Thanksgiving/Thanksliving Recap

Non-vegans always ask me what vegans eat for Thanksgiving. My answer? SO, SO MUCH!

 

First let me give a shout-out to the best-dressed pooch at the holiday dinner: 89, who now has her own insta!! She's wearing a silver hoodie from Dog & Co, adorned with a Compassion Co. pin (gifted from Gone Pie) that says, "Give thanks for all life."

 

Since my family has the veganized Thanksgiving meal down to a science, I'll give you the complete breakdown for your records. But, first: let me note one important factoid... moments before we were about to sit down to dinner, I found this in my parents' kitchen cabinet.

Looks weird, right? A little too tropical for a fall holiday? Well, how about full of vegan, cruelty-free, Thanksgiving goodness?

 

I know; it's hard to believe you ever ate your Thanksgiving meal any other way. It's THE perfect plate- even if it could have used one extra compartment. 

So, let's break it down, shall we? In no particular order:

PPK chickpea cutlets- I know it's not called Post-Punk Kitchen anymore, but that's what it says on my printout from eons ago, and that's what it's gonna stay to me. I miss VM's breaded chicken cutlets with applesauce and this is a superior substitute! Make no mistake; you definitely want to use the double batch recipe (I've actually been known to quadruple batch). The double batch makes 8 and they're never as large as Isa recommends stretching them to. You'll want one every day you're eating those leftovers, with a few left over to eat in sammies.

 

VM's sweet corn stuffing: my mom has been using this recipe forever; she sometimes makes them as stuffing "balls" in cupcake trays and asks guests if they want gravy on their balls. That embarrassing anecdote notwithstanding, it's the best stuffing I've ever had and don't try to tell me otherwise.

 

VM's horseradish mashed potatoes: So, VM is one of those Italian cooks that doesn't read recipes or ever write anything down. She can't explain how to make 99.9% of her amazing dishes, but it's easier if she makes it for me anyway, so I ain't mad. I've watched her mash these suckers and eyeball the butter, almond milk, and horseradish proportions. I couldn't replicate it, but hers comes out amazing every time.

 

Isa's green bean casserole: I don't know when the green bean casserole was invented, but I do know that I can't quit it. If you've never had it, YOU ARE MISSING OUT! I am not in the habit of tweaking recipes, but I've made this so often that I've had the chance to perfect it to the tastebuds of my audience & that means the following:

• Use two pounds of fresh green beans instead of one, so there's proportionately more beans to liquid. Cut them in half at the onset, but don't bother boiling them if you don't mind them slightly al dente (and also want to skip having to wait for water to boil & then having to wash a pot and strainer).
• Use cream of leek soup instead of mushroom; this way it's not as shroomy.
• Use double the fried onions: double the mix in, double the topping. I use Trader Joe's brand because the ingredients are not icky.
• I use water instead of broth and no bouillon because I never have any.

 

Chloe Coscarelli's Brussel's sprouts: You might not think you need a recipe to roast Brussel Sprouts, but you'd be wrong. We sub chestnuts for hazelnuts and use swanky maple syrup, but neither are deal-breakers. Okay, deep breath. I'm not going to lie to you. VM burned the sprouts. Worse, she burned them last year as well. They were so glorious and then she forgot about them like they're not the most important part of the meal. It was a heartbreak (X2).

Also, creamed corn for color (per VM).

Baked sweet potatoes with marshmallows & cinnamon: This one isn't really tough to figure out. VM picks the long, skinny sweet potatoes because we like them like that (and, they also fit in the chopstick section of my tray that way). When they're hot, I stuff 'em with vegan marshies: minis are better, but I had these giant ones left from the summer when we never got around to making s'mores at a pool party. Sprinkle with cinnamon & voila! Note about the marshie's: I've been buying the Trader Joe's ones and they're pretty fab and extremely reasonably priced.

And, in case you were wondering, 89 got her own plate of goodness as well:

I am totally embarrassed to report that we had no room in our tummies to consume dessert on Thanksgiving night. So, we reconvened the next day for a repeat performance of dinner with leftovers:

it's appropriate to come to leftover dinner in your PJs

And we all saved plenty of room for this smorgasboard of Vegan Treats.

