Testing My Veganism

 Last weekend I thought that I was done with birthday shindigs for a minute but its seems that Wednesday night I had one more left in me. Another friend had a birthday and I found out that he didn't have any plans for his birthday and you know my rule: No one should be unhappy on their birthday. So I asked if he would like to go out. The first task I had to conquer was a sitter. Finding a sitter is a very hard task as a single parent but lucky for me I have a great friend that watched my child as well as his. ( thanks Aisha) Now that I had the children settled I had to work on a plan as to what to do on a Wednesday night.

  I decided to stay in my comfort zone and go someplace where I would not look like the weird vegan asking a million questions about the menu. So off to GreenCork we went. I called the day before to make sure they were able to veganize what I think is their signature item and lucky for me they were. When I first saw the picnic basket I knew that I had to have this. He is an omni but I don't hold that against him but mama has to eat as well so being able to include things that I could eat as well is great. My side of the basket was filled with lots of raw veggies, fresh and dried fruit, olives, figs and I even had stuffed grape leaves. There were a ton of things to nosh on, so much that we weren't able to finish the basket.

My favorite thing about Greencork is of course the way the wine is served and as the seasons change so does the wine selection. I am the weirdest wine drinking in the world. I have never picked a wine by the notes that it has or any of that madness, I always pick it by the bottle. Crazy I know but it has yet to fail me. Sadly with the changing of the wine selections my 19 Crimes wine was out of rotation. It made me a little sad but I have discovered another wine that ranks right out there on my list of favorites. Its called Flirt. I love that there motto is Cheat on Your Wine and yes I cheated on Chuck but hey its ok. Its a new year time to try new things. Plus I will always go back to 2 Buck Chuck. Flirt is a blend of Shirah and Zinfandel so it is slightly sweet with a nice bite at the end. Plus the bottle is kinda sexy. What's not to like about this wine?

We had great wine and nice food the evening was going well, then it took a turn for the worst. They brought out cake. Not just any cake chocolate cake. Mama loves chocolate cake but of course this cake was not vegan, yet there were two spoons on the plate.  Of course being the gentlemen that he is he offered me the cake and I politely told him thank you but I can't eat it, its not vegan. He of course understood and said ok but then he decided to test  my vegan pimpin. He said if you don't eat the cake I'll consider this a date.  Crap I was screwed. Cassi does not date, dating scares the shit out of me so I avoid it all possible cost. Too much work goes into it. I have to be "on" at all times, making sure I don't say anything stupid, trip over anything, making sure I put on the good bra. Its too much work and I will have no such parts of it!  So I had to make a choice eat the cake or have the evening considered a date. Minus the wine this may not have been a hard descison to make but I was about 3 glasses in. I picked the spoon up a few times but could not bring myself to eat unborn chicken fetus and morphine filled cow pus. ( that's what I call eggs and milk to keep myself in line) So I had to take one of the team. I was on a date....crap. Now before you go after him, he knew I was NOT going to eat the cake.  It was his way of letting me know he was into me. It was a corny move but cute at the same time. 

Since he was able to have cake hell I wanted cake too so we strolled down to Imagine Vegan Cafe where I snagged a orange "hostess" cupcake. It was not chocolate but it was sugar. 

All in all it was a nice date. ( i'm sure he will giggle if he reads this) My veganism was still  safe, I discovered a new wine and even got a cupcake.  What more could a girl ask for from a night that went from hanging out to being on a date?

Imagine Vegan Cafe

People think that living in Memphis and being vegan means you have to cook all the time and there aren't any proper sit down restaurants.  Memphis may not be one of the most advanced vegan cities but we do have a few good vegan restaurants to choose from that are in different parts of the city so you don't have to travel far for good vegan fare. Since I live in the midtown/crosstown area I try not to leave the area to dine and why should I have to when there is Imagine Vegan Cafe in the Cooper Young district.
 
  Imagine was the FIRST full service vegan restaurant in Memphis and in keeping with Southern tradition they offer classic VEGAN southern staples. Everything from mashed potatoes and gravy to fried "chicken". They also have specialty desserts by my "sugar pusher" Stephanie Roy of Swell Baked Goods. The 1st time I dined at Imagine I was not vegan and went because my friend Heather suggested it. I still remember my 1st meal it was a side salad and chilli. Of course Keithon went with me and I THINK he ordered the chilli cheese dog. I didn't tell him it was vegan or even what vegan meant until after the first bite because I wanted him to have an open mind and just enjoy the food. Well it worked and that was almost 3 years ago and things at Imagine have changed......for the better! By better I mean the changed locations, they are still in Cooper Young just down the street in a cute little house that has been converted into a restaurant plus they are now open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner! Before they were closed on Monday and Tues because the owners, Adam and Kristie where the only ones working the restaurant but now thanks to the move they were able to hire help and take some well deserved time off to spend with their family.

The other reason I adore Imagine aside from it being vegan is it is a family owned business and when I say family owned at anytime you will find Kristie and Adam's three girls running around or even helping deliver food. Savannah (the oldest) is now starting to take order while Serria and Maddie may join you at your table just to tell you about their day and ask about yours. They are the most adorable little people, after Keithon of course. Once you walk into Imagine you are family.

  Friday was suppose to be this epic ice storm, schools were closed and businesses were closing early, if they even opened. (It didn't get that bad in my area but it was still cold as sin) I was required to go to work but we shut down at 2:30 so on the careful drive home, because of the sleet, I informed Keithon we can stop and get something to eat and after that we are not leaving the house. He decided on Imagine so off we went. 

  Lately Keithon has ordered the same thing the hot wings, that is the one omni food he misses most and because he loves the house made Ranch dressing. ( Kristie gave me recipe but I'm not telling!) Normally the Hot Wing appetizer comes with 5 "chicken" nuggets dipped in hot wing sauce and served with a side of veggies and ranch dressing but today Kristie gave Keithon two sides of black beans and rice. Score! Extra protein! My meal is not on the menu. Yeah I'm that type of person. My favorite non menu dish is the Taco Rita minus the Rita add tortilla chips. Normally the Taco Rita is a burrito with a "meat sauce" refried beans, tomatoes and "cheese" sauce. I just leave off the tortilla shell add tortilla chips,  jalapenos, guacamole and "sour cream" and BAM nachos! They do have a dish called Tony's Nachos  but they are not diva enough for me. Its consists of chips, lettuce, "meat", "cheese sauce" and jalapenos. The serving are huge I ended up eating this dish again for breakfast on Saturday. It still tastes awesome the next day. I decided against dessert but Keithon will never pass up a chance to eat Ms. Stephanie's desserts so he slowly slide an oatmeal raisin cookie whoopie pie his way. He also ate it before we got home but oh well.

  Anytime I have special occasion baking I call Stephanie she did my divorce cake, my birthday cake for my 31st birthday, DIY cupcakes and cinnamon rolls for my 32nd birthday. She is also in my Cookie Club. Stephanie is awesome at what she does so go check out her site or just go to Imagine have a meal and grab dessert.

Even if you are not vegan Imagine is a great place to go if you want to have a meat free Monday or just support a local small business. Trust me you won't be disappointed. I have yet to leave unhappy. (While I was going through foursquare pics to get a picture of the new Imagine, I found the picture I took of my 1st meal at Imagine!)