crack the plates

October, my favorite month of the year, decided to wrap itself up with the prettiest of all possible bows: meeting my vegan-cooking icon and long-time role model Isa Chandra Moskowitz (and her freakin’ awesome partner John, who runs Laziest Vegans and Vegan Omaha). Somehow it worked out that over the course of her visit, we also had dinner at Harmony, ambled around Young Blood Gallery, and shared lunch today at Dulce Vegan.

Were this high school, I’d be the melting equivalent of a bespectacled, braces-suffering, Lord-of-the-Rings-lovin’, library-dwellin’, Magic the Gathering-playin’ dweeb who just got asked to go for (vegan)milkshakes with the captain of the track team. And, at least at the signing, I totally felt like that. It was kind of how I felt when I met Lagusta – steeling myself as I parked, curling my toes as I walked through the door, biting my lip as I asked Maresa and finally, trying not to tremble too much as I spoke. (And then we ended up hanging out a lot too – maybe I’m not as awful as I think?) This is what you people do to me!

'Twas a blur, really.

And why not? How does one not feel a little crazy sitting across from the person who taught you, through her books, to roast vegetables? To make scones? To marinate tofu? To press tofu? To make cookies? Pad thai? Hummus? – and not feel a little anxious? How is it possible to play it cool when you’re sharing Chinese food family-style with someone whose recipes and anecdotes you’ve memorized (from reading them so often); whose books you’ve given as gifts; whose name is mentioned so frequently on your little nobody blog than it’s giant in the tag cloud? (Look to the right. —>) At the risk of sounding maudlin, Isa is all of these things and so many more – how could I contain my little bursting-with-joy heart?

Answer: I couldn’t! I didn’t! I unabashedly still don’t! (Okay, maybe a little abashedly – I’m still working on that little low-self-esteem thing.)

I brought Lagusta's tart, made with Taza chocolate. Published in Vegan Pie in the Sky by Isa & Terri Romero.

Though I run a little meal delivery now and have a decent blog following, I’m still that same geeky girl who adores her teachers. I fiercely look up to anyone who gives of herself – through a blog, books, video tutorials, long phone calls, or else – for the sake of others. I can’t think of anyone who has done this for veganism more than Isa. (Lagusta said something similar – a zillion times better - here.) From providing the best forum for recipe-swappers, cookbook-reviewers, and vegan gossip; to coining the term “baketivism“ and raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for good causes; to yes, teaching us all how to make a decent scone: can you even imagine where we’d be without her?

With "The Chubby Vegan" John

So yeah. I trembled a bit, smiled wonkily, and tried not to float away on a little cloud. I soothed myself with the acknowledgment that we’re all in this together. As I said to a friend recently: we exist to inspire one another. Standing around in a tight little circle mean-mugging the shiny smiley people might feel superior for a minute, but it doesn’t make our shared world any better and it sure as fuck doesn’t save any animals. Reality is relational: none of us can do anything without the generous and undeserved help of others. Acting like you’ve somehow managed to do without just makes you look like an ass.

Being with Isa, like hanging with Lagusta this summer, steeled my resolve towards sharing what I know and opening myself to others even when it’s inconvenient. It reminds me that a big heart enables extraordinary things, and that at the end of the day, I’ll always prefer to share my straw with an activist. So press on, friends! Goofy, giddy, giving big hugs and big ups, palm against palm – today, tomorrow, always.

Hey folks! I’m working on several (super exciting) longer posts for later this week, so this one will have to be short, eh, it spiralled out of control, whatever. Today I want to share the names and URLs of some Atlanta-based vegan bloggers. I’m glad you like my musings, but I provide only one perspective on our fair city. I’d love it if you had lots! This post might look long and wordy, but it’s pretty dang comprehensive and awesome (like all of us). In fact, it’s kinda like twelve different MoFo posts in one! Let me know what you think.

