Never Too Late for a Portland Update

Yes.  I know Vida Vegan Con has been over for about 2 weeks now.  This update is way later than intended because life has been extremely busy over here with school.  Also, my pics aren't the greatest because I forgot my camera almost all the time (3 out of the 4 days).  But some fun was had.  Oh, yes!  So about Portland...

THURSDAY: WELCOME TO PORTLAND
I arrived from a fairly bumpy flight, got shuttled to the rental car place, and had to endure the slooooowest service I've ever had...ever.  About an hour after I landed, I finally started driving to my friend's (Rich) house.  Only I got lost.  Like, 40 minutes lost.  When I finally reached Rich's house, we walked over to Hungry Tiger Too where a bunch of conference goers were meeting up.  We arrived to find almost everybody gone, but I got to meet Steffers, Louzilla, and Joni!  Fun times!  I ordered the BLTease and some sweet potato fries.  The sandwich was a'ight.  Nothing grand.  But those fries were incredibly bomb.  I loves 'em!

Afterwards, Rich and I went to his neighborhood farmers market.  I was wandering around and discovered Missionary Chocolates.  They were giving away free samples on just about everything!  I ended up buying three truffles: meyer lemon, vanilla salted caramel, and ginger.  They were fantastic!  So damn good.  I also picked up some golden raspberries.  Mmm.

Next, we took the short drive to Vendetta for the unofficial meet and greet.  First of all, I was totally overwhelmed.  That place got packed with so much vegan goodness, I had to down some beer to take it all in.  Errbody was talking and having a great time.  I couldn't even begin to list everybody I met.  Rich and I left a little early.

Panda cookie!

Here's where things got epic.  Rich lives right down the street from a food cart pod.  We walked over, and I realized I was at Potato Champion!  I ordered the vegan poutine and a pineapple basil juice.  Poutine is a salty, gravy filled, potato orgy of awesome!  And the juice was really refreshing after a day of mostly potatoes and beer.  Then, I turned around and realized I was sitting in front of Whiffie's Fried Pies!  Rich and I noticed that they had a vegan mounds pie (choco-coconut), and we both dug super deep to make room for it.  Words cannot express how amazing that pie was!  It had a perfectly flaky crust with this thick, creamy coconut pudding inside.  There was flaked coconut in the pudding and a nice chocolate sauce inside.  I highly recommend it!

And that was my first day in Portland.  How crazy is that?!

FRIDAY: MEETING KITTEE, AMEY, AND THE LADYBROS
Friday morning I said goodbye to Rich and headed over to Kittee's to work on the game show.  Can I just say how much I heart that woman?  She is amazing.  We spent a little while prepping, then headed out to Native Bowl.  Erika and Jordan showed up, and we chatted while waiting for Amey.  I also met Luciana, Lisa, and Gabrielle.  When Amey finally arrived, five of us piled into Kittee's car and headed back to her house.  Amey, Kittee, and I pretty much worked on the game show and got the prizes together before registration.

Things went pretty fast from there.  I registered, picked up my swag bag, and got into my dorm.  The bags were HUGE.  Filled with coupons, books, peppermills, cookies, bars, snacks, and so much more.  Plus, the dorms had an extra toiletry gift bag with soaps, toothpaste, condoms, etc.  I quickly changed and met up with Ben before heading over to the reception.

The reception was fabulous!  I met Chris and Crystal finally.  Adorbs.  I also drank much champagne and tried my hardest to look elegant while eating a cupcake.  Mission: impossible.  I also met my Texan peoples.  Kristen, Molly, and Stephanie.  It was awesome, to say the least.  Oh, and I also met my roommate for the weekend, Jen!  It was a really great time.

VVC breakfasts: pancakes, fruit, yogurt, biscuit, potatoes, gravy, scramble

After getting my cupcake on, I went with a huge group to Vita Cafe.  Let's see if I remember everybody.  John, Kelly, Lou, Isa, Terry, Erika, Jordan, Luciana, FootFace, Lauren, and two of the sweetest Canadians (Lisa and Nicole) I ever did meet.  Anyway, I had the vegan club sandwich, some fries, and a salad.  Here's the thing...the salad and fries were HUGE!  All I could manage to eat was a few bites of each and half a sandwich.  Let me tell you about that club.  It was seriously the best sandwich I've ever had in my life!  So damn good.

Afterwards, I took a cab back to the hotel with Luciana, Lisa, and Nicole.  The girls refused to let me walk back to the dorms by myself.  It was terribly sweet.

SATURDAY: GET YER DANCE ON
Saturday was so damn stressful for me.  I headed to breakfast, and then it was non-stop action until the game show.  Kittee, Amey, and I were figuring out the logistics and order so that things would run smoothly.  I feel like it was a great success.  It was so fun to be apart of something so different.  Plus, everybody left with some sort of prize.  And on top of that, the teams took that ish seriously!

