I went to Vida Vegan Con in Portland

I've taken a few days to digest (both literally and figuratively) the weekend of Vida Vegan Con. It's almost too much to write about coherently — so many experiences jammed into so short a time — that I may just opt for one review post, and a post to highlight a few of the samples from the mind-boggling number of vegan items I tried. You really just have to go yourself next year because it's too hard to encapsulate and share with mere words. Just go.

VVC officially began on Friday morning, but there was a meet and greet Thursday night that we missed. My husband and I took the train from Seattle to Portland and arrived Thursday evening in time to check into our hotel and find a place for dinner, but too late for the meet and greet and movie. After the exciting hubbub of last year's venue where everyone stayed in the same place, the small, empty hotel lobby area seemed strangely quiet and devoid of vegans when we arrived. Most likely, all the early arrivers were still at the film or headed out to dinner. We were hungry and took Kittee's advice to eat at the wonderful Bette-Lukas Ethiopian restaurant. Every item on the plate (pictured above) was so delicious I wanted to eat all our meals there, but of course that couldn't happen.

The next morning we left the hotel to walk to Prasad Cafe for a late breakfast and were almost there when I realized I'd left my phone charging back in the room, so we turned around and walked back to the hotel to retrieve it. I didn't think we had enough time to go back to the cafe and then to the Art Museum conference site, so we headed directly to the conference to check in. We were each handed a huge, heavy bag of swag, and after realizing that I'd miscalculated the time, we headed back to the hotel again to leave the bag in the room. There was a full-sized box of Erewhon supergrains buckwheat and hemp organic gluten-free cereal in the collection of samples so I had a little impromptu breakfast before heading back to the art museum. Once there, we tasted our way around the vendor sample tables, and it was clear that there would be no hunger at the conference. We gathered yet more swag and slurped everything from ice cream to chocolate-peanut butter to kale chips. I have a little confession to make. During the VVC weekend I believe I ate my weight in ice cream and cake.

Stuffed in spite of not officially making it out to breakfast, we went to our first session — Blog Writing as Writing: Take Your Blog to the Next Level presented by Gena Hamshaw from Choosing Raw. If you read Gena's blog you know how articulate she is, and her ideas and suggestions for improving blog narratives were insightful and enriching. Next I attended a session on Monetizing Your Blog offered by Nava Atlas and Susan Voisin. I've never been particularly good at monetizing anything, so listening to two successful women who are earning a living from their blogs (and other related activities) was inspiring. I've always had mixed feelings about monetizing my blog but the way they explained it made a lot of sense. For example, if someone uses an Amazon link on your blog to make a purchase, they encounter no extra charges or other inconvenience — it just means that Amazon is forced to share a small amount of their profit with you instead of keeping it all. Susan always goes though a blog link to make purchases so a fellow blogger benefits. I like that idea.

My third session was Why and How to Expand Your Message to Include Animal Rights, offered by Jasmin Singer and Mariann Sullivan. These two dynamos are so good at what they do even an animal-hating crud who wouldn't spend a second of chew-time pondering the miserable life and sad death of his lunch would find himself heading to the nearest vegan restaurant before he knew what had hit him. Did you know that 1,000,000 animals are killed for food per hour in the U.S.? Seriously. Check them out.

At 5 we attended a welcome address and a reception sponsored by Veggie Grill. I had a small plate of tasty gluten-free kale salad and my husband had kale salad and whatever you see on the plate to the left. He said it was delicious. After the reception we headed back to the hotel for rest, meditation and to get ready for dinner for 12 at Blossoming Lotus.

Remember my ice cream and cake confession? A friend of mine whose goal seemed to be to visit every vegan bakery in Portland while I was dutifully attending sessions, kept bringing me back cake presents. I only meant to taste the chocolate cake a little before dinner but damn, I ate the whole thing. As you can imagine, I wasn't starving at dinner even though we were eating kind of late, and this turned out to be a good thing.

Usually at Blossoming Lotus I always order the Crispy Thai BBQ Salad but I was kind of forcing myself to try something different, so I ordered a special — a live green curry. It was very beautiful, and the veggies were crisp and fresh, but it was mostly air, and the sauce was almost too rich and spicy for me. I wasn't very hungry so it was enough food, but I probably wouldn't order it again. I know it looks big in the photo, but like I said, lots of air.