 

Dessert breakdown: VM & OD couldn't remember what this one was (they made the trip and chose everything), but I thought it was a pumpkin streusel donut with pumpkin Dandies, which 89 promptly ate. Top right: chocolate pecan pie, which was really delicious and FULL of pecans. Bottom left: traditional pecan pie, which for some reason I liked even better than the chocolate version. Bottom right: apple crumble pie, which I tasted to be polite and reminded myself that apples are only appropriate in sauce. Also cannolis and chocolate-covered cannolis. We'd also shared a pecan bun that morning. And I'd eaten VT pumpkin cheesecake softserve the night before. But. that's it (there may have also been cowboy cookies and jelly donuts).

89 got dessert as well, in the form of a pumpkin pie toy from Barkbox. This was her really excited about it.

And then this was her when she realized it wasn't really edible (but damn if those Barkbox toys aren't sturdy; it's still 100% intact).

Lest I forget to mention... per usual, we watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade on TV. This was my fave balloon this year: Grinch and Max!

 

One more autumnal snack to brag about before the next post, which is going to be about something else FAB-U-LOUS I ate on Thanksgiving!

This Parker's maple cotton candy is maybe the best cotton candy I've ever had- especially since I already love both cotton candy AND maple syrup. I got mine at Orchard Grocer! and they still have some left as of this weekend (you're welcome). I can't promise anything after I go again to refill my supply...

Hope your Thanksgiving was a good one and that you're ready for the holiday onslaught! In the meantime, 89 is waiting for more leftovers...

Bethlehem Vegfest 7 Highlights

Can you believe this was the 7th year of the Bethlehem Vegfest?

VM and I have attended every year, but you know what we just realized? 89 wasn't even born yet, let alone my beloved, when we went to the inaugural event. Can't imagine that we were wandering around sans muppet. In any event, we're old pros at this point.

Stopped off at Vegan Treats on the way in because we love them so and also because we wanted to bypass the inevitable line at the vegfest and at Vegan Treats after the vegfest. PROS, I TELL YOU!

Of course as soon as we got there, everyone was fawning all over 89. Naturally, she had to show off by posing with the goodies. If you've not yet been to their Bethlehem shoppe, you must go. Everything is so gorgeous; it's no wonder non-vegans drool over these vegan creations.

She got a little too comfortable. That's a lot of a long body to fit laying down on a stool!

VM and I took a seat with a platter of donuts that we duplicated for take home. The flavors: raspberry lemonade, turtle, bavarian cream, strawberry shortcake were all divine, per usual. Love, love, LOVE.

They were originally slated to have speculoos soft serve ice cream, but for some reason had hazelnut and chocolate swirled into nutella instead. Can't be mad at that!! VM and 89 both loved the hazelnut. Amateurs! Swirl is where it's at.

Loved this sign they had at the entrance. We must always stand up for what's right- even when it's uncomfortable or inconvenient. Especially then, in fact.

And then we were off to Vegfest. We entered by the speaker tent. If you zoom in, you'll see a pooch in the front row. 89 barks when people clap, so we try to be careful when we choose to listen in.

The speaker seemed to be doing a food demo and was cooking jackfruit; it was not a great smell, but obviously couldn't be helped. Unfortunately, what made it worse was that it was mingling with the moth ball odor that was coming from a clothing vendor a few booths down. That seemed avoidable- blech.

So, we hightailed it past and VM got a crush sangria from Franklin Hills vineyard, which I neglected to photograph because I was too busy with 89 meeting all the dogs.

Overall, we've given up on trying to find specific vendors; instead, we just walk the event from beginning to end so we don't miss anything.

We were happy to see a couple of new (to us and the fest) t-shirt vendors right away. We made a beeline to Redefine Your Mind because we loved the colors in their designs and their super soft, organic shirts. Also had such a nice time chatting with the people at the booth!

Then we got some produce from local Bechdolt's Orchard. It's funny how vegans are always bellyaching that vegfests don't showcase enough whole foods and then there's no line when they do...

