Tofu U and Skinny Bitch's Kim Barnouin

Who: VN Editorial Assistants Brooke Still and Gabrielle Pope

What: Tofu U Event with Skinny Bitch's Kim Barnouin

Where: San Francisco, Calif.

When: October 7, 2010

Why: To learn about Nasoya tofu's latest project and mingle with Kim

The Scoop: As vegans, we need little convincing of the benefits of tofu. But preparing it day-to-day can be another story. Draining, dressing, and devouring tofu at home can be somewhat of a difficult task for those of us who are culinarily challenged (Read: Yours truly). To answer the frustrations of amateur cooks everywhere, tofu brand Nasoya has created Tofu U—a virtual campus that schools the public on how to transform that watery block of soy into something edible, and delicious! To learn more about Tofu U and have a mini-, mid-day-celebration of veg life, Gabrielle and I went to The Plant Café Organic yesterday afternoon for a lunchtime event.

This was my first trip to The Plant Café Organic on Pier 3 in San Francisco's Embarcadero, and it was amazing. The restaurant is on the water (and by on the water, I mean RIGHT on the water), giving us a beautiful view of the ocean and the Bay Bridge. We nestled into our seats, right near the demonstration table. Skinny Bitch's Kim Barnouin, whose new book Skinny Bitch Ultimate Everyday Cookbook is due out in mid-October, soon graced us with tofu demonstrations. I loved her idea of cutting tofu into strips, brushing them with almond milk, then dusting them with panko bread crumbs, and baking to create crispy treats, great for salads, stir-fries, or by themselves with a dipping sauce. And Kim was a sweetheart—such a treat to listen to her speak!

Barnouin's tofu demonstration

A treat, of course, nearly upstaged by the scrumptious lunch. We enjoyed a savory salad, tofu tacos with mango chutney, and finished the meal with a heavenly chocolate volcano cake—the kind you cut into a find a warm, gooey center. Delicious!

Our chocolate cake, aka heaven

After we ate, Gabrielle and I mingled with the Nasoya folks and Kim, chatting about tofu, veganism, and California. We were most pleasantly surprised to receive copies of Kim's new book—which this morning Gabrielle and I discovered we both read in bed last night! I for one know it gave me sweet dreams of all the tofu and Skinny Bitch meals to come.

Kim, Brooke, and Gabrielle

San Francisco Vegan Fashion Show

Who: VN Office Manager Lyndsay Orwig

What: San Francisco's 1st Vegan Fashion Show

Where: San Francisco, Calif.

When: October 2, 2010

Why: To bring hip, sustainable, and vegan fashion to the SF Bay Area

The Scoop: The fashion industry doesn't usually have the best record for being cruelty-free—go to New York's fashion week, and you're sure to find animal products of all kinds, including fur, leather, snake skin, and more. Well, things are changing, and vegan fashion shows are starting to become all the rage. Recently, there was one in Albany, NY, and just last weekend, the first Vegan Fashion show took place during the World Veg Festival Weekend in San Francisco.

The show was completely sold out

Being the Trade Show Manager of VegNews, I attended nearly the entire show, so I was happy to get a break from the booth for a short while to take in some fashion. The event was organized by Karine Brighten of Karine Brighten Events, who's fairly new to the SF Bay Area, but is making a big name in the vegan community, specializing in affordable, eco-friendly events. She told me that she has been working on the fashion show since May, and she personally made sure that each and every one of the models was vegan.

The fashion show featured designs from Vaute Couture, Pansy Maiden bags, Reco Jeans, Lion's Share Industries, Melie Bianco, Cri de Coeur, and Mission Savvy. Jennifer Miller, the founder of Mission Savvy, even sent in a video introducing the fashion show. Her designs take on themes that directly relate to animal-rights issues, such as animal captivity for the purposes of entertainment and consumerism.

One of the several lovely models in the show

The show was highly anticipated, shown by the crowd that waited outside of the auditorium doors for nearly an hour beforehand. When the show began, Karine gave a short welcome, and introduced the emcee of the night, Rory Freedman. The entire show was a major success, and very professional. Not to mention, the clothing and styles were to die for. I'm definitely looking forward to the second SF Vegan Fashion Show!