I'd order this — the Thai Barbecue Salad that Bethany got. (She always orders it.) Or the Channa Masala. Let me see if I can remember who we had dinner with.

It was so dark in the restaurant that taking photos was a challenge so I only managed a couple. From left to right we have the From A to Vegan duo, Mauro and Lydia; my husband; Tofu Mom, Marti; and Bethany from Spotted Devil Cat. Not in the photos are Bethany's husband Andy, Marti's friend Shaun, Dan from The Gay Vegans; Howard Jacobson, co-author with T. Colin Campbell of "Whole: Rethinking the Science of Nutrition;" two Seattle bloggers, Molly and Megan, and of course, me.

Saturday started with a Portland Vegan Breakfast Showcase sponsored by several revered Portland restaurants. I ate something wonderful and savory — nutloaf with pesto-tofu scramble and Hollandaise sauce — that I believe came from A.N.D. Cafe. I guess I ate it without thinking about photographing it. I must have really been slacking or really hungry.  We were with Dan, Lydia and Mauro — I remember them telling me about a fabulous Portobello quiche that was already gone when we got there, and I told them to get the little square of coffee cake, but I can't remember the bakery. Oh well.

After breakfast I tried to get into Fran Costigan's class but it was full. The first Saturday session I attended was Privacy Lines and Oversharing presented by Sayward Rebhal, Dreena Burton, Joanna Vaught and Susan Voisin. The panelists were quite different in their personal blog privacy rules, and the discussion gave me much to think about. In fact, as soon as I got home I changed the photos in my last post, and will consider more carefully what I post in the future. Maybe. Then it was time for lunch, and once again I forgot to take photos. After lunch was the fabulous Vegan Battle Royale hosted by Amey, Kittee and Mo. Two teams and numerous members of the audience tested their food and blog trivia knowledge for stacks of prizes. Hilarious!

My husband and I played hooky for a little bit and walked to the Chinese Garden. It had finally stopped raining, the sun was shining and we wanted some fresh air. It was peaceful and beautiful.

Anyone know what any of these plants are?

When we returned to the conference I attended a very lively and creative presentation by Cadry called Incorporating Your Other Creative Talents into Your Blog. It was the perfect way to end the day's sessions on a high note.

Saturday night was the Galarama — a dress-up (or not) party and silent auction. (The auction raised $4,000 for the Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest) The venue was kind of outdoors but under a roof and even though I got dressed up, I didn't ever get my coat off. I must have talked too much, too, because the next morning I woke up hoarse, but the evening was a lot of fun. Here I am with Cadry and Dreena.

Amey took a one-handed self-pic of us that turned out great so I tried to do it too, with her tutoring. As you can see, I'm not so good at the selfie thing, but after trying multiple times since I got home, I have to conclude it's not due to a lack of skill, but a lack of arm length. Amey is supposed to send me her version and when she does, I'll share it.

I apologize for posting this photo but by the time I remembered to take a picture of the gorgeous cheese platter created by Miyoko Schinner, this is what it looked like. Turn a huge roomful of vegans loose near a board of Artisan Vegan Cheese and what can you expect? Still, you can imagine it in its earlier glory, can't you? Can you? Sorry, sorry. Miyoko told me that the cheeses she served at the Galarama aren't in her book. She's constantly experimenting and her refrigerator is always filled with new cheeses.

So Delicious provided sundaes to top off the evening, and shortly after is where I really went astray. As we were leaving, one of the So Delicious people was standing next to a small mountain of leftover ice cream cartons and she asked me if I had a freezer and if I wanted one. Did we have a freezer in our little hotel fridge? I had no idea but I took a pint anyway.

After a bit of a cab snafu, we finally arrived at the hotel and no, there was no freezer, so instead of wasting good ice cream, I ate half a pint — maybe more. Probably more. My husband ate a little too. I thought I wouldn't be able to eat ice cream again for a long time, but of course I was wrong ... (to be continued.)

