Feed Me Portland!

It's my day on the Whole Grain Vegan Baking Blogtour, and I'm taking the teeniest, tiniest moment away from uh, week-of Vida Vegan Con-hyperdrive duties, before bed to share what I've made so far from this intriguing, wholesome book. Let's be honest, there are a lot lot lot of vegan cookbooks out these days (and well, seemi

A combination of baketivism and plastic-wrapped nostalgia at its finest.   These were for last weekend’s Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale in Portland, inspired by a big ole vganized Zebra cake that J. Legume and I made a few months ago. I vaguely remember our conversation on what type of cake to make for a gathering, and

I’ve been perusing Serious Eats (and wishing they’d read my mind and hand over my own vegan column already, jeez) quite a bit lately, and had to borrow one of their regular features as a title here, and hand it over to the past two weeks in my culinary life.  As I’m a bit nutty …

Tales of the Texas VegFest (starring jaw-dropping vegan funnel cakes, tacos, Capital City goodies, Ethiopian stews and more) this past weekend are still rocking the vegan internet, so consider me crazy jealous – and in taco withdrawal. That’s certainly another long-delayed photo essay in the making for another l

Funny how it is with cookbook authors whose work I know and admire—t

What better time to start putting together a recap about a visit to the Better Living Home and Garden Show than a Boltbus with shaky but semi-reliant WiFi out-of-town? I’m now back home and just last night, started a batch of chocolate liqueur using the organic Frontier Co-op cacao nibs I picked up at the show (yea

I’ve been caught dreaming of warm days (which is so not me) and vibrant margaritas (which is the new me) since my trip to Austin, TX with Vida Vegan HQ last month. Give me a patio, a salted rim, dark sunglasses, chips and endless salsa, and you have the highlight of a summer day. It’s …

Here’s a little story from the early morning pages…..of dear J. Legume expressing her silly concern of not waking up to homemade breakfast often enough, my flabbergasted reaction, and her brunchy dreams surely coming true with spicy scrambled tofu, diner-style potatoes, and the fluffiest biscuits I’ve made

The first month of a new year has already come and gone, so let’s get on with this. Here are my top ten vegan eats from spending the month of December 2012 in New York, New York. These are in no particular order and some are more specific than others. Qualifying factors and fun notes …

2/7 add Nel Centro, Vindalho, Pix/Bar Vivant, Biwa, Bluehour 2/4 added Skamania Lodge 2/2 added a Cena, Mextiza 2/1 updated Meriwethers, added Castagna, Nostrana 1/31 added Riverview, Bar Lolo, Equinox 1/29 added Hall Street Grill, Three Degrees Waterfront Bar & Grill, Montinore Estate

After a few years off, I found myself visiting the ‘ol home state not once but twice in late 2012. I’d been perusing those tempting fare alert emails, talking snow withdrawal with J. Legume, and the next thing I knew, we had our hands on some promotional airfare and another stay in what we like to …

12/29 Added Oba, Cafe Nell, Iorio 12/28 added  Vindalho, Eat: An Oyster Bar, Updated Pix Patisserie / Bar Vivant, add Gallo Nero, add Roots Restaurant & Bar 12/26 – add Thirst Bistro, H50 Bistro & Bar, Altitude Restaurant 12/20 – add Rum Club, ad

12/24 added COFFEE! 12/23 added Barista Coffee, Original Dinerant. 12/18 added Metrovino, Bistro Maison. 12/17 – added 24th & Meatballs, Bar Avignon, Besaw’s, Fratelli,

Yeah, you can correctly assume that this leftover-incorporation project was an experiment gone oh, so, tender and right. Being that J. Legume and I were opting for something different this past Thanksgiving, we decided to make what turned out to be a giant batch of mashed potatoes the weekend prior.  I’d never fores

THE GRAND ENTRANCE… BLOG TOUR!  This post is a whole trio of firsts: my first time breading with cornflakes, my first blog tour, and shockingly, my first cookbook giveaway. Who saw that happening?!  Well, it’s all in honor of an enthusiastic, satisfying and beautifully photographed cookbook from two fello

Four days ago, I was enjoying the final, hectic day of a very busy, hurricane-extended hiatus in New York City. Three days ago, I made my way to Seattle for the Vida Vegan Tech Seminar. Tonight, I’m back in Portland, accompanied by my cats, both Legume sisters, MoFo back-log (let’s blame that hurricane, that Bus

Three recent lunch stops were très tasty, not very expensive and speedy without being rushed.

