crack the plates

So apparently when I get really excited I kind of pull on my face? It’s a weird tic, one I haven’t noticed ’til today, because I’ve been doing an awful lot of it, because today, ah, today! Today has been so exciting! This week has been exciting. There’s so much to be grateful for.

Let’s start at the beginning:

Last week I sent out an e-mail to friends asking if anyone would be interested in any of the food I was already planning on making for the fourth of July. I hoped you might be since I’m headed to NY soon and would kind of like to have a good time (read, buy lots of Bluestocking Bonbons by Lagusta’s Luscious ON SITE AT HER NEW STORE) rather than eat bean sandwiches. My stars, how you responded! With exuberance, encouragement, and best of all, orders! I’m unspeakably thrilled to be making the following for folks this weekend:

So now I get to cook lots of rich yummy food for people I love this weekend and they’re actually going to give me money for it (more than enough to cover costs, too!). *pulls on face*

Next, though slightly out-of-order: the other day I started craving cupcakes. I never bake for myself because I am in the business of baking for others and don’t want to “waste” ingredients on myself. This is not exactly the best way to think about things, and so, in our ninety+ degree kitchen, I was persuaded (by the heat?) to abandon this reasoning. Nate and I worked together to create one of the most luscious batches of chocolate cupcakes yet.

Better still, he chose to be generous at work the next day and now lots more wonderful people are clambering for chocolate cupcakes come Friday. Add it to my to-do list.

As an aside, I had a little picnic lunch in Woodruff Park with three of Nate’s colleagues (who happen to be from India) and I brought my bhindi masala and simple masoor dal curry and they all loved both and went back for seconds (in one case, thirds).

(I also brought along the chopped organic mint and cilantro, for garnishing.)

To be complimented by someone who cooks such recipes natively is kind of the biggest compliment a cook can receive. Just sayin’.

Kind of like the time I brought home-made anko into Nakato for folks to try and learned that it tastes “just like grandma used to make.” You know, grandma – from Japan.

On that note, the biggest, greatest, most exciting news of all: my food is finally at Nakato! My dessert is on the menu! Mini dora-yaki is now being served with soy-based ice cream by High Road Craft Ice Cream in two flavors: kuro-goma (black sesame) and kinako (toasted soybean flour, delicately nutty, used in desserts). (Insider note: High Road only makes soy ice cream for us, at our insistence!) The new menu debuted on Saturday and Nate and I went to celebrate.

(Note: the server did kind of an excellent job with the dots, no? as the maker of that sauce [it's just sweet red bean paste with more sugar, liquid, thickeners], I know it has a tendency to sputter out of the bottle. Working on it!)

For one amazing week, for this beautiful day – thank you all! My gratitude nears the depths of ineffability. Will a cupcake do?

On Sunday a bunch of Atlanta-area folks gathered at Sauced for the first Atlanta Vegan Drinks! Inspired by the success of NYC’s Vegan Drinks, @atlvegan Brett worked with chef-owner Ria Pell to develop a special menu and cocktail for the kick-off event. Brett’s hope for Atlanta Vegan Drinks is that, by bringing together a diverse group of people, we might expand and support our local vegan community. A little birdie told me he did some work on the next get-together today, so go ahead and follow @atlvegandrinks on Twitter for the most up-to-date information!

As anyone who was there would tell you, the first event was an unparalleled success. Ria & her partner Kiki welcomed us like guests in their home (their third home!). Our servers were delightful even as they managed a way-bigger-than-expected crowd. The back porch atmosphere was eclectic and inviting, with three sets of family-style tables that encouraged mingling as best as possible. And the food – yowzah! Just check out the menu:

Ticks/asterisks denote what we ordered – and believe me, we loved every bite! My only regret is not splurging for a signature cocktail… next time, next time!

Check out those big ol’ smiles! We honestly couldn’t have been happier. Thanks again to the Sauced/Bluebird team for such a memorable evening!

Last Wednesday I got a certain bee in my bonnet, an urge to cook everything in my Vegetable Husband CSA basket in a single night. It was inspired by the basket’s arrival, an already-full fridge, and the desire to cook a (pretty darn close) farm-to-table meal. Since the produce, from Serenbe and Jenny Jack Sun farms, was likely picked just before it got to me, I wanted to honor its perfection, and the dedication & ingenuity of those who procured it, by cooking it immediately.

Besides, there was like, nowhere to store it.

So what’d this crazy vegan do? She cooked her whole CSA in one night, of course!

this basket…

• head lettuce, Serenbe
• beets with greens, Serenbe
• broccoli, Serenbe
• collards, Serenbe
• sugar snap peas, Serenbe
• green garlic, Jenny Jack Sun
• mixed squashes, Jenny Jack Sun
• sweet yellow onions, Jenny Jack Sun

inspired this…

Vegetable Husband Tasting Menu

raw beet salad, local mulberries

lettuce-and-mint-braised sugar snap peas

summer squash with fennel, lemon zest, pepitas

broccoli and georgia peach with mango juice, black sesame seeds

summer squash mélange

southern-style collard, beet, and broccoli greens

Wow, y’all, have I been up to no good. Of course, like the good southerner that I am, by “no good” I mean EVERYTHING AWESOME. Let’s start with the little sign of summer I discovered on the back porch over the weekend:

Yup! That’s eggplant!

Ok, so honestly, this post should probably be about five separate ones. Over the course of around thirty pictures, I’m gonna tell you all about Sugar-Coated Radical, Atlanta’s only fair-trade chocolate shop; why (dairy) milk is whack; why all Atlanta vegans should eat at Ria’s Bluebird and/or Sauced; where to get vegan brunch in a pinch (and at a value); what’s up at Fernbank; why local raw food rocks (and where to get it) and finally, I’ll share two of my top ten foods of 2011 (thus far!).

I know, right? Intense. Hang on and enjoy the ride!