Chinese dinner | Spinach and tofu soup | Cold Chinese Noodles | Blurb

We spent about five weeks in July and August visiting our "real" home in Madison, Wisconsin, and my posts from July and August about traveling, doing upkeep on our house and garden, and spending time catching up with friends — usually while enjoying food — are continuing into September. I still have some territory to cover, but got sidetracked by an unexpected, all-consuming project that I'll mention later. Anyway, no diary about our summer would be complete without a story about the special dinner cooked for us by one of my husband's graduate students. To be accurate, I'd have to say, "former graduate student," because Katrina successfully defended her dissertation this week and is now a PhD.

To call the meal a "dinner," is like calling a Bengal tiger a "kitty." It was more like a banquet. Every dish was gorgeous and delicious. Katrina is an accomplished cook and gracious hostess. I had forgotten my camera, but we live only a few minutes from Katrina, and my husband went home to get it. I'm so glad he did.

Here she is preparing the spinach soup with tofu. Like all good cooks, she carefully tastes and seasons her creations. She spooned some soup into a bowl and tasted it before deciding it was perfect.

Below, you can see the amazing, colorful variety of dishes Katrina prepared.

Squash.

Zucchini with peppers

Broiled tofu

Noodles with garlic and nori

Mushrooms

Asparagus and peppers

Fruit platter

Our hostess and one of her happy guests.

I'm including recipes for two of the dishes. One has appeared on the blog before, but it's such a favorite of ours I've decided to reprise it here. The other recipe is for the soup. It is a very light and simple soup, but very delicious — perfect as the first course of a complex meal. It only takes minutes to prepare.

Katrina's cold Chinese noodles

• 8 ounces spaghetti (I used Ancient Harvest quinoa pasta but Katrina used whole wheat spaghetti.)
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon tamari or soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon Chinese black vinegar (or brown rice vinegar)
• 1/2 teaspoon red chili sauce (sambal oelek)
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 inch fresh ginger root, cut fine (about 1 tablespoon)
• 1 large clove garlic, minced very fine
• few grinds black pepper
• 1 sheet seasoned or plain toasted nori, cut with scissors into small rectangles
• chopped cilantro, optional
  

1. Cook the spaghetti according to package directions al dente. When cooked, drain and rinse under cold running water to cool quickly. Drain noodles again and place in a bowl.
2. Add the oil and toss to coat the noodles.
3. Add vinegar, tamari, chili, garlic, ginger, sugar and pepper, and mix well.
4. Just before serving, add the nori. Mix some in and transfer the noodles to a serving bowl. Arrange the remaining nori over the top of the noodles.
5. Optional: Sprinkle with chopped cilantro.

Makes four servings as a side dish.

Spinach soup with ginger and tofu

• 2 tablespoons finely minced or grated fresh ginger
• 1 to 2 tablespoons oil, as you prefer
  
• 6 cups water
• 12 to 14 ounces soft tofu, cubed
• 2 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
• 5 ounces fresh baby spinach, washed
• salt and fresh ground pepper

1. Sauté the ginger in the oil for a minute or two in a four quart pot. I grated my ginger on a microplane grater so it was very fine.
2. Add the water and the tofu and bring to a boil. Boil the tofu for several minutes.
3. Turn the heat to simmer and add the tamari.
4. Stir in the spinach to wilt.
5. Season to taste with salt and pepper. I ground both pink salt and mixed peppercorns. A few grinds was all it took to bring out the flavor.

Some variations:
Sauté minced garlic with the ginger.
Add grated or match stick carrots with the tofu.
Add sliced scallions just before serving.
Use low-sodium vegetable stock instead of water.
Make miso broth to use instead of water.

........................................................................................................

