Southern-fried Thanksgiving.

I love it when I start a post with an outright lie. We didn’t fry all that much, and certainly didn’t Southern-fry anything, however one does that. We did, however, make a ridiculous amount of delicious food.

Red and I, along with my parents, flew down to Charlotte (remember when I went there?) to spend the holiday o’ gluttony with my sister at her new house. Yay, new house! All that lovely space. I am so jealous. She and her boyfriend have done an admirable job of filling it, though, with the aid of this handsome fellow:



This enormous beast is Sampson, and he is still a puppy. When he finishes growing, I am going to laugh and laugh because he will almost certainly outweigh my sister. He is the sweetest, mellowest dog I’ve ever met—and not even a year old! Lucy is that calm when she’s waking up from anesthesia. We had many snuggles and even let him get up on the couch, which, strictly speaking, he is not allowed to do. He is a beautiful boy.

The day before Thanksgiving, Red and I learned of a new vegetarian restaurant in town. We absolutely had to try it! It’s called Fern, Flavors from the Garden, and you’ll just have to Google it because they’re too new to have an actual website. It is really lovely:

Such a great use for Mason jars.

Felt pockets on the wall! With living plants in them!

They poured us glasses of cucumber water, which is totally delicious and I don’t know why I’ve never made it myself. We started with jalapeño hush puppies (with Daiya, for those of you who worship the stuff), which I loved and I am no great lover of jalapeños, believe me.


Look at my pretty First Chakra Juice:


I know it’s ultra-hippie to have a juice menu named after the chakras, but we just covered them in my recent yoga training weekend, and I have a chakra poster (this one, actually) on my wall at work, and I have a chakra ring that I bought in Salem with my friend Jess, so I guess I am a little ultra-hippie, no? And yes, I brought my yoga mat with me to North Carolina.

My entrée was already vegan, and they veganized Red’s easily. Feast your eyes:

Green Goddess Soup

Warm Kale Salad

It was good we fueled up, because we headed downtown to the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art. Red and I can be very snobby East Coasters, but we’ve decided we can visit any city with a modern art museum. Well played, Charlotte. It’s right next to the Mint Museum (which, no, is not about currency), which I visited last time, so there was a nice sense of familiarity. I did not see the sign banning photographs, so I took some.

Me and Marilyn.

The rest of our visit was very domestic, as befits a family holiday. On Thanksgiving, my sister, Red, and I cooked up a storm—no, a goddamn tornado, and I had to stay sober the entire time because it was a very small kitchen for three people and I didn’t want to injure anyone (or, worse, spill my drink). But the day started off right, with these yummy vegan pumpkin cinnamon rolls (made the night before, because can you imagine? you’d have to be up at 4 to have them ready for breakfast):



The recipe is here, and aside from its being a pain in the ass in the way that all cinnamon roll recipes are (knead! rise! roll! slice! roll! rise! KILL ME), I can’t say enough good things about it. The rolls were perfect. The icing recipe looked like it made a vatful, so we halved all the ingredients except for the spices and rum, because my family likes to party.

Release the Kraken!

Most of the day was pretty chill, and we played a very satisfying game of Monopoly. My sister has the set we used as kids, and man, it has survived some craziness. I’m pleased to report that I won, although Red did remarkably well for his first time playing Monopoly ever. We’ll civilize him yet.

Before we started cooking in earnest, we needed appetizers. The omnis had their own stuff, and Red and I made Tami Noyes’ Seitan Veggie Crowns. There’s a reason they were named Vegan.com’s Appetizer of the Year! Go, Tami! BTW, leftover filling mixed with a little extra vegan mayo makes for a delicious sandwich.


Once we started making dinner, it was on like Donkey Kong. We made garlic mashed potatoes (vegan and omni), green bean casserole, bourbon mashed sweet potatoes with pecans, Appetite for Reduction’s Sweet Potato Biscuits, stuffing from a bag (you know you love it too), and Sage and Pumpkin Seed Encrusted Gardein with Cranberry Cabernet Sauce (Gardein’s Thanksgiving menu is off the hook). We used malbec instead of cabernet, and it was a delicious substitution. Even my dad loved the Gardein!

We carved a V in our mashed potatoes so there’d be no confusion.

I was too stuffed to eat dessert, but the day before I’d made the Gingerbread Apple Pie from Vegan with a Vengeance. I made it last year, too, because it is easy and fantastic. Shout-out to Red for his peeling/slicing assistance. Actually, I made two pies—it turns out that the recipe makes one pie when you have a big-ass ceramic pie dish, but two when you’re using disposable grocery-store pie tins. So, a bonus pie! Who could complain? My sister didn’t have maple syrup, so I improvised and used a combination of molasses and rum. Again: Problem? Where? (I forgot to take a picture, so if you want one, it’s in here.) I ate plenty of it the next day, don’t you worry.

No trip to Charlotte is complete without a visit to Lebowski’s, so we made a family pilgrimage there on Black Friday. Vegan White Russians and french fries, you have my heart. I was committed to not buying anything that day, so I guess I failed, but it’s not like I got up at 3am to stand in line with hostile strangers jonesing for a discounted Xbox or something. That shit scares me.

Bar lighting is so flattering.

On Saturday, it was home again, home again. I am so thankful to have been able to spend Thanksgiving with people I love, in a city that cares about its vegans at least a little, remembering what really matters.

In the city of sisterly love….

Like I told you (you didn’t forget, did you?!), I spent a few days chilling with my sis in her new hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina. My mom came with, so we had a full-on female bonding fest. Of course, food played a major role, and I made sure to document everything. We ate so well, I barely needed the breakfast bars and other snacks I’d packed.

