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.

Eggplant Milanesa Torta and More!

Howdy howdy, y'all!  With grilling season all up in herre, we decided to get our cook on for the long weekend.  Today's menu includes tortas, cucumber salad, grilled corn, and grilled pound cake.

Tortas are a Mexican sandwich that can be filled with pretty much anything.  Usually, you've got your main protein and fill the sandwich up with great things like refried beans, onions, avocado, tomato, lettuce, salsa, etc.  This eggplant milanesa variety is one I've been making for awhile, and it's definitely my favorite!  Milanesa is just a thinly sliced piece of protein that has been breaded and fried.  The eggplant works wonderfully here because it gets a super crunchy outside but stays chewy in the middle.

torta insides

Eggplant Milanesa Torta
(serves 4)

The key to getting crispy eggplant is to dredge lightly.  There should only be a thin coating of the starch mixture and a quick dip in the non-dairy milk.  Use your fingers to sprinkle the bread crumbs onto each side.  If you can’t find bolillos or teleras, feel free to use small hoagie rolls or mini baguettes.

¾ lb eggplant
⅓ cup potato starch or cornstarch
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp ancho chile powder
1 tsp fine sea salt, more or less to taste
½ tsp cracked black pepper
⅓ cup unsweetened non-dairy milk
1 cup Panko bread crumbs

4 bolillo or telera rolls
thinly sliced tomatoes
shredded romaine or iceberg lettuce
2 small avocados, thinly sliced
½ small red onion, thinly sliced into half moons
1 recipe Chipotle Chile Limon Mayo

Remove the top and bottom from the eggplant.  Thinly slice lengthwise into 8 pieces.  Salt each slice and place in a colander or on a cooling rack.  Set aside for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 425 degrees.  Get three shallow bowls together for your breading station.  Add the potato starch, cumin, ancho chile powder, sea salt, and black pepper to the first bowl.  Add the non-dairy milk to the second bowl.  Add the bread crumbs to the third bowl.

Rinse the eggplant with plenty of cold water and drain.  Use a towel to pat them dry.  Dip each piece in the potato starch mixture, then into the milk, and finally into the Panko.  Add them to a greased cookie sheet.  Spray the tops with nonstick spray, and bake for 15 minutes.  Remove from the oven, flip, give another spray of oil, and return to the oven for 15 more minutes.

To assemble a sandwich, spread the mayo onto each half of the bolillo.  Add avocado, tomato, onion, and lettuce to the top bun.  Add 2 slices of eggplant milanesa to the bottom bun.  Close the sandwich and enjoy!

closer look at the eggplant

The chipotle chile limon mayo is really good, and we also love it slathered on our grilled corn. This mayo really can be as spicy or non spicy as you like. To make the chipotle puree, just empty a can of chipotles in adobo into a small bowl and use an immersion blender to puree (you may want to seed them if you aren't a fan of spicy things). Store in a clean glass jar in the fridge.

delicious corn

Chipotle Chile Limon Mayo
(makes about ¾ cup)

½ cup vegan mayonnaise

2 ½ Tbsp chipotle puree, more or less to taste (see above)

zest and juice of 1 small lime

Mix everything in a small bowl.  Chill until ready to use.

grilled pound cake!  with strawberries!  and rad whip!

For the pound cake, I just used the Vcon recipe. I did a thin layer of margarine on both sides of each slice, and placed it on the bbq grill. I had to finish them in a grill pan, though, because it was taking way too long outside. The pound cake was soooo ridiculously good! Seriously.

Wishing all of y'all a Happy 4th of July!!! Whatcha making?