After the battle royale, I ate lunch and chilled out before getting ready for the Galarama.  My ultimate goal was to get there early because the lines for everything at VVC had reached legendary status.  So, I put on my outfit and got myself to the Gala.  There was so much food.  SO. MUCH. FOOD.  Pizza, burgers, wraps, spring rolls, chikn tenders, sundae bar, and some dranky drank.

My absolute favorite part was hanging with my dance floor bestie, Lauren.  The PPK straight owned that dance floor.  All I have is this really lame pic that doesn't quite capture the essence of the dance circle.  And I'm still mad at myself for not starting a Soul Train line.

can you spot the PPKers?

When the Gala ended (way too early), I went with Luciana to Food Fight for Upton's pop up sandwich shop.   I had the second best sandwich of my life there: chicken seitan, grilled eggplant, chipotle aioli on a delightful focaccia.   So good!  Then this lady randomly pulls up in an ice cream truck and offers us samples of coconut lemon saffron ice cream.  BEST. THING. EVER.  And the weird thing is that she had never, ever stopped her truck there before.  This is why I love Portland.

SUNDAY: WINDING DOWN, HEADING HOME
Sunday was much more relaxing.  I was a little bummed that everything was coming to an end, though.  I did get to catch some really great talks.  In the morning, Lidiana and I did our budget talk.  We were worried about not having enough material, but we really owned it.  We even learned some stuff from the audience.  The amazing Joanna told me about freezers being more efficient when packed to capacity.  I did not know that!

Afterwards, I caught Terry's talk.  She was hilarious and nerdy as ever!  I also went to the Publishing Panel.  Everybody was lovely there.  I found it really refreshing that nobody tried to sugarcoat it.  They made writing and publishing very real to people.  The last thing I saw before heading back home was the Opinionated Bloggers.  For me, PPKers stole the show.  Footface was charming and out-of-this-world hilarious.  And Jordan was brutally honest and insightful.

I didn't really get to say goodbye because I had to haul ass to the airport.  But I did want to say that this was one of the best experiences of my life.  I can't wait to go back in 2013.  And I will be there whether I'm a speaker or not.  There are so many places I didn't get to see and so many people I didn't spend enough time with.  Portland, I kinda freaking love you!

Until we meet again...

Attack of the Killer Summer

Well, it's official.  Monday marks the end of summer for me, as I am going back to school for the first time in several years.  No worries, though.  This summer is ending with a bang.  Starting tomorrow, I will spend 4 food-fueled days in Portland getting my Vida Vegan Con on!  Expect a ridiculous amount of blogs and hopefully some funny stories.

I'm doing two classes this year.  First up is Vegan Battle Royale with Kittee and Amey.  I cannot even begin to tell you how stoked I am to do something like this with these two ladies!  It has been such a blast coming up with the many intricate aspects of this game.  Seriously...get your booty to our classroom on August 27th at 12:20PM in Coos Bay.

We will have two teams battle it out for the ultimate in vegan PWNAGE!  Plus, there are prizes for every member of the audience.  They range from homemade gluten free goodies to super phat gift certificates.  And check out how adorable our logo is (drawn by Amey!!!):

Does it get any more awesome?!

If you still aren't convinced, just go ahead and check out the blog post on the VVC website.  Peep game.

My second class will be with the wonderful Lidiana from The Spicy Vegan.  We are putting together a wonderful talk on Budgeting and Meal Planning.  The class will touch on grocery budgeting, entertaining on a budget, and learning how to meal plan like a pro!

So, if your hero is George Costanza you might just want to check us out.  We promise to give you tips you've probably never heard of before.  Come see us on Sunday, August 28th at 9:40AM in Coos Bay.  And I'll leave you with a budget-friendly top 5 list...

Top 5 Favorite Broke Ass Meals

1. Pancakes-If you keep a pantry stocked with flour, pancakes are incredibly cheap to make at home.  Should you run out of non dairy milk, try using water thickened with a bit of applesauce.  It gives a nice fruity flavor.
2. Beans and Rice-The most vegan meal on the planet.  There's a reason why so many cultures have these as staples.  It's cheap.  Buy dried beans and rice in bulk to save even more money!
3. Soup-It can include practically anything.  Throw in some root vegetables and some greens...you're golden!
4. Haluski-I only discovered this meal within the past year or so while watching Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives.  It's super simple.  Cabbage and onions sauteed in oil.  Add pasta and the optional fake bacon.  Salt and pepper to taste.  It will change your life, yo.
5. Potatoes-Hopefully, you're eating more than just taters.  However, they are super cheap and really filling.  Plus, they can be transformed into pretty much anything.  Baked potatoes, fries, salad, mashed, etc.

Vida Vegan Con Excitement and Palm Greens Cafe

I don't know about y'all, but I am getting so freakin' excited about Vida Vegan Con.  Almost two weeks ago, speakers got some more information about our designated topics.  So, I'm going to be doing a budgeting/meal planning class with the loverly Melody and Lidiana.  I also get to do a writer's block workshop with Kittee, Amey, and somebody named Isa.  Awesome sauce!  You can read all about the classes, panels, and workshops  here.  I can't wait!