There are less than two days remaining on my New York hiatus, and I can’t seem to fit in enough time for bagels. The agony! I’ve fallen a bit behind as we near the last stretch of VeganMoFo. It’s funny, my sister and I worked on what could be a Dinner with…Jen and a new …

Back in the mid-2000s, I was a brand new Portlander, fresh into my early twenties, with my first black raincoat and a real job, working downtown, to boot. I was vegan, but still learning to cook, so rarely packing lunch, on the start of my obsessive vegan Portland exploration. I mean, this was before the …

For today’s Thai Tuesday, I’d simply like to share a handful of photos from various cities I visited on my Thai travels. Thailand is full of fresh produce, Buddhist traditions and powerful spices, and I rarely had difficulty finding vegan options. I currently remain on hiatus at my sister’s in Brooklyn, an

Hello from Brooklyn! I’m not sure how, but after a cross-country red eye, hard morning nap, renewed day of sightseeing, lackluster (for shame!) dim sum, Chinatown grocery shopping and subway dancing, we kept the VeganMoFo spirit of Dinner with Jules alive with a homemade dinner with Jules…and Jen (and her boyfri

Somehow, someway, I didn’t make it out to A.N.D. Cafe, one of Portland’s newer vegetarian spots, until last month. When it comes to brunch, which is currently the main focus at the all-vegetarian and just-as-vegan-friendly spot on East Burnside & 54th, I like to have my options within a 10-minute walking rad

Ah, VeganMoFo. Convincing me to reflect and scroll through my digital photos, page by page, memory by memory. During the preparation for my much-referenced but seldom documented hiatus last winter, I felt a pull towards Cambodia (especially after pouring over this) so strong that I decided to spend the holidays there, by my

In the latest installment of Dinner with Jules, our weekly chef continues her Italian streak and conquers the elusive vegan stuffed shell, thanks to Artisan Vegan Cheese. Miyoko’s great demo at Chicago VeganMania was clearly inspiring both of us….   - - Dinner with Jules artwork by J. Legume (which yes, is Jul

Early last month, I just may have used two almost-birthdays as an excuse to finally experience Departure’s new (to us) Pan-Asian, vegan-friendly happy hour offerings. The real kicker was their bao-sampling during IFBC’s opening night, local restaurant exhibiting the week before. For all of the vegans attending,

Weaved with heat and Thai, or holy basil, amongst wide rice noodles, Pad Kee Mao is one of my go-to menu choices when I’m dining at a (hopefully) veg-friendly Thai restaurant. Also known as Drunken Noodles, the presence of those fresh herbs and chili makes it that much more likely that your vegan option is not just

The other night, Julia and I ordered a take out pizza from very vegan-friendly Dimo’s in Chicago, and while I enjoyed some cold for a satisfying, late night dinner later on, she never got to partake. We combined this lapse with our vegan-cheese-stocked fridge inventory upon returning to Portland, and easily decided o

Welcome to the first round of Portlanding for VeganMoFo! I’m now appropriately back in town with a cat snuggled against me, and since I was exhausted after returning from our VVC mission in Chicago last night, I’m appropriate combining what should have been a Thai Tuesday with a Portlanding Wednesday, which will

Well, well, well, Vegan MoFo VI has arrived for the month of October, 31 days of (near) daily food writing & updates, and I’m seemingly more prepared than ever. And being less-than-employed, I have legitimate time on my hands for projects! This year, I’ll be once again rounding up on VeganMoFo central and p

Ah, 100 Days. I miss you already, on this little Chicago VeganMania suspension & adventure. I miss my kitchen so much when I travel – especially when my luck seems to fail with menu ordering more often than not in the Windy City..but I digress, I mean, did I go through cooking withdrawals and try to sneak …

