Post Christmas Vegan Drinks

Last night we held our monthly vegan drinks meet up but we switched it up a bit. Since this month is crazy busy instead of a Tuesday meet up we went for a Saturday night social, which was pretty cool because most of us are off on the weekends. We had our sights on a pretty cool Jamaican place but we found out they were having a set menu and that would work out for the group so after a few suggestions we decided on Mulan Asian Bistro in Cooper Young. (Check out Bianca's post on Vegan Crunk.) I've tried them before but it has only been take out. The inside is more of high end compared to most take out places, they even had cloth napkins on the table.

Now of course a vegan drinks would not be a vegan drinks without the drinks part. After going back and forth with myself I decided on a Sake. Of course I didn't order the normal house Sake. I opted for the Sparkling Sake in a pink bottle. Plus I just wouldn't be Cassi of me if I didn't. Aside for the pretty pink bottle this Sake did not disappoint. Since it is a sparkling Sake it is served cold and it still had that Sake bite but it also had hints of fruit flavor. It was very refreshing, not too strong and happy. I think I kinda drank it too fast I woke up this am with a sight headache.

I like Mulan because they have a ton of tofu and wheat noodle dishes on the menu. They even have a tofu fried rice! It took me as long to decide on dinner than it did to decide on my drink. After flipping through the menu 26 times I settled on the Home Style Tofu. I guess it's called homestyle because the tofu is deep fried. I love my tofu this way because it gets rid of the mushyness and gives the tofu a meaty texture. Normally it is SUPPOSE to come with red and green peppers, black fungus, scallions, red peppers and garlic but I don't like peppers so I asked if the could leave the peppers out and replace them with long beans. Sadly long beans are out of season so I had to go with greens beans. I think this is my new favorite dish. It was a bit oily but super spicy, the green beans were nice and crunchy and it was loaded with garlic chunks. Lucky for me I'm single and can eat all the garlic I want. Most of our dished were served with rice and I assumed that the rice would come in normally like white bowl but no they came in wooden buckets! I was in love! I am going back to buy one from Mulan, it's cute and round just like me! What's not to love?!

After dinner the group went to go see our friend Autumn in her burlesque show but I was still in introvert mode and wasn't ready for the crowds so Amy and I went to Five in One Social Club for bingo! She even won a game! She pick out a Made in Memphis hat that she let me bedazzled because that's what friends do. (Well she bedazzled it I just showed her how) Just like always Vegan Drinks was a good time.

Vegan in the South

For those of you that don't know I hail from the muddy banks of the mighty Mississippi, Memphis is home of the  blues, barbecue and of course Elvis. I love my city and will dare anyone to speak negatively about it without hardcore facts. Yes I've lived other places and I travel quite a bit but Memphis will always be home. Like Brad Paisley's song its my Southern Comfort Zone but sadly traditional southern fare is my least favorite types of food. Mainly because its not pretty. I like bright colors when I eat, it makes me happy.

  A few weeks ago my friend Aisha suggest a cookbook, Wild Woman in the Kitchen. I knew going in that this would not be a vegan cookbook but she told me it contained stories about the dishes and how they came to be so I said why not and purchased it online.  It is a pretty good cookbook and there are some veg friendly recipes as well as some that can easily be veganized.  While I was flipping the pages I ran across a story about Elvis. I am not an Elvis but it was story about my hometown so of course I read it.  The story is titled Love me Crunchy, Love me Do. It is the story of how poor Priscilla couldn't cook but she wanted to show off at a dinner party and make Elvis's favorite dish lasagna. So she brought the dish to the table, cut into it and noticed it was a bit crunchy but she served it anyway, she thought her knife was dull. She told everyone to eat and when they did there was a collective CRUNCH! She didn't boil the pasta so it was still raw! Poor little tink tink.  Elvis started laughing but when he saw that she was about to cry he said screw it and started to eat and since he was the king the other guests followed suit. I have made a few mistakes in the kitchen so I understood her pain. I even made a mistake making this lasagna. Don't worry I cooked my pasta lol.

Here is the recipe for Ricotta, Tomato and Spinach Noodle Lasagna (I'm not printing it because I don't have permission but no one said anything about links)

  Now my mistake was I didn't completely read the recipe ingredients and purchased regular noodles instead of spinach noodles oopps. Never fear I found a fix! I remembered I still had Spinach and Herb dip mix from Tastefully Simple, so I sprinkled that over each layer of noodles. I said I had a fix, I never claimed it was the best fix.  Of course i didn't use ricotta, the closest thing to ricotta is TOFU! I used the same ounces of extra firm tofu mixed with sea salt and nooch. BAM! Vegan ricotta! Now the tomato sauce made me a bit nervous because I was told to take a can of crushed tomatoes and simmer them in a sauce pan with olive oil and clove of saute garlic for 20 minutes. I was pretty sure this sauce would taste like crap and I would have to add all types of madness to it. Nope wrong, I am in love with this sauce! Its simple and it tastes awesome! I will use this for the base of all my pasta from now on.

  The basil in the dish made my house smell so homey, I loved it! After about 45 minutes I pulled it out the oven and it smelled even better than it did cooking! This lasagna isn't as saucey as normal ones but I liked that, less food for me to wear. I never knew basil and tofu went so well together. My dinner consisted of two servings and I never get seconds on dinner but this dish is that good. (I count my calories) We paired it with Keithon's kale and avocado salad.

Priscilla may have forgotten the most important step but she had the basics down. Who would have thought I would eat like the king, if he was vegan that is.  

Who says vegans don't drink

  Once a month Bianca, author of the vegan cookbook Cooking Crunk, puts together a Vegan Drinks events. The only rules for choosing a location is that its has to have vegan food and drinks. This month we held our shindig at R. P. Tracks. Its a cool bar near U of M that has a good bar menu as plenty of vegan food. Something that should be a requirement near a college, if you ask me.

Our group is normally a younger crowd and we meet up right after work around 5:30.  Mainly because after working 8 hours who doesn't need a drink and yesterday mama needed a drink. We had a few newbies, one that even came as far as California but the regulars Autumn, Katie and Nathan were their as well.

  We arrived just in time happy hour. The special was a dollar off drinks so of course I decided on a wine and Tracks has boxed wine! It was the same Bota Box that I had at the potluck Saturday. It tasted a little different, maybe because I didn't get to pour it from the box myself but it was good wine all the same.  I only had one glass because it was a Tuesday and going to work with a hangover is not cute.

  I knew what I wanted, food wise before I hit the door. Buffalo Tofu Strips, I love theirs because they use extra firm tofu that is deep fried and dipped in Franks Red Hot Sauce. It was served with a side of celery and ranch dressing which is not vegan. That made me kinda sad because I may or may not have ordered it back in April, I don't remember. ( I was only a vegan for a month then. Mistakes were made.)

Just like any other Vegan Drinks meet up this one did not disappoint. We met new people, noshed on vegan bar food and had a few drinks.

I know I'm a day late but the winner of the cookie ornament is  girlgoesveggie with the peanut butter blossom cookie! My son loves anything with peanut butter. Email me so I can ship your prize.