• Vic Robinson at The Life: Vic is one of the most extraordinary and interesting folks I’ve ever met. He’s not much older than me, but sometimes when I hear him tell stories I feel he’s already lived a thousand lives. One of the posts I’m working on for later this week is an interview I did with him over the weekend, after a meal of seitan steaks, mashed potatoes, roasted brussels sprouts, a big salad, and cheezecake – that he made entirely from scratch like it was no big thang. I love Vic’s blog because of all his recipes – “Links” on the right-hand side of his blog. If you like full-flavored food, his recipes won’t disappoint.
• Elisabeth, the Czech Vegan (in America): Not only does Elisabeth have the darn cutest accent ever, but she’s also known for her recipes. My favorite posts have to do with veganizing Czech cuisine. She’s a really generous person who loves to share – recipes, ingredients, time, conversation. I only wish she didn’t live on the other side of town (Buckhead!) so we could hang out more often.
• Alicia Simpson, author of Quick & Easy Vegan Comfort Food, Quick & Easy Vegan Celebrations, and Quick & Easy Low-Cal Vegan Comfort Food (forthcoming), who blogs at Vegan Guinea Pig and The Lady & Seitan. Alicia’s recipes are always solid – she’s got two best-selling cookbooks! – and she has a friendly, conversational style. Her “Lady & Seitan” blog is especially fun because she focusses on veganising Paula Deen recipes.
• Laura at Abracapocus: Her blog has a beautiful clean theme (“Less is Less, but usually better”), lovely pictures, and witty copy. She’s a master baker. She doesn’t post recipes often, but she always cites her sources and talks about what works, what doesn’t.
• Steph at Ink & Cupcakes: I really like Steph’s blog. She doesn’t update often but I relate to her themes: vegan baking, healthy-living, depression. This might sound trite, but I like how real she is. There are few blogs that don’t attempt to make everything seem sunny all the time, but Steph doesn’t mess. Since she doesn’t post often, you should follow her on twitter. Oh! And she has a Tumblr, which she updates a lot. Maybe you should just read that one. It’s full of pretty pictures. :)
• Becky at Glue & Glitter: Becky is a blogger, crafter, and cook. Her personal blog has a lot of recipes – food and non (natural home & personal care products). A couple of her recent ones are for a biscuit-topped pot pie & the cutest little burlap sunflowers. She’s an enthusiastic explorer of Atlanta and beyond. Her blog is sure to make you smile – and possibly give you lots of new ideas!
• Cosmo’s Vegan Shoppe: maintains a weekly blog that not only discusses new products at the store, but interesting events going on around Atlanta. One upcoming: Isa Chandra at the store on October 30th!!
• Nataleigh at the Vegan Darlin’: Nat will always be special to me because I gave her her name! Not only that, but she’s a new vegan cook who doesn’t use overly-fancy or esoteric ingredients, making her recipes accessible to all. So far she’s covered tomato soup, tomato sandwiches, and sweet-and-sour seitan. Her chatty style is quintessentially southern and adorable.
• ATL Vegan Drinks: the official blog of the Atlanta Vegan Drinks meet-up. Follow for invites to upcoming events, drool-worthy pictures, and the occasional recipe.
• Zack is one of my favorite folks and a from-the-beginning supporter of Crack the Plates meal delivery (along with this equally amazing vegan partner Tony.) One of my favorite little corners of the internet is his comprehensive film log. I have been known to lapse into severe hyperbole and brag that he’s written about every film ever made – not true – but reading through, it really kind of seems like he has!! Zack has consummate taste, so if you’re into films, go there now!
• Jeanette Zeis Ceramics: I really can’t say it better than her “About Me”, so here goes: “Jeanette Zeis Ceramics is a one-woman pottery in Atlanta, Georgia. Recently moving her studio to the historic Old Fourth Ward studio, Jeanette spends her days drinking iced coffee. And trying to make some headway in the never ending “to-do” list. A full-time potter since 2008, Jeanette loves working with clay. It is a constant source of awe and education. If she isn’t actually making pots, chances are pretty good that she is thinking about making pots.” Check out (and buy!) her gorgeous stuff here.
• Jeanette’s vegan partner Kenn runs Free Art Friday Atlanta and sells his interesting stuff on etsy. I love his art and plan on giving it for holiday presents. Buy his stuff here!
• My sweetie Nate, who blogs at Chip the Glasses. It’s usually poetry or programming, but he’s also a passionate vegan. Perhaps the best place to keep up with him, like Steph above, is via twitter: follow him here.
• Other Atlanta Twitter Vegans: @CzechVegan, @Michael_Redman, @vegandarlin, @hillarylibby, @SethP23, @AtlVeg, @hgielatan, @ChocolateOrchid (who blogs HERE), @VeganRun, @HildeeIsaacs, @dulcevegan, @glueandglitter, @JenniferJV, @atlvegandrinks, @KandaiCakery, @CrackthePlates, (you’re following, right?) @werethees, @JeanetteZeis, @heyenglish, @VeganGuineaPig, @atlvegan, @gutenfleischers, @zmcghee, @tmantones, @doughbakery, @KennTwofour, oh, and duh – me: @adriennefriend!

