A Jeffrey Masson book in the Making

Who: VN Publisher Joseph Connelly

What: A Gathering of Savvy People

Where: El Cerrito, Calif.

When: Thursday, March 17, 2011

Why: To brainstorm author Jeffrey Masson's future book project

The Scoop: If this Press Pass blog has an ideal entry, it would be to boldly go where few vegans have gone before, then take you inside. "Out & about with the VegNews editors," with a twist of exclusivity. Last Thursday, a dozen invited movers and shakers, including a neuroscientist, a lawyer, an award-winning writer, and a non-profit exec, gathered in author and eco-feminist Marti Kheel's living room, overlooking the stunning hills of El Cerrito, Calif. The purpose? To hash out ideas and direction for prolific author Jeffrey Masson's 27th book, to be published by Bloomsbury Press (same as the Harry Potter series) in February 2012.

For two hours Masson and his 12 apostles sat in a circle, sharing delectable raw finger foods provided by our host and Café Gratitude, while debating the direction of what Masson—who turns 70 next week—says might be his last book.

Skip dinner and go for the desserts. All raw, so they don't count, right?

"Be brutal. Tell me all kinds of things," the author instructed as we discussed such varied topics as intra-species murder among non-human predators (rare, with no known example of an orca ever killing a member of his own species); the psychology of empathy in animals and apathy in humans (the direction I'd like to see the book take); and why Michael Pollan and Alice Waters dislike vegetarians (I would tell you but I don't want VegNews to get sued, though you can read about it here).

The discussion ping-ponged around the room in a cordial yet spirited manner, with many opinions offered and seemingly no conclusions drawn. But have no worries, as Masson has a proven knack for solidifying disparate concepts into reader-friendly, often best-selling prose, and the feeling in the room as the night drew to a close was one of hope and excitement for the man of the hour's next best-seller. The best title suggestion? "Are You My Other?"

For those who can't wait to read a bit of Jeff, Masson currently has two other books in the pipeline. The Dog Who Couldn't Stop Loving debuted last October and will soon be out in paperback, while Dogs Make Us Human, a photography books of canines from around the world, will be published this coming October.

I'd participated in one previous discussion for what became Masson's The Face on Your Plate, his 2009 book about veganism. Being invited to work with an author in the early stages of a project is a unique experience, one that any writer would cherish. Thanks go out to Marti Kheel, author of the excellent Nature Ethics, for hosting these events.

Jeffrey Masson, Marti Kheel, and Joseph Connelly

Gracias Madre Fiesta

Who: VN Office Manager Lyndsay Orwig, VN Publisher Joseph Connelly, VN Associate Publisher Colleen Holland, and VN Editorial Assistant Liz Miller

What: A celebration of the opening of Gracias Madre

Where: The Mission District of San Francisco, CA

When: Monday, February 22, 2010

Why: To honor Latin American culture with delicious organic, vegan food.

The scoop: Mexican fare is not hard to come by in the SF Bay area, especially in the Mission District. Almost every block has a taqueria of some sort, where you can grab a big burrito with all the fixin's, including beans, rice, veggies, and guacamole. These places are great, but unfortunately none of them is specifically organic and vegan. And maybe sometimes a burrito just won't suffice, and what you're really in the mood for is a tasty tamale, or an overstuffed quesadilla. This is where Gracias Madre comes in—the new, all-vegan Mexican restuarant from the owners of Café Gratitude. To celebrate the restaurant's recent opening, the owners, Matthew and Terces, cordially invited close friends to a special evening of food, drinks, and fun.

The owners and staff among the gorgeous spread.

The first thing you notice when you step into the restaurant is its atmosphere. It has a beautifully designed interior with a quaint bar on the side, and gorgeous paintings and embroidered quilts adorning the walls. This is no "In and out" dining experience, but a place in which to enjoy yourself and share.

Upon entering, we were greeted by the owners and managers of the restaurant and served mojitos, made with fresh mint, lime, and agave with soju—oh so refreshing. After some mingling within the crowd, we were invited to serve ourselves from a beautiful buffet of the Quesadillas de Calabaza, the Tamal (or tamale), guacamole, and fresh salsas. Everything was truly delicious, but the favorite was definitely the Tamal—stoneground heirloom masa (corn) steamed in the husk, and filled with butternut squash and green chile. It was so good, some of us had seconds. And though we were stuffed and satisfied with these dishes, we just couldn't pass up on dessert. Hugo, one of the managers, graciously helped us with our decision, and we were served the Flan as well as the Mexican Wedding Cookies with a cacao-cinnamon sauce. Both were marvelous.