Today’s update into the 100 Days Homemade project includes plunging into the Vegan Sandwiches cookbook, a presentation at a senior center on incorporating vegan proteins with NW-style and flavor, cooking with my BFF in Victoria, stepping into the Artisan Vegan Cheese experience, a surprise from J. Legume and the new,

Hello, hello! I have returned from the International Food Bloggers Conference, where I co-presented on Niche Blogging, attended classes, met food bloggers of nearly every variety, sought out vegan food and most importantly, vegan-friendly SWAG. Hello, OXO avocado thingy! Don’t fret – I have a new avocado waiti

I recently attended (as in “last weekend” recently) the International Food Blogger’s Conference here in Portland and had a great time. There was a lot of food, wine, bl

It’s been a tremendously long time since I’ve done a product review. I simply don’t have the time or interest for them very much, and very few offers legitimately pique my interest. This is my space, and it’s not a grocery aisle. I mean, as a vegan blogger, there are only so many times you …

A few notes: On the annual survey, 30 restaurants received substantially more votes that the other nominations. For that reason, I’ll limit this list to those. They are listed in reverse, by number of votes received. The top ten will be in their own special post.

OX – Clams. Photo ©Dina Vaila Photography In

I’m nearly 2 weeks into my 100 days of homemade, and things are going swell. I’ve felt productive, inspired and full of soup. I’ve frequented multiple farmers markets, made more Thai food,  and can’t put down a certain cookbook – Hearty Vegan Meals for Monster Appetites. My 100 Days of Homemad

Earlier this Spring, I received a press copy of The Sexy Vegan by Brian L. Patton. The release of vegan cookbooks has become pretty damn overwhelming in recent years, and I dug seeing one stand out with such personality. ‘Sexy’s’, as my vegan food nerd friends and I refer to it, is written by a …

Ninkasi Pizza Party 06/14/12 Sizzle Pie 624 E Burnside Portland 7-9pm $10 Discussion of pairings and Q&A with co-founder Jamie Floyd and Morgan Miller from Ninkasi at 7:30pm Vegan or meat choice. Three cuts (half slices) of pizza paired with three 4oz pours of fine Nink

It makes sense that while I’ve been overwhelmed with the rest of my life lately, the one matter I’ve somehow made time to post about, is the one topic that vegan Portland is jumping up and down about: the downtown opening of our very own Veggie Grill. It’s the growing chain that offers more than just [...

One of the highlights of my year is the annual spring tour of Ayers Creek Farm

This Wednesday will finally see the opening of Paulée in Dundée (yes, I did that on purpose). Chef Daniel Mondok, most recently known for Sel Gris which burned in 2009, told Or

Genoa dessert - a work of art. Photo: ©John Valls Esquire Magazine has announced their selections for “The Best Bars in America 2012″. Portland’s Kask has

Last month, team VVC took a quick trip to Seattle.  It basically went like this: Soy lattes were sipped. Pickle chips were consumed. Vegan treats were sought out. Locations were visited. It was business as usual. One of my first stops: a mug of house Caffé Vita & the vegan chocolate cupcake at Cupcake Royale What cl

Let me keep it simple because promotions tend to hurt my brain: Registration here. Scramblin’ sign up here. See you there! I’m pretty damn stoked that on top of the whole unique and delicious culinary event aspects, my pdxbff Maeve is hosting and dropping some vegan comedy. Hot sauce jokes, y’all! Filed u

It looks me nine years of dwelling in the Pacific Northwest, one quick train ride, and the encouragement of two sisters, but I finally made it to Eugene for the weekend recently. The break included sunshine, strolls, Lane County farmers market, vegan food, frolicking at the top of Skinner Butte, soy lattes, TMNT: The Secret

It takes a lot for a cookbook to truly hold my attention, and the stories and recipes, in addition to the soundtrack, of Bryant Terry’s Vegan Soul Kitchen did just that. This past January, his latest, The Inspired Vegan was released, and I’ve been captivated.  The words, the quotes, the instructions and meal c