Once again, Vegan Treats had an amazing tent: filled with cakes, cookies, donuts, cannolis, brownies, candy bars, and t-shirts. They even had adorable cat-adorned paper bags to make it easier for people to carry their haul around the rest of the fest, which was really cool. As someone who always has a tote bag with me, I can tell you with no uncertainty that my VT haul is consistently much too abundant for any normal tote bag. Per usual, the staff handled the unrelenting masses like pros. The line was constant, but moved steadily (I wasn't on it!).

We stopped by the Tamerlaine Farm Animal Sanctuary booth so I could finally get one of their punny (also roomy & sturdy) totes. Big enough for a dog named 89, likely too puny for an enormous haul of VT.

Then 89 and I sat for a caricature. VM made her this super rad shirt that says, quite clearly, "HELLO my name is 89." As you can see, her tag also says the same. So, can someone tell me why this was so confusing? Can't tell you how many people asked us:

• if she'd just been in a race
• if her name was 68

We really thought this shirt would be helpful, not make things more complicated. Get it together, vegans!

Here's 89's section of the caricature. You might notice that, while surely well-intentioned, it's not altogether flattering. This is why I'm not showing you the whole thing.

By then we'd worked up an appetite and it was time to hit the food "court." We sorely missed the Taza Truck, but it was nice to see so many new to us vendors.

That being said, we couldn't help ourselves from going to our favorites. Sue us; we're creatures of delicious habit.

We started off with these amazeballs bajacos (baja tacos) from our buds at Freakin' Vegan. "Baja-style Cali "fish" taco w crispy cauli, tri-color slaw w cilantro dressing" were served on a soft corn tortilla and they were outstanding. The cilantro didn't bother me (shocking) and I especially loved the fresh, chopped jalapeno.

I owed 89 more than a bite of my tacos since the Freakin Vegan crew graciously offered her some mac as soon as we'd arrived at the fest and I'd declined WITHOUT CONSULTING HER because it wasn't lunchtime yet. By the time we were ready to eat they were sold out and 89 was MAAAAAAD. Bites of cauliflower and purple cabbage helped to assuage her fury.

After that it was Snail time. I scarfed down my maple mustard tempeh sammie (with marinated kale, onion, tomato and roasted garlic aioli on grilled spelt bread) without getting a pic, but VM leisurely enjoyed her French lentil burger (with artichokes, carmelized onions, coconut bacon, marinated kale, and roasted garlic aioli on a grilled pretzel bun) after giving 89 a sniff (and some lentils). Later in the day, Ms. Snail asked VM what her favorite thing to eat at the event was. Guess what she said? Not pandering, just TRUTH.

After that we visited with friends and took one final spin around the event, where we got our annual Mompops before heading home. Rumor has it they may bring some adult varieties next year and we're already looking forward to that.

We are big fans of this event for a lot of reasons, none of which are new; I've stated it annually. Love that it's outside and pet-friendly. Love that it's free admission so that it draws a non-veg crowd. Love that they include sanctuaries and non-profits. Wish, however, that they'd expand their vegan take-home food and item offerings, as there are SO MANY!

For one, can V-dog please table? I was wearing this shirt and I can't tell you how many perplexed (and misinformed but adamant) people I encountered on the subject of vegan dogs. I'm sure you vegans out there won't be surprised to learn that just like every non-vegan becomes a nutritional expert when they find out you're vegan, so too do they become a canine nutritional expert when they find out your dog is vegan! Read up, peeps; it's 2017.

We've heard that the organizers of this event may not be taking full advantage of the area vegan community and I would like to implore them to tap in to actual local vegans in the know. Downtown Bethlehem Association, please reach out to them or put out a call! There are so many knowledgeable, talented people who would love to work towards making this event bigger and better in so many ways; use them as a resource to make a great event even better.

NJ Vegfest Vegan Pop-Up Shop, Asbury Park Edition

 

First, some backstory:
Last year I attended what I believe was NJ Vegfest's inaugural event in Morristown. My blogpost on the event was polarizing, to say the least, but the final update to the post was as follows:

UPDATE: Since this posted, the people behind NJ vegfest- Kendra specifically, have initiated and continued a dialogue, been extremely open to any criticisms and understanding of critique, as well as intent on vast improvement for future events. To say I am impressed by their kindness and openness is an understatement.