Quesadillas de Calabaza

The end of the evening was near, and to finish it off, Terces and Matthew stood up to say thanks to all those who came, as well as to introduce the amazing staff and to give a bit of history of how Gracias Madre came to be. Being their seventh restaurant in a span of six years, it was mainly their love of the Latin culture that inspired the restaurant, as well as their wish to bring local, organic fare to the Mission District. Being farmers themselves—both in Hawaii and the Bay Area—they wanted to share how delicious fresh and organic produce can be. We think they've definitely proved their point.

Liz and Lyndsay show off the delicious desserts.

With our stomachs full and our palates satisfied, the night came to an end—some of us are already planning a return trip. Among the plethora of wonderful restaurants in San Francisco, Gracias Madre is a great addition and one that truly stands out.

San Francisco Green Festival: Robbins, Newsom, Harrelson

Who: VN Publishers Joseph Connelly and Colleen Holland plus the rest of the VegNews staff
What: Three days of the world's largest green marketplace
Where: Concourse Exhibition Center, San Francisco, Calif.
When: November 13–15, 2009
Why: Because eating veg is the greenest thing you can do

The Scoop: Yes, it was our last trade show of the year. Yes, is was in our hometown of San Francisco. Yes, it was the eighth annual Green Festival, the joint venture of Global Exchange and Green America (formerly Co-op America), which VegNews Magazine has proudly sponsored since the very first event, held in the very same venue since 2002.

Following the Green Business Conference, attended by VN's Colleen Holland, the GF kicked off Friday at noon. If you have never been to a Green Festival (events this year were held in Seattle, Denver, Chicago, DC, and SF), what you are missing is the "nation's longest running green living event," consisting of vendors, speakers, veg food, cooking demos, a green film festival, children's activities, and did we mention vendors? Here you can find solar panels for your home, kits to convert your hybrid to a plug-in, lots of hemp (clothing, food, recreation), and a festival that actually gets the connection between diet and global warming and which has been vegetarian since day one, thanks to producer Greg Roberts.

After the Friday after-party the party really got going on Saturday morning when best-selling author and longtime friend of VegNews John Robbins was presented with the Green America Award for his "lifetime of leadership" in the vegetarian, environmental, and social justice movements. After brief, poignant introductions by Robbins' son Ocean (founder of the nonprofit Yes!) and Eco-Chef Bryant Terry (more on him in a bit), Green America's Executive Director Alisa Gravitz presented Robbins with the stylish award made, of course, of entirely recycled materials.

John Robbins accepting the Green America Award

Robbins gave a stirring four-minute acceptance speech that ended with this thought: "The purpose of life is infinite gratitude to all things past, infinite service to all things present, and infinite responsibility to all things future." Click here to watch a video of Robbins' moving words.

A new touch added to this year's festival was Soul Kitchen, a day of cooking classes coordinated by Bryant Terry, author of the excellent 2009 cookbook Vegan Soul Kitchen. Back-to-back-to-back demos by Ani Phyo, Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, and Terry filled the afternoon with yummy treats and vegucation. The all-star chefs even found time to pose for this historic time-capsule photo:

Mangia-a-trois: Chefs Colleen Patrick Goudreau, Bryant Terry, and Ani Phyo

As the evening wound to a close, who else but San Francisco Mayor (and long-time aspiring vegetarian) Gavin Newsom stopped by the VN booth. The mayor and the magazine go way back; Newsom accepted the Veggie Award for "favorite veg city" on behalf of San Francisco at an awards banquet we threw in 2004 at Millennium Restaurant that just happened to be hosted by Green Goddess Julia Butterfly Hill.

VN Managing Editor Elizabeth Castoria, VN Volunteer Extraordinaire Peter Ryan, SF Mayor Gavin Newsom, and VN Publishers Colleen Holland and Joseph Connelly

Sunday was more of the same, and while the crowds were maybe a slight bit thinner this year, the weekend was a resounding success nonetheless. After packing up it was off to MaggieMudd and Café Gratitude (yes, we ate dessert first) with Noelle Callahan and Rebecca Frye of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, who were at the Green Fest to promote PCRM's Humane Charity Seal of Approval campaign, which allows donors to identify which charities provide service and care without using animals. Oh, and could that be the star of current hit movies Zombieland, 2012, The Messenger, and Defendor, Woody Harrelson, sitting at the end of the table? Oh yes it is. I shared a few words with Woody about a possible follow-up interview to VN's November 2005 interview and cover, and he flashed a smile and wink.

Perfect Pizza + Talk Show Exploits

Who: VN Editorial Assistant Sara Constantineau and the rest of the VegNews crew
What: A pizza-filled lunch followed by a stint as a studio audience
Where: A local pizzeria and ABC studios, San Francisco, Calif.
When: October 20, 2009
Why: To put our Daiya shipment to good use and support a fellow veg superstar

The Scoop: When we received a 10-pound shipment of Daiya this week, there was no doubt that we had to make the most of it. Armed with two pounds or so, we headed to a local pizzeria for a full-on, dairy-free pizza experience. Our menu consisted of one huge, gooey cheese pizza, another pie piled high with artichokes, baby spinach, and sun-dried tomatoes, and a giant veggie-stuffed calzone for dessert.