Anyway, this spring has been really beautiful so far.  I think we have a few more weeks of gorgeous weather before it just becomes miserable.  The weekend before last, we were feeling lazy and adventurous so we decided to go to a local place called the Palm Greens Cafe.  I was really excited to try something outside of Native Foods.

When we walked in, I immediately fell in love with the atmosphere.  Big booths, colorful art, and dim lighting.  I like to feel like I'm eating in my own little zone and so many restaurants out here just don't feel like that to me.  I ended up getting the Salad Sampler and Era got the Falafel Wrap.  It's weird that I ordered a salad at a restaurant because I don't like to order stuff I can make myself.  But this salad is the most genius idea ever: take a bed of greens and cover them with every salad you make!  AWESOME!

salad sampler

The salad had cucumber, carrots, shredded beets, tomato, cous cous salad, seaweed salad, sweet potato salad, regular potato salad, tahini noodle salad, sunflower tuna salad, hummus, tofu egg salad, and tofu curry chikn salad.  I had mine with ranch, and it was good.  Best: hummus, tofu egg salad, and tofu curry chikn salad.  Worst: cous cous salad and seaweed salad were incredibly bland.  Overall, I loved it!  My only regret is being so involved with my salad that I forgot to try a bite and take a pic of Era's wrap.

Oh, and I also ordered a gluten free brownie.  I really wish I would have tried one that was freshly made (we got there right before closing) because the brownie was good, but I bet it would've been great!  It was this perfect combo between cakey and fudgy.  I can't even really explain it.  So super good!

gf brownie with choc chips and walnuts

I think I'd definitely go to Palm Greens Cafe again.  I'm trying to go to more places around the desert.  I feel like we stay way too much in our comfort zone.  We even found a really cool thrift store next door to the cafe!

Well, that's all for now.  Next entry I'll finally upload pics for the final week of the cookbook challenge and show some tester photos for the books I'm testing for right now.

Vida Vegan Con and Mo' MoFo

If you haven't already heard about Vida Vegan Con, you must get in the know!  It's the first ever vegan blogger conference, and it's going to be held in Portland next August.  I've been super frickin stoked about this ever since I heard about it several weeks ago.  Not only am I excited that I'll get to meet some of my PPKrushes, the thought of a vegan blogging conference fills my nerdy heart with such joy.  On top of that, I received an invitation to be a speaker!  Seriously...I scared Era with all the SQUEEing.

Now, registration is supposed to start soon.  There will be a ton of stuff going on during the conference.  Speakers, demos, workshops, panels, food, and so much more.  I'm crossing my fingers that Portland throws one of their awesome vegan proms for this!  I've been saying I'd straight school some fools with my robot for years now.  Haha.  So if you are interested in going, check out the website.  Plus, there is also a scholarship opportunity.  Winning a scholarship would award you FREE registration!  Check out all the details here.  Also, be sure to add the banner to your blog because vegan word of mouth (or blog) is where it's at!

Now to switch gears a little bit, I have MoFo on the mind lately.  Throughout the year, if I thought of something that seemed interesting for a theme I wrote it down.  My list is becoming super huge, and I probably won't get to some of what's on it.  As per usual, I am not having a monthly theme.  I've broken it down into several themes and will probably not even know what I'm doing until the week before I do it.

So far these are my ideas:

Bowls-Never really encountered these before California.  It's a meal involving a starch, vegetables, protein, and a sauce or two.  Thinking about doing different ones because bowls are just freaking awesome.

Playing with Food-This involves weird, involved, often hysterical food related projects.  Examples include: haunted gingerbread houses, veganizing omni monstrosities, and baking weird things inside of a cake.  Oh, and Ladies Brunch Hot Dog Rollups:

the ghost of MoFo past

E.A.T. World-River's blog challenge that involves making cuisine from around the world.  I'm finding it hard to narrow down the countries.  This will be seriously fun!

Holidays-It's that time of year, and there are so many traditions I'd like to celebrate.  And nothing brings a celebration together like food!

Dinner and a Movie-I've only got one movie picked so far (Serenity), but I am really looking forward to doing this again.

Cooking the Books-Always taking my cookbook collection for granted, I figure this is a great way to make recipes I have never made before.

Those are the major ones.  Other ideas include: cocktails, raw food on a budget, fair food (deep fried beer anyone?), and a cheesecake party.  Okay, a cheesecake party isn't really a theme.  However, I have officially become obsessed with finding the best vegan pumpkin cheesecake and decided a tasting is absolutely essential!  Why isn't it November yet?

Tomorrow, I'm doing a second Thanksgiving trial.  Look for details on that later this week.  For now, I'm gonna sip some iced tea, listen to Amy Winehouse, and get a few more MoFo details worked out.  More to come soon...