and coming soon…

• A little birdie told me that the adorable Chubby Vegan is moving to Atlanta soon for work!!! I am so excited! I can’t wait to read his thoughts about our fair city. Follow him on Twitter.

Well, that’s all I have for now! Please let me know if I foolishly forgot to include you on this list and I will update ASAP. I can be ridiculously absent-minded about this sort of thing, so please don’t take offense – just let me know and you’ll get added!

And just so you don’t get the impression I haven’t been cooking during MoFo, here are a few pictures of today’s brunch:

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Lookit that crust!

I threw this together when a cravin’ for brunch teamed up with my desire to save a little money by cooking at home. This often happens: I get it into my head that I need to eat out, and then I walk into the kitchen, open the cupboards, and half an hour later we’re eating something ridiculous.

Today it was just a simple battered and pan-fried (country-fried?) tofu. Here’s what I did:

• Press fresh firm tofu between two cutting boards for at least twenty minutes to get rid of the excess moisture (fancy folks can use their tofu X-press gadgets)
• Put a few glugs of olive oil into cast-iron skillet; permit it to get hot
• In one small bowl mix about a cup of unsweetened soymilk with a few tablespoons of cornstarch
• In another bowl mix half a cup of flour, 1/3 cup of nutritional yeast, lots of fresh black pepper, & salt
• Cut pressed tofu into about seven pieces, 1/2-in thick
• Designate one hand dry, one hand wet; dip one piece of tofu into milk mixture, then into flour mixture; then back into milk, then back into flour
• Once you have three or four of them dipped & douple-dipped, place them all in the pan on medium-high to high heat and allow them to sizzle and brown, turning every couple minutes.

Interestingly, it brought back instant memories of my mom’s famous pork chops, which of course I haven’t had in fifteen years. Since this is a spin on the classic dip&dredge method, I bet our recipes are similar. Just, yanno, with tofu.

The grits are just one cup Nora Mill stone-ground simmered in a mixture of three cups water-1 cup unsweetened soymilk; flavored with salt, freshly ground black pepper, 1/3 cup of nutritional yeast, and a couple of handfuls of Daiya cheddar for decadence. Daiya is a on-sale-only treat around here – usually we just do the Poor Gal’s Vegan Cheezy Grits recipe, grits with nutritional yeast. YUM!

A sweet ending: Dancing Goats espresso in my favorite mug*, topped with Sweet & Sara pumpkin spice marshmallows.

(*Don’t freak, I’d never spend $50 on a damn mug. It was a gift from my mom years and years ago, found at a thrift store. She has a good eye. Anyway, it’s my fave.)

Alright folks, I’m back! I apologize for the absence. I foolishly thought I’d only miss a day or so of posting, but then Nate’s ultra-mega birthday party starting rolling towards the big surprise like a snowball down an embankment, getting bigger and messier and funner and more decorative and delicious and AWESOME til I was like aaaaaahhh!!! No time for blogging til it’s over!!!

The big day has come & gone – and it was perfect and I’ll tell you more soon – so we can get back to business, or at least this month’s VeganMoFo theme: Atlanta, the vegan-friendly jewel of the American South! This post is kind of like two others, in that 1) it’s a grocery store tour and 2) it focusses on exciting veganness that’s not quite in Atlanta proper. Of course, I’m talking about

Reason number 8: Cosmo’s Vegan Shoppe!

Quick: think of an entirely vegan grocery store run by a family of cool vegans. Time’s up! Food Fight come to mind? VeganEssentials? Somewhere else? Whatever, those places are great, but since I learned of their existence in 2007, Cosmo’s Vegan Shoppe has been my go-to for vegan goodies. Online shopping is fun and all, but like opening a menu at a vegan restaurant and sighing with joy at the knowledge that you can order ANYTHING, there’s something special about walking into Cosmo’s retail location in Marietta, Georgia. Their selection is vast: cookbooks, personal care items, wallets and accessories, companion animal food & accessories, lots of local products, and of course, a giant grocery. You can buy all the things!!