San Francisco's World Veg Festival

Who: VN Editorial Assistant Brooke Still with the rest of the VN staff and lots of happy vegetarians

What: The 11th Annual World Veg Festival Weekend

Where: San Francisco, Calif.

When: October 2 and 3, 2010

Why: To celebrate all things veg in the Bay Area and beyond!

The Scoop: From Thailand to Toronto, from Seattle to San Diego, vegetarian, vegan, and animal rights festivals happen year round, and this weekend, it was VN's hometown's turn at the 11th Annual San Francisco World Veg Festival Weekend, hosted by the San Francisco Vegetarian Society. Each year, the festival is held around World Vegetarian Day, and always draws scores of people wanting to celebrate all things veg. So we packed up all our goodies from our new headquarters and headed over to Golden Gate Park.

Everyone picked up a copy of VegNews!

Believe it or not, this was my first veg festival, and I wasn't sure what to expect short of, well, food. I wasn't entirely wrong—there was A LOT of veg food, from cupcakes to Tofurky pizza samples (I only had one! ...ish) to Asian cuisine to granola bars—all proving how diverse and delicious veg fare can be. But there was so much more than that. The World Veg Festival was stacked with literature and information on the vegan and vegetarian lifestyle. Everything you could ever need to know about the status of factory farming, ways to help shelter animals, or how to whip up a cruelty-free dinner in no time was available. Oh, and fashion. Gorgeous vegan clothes were for sale, supplied by many a vegan designers, including Vaute Couture.

Vegan fashion

And of course, as is the case with these amazing festivals, there was a wide range of speakers to choose from, including Dr. Steve Blake, VN columnist Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, Dr. Joel Fuhrman, John Robbins, Dr. Michael Greger, Skinny Bitch's Rory Freedman, and more. The weekend was also packed with other exciting veg events, including an interview of the fabulous Ms. Freedman by VN Publisher Joseph Connelly.

I had a great time donning my very first "You Are What You Read" t-shirt, and helping spread the VN love by selling subscriptions. We rocked our shifts and had an amazing time at the festival full of like-minded, fun-loving people. Don't miss recaps from the first all-vegan fashion show and Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival coming this week!

Hollywood Hills Book launch Party

Who: VN Publisher Joseph Connelly, VN Managing Editor Aurelia d'Andrea, and a gaggle of glamorous, compassionate people
What: A launch party for Gene Baur's new book, Farm Sanctuary: Changing Hearts and Minds About Food Animals
Where: The Baur family home in the Hollywood Hills
When: March 15, 2008
Why: To support our fellow vegans

The Scoop: Joe and I nipped out from our Expo West duties for a few hours so we could lend our support to Gene Baur, co-founder of Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, NY, and Orland, Calif., who was having his official book launch party at his folks' home in the Hollywood Hills. Due to co-pilot malfunction, we got a little lost on the way up, but knew we were getting close when Joe's Prius passed a string of parked cars plastered with "Go Veg!" stickers.

Inside the modest mid-century home high in the hills above Los Angeles, the vegan glitterati mingled over glasses of organic wine and small plates from the buffet catered by Tanya Petrovna of Native Foods. The juicy tomato skewers were divine! Here and there, a familiar face surfaced in the crowd. Hey! Do I know him? Oh, wait: that's James Cromwell of Babe fame, and no, I don't know him. But I do know her—that's Skinny Bitch herself, Rory Freedman. I love her! And there's another vegan author, the funny, glamorous Karen Dawn. (Read more about her and her latest book, Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way We Treat Animals, in the current issue of VegNews.) And where can I get a coat like hers? (See Karen in said manteau above, pictured beside Emily Deschanel.)



After thoughtful speeches by Loretta Swit and Farm Sanctuary's Samantha Ragsdale, Gene took the podium for a few inspiring moments to talk about the way farmed animals have changed his outlook on life, deepened his compassion, and set the course of his life's work. A compelling, charismatic speaker, Gene had the crowd enraptured. It was a memorable evening made more so by the genuine feelings of empathy and compassion generated by this altruistic bunch of do-gooders. Being part of the vegan community is pretty freakin' awesome!