Blurb
I mentioned an intense project I worked on this past week that kept me from blogging or even reading blogs. Actually it kept me from sleeping and eating regularly, too. My son attended a conference this summer that was partially sponsored by Blurb, an online Web site where you can make your own photo books. They gave each participant coupons worth a substantial amount of money to put toward making a personal book, and to give away, and my son gave one to me. He pulled his baby blog into a fantastic photo album chronicling the first two years of his daughter's life, and suggested I use my blog to make a cookbook. Well, that was in July, and we were in Wisconsin enjoying the summer. Plus, I didn't have my computer with my photo-editing software, or my original photos. The photos on the blog have all been made too small to print well. So, I just blew off the coupon. Then, four days before the coupon expired, I suddenly realized I wanted to make the book, and went slightly berserk, laying it out and finding and processing the photos. I was up until 2 a.m. several nights in a row, trying to complete a task that seemed impossible. I thought the deadline, September 1, was Tuesday, and having finished the book by 8 p.m., I frantically tried to send in my book before midnight, but the upload kept getting interrupted. I tried everything I could think of, to no avail. Then I learned that September 1 was actually Wednesday, and I went to bed, exhausted. The next day, the actual September 1, after fruitless exchanges with the Blurb tech people, at my son's suggestion I re-installed the Blurb software and the book finally went through. Now I'm waiting to see what it looks like, and how many typos didn't get caught! I've already revised it in case I want to order a few for gifts. If it looks good, I may add a few more recipes that I didn't have time to add before, or which need new photos. Most of my older photos are pretty embarrassing.

........................................................................................................

Buy So Delicious Dairy Free Coconut Milk, help the animals at Farm Sanctuary
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – September 2, 2010 – These days, milk can be made from almost anything — soy, rice, almonds, hemp, oats, coconut, the list goes on and on — and with so many healthy and delicious nondairy milks available for purchase in mainstream supermarkets, more and more Americans are making these cruelty-free choices. Now through September 30, Oregon-based natural foods company Turtle Mountain, a pioneer in the creation and production of natural dairy-free products, has teamed up with Farm Sanctuary, the nation’s leading farm animal protection organization, to ensure that every creamy, delicious sip will go even further toward ending the abuse of farm animals by donating $1.00 (up to $5,000) to the nonprofit organization for every UPC that is cut out and sent to them from any flavor of So Delicious™ Dairy Free Coconut Milk.

Vegfest 2010 — greetin' and eatin'

This past weekend we attended our first Vegfest — a giant vegetarian sampling party put on by the Vegetarians of Washington. When I say attended I also mean worked, as we volunteered for a four-hour shift handing out food samples. For more than four hours I cut into pieces, practically non-stop, various kinds of Clif Bars, and placed them into cups for eager (I mean EAGER) attendees to try. I have to say practically non-stop because it's also true that not 10 feet behind me was the scooping station for SO Delicious coconut milk ice cream, where frantic and sticky volunteers scooped ice cream into cups as fast as they could to meet the demand of hungry attendees. It was impossible to forget what was going on behind my back, and every so often I was compelled to zip on over, politely snatch a delicious ice cream-filled cup, and dash back to my station. I felt guilty, but not THAT guilty. In any case, four hours of cutting Luna bars makes one consider all the levels of meaning in the word, "luna."

Getting ready — before the event opened and the crowds arrived.

I shared the table with my husband, who was pouring Tejana tea, and Crystal Geyser Juice Squeeze, into cups at breakneck speed. People were VERY thirsty, which may have had something to do with the Punjab Snacks — a spicy-salty very delicious Indian snack mix made by Punjab Sweets in Kent — being scooped into cups by Bethany at the table next to me.

This is Bethany, before she was dragged to the SO table to scoop ice cream, and she was still clean and serene. Note the enigmatic smile.

Punjab Sweets is a vegetarian Indian restaurant that also has an online business selling sweet or spicy party mixes in bags, like the ones Bethany and the restaurant's owner, were sampling. This is a restaurant I'm very interested in visiting.

Mighty-O Donut samples just begging to be eaten.

In the spirit of full disclosure, in addition to the So Delicious, I may have had more than my share of Mighty-O Donut samples.

After our work shift was up we walked around and tasted things, and one sample that sticks in my mind (besides the ice cream and doughnuts) is the Field Roast classic meatloaf. I'm not a big fan of meat analogs, though I do occasionally make them myself. Mostly, the commercial ones are just too salty, and I hate the dying of thirst sensation I experience for hours after consuming them. I was, however, quite taken with the meatloaf. It tasted really good, and I may even buy it — at least once. I have coupons! If I'd been in my right mind I might have snapped a photo, but I was very hungry and the little sandwich I was handed was screaming, "eat me now." Oh well.

After all that tasting, did I discover any new foods to add to my shopping list other than the ones I've already mentioned? Probably not. There are still a lot of samples in my bag that I haven't tried yet — lots of energy bars and cereals — and if anything jumps out at me, I'll mention it in a future post.