BREAKING: World-famous cookbook author and all-around awesome person Isa Chandra Moskowitz is going to be at Cosmo’s on October 30th, promoting her new collaboration with Terry Romero, Vegan Pie in the Sky. Order your copy now if you haven’t already. (I’m excited to try my pal Lagusta’s chocolate raspberry tart.) You’d better be there!

Owners Leigh & Ken are long-time vegans and importantly, super-duper nice people. Here’s an example: so Cosmo’s is only open to the public on Saturdays these days, and Nate & I *really* wanted to stop by en route to my cousin’s wedding reception last Saturday.

my lovely cousin Laurel & her perfect new husband John on their wedding day!

Unfortunately, a late start, terrible Atlanta traffic, and yes, even a little fender-bender (not involving us!), had us getting out of the city later than usual. Nate called Leigh and said we were on our way, but we’d probably be there right at 6 – is that okay? She conferred with Ken, and yes! No prob! And then we had to call back because it was going to be 6:10, and they were all like, see you soon, drive safe! Isn’t that something. (NOTE: This little anecdote should not encourage you to push boundaries of Leigh & Ken’s kindness. Don’t be jerks like us, get there between 10 – 6!)

As a yummy thank you, I brought them one of the grasshopper cupcakes I’d made for Laurel & John’s reception.

Based on recipes from Isa's Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World

Walking in, I spied the seasonal candy display of Sjaak’s, Yummy Earth, and Sweet & Sara products. Sjaak’s is a great little organic chocolate company in Petaluma, California. Cosmo’s introduced me to their products years ago and I have been a fan since.

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You know, cuz they’re vegan, AKA not made with gelatin, which is a partial hydrolysis of collagen extracted from the boiled bones, connective tissues, organs and some intestines of animals such as domesticated cattle, pigs, and horses. Yuck!

Turn around to greet the candy shelf:

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general grocery stock

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Angel Food products: marshmallow kits & vegan meringue cookie mix. Made by my friend Alice, imported from her shop in New Zealand!

Vegan chicharróns – “pork” rinds.

The elusive white chocolate chip! Imported from Israel.

Let’s walk back towards the cold cases, where we’ll find lots of interesting things.

Passing by a great stock of meaty mixes, TVP, and Soy Curls…

We come to a freezer. Gardein burgers, May Wah products (chicken nuggets, tuna, fish sticks (?!?!), citrus spare ribs, ham, bacon…), even vegan calamari?!?! (All the links are to Cosmo’s, but you should check out May Wah’s website too, just to see all the crazy things they’ve veganised. Like LOBSTER.)

The other freezer has slightly less-weird vegan choices: seitan-based products by Atlanta locals gutenfleischers.

The MATCH meats:

Cosmo’s carries MATCH brand Mediterranean-style stuffed vegan chicken, New England-style crab cakes, vegan ground beef, ground breakfast sausage, ground chicken, ground crab, ground Italian sausage, and ground pork. I haven’t tried MATCH products but all the folks I know who have just love ‘em. Honestly, while I absolutely agree that meat analogs can help ease the transition to veganism, I don’t really use them. I’m more of a tofu/tempeh/seitan kinda gal. In fact, typing all this “ground” chicken/crab/lobster business is really weirding me out! Even if my freezer isn’t stuffed with it, I’m still glad it’s an option.

Nate was possibly most excited about this from Vegetarian Plus brand:

After thawing, I whipped it up with Vegenaise, sweet relish, dijon mustard, and a little black pepper. (My first “tuna” recipe in fifteen years, and somehow I never forgot the “proper” components.) It was absolutely too fishy and “real” for me, but Nate LOVED it. I broiled Daiya on a piece of wheat bread for him so he could have a tuna melt like the one he got a Curly’s Vegetarian Lunch in NY over the summer. He was in pieces. This box comes with two rolls and makes enough tuna salad for 4-6 sandwiches.

