, there was a big ole bowl of Dandies vegan marshmallows. I wasn't aware that Dandies belong in coffee, but they do. Oh yes, they do.

I'm on the board of directors for a nonprofit that helps people with HIV/AIDS access wellness programming, housing, a food pantry, and other services. It's called Friends for Life, and we had our annual board retreat a couple weeks ago. Every year, they make sure the catered meal from Stone Soup includes a vegan dish for me. This year, I got a Greek Salad (minus the feta) with black olives, pickled peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, and pickles. I love pickles in a salad! And they even included vegan Snickerdoodles from the local bakery, Guilt Free Pastries.

Mmmmm ... Meatball Sub from Imagine Vegan Cafe. Love this sandwich! Four vegan meatballs, marinara, Imagine's house-made white cheese, and lettuce, on a toasted hoagie bun.

I picked up some Mister Sister Smores Fudge at Rabbit Food Grocery in Austin. Because vegan fudge! I've been saying for years that somebody needed to sell vegan fudge. And it's happening. (By the way, I've had this Hello Kitty cup since I was a tiny 80s baby. There's almond-coconut milk in it.).

It's so good! Just like the way-too-sweet-so-you-can-only-eat-a-nibble-at-a-time fudge that I remember from my childhood. Those white chunks are vegan marshmallows, by the way.

Hey, look at this crazy carrot!

Last Sunday, I joined the Memphis Vegan Dine-outs and Potlucks Meetup group for brunch at Irie Vegan Kitchen inside The African Place. Local vegan chefs Nigel and Andrea do a weekly pop-up vegan brunch from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. And the food is soooo goood! This week, I got Blueberry Pancakes and Seitan Sausage and Peppers. 

I had a cooking demo at the Cordova Library last week. I made the Vegan Pimiento Cheese and the Tofu Eggless Salad from Cookin' Crunk. And I made a LOT! Three big ole batches of each recipe. So I had a little eggless salad leftover. I used some in this Eggless Salad Wrap with Carrots, Romaine, and Cherry Tomatoes. On the side, I had some Way Better brand chips and leftover guacamole from Sunday's Babalu dinner.

On Tuesday, we had Vegan Drinks! Our group gets together once a month for happy hour cocktails and vegan food. This month, the meetup was at Mellow Mushroom. I got the Vegan Thai Dye Pizza with curry tofu, Daiya, cucumbers, onions, and Thai chile sauce. I LOVE THIS PIZZA.

Finally, I'll leave you with this sweet treat. It's an Eli's Earth Bars Treasure Bar that I got in a Vegan Cuts box in December. Yes, December. Have I told y'all that I'm a snack hoarder? I don't mean to be. I just like to look at things for awhile before I eat them. Anyway, this was totally still good. And it was awesome. Vegan milk chocolate with crunchy peanut butter and caramel. Mmmmmmm. Definitely worth the wait.

Chocolate Coconut Chips!

It wasn't long ago that I discovered coconut chips. My dad had ordered me a surprise care package from Vegan Essentials — each item hand-selected by him —and, in it, he included a bag of Dang Coconut Chips. One bite and I was hooked. My dad ordered some for himself too, and he was hooked.

Coconut chips are crunchy and coconutty and buttery. Yum! Soon after discovering Dang, I came across a package of Bare Sweet 'n' Heat Coconut Chips at Whole Foods. I bought bags for me and my dad. They were sort of sriracha-flavored, kind of a sweet and hot peppery flavor. Those quickly became my favorite.

And then about a month ago, Bare emailed me about sampling and reviewing their new Chocolate Bliss Coconut Chips. Well, of course I would! On their own, these are only slightly sweet with notes of dark chocolate. They're not chocolate-dipped but rather the chocolate is baked into them. My favorite way to eat any coconut chips is over yogurt. So that's how I tried these.

This is So Delicious Chocolate Coconut Yogurt with Bare Chocolate Bliss Coconut Chips, Meet Your Maca Superseeds, and Blueberries.

Admittedly, they look more like coconut bacon than chocolate coconut, but they definitely tasted like cocoa. These coconut chips added a nice crunch and rich buttery flavor to my parfait. Since I had chocolate yogurt too, the chocolate flavor of the chips was a little lost. But I tried them the next day on vanilla coconut yogurt, and the cocoa flavor in the chips really popped.

These would be awesome mixed into a homemade trail mix or maybe sprinkled over ice cream. But they're also just delicious straight out of the bag.