tempeh pot pie

I accomplished a major goal this past week, I managed to completely fill my dutch oven with food.  I’ve made recipes that I thought would be huge but only filled the dish half way. This time, it was overflowing. I made a double batch of the tempeh shepherdess pie from Veganomicon. I knew it would be a lot, but the 6 pounds of potatoes really took it over the top.

It lasted us about two days, shared between Shawn, his brother and myself for lunch and dinner. It was hearty and filling and satisfying. The recipe was filled with good stuff but I think next time I’d like the seasonings to be a little more intense.

With cooler weather coming (hopefully soon) I hope to make more casseroles. I loved the corn in this, and would maybe like to try something spicier, maybe with chipotle peppers. Yeah, that sounds good.

Do you have a favorite casserole?

Brainwashed Love Screening

I’ve been trying to think of what to say about the Brainwashed Love screening last Friday, but I just can’t come up with the words to express it. Shawn and I have worked so long and hard on the film so there isn’t any way to wrap it up in just a little recap. We produced it completely ourselves and we really wanted to send it off into the world right. We held our screening for just over 200 of our cast, crew and closest friends at the Downtown Independent.

The whole week prior, I was a ball of nerves. Neither Shawn nor I got much sleep, Shawn especially, as we tried to make everything as perfect as possible. By the time we actually made it to the screening, I was pretty overwhelmed with all the people that came. It was so awesome.

I would say without a doubt the screening was a success. Since no one had seen the movie in it’s complete form, it was the first time we got to hear any feedback. So many people told us they were shocked at how good it was. I can’t express how good it felt to know that people actually really liked it. It really validates all the effort and time and money and caring we put into the film.

We were really lucky to have a photo booth donated by Polite in Public, to take shots all night. We chose a Halloween themed backdrop and they had a ton of great props, perfect for the start of October. I figured I’d just share these photos and a few that I was able to snap during the night instead of trying to describe the event itself.

Hopefully, there will be more screenings in the future. Maybe good things will happen for us. You can always follow us on twitter if you want to keep up with where the film goes.

Vegan Engagement Party

It’s been a crazy weekend. The Brainwashed Love screening was Friday. It was such an amazing experience. The theater was packed and we got such good responses from everyone. So exciting! More about that later though…

Since most of Shawn’s family lives out of state, we thought we’d make the weekend a double feature and have our engagement party on Saturday night. Oh the joy of throwing a bunch of people who don’t know each other together in a room over food. Not to mention, hoping that the vegan meal you serve a bunch of non-vegans will convince them that the wedding food is going to be awesome as well.

Luckily, we had a secret weapon…Madeleine Bistro. We chose the most gourmet of vegan restaurants in Los Angeles as the venue for our dinner. It was outstanding and everyone was more than impressed.

We started with a selection of appetizers. I tried them all. They all were awesome. They included the mini mac, farmers cheese and caramelized onions in filo, pesto pizza and smoked farmers cheese on crostini. Oh man.

I just realized how hard to write this post is going to be. This food was so good. I’m salivating.

Each was a perfect little burst of flavor and taste of what was to come. I was particularly impressed with the farmers cheese, which was smoky, rich and left me wanting more and more.

I think the big hit of the bunch was the mini mac. A cute, bite sized burger with all the flavors of the full size version.

The next course was a french onion soup. One of my favorite soups that it so hard to find vegan. I loved the thick bread soaked in the savory soup.

We were lucky to have gorgeous flower arrangements made by Shawn’s uncle, Gordon. He showed up to the restaurant and surprised us by decorating the tables with these lovely flowers and candle before we arrived. It looked amazing and really made the dinner just that much more special.

On to the next course. We had a choice of either the red beet tartare or a ceasar salad for our guests. Both Shawn and I had the red beet tartare. I can’t believe I haven’t ordered this off the menu before. It was SO good. The beets were sweet,  magically creamy and perfectly matched with the crispy croquette. Even the oil and vinegar drizzle on the plate was superb.

But wait…there’s more! For the next course, we again had a choice of two items. Shawn ordered the chicken fried seitan with rustic mashed potatoes, pan gravy and vegetable medley. I’m pretty sure Madeleine bistro makes the best seitan ever. Especially the chicken fried seitan. It’s simultaneously crunchy and moist. It’s like the perfect southern meal, made vegan.

I went for something new to me, the grilled lemon rosemary seitan with a savory crepe and black kale. Again, the seitan was fantastic. It had a light sauce and was so juicy. The crepe was mind blowing. I’m not even kidding. Filled with asparagus and a sort of cheesy filling, it was unlike anything I’ve tried anywhere else.

Finally on to dessert. I was so full at this point (but pleasantly full, mind you). Shawn had the cheesecake.

I went for the brownie sundae. It was everything I could have dreamed for in a dessert. Chewy, chocolately brownie with sweet ice cream and a decadent fudge sauce and a touch of fruit sauce. Loved it. So much.

We made it! Stuffed and happy and families introduced! Success!

It was really a special night for us and I’m so glad that we were able to impress our guests with such wonderful food. A few family members admitted that they had backup plans if they didn’t like the ominous vegan food, but in the same breath told us they loved everything they had. I love being able to show people that vegan food can really be wonderful and delicious and break through any misgivings they might have.

romance

One of the fun things Shawn and I have gotten to do so far for our wedding is take photos for our save the dates. They aren’t exactly our engagement photos, only because we have some more we are planning to take, but they’re definitely in that territory.

We took a bunch but I wanted to share a handful of my favorites.

We wanted them to have a classic vintage feeling, and I think we definitely achieved that. We took them in various spots around Los Angeles, over a few hours one afternoon.

I had to include one funny one (although my face is quite a bit more ridiculous than Shawn’s).

Tomorrow is the day we show Brainwashed Love for the first time. So excited and nervous. Wish us luck!

Oh and in case you were wondering, all photos are by my dearest Studiodrome.

Thank you cakes

Sometimes you need to say thank you. For the times that people go way out of their way to help you. Or when someone works endlessly on a project. Sometimes you need more than a card or an email.

That’s where these little cakes come in. Because nearly everyone loves a cake just for them.

I wanted them to be a little more than just a cake though; to really communicate the message. Rather than just the typical butter cream writing on top, I thought I’d try something a little more fun.

I made some simple, colorful bunting for a coconut cake for Shawn. He’s been working endlessly putting the finishing touches on Brainwashed Love and I thought he needed a little reward. The bunting was perfect because it allowed me to completely cover the cake with coconut, which I’ve learned, makes the cake difficult to decorate on top.

For the second cake, I tried my hand at creating a fondant covered red velvet cake. I’ve used fondant for flowers and such but had not yet covered a complete cake. I sure did need a lot of muscle power to roll it out but I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out, considering the horror stories I’ve heard. It wasn’t perfect, but still adorable. I stenciled on the thank you, using just plain paper that I cut with an exacto and some yellow food coloring.

I did a test of my stencil on another piece of fondant, just to make sure. It turned out  perfectly, but caused my actual cake to look a little blobby. Still a success though, I think.