When you tell people you’re vegan, one of the most common (non-bitchy) responses you get goes something like this: “Oh, I could probably/definitely do vegetarian, but I could never go vegan – I couldn’t give up CHEESE.” Setting aside the fact that cheese is absolutely horrible for the environment, (in terms of carbon emissions, cheese is third only to lamb & beef. Seriously, go look at this chart from the Enviromental Working Group’s Meat Eater’s Guide right now.), and the fact that most of the “cheese” people squee over is total crap anyway, there are SO MANY DELICIOUS MELTY CREAMY TANGY YUMMY VEGAN CHEEZE CHOICES THESE DAYS. There’s simply no excuse anymore.

Teese by Chicago soydairy in mozzarella, cheddar, nacho cheeze, and creamy cheddar; Wayfare Foods’ “We Can’t Say It’s Cheese” dips and spreads in cheddar, hickory-smoked cheddar, cheddar-style dip, and mexi-cheddar.

My favorite vegan cheeze is Dr-Cow, made of cultured cashews! Daiya is another that’s generally beloved by all, renowned for its stretchy, melty texture.

And then there’s Sheese by Bute Island Foods, in gouda, mozzarella, smoked cheddar, blue, medium cheddar, cheddar with chives, and strong cheddar.

Owner Leigh & shopper Nate discussing the Teese.

Moving on from the cheeses, we can go play with makeup: Beauty Without Cruelty and

and Herbs of Grace Mineral Makeup both have displays.

Browse the t-shirts and “Cupcaprons” by Atlanta crafter (& friend!) Becky Striepe of Glue & Glitter (etsy shop ; blog.)

Wallets…

And stickers, too! they always have a great selection of stickers. Guess which two of these Nate picked up at Cosmo’s?

Ok, so you know how earlier I said this place is not actually in Atlanta? Cosmo’s moved from N. Highland (Atlanta) to Marietta a few years ago. Atlanta really isn’t a very big city – wikipedia tells me our population is about 400,000. (Please don’t laugh.) Include the “metro” area and it zooms up to several million. So, there are cool things outside the border that is interstate 285.

We have this little joke around here: ITP vs OTP, Inside The Perimeter or Outside the Perimeter. The Perimeter is defined by interstate 285. If you’re inside, the joke goes that you’re a hipstery urbanite, all loft livin’ and Whole Foods shoppin’. You value a walk (or short bike ride!) to Trader Joe’s, independent movie theatres, clubs, adventurous restaurants, and take public transit. Outside? You’re defined by suburban values: an emerald front yard, coupla cars, coupla kids, and the latest-model flatscreen you can afford. You like fast-casual chain restaurants, Hobby Lobby, volunteering at church or with a civic organization, and you live in your car (thanks to a soul-crushing two-hour+ commute to & from your intown job).

THESE ARE HUGE STEREOTYPES OF COURSE, but for some reason, some folks get a kick out of them. If you *do* decide to make Atlanta your home, don’t think anyone’s gonna look down on you if you choose to live outside the perimeter. It’s not my choice, but you’d definitely be closer to Cosmo’s – and that’s a huge plus. :)

Another? Our two Loving Hut restaurants are located OTP! (Norcross & Kennesaw.) Do you know about Loving Hut, the worldwide vegan chain nurtured by the Supreme Master Ching Hai?

Reason 8.5: Loving Hut!

If not, all you basically need to know is that they make one of the best veggie burgers around:

I have dreams about this burger.

My stomach is tying itself in knots of longing over this picture. If only you weren’t so far away!

If you’re already an in-towner, make a Saturday trip to Cosmo’s and be sure to stop in at Loving Hut in Kennesaw for a burger. Think of it as a mini-vegan road-trip. Yum!

I’ve been doing a lot of daydreaming about sweets lately. It starts off innocently enough. When desire strikes, instead of heading to the kitchen to rummage for chocolate, I make a cup of tea & roam the internet looking at delicious vegan treats. (Vegan Etsy team members bakesalery & SweetVConfections are two recent drool-worthy favorites.) I invariably turn up at the confections section of Cosmos Vegan Shoppe which in turn inspires me to go see what brilliant vegan marshmallow* purveyors Sweet & Sara have been up to. Harmless fun.

Until… I cease with the casual observer act and start seriously envisioning how I might make the treats myownself. I’m not much of a baker or candy-maker, so I’m generally at a very low risk for trying these sorts of things. But today, I had some time on my hands & needed to distract myself from worrying about a big presentation on Thursday. Thus, vegan peanut butter s’mores pies were born.