With their second large scale event under their belt (they also hold regular pop-ups in Morristown at The Laundromat), I'm happy to see that they are making impressive strides toward more spacious, organized, and affordable events. If the improvement between the fall 2016 event and this one is any indication, they are well on their way to solving the crowding/stock issues that seem to befall all veg events as of late. Congratulations for all you have accomplished in a very short time!

And, so...without further ado, onto the recap of my day at the NJ Vegfest Vegan Pop-Up Shop in Asbury Park.

We arrived about 15 minutes early for the event and had no problem finding parking right outside ($10/all day at the meter stands). In fairness, this ease may have been due to the overcast weather in the early morning.

Neither my friend or I had ever been to an event in the Asbury Park Convention Hall, so we were dumbly surprised to find that it was an actual show space. The best way I can describe it is that the vendors were set up in front of the stage in what would normally be floor seating. The stage (in back) was empty and the stadium seating, from where this photo was taken, allowed attendees plenty of options to rest/take a break/eat. There were a few picnic tables set up in the open space between the vendors and the stadium seating for those who couldn't or chose not to ascend the steps.

Admittedly, upon entry the event seemed small. NJ Vegfest had advertised ~50 vendors and, while I think only a couple were missing, when it was still early and the space was still relatively empty, it did appear to be a rather provincial showing. In fairness, I think this was due mainly to the layout of the arena.

Because we are vegan professionals, upon entry to the space we immediately made a beeline to:

If past events were any indication, we knew this would be the biggest draw and we wanted to get there first because I was under strict orders to bring home funnel cake donuts. We mistakenly thought that Vegan Treats having two booths meant they'd be at two locations in the space, but they actually had a double wide to hold all of their luscious treats- which made perfect sense.

I literally ran up to the table and immediately spied the booty. I excitedly flagged someone down (I'm not proud) for assistance and was all set to order a bazillion until...

I spied these black & white donut gems that I'd never seen before!

And then, I looked to my left, and it was a veritable vegan donut extravaganza. Heart palpitations commenced.

Even as a VT regular, I found it difficult to contain my excitement. But, I knew that I must because I was certain that the crowd forming behind me would grow impatient. So, I acquired my booty with relative decorum and breathed a sigh of relief as I walked off. That is, until I realized that in my excitement over the donuts, I'd missed the whole other half of the glorious booth: filled with cakes, cannolis, candy bars, brownies, and assorted GF specialties.

Mostly because there was a limit to how much I was willing to carry, I still felt okay about my haul. However, I was a bit sad to have missed these stunning Death by Chocolate cakes (the first VT cake I ever had and one of my favorites) made especially for Asbury Park. Killing it per usual, Danielle.

After that we headed over to Freakin' Vegan to start our day with our favorite broccoli cheese empanada. The lighting wasn't fantastic in this corner, so take a look at an interior shot from last week (yes, we stalk FV).

Satiated for the time being, we were able to make a quick pass through all the aisles to see what was on offer at the event.

Our friend, Gone Pie, came prepared with tons of her inventive & 100% gluten-free goods!

Brooklyn's Champ's Diner was representing in a double booth.

 

Red Bank's Good Karma Cafe was on hand with sammies, sweets, and a generous amount of staff. 

 

And Compassion Company had their stunning display of rad shirts, pins, stickers, hats, etc. at the ready. I picked up a few of their new magnets and I'm super excited for them not to be stolen off my car.

 

We decided next to snag some goodies from the Samosa Shack because their menu and staff were irresistible.

My pal ordered the Samosa Chaat: tofu tikka masala and potato pea samosa with roasted chickpeas, raita/yogurt sauce & chutneys.

 

I ordered the samosa & salad: potato pea samosa with Bhel Puri (Indian street food: puffed rice, potato, red onion, cilantro, tamarind chutney, PEANUTS!, chick pea crisps, turmeric) and Mini was super kind enough to put as little cilantro in my dish as humanly possible. THANK YOU! So very much appreciated.

We took our meals to the stadium seating, happy to have a destination. It was super cool to have someplace to sit with such a great view of the event- which had become considerably more packed in the hour or so since it had begun. The Vegan Treats line was our crowd barometer.