One beautiful, Daiya-smothered pie

Thoroughly stuffed and fortified with many soda refills, we traveled toward the Embarcadero and lined up to watch the live taping of The View from the Bay, since Alicia Silverstone was making a guest appearance to promote her vegan lifestyle book, The Kind Diet.

Once comfortably seated in the studio, we learned how to clap and cheer on cue. After we were welcomed by hosts Spencer Christian and Janelle Wang, the show finally began. We were treated to segments including male-model makeovers and the CEO of 1-800-DENTIST, who taught us how to floss properly (hint: you use a lot of floss). Finally, the most anticipated guest arrived to talk about her book and show off some veg-friendly food.

Alicia Silverstone, VN Publisher Joseph Connelly, and SFVS president Dixie Mahy

Silverstone and Christian raved about Café Gratitude's Key Lime Pie, and she showed off her pantry must-haves, such as Earth Balance buttery spread, brown rice syrup, and Vegenaise. Christian and Wang sampled recipes from The Kind Diet, including tacos, peanut butter cups, and Caesar salad. The hosts raved about the food, and a few lucky audience members went home with a copy of the book. It was just another day all about tasty, veg-friendly eats. No biggie!

Friday Night’s Alright For Eating

Who: VN Publisher/Editor in Chief Joseph Connelly + a pair of pedometists
What: A raw Friday-night dinner
Where: Café Gratitude, San Francisco
When: November 21, 2008
Why: To chew the fat with fat-free athletes

The Scoop: It was a dark and stormy workweek. After the Green Festival, which coincided with what must have been record-breaking temps here in Fog City, we enjoyed a few more days of Indian summer on Monday/Tuesday before someone turned off the heat and the chill-that-can-be-San Francisco returned in full fall fashion. Yes, dear readers in New England, Ontario, Chicago, or Minnesota, the mercury dipped below 60°F here, low enough to send nearly the entire city running for mittens, scarves, and space heaters. We're tough.

Braving the frigid conditions, Canadian triathlete Brendan Brazier, formulator of Vega, everyone’s favorite whole-food meal replacement, and his traveling companion Julie Morris, she of LA (though recently relocated from Portland), were in the Bay Area demo-ing said nutritional supplement at a few Whole Foods Markets. With their duties complete, the pair swung by the VegNews offices for a quick visit with the working-late-on-a-Friday staff, and to pick up complimentary “You Are What You Read’ VegNews t-shirts, which, of course, they promised to wear whenever they are out and about.

Next, it was off to dinner. We spun the big wheel and the needle landed on Café Gratitude, the perfect choice, since all three of us all delve in rawish foods whenever possible. We picked the 9th Avenue (SF) location, though any of the other four CG’s, which you read about in our September+October Food Issue, would have been just fine. This is a chain where the food is consistently good no matter the location.

We started with an order of I Am Generous, which equates to chips, guac, and salsa ($9). The “chips’ being, of course, dehydrated flax crackers. Brendan and Julie shared a bowl of I Am Thankful, or coconut curry soup with avo, tomato, cukes, and shiitakes. I ordered the I Am Giving kale salad ($9.75 for a half portion), thanks to VN Senior Editor Elizabeth Castoria, who at our staff lunch earlier in the day talked about how she could go for a kale salad. This vegan yum yum mixes sea veggies, cukes, shiitakes, cilantro, scallions, sesame seeds, and tasty teriyaki almonds into the marinated kale. It’s as good as it sounds.

Brendan and Julie each ordered the I Am Fulfilled large café salad, which is what I normally get so I was happy to have been corrupted by Ms. Castoria, lest all three of us order the same thing, and how ridiculous is that? For $13 you get a hugemungaloid bowl of mixed greens, avo, carrots, beets, cukes, tomato, more flax crackers, “parmesan,” and those yummy teriyaki almonds, which I vote for adding to the menu as a side. You hear me?

I Am Thankful + I Am Fulfilled, courtesy Café Gratitude

I also ordered the I Am Cool milk-free milkshake—no reason needed. This tempting concoction blends raw hazelnut milk, vanilla, cacao nibs, and mint into a refreshing, light treat that had Julie formulating the recipe in her head for trial at home, using her Vita-Mix, of course. I asked for the large, 16-oz ($9.75), and took half of it back to Colleen because, well, in her not-so-subtle way, she asked me to.

During dinner I learned that Julie had just run her first marathon, in Portland. Regular Press Passers know that I just ran one, as well, making the world famous triathlete and two-time Canadian 50k champion the slacker at our table. At least for the month of October, 2008.

Julie Morris & Brendan Brazier, San Francisco, November 2008