A Seasonal Celebration

Who: Office Manager Lyndsay Orwig

What: A celebration of The Blooming Platter by Betsy DiJulio

Where: Millennium Restaurant San Francisco, Calif.

When: July 14, 2011

Why: To recognize another great vegan cookbook on the market, and to eat delicious food.

The Scoop: As you may have seen from my previous posts, I'm a huge fan of all things Millennium. Although, even though I post about it frequently, I actually don't go there very often. I only live two blocks away from the place, but it is definitely a rare treat. And this occasion was a special treat, indeed—a wine and dinner reception dedicated to Betsy DiJulio, and her new cookbook, The Blooming Platter. It is Betsy's first cookbook, and one that started from her blog of the same name. I was very excited to meet the lady of the hour, check out her new book, drink some good wine, and eat some delicious food.

The spread of appetizers.

We dined in the exclusive wine room, where we started with some amazing appetizers, including house-made pickled vegetables, herb marinated olives, and the Crusted Oyster Mushrooms—my personal favorite. Betsy and I chatted about both being from Virginia Beach, VA. Before moving to California in 2008, I grew up in the Hampton Roads, where she currently lives, and she teaches high school art. We were amazed by the connection and spent almost half of the night talking about the city, which I greatly miss.

Me and the lady of the hour

After downing the appetizers and socializing a bit, we were asked by our hostess, a close friend of Betsy's, to sit down, and before we began the rest of our meal, she gave a formal introduction of Betsy, then turned the speaking over to her. We learned of how she landed her cookbook deal, which was from her blog. What is really fascinating is that she didn't even venture out to get the deal on her own, but was instead contacted by the publisher through her blog. It just goes to show what a blog can do for you these days. She talked about how she comes up with recipes, making us very hungry in the process, and then finished off with giving our hostess a beautiful painting, which Betsy made herself. It depicted symbols from both the Hampton Roads and San Francisco, and was quite powerful, especially since I've lived in both placed myself. The presentation came to an end and the feast began!

The  Huitlacoche Tamale

The first course was a Grilled Lemon-Herb Salad, and then for the entrée, we were able to choose between three options: The Macadamia Nut Crusted Tofu, the Roasted Beet and Hazelnut Barley Cakes, or the Huitlacoche Tamale. It was a tough decision, but I finally went with the tofu. Luckily, my boyfriend, who was my guest, chose the tamale, so I was able to have a little taste of that delicious entrée as well. We finished the evening with one of the most popular desserts at Millennium—the Chocolate Almond Midnight. It was actually my first time trying this popular dessert, and I was absolutely blown away by how rich and decadent it was.

The amazing Chocolate Almond Midnight

It was a wonderful night, which I was so happy to be a part of. Betsy DiJulio is a lovely lady, and I see some other great cookbooks—and gorgeous artwork—in her future. Maybe another amazing night at Millennium as well? I'll be the first to RSVP.

Green Stylin' It in the DC

Who: VN Office Manager Lyndsay Orwig
What: DC Green Festival + Sticky Fingers Bakery
Where: Washington, DC
When: October 10–11, 2009
Why: To catch up with old friends and to promote the green movement in our nation's capital

The Scoop: Being an East Coaster for most of my life, I was very happy to travel to Washington, DC, this past weekend for the Green Festival and to see some old friends, including Kellie, who is a dear friend all the way back to the age of 12. Yes, there were quite a few slumber parties in our past, and I was so excited to revisit those memories once again by bunking at her home. It wasn’t non-stop movies and giggle fests as before, but there was good food and fun, as well as some much-needed catching up.

Kellie and me at the Green Festival

Being the doll that she is, Kellie helped me out at the Green Festival. As you’ve read before, the festival is a sustainable event sweeping the US that strives to spread the green movement by inviting individuals, businesses, and community leaders to come together and share their issues, ideas, and products focused on restoring the planet. The festival is currently held in five cities—Seattle, Denver, Chicago, Washington, DC, and San Francisco—and VegNews has had the pleasure of participating in all of them this year (excluding San Francisco, which is coming up November 13 to 15). It’s fun and educational, not to mention tasty with vegetarian food galore. I don’t want to make you jealous, but I feasted on some amazing vegan soul food from Soul Vegetarian, including some of the best macaroni and cheese I’ve ever tasted. You may want to check out a Green Festival happening near you—it’s definitely a good time.

An everlasting friendship

The Green Festival was the focus of the weekend, but I was also able to hang out in the District of Columbia as well. Along with seeing Kellie, I caught up with an old friend, Matt, and his band-mate from their up-and-coming group from the Hampton Roads called The Poly Opto. Last, but certainly not least, I visited another friend who I had not seen in a very long time, named Sticky Fingers Bakery. Let me just say that a Daiya grilled cheese with tempeh bacon and tomato is about the best breakfast in the entire world, and a box full of fresh baked goods (hello, Cowvin Cookies) isn’t too shabby either.

Best. Breakfast. Ever.

Yes, it was a wonderful weekend, and one that I was very sad to see end. Though I absolutely love the West Coast and don’t plan to leave anytime soon, the East Coast definitely has a part of my heart. It’s always a beautiful thing to come back to old friends.