It was also enjoyable to be in a communal type seating area because you got to speak with or just overhear fellow attendees' conversations about veganism. There was a threesome behind us, in particular, that seemed to consist of 2 non-vegans and one vegan. We listened as they shared a Yeah Dawg and grilled their vegan friend on everything from faux meat, coconut bacon, and what makes some beer/wine not vegan. She was a champ!

I found it really exciting that these (and likely many more) non-vegans would attend an event like this and I would venture to guess that it was due in no small part to the fact that tickets were so reasonably priced. Yay for vegan-curious and new vegans! It made me wonder if it might be useful to have an "Ask a Vegan" booth at these types of events? The first time I ever saw such a thing was in NY, but I hear it's taken off elsewhere. Just seems like a really inviting, non-judgemental option since not everyone has a vegan friend. I believe the Animal Protection League of NJ was on hand doing a bit of this outreach impromptu, so I'd bet it would be even more popular if it was marketed as a live "ask me anything." Just a thought.

After we ate, I pretended I was PostMates and picked up lunch for some pals who were vending.

Ribs & potato salad from Green Mustache were very popular and well-received.

The marinara meatballs from Nature Has Flavor were a huge hit as well.

Then we ducked out for an hour or so to walk the boardwalk. It was nice to see that a lot of the area businesses were offering vegan options. So glad that they'd stamped our wrists upon initial entry; it made it very efficient to exit and re-enter the event.

 

By the time we returned at about 1:30pm, it was PACKED!! Look at the difference from the shot above and check out this video of the Vegan Treats line winding around half of the venue.

Samosa Shack had a long line.

Yeah Dawg was working their mob like pros.

And our pal, The Fanciful Fox, remained effervescent with everyone that came her way even though she didn't have a chance to take a moment's break.

One thing I'd like to point out to any vendors reading: PLEASE! You need a tall sign like this so that people can find you and know what you're about. Table and/or tabletop signs/menus are too easily obscured by crowds and just add to the frenzy.

I picked up these chocolate-covered pretzels and potato chips from Chocolate Calling for VM; she loves them both and, when I couldn't decide between the two, I was super-impressed that there was a mixed bag option. Very smart!                                   

If there was one thing that was lacking from this event, I'd say more non-prepared, take home food. We'd come with a tote bag and a cooler, but left with very little to put in it. Most of the food seemed to be for immediate consumption, which is great, but it's also nice to find new products to bring home to try in the days that follow. There's only so much you can consume in a few hours, try though I may to stretch it to the limit. Specifically, could have really used a vegan cheese vendor (VegNature, Cheezehound, That's Cheezy) because who doesn't love cheese? Or just a vegan grocery/snack vendor in general (Orchard Grocer, V Marks the Shop). Interspersing these kind of vendors whose packaged products can be sold with quick turnover would also possibly help with the long lines for prepared food that were melding into one another.

At around 2:00pm I started noticing some vendors who were completely or almost entirely sold out. Champ's was the first down, then Self Love- who put up a really sweet sign to that effect.

 Curiously, local Cookman Creamery didn't appear to be have restocked at any point.

While it truly is a shame when vendors sell out relatively early during an event, it was nice to see the boost it gave to newer/lesser known vendors with less name recognition. I know that bringing enough without bringing too much is a delicate equation to solve, but I think we can pretty much assume that vegan events are uber popular; vendors should err on the side of generous!

On the way out I stopped in a nearby shop and picked up this appropriate gem.

And then I packed up my stash and headed home.

Once home, my family promptly stuffed their Vegan Treats into their faces and everyone was happy.

In my opinion, this event was a raging success. Was it perfect? It couldn't possibly ever be. Was it an improvement from the last event? Unequivocally. Sure, it was extremely crowded. No one likes to wait in line, let alone line after line. But, in all honesty, the line/stock issues that affected this event are no different than what was experienced at the recent Vegan Street Fair and has plagued the NYC Vegfest for years. Not to say there can't be improvements. But, the bottom line is, veganism is popular. These events will get larger and larger until the world is vegan and events for non-vegans grow smaller and smaller. I'm glad the team behind NJ Vegfest, the vendors, and attendees are working towards this goal.