I discovered that I still had a pack of Angel Food vegan marshmallow mix from an ancient Cosmo’s order. I had purchased two kits & when the first attempt yielded an extremely sticky kitchen & gummed-up hand mixer, I hid the second pack. Catching sight of the expiration date persuaded me to go ahead and make them today. (8 Sept edit: if you like the looks of these, don’t hesitate to order a kit (or 2) directly from Angel Food. Even coming from New Zealand, shipping is very reasonable & quick. And proprietress Alice is a truly lovely person to deal with! For those in the Richmond area, I’ll be doing a demonstration with Earlham Animal Advocates United soon, so stay tuned!)

And you know what? It wasn’t bad at all! I didn’t make a tragic mess or ruin any kitchen appliances. The first time I neglected mise en place, which turns out to be pretty important for some of the recipe’s rapid steps. (Mise en place: setting out, measuring & prepping all ingredients in their proper amounts ahead of time.)

A couple hours later, I made the lightly-flavored cookie base. I used Isa’s recipe for Graham Crackers with some very minor modifications. Furthermore, instead of rolling them out, scoring, and stabbing like real graham crackers, I used a glass to cut them into perfect little circles.

After the marshmallows had some time to cure, I turned them out of the pan:

And used a glass to make cut-outs.

I set one large marshmallow circle on each cookie.

Because the marshmallows set slightly irregularly, I smeared the peanut butter (mmmm vegan Smart Balance Rich Roast chunky) on the uneven side and then gently pressed it into the cookie, smooth side up. Like this:

Ah, that’s better.

All done!

I set all of the marshmallow towers on a drying rack so that when I dressed the completed creatures with chocolate it could just drip through onto the plastic wrap underneath it, rather than pooling.

On that note, I melted a bag of vegan chocolate with one tablespoon of vegan shortening in a makeshift double-boiler (metal pan over medium-sized pot of boiling water):

Using a large spoon I ladelled about two tablespoons of melted chocolate over each tower & used the spoon’s concavity to smooth out the edges & ensure even application.

Cross-section of the completely cooled treat…

…and my new best friend. Vegan peanut butter s’mores pies forever!

*Vegan marshmallows?! Why yes! That stuff most folks freak out over at campfires and in Rice Krispie treats is NOT suitable for vegetarians (& many people who follow religious dietary laws). Marshmallows are made with gelatin, a protein produced by partial hydrolysis of collagen extracted from the boiled bones, connective tissues, organs and some intestines of animals such as domesticated cattle, pigs, and horses. The natural molecular bonds between individual collagen strands are broken down into a form that rearranges more easily. Gelatin melts to a liquid when heated and solidifies when cooled again. Together with water, it forms a semi-solid colloid gel. Thanks, Wikipedia–ugh. I’ll stick with my vegan marshmallows, which use agar-agar (a sea plant) to set (available locally at Nature’s Nook.)

Friends,

Today was a challenging one, plain and simple. A tough time tutoring my precious first-grade Study Buddy, a big project at work, and two hours immersed in the wholly unfamiliar–new clothes shopping–made for a sleepy, headachey Adrienne come dinnertime. Appropriately, I chose make an easy meal of TVP tacos and guacamole for my partner and myself. Good choice, right?

Except it doesn’t stop there. I couldn’t bear the thought of letting the first day of VeganMoFo pass without trying something new, something daring, something unusually delicious. I’m supposed to be blogging about whatever the heck I’m doing, after all, so why not do something interesting? And so I decided, in the eleventh hour, to try out the Angel Food vegan marshmallow kit I purchased several weeks ago from Cosmo’s Vegan Shoppe.

I shan’t give a full report here–just know that even though it is for a different recipe, reading the Open Source marshmallow recipe before getting started is a great idea; that you’ll probably gum up whatever device you’re using to mix it, possibly rendering said device permanently unusable; that it may yield vastly less than you’d intended (and hoped!); and that, when all is said and done, your fingers and face may be so sticky that you consider making another batch on Halloween and just going as a marshmallow-fluff-covered-mess. Except that you actually won’t be able to make another batch, because you’ve just destroyed your kitchen in the process.