Our first day, we stopped for lunch at Zada Jane’s, aka the cutest place I’ve ever eaten. (That website is happening, I tell you!) It’s not all vegan, but I had an excellent hummus wrap and roasted potatoes.



I took the second half home and ate it for dinner. For dessert, we made espresso shortbread with an Irish whiskey glaze:

My sister ran me to the Harris Teeter so I could grab some Earth Balance and veganize my shortbread. It was epically delicious.

The next day, after a bit of museum-hopping, my mom and sis were hell-bent on stopping at this one place for a snack that I thought was kind of gross, so I won’t tell you about it. The joint was not particularly vegan-friendly, but the fries were yummy. Why am I telling you this? You know how good French fries are. You’re probably eating some right now. If so, I wish I were you.

As we left the restaurant, we saw this sweet pup lounging just inside the doorway of his person’s store, greeting prospective shoppers:



Then, it was on to the #2 reason for my visit (#1 being the family quality time, of course): Lebowski’s! I tell you, I have never been so psyched to visit a bar in my life, not even in college when this one place would let us in without ID (their incredible house beers were two for $3—it was sweet, I tell you). Anyway, Red and I are proud Achievers, so the opportunity to geek out over The Big Lebowski in a bar devoted to all things Dude was unmissable. I even painted my toenails green in homage to the one movie that Tara Reid can be proud of appearing in.


Of course, any Lebowski bar is going to specialize in White Russians, and this bar offers them with soy milk! But I ran into a problem: five different varieties of White Russians, only one Burnout. The horror! Luckily, my mom and sister ordered theirs with soy as well, so I could taste them. They were all delicious.



Oh, the food, you say? Well, it was a bar, so it’s not like I was expecting vegan paradise. Still, I got my snack itch scratched with no problem:

Southern-fried vegan noms! Fried pickles are kind of a food group down there.

Yeah, I ate a lot of hummus that week.

There was plenty more paraphernalia scattered around the bar—I put all the pics here so as not to turn this post into a Lebowski Fest (which would be okay with me, actually).

Our schedule was a little tight, and we had just gotten our happy hour on at Lebowski’s, but I couldn’t bear to miss out on Zizi’s, Charlotte’s only 100% vegan restaurant. We scurried back uptown and grabbed dinner, even though we weren’t the least bit hungry. This is where takeout is super-useful!

After a soak in the hot tub and few cocktails on the living room floor, we were ready for a late dinner:

Mac-n-cheese, wings, and collard greens

BBQ tofu

Veggie stir-fry

Can I just say, SO GOOD! Zizi’s is a tiny little treasure tucked into a strip mall, and I think that when a town has only one vegan restaurant, it’s inevitably some variation on the earthy-crunchy, Rasta/soul food theme. I love that, because it makes me feel like I’m at home, and Zizi’s more than delivered. My sister’s boyfriend declared my tofu better, but I didn’t notice him turning his nose up at that BBQ deliciousness in front of him, either.

There is a full-length version of this photo, but I’m far too shy to post it.

The next day, we tripped over to Asheville to tour the Biltmore, America’s largest home®. I am not even being sarcastic; they totally trademarked that shit. Anyway. On the rather long drive through the woods to the parking lot, we saw a few wild turkeys:



It amazes me how different they look from their domesticated, genetically engineered cousins. They can walk and peck with ease, not falling over from mutilated toes or too-heavy breasts. It was wonderful to see them.

We couldn’t take pictures inside the house, but you know. You can Google it.

All the look-don’t-touch action took it out of me, so I was ready for lunch. Plus, we were planning on a wine tasting, and it’s a bad idea for me to do those on an empty stomach. At Cedric’s, a little pub on the estate, our waiter paled when I told him I was vegan. I was momentarily put out, because I had asked about the hummus platter (there is always a hummus platter), and how can you fuck up hummus? Anyway, it was vegan, and so was the gazpacho that came with it. Really salty and good.


After lunch, we did indeed get to our wine tasting:

My mom is so cool.

The Biltmore wines were good, not great. Nothing I couldn’t live without, but things really got going on our way out of Asheville, when we stopped at the French Broad Chocolate Lounge.

Yes. You heard me. CHOCOLATE. LOUNGE. If you are a chocolate-loving vegan, I have found your heaven. They call themselves “a sacred space for chocophiles,” and they do not exaggerate. I wanted to die of a chocolate overdose and stay there forever, but I came back to tell you all about it. See how selfless I am? We shared a glass of cold drinking chocolate, which was made with coconut milk and was decadently rich. We also dug into their Theros Olive Oil Chocolate Cake, which has convinced me to consider olive oil a baking ingredient. I can’t believe I didn’t snarf it all myself, but my mom and sister will attest to my restraint. Anyone who whines about vegan baked goods being gross needs to be force-fed a piece of that cake. I will do the honors.




I couldn’t leave without souvenirs, so I bought an expensive chocolate bar and a box of their vegan truffles. It’s called the Buddha Collection. Isn’t that cute? Ahimsa, and whatnot. Okay, only the Buddhists got that one. The yogis, too. What up, my tribe!


The French Broad is also very eco-conscious, as I found this in the bathroom:


Oh my Goddess, what did we do then? Drove the two hours back to Charlotte, sank into the hot tub again, and passed out.

The next day, we kept it simple because I had to fly home that night. My sister had a surprise houseguest in the form of Rein, a friend’s adorable pup. So, we spoiled her with snuggles and took her to a mega-dog park that is basically a fenced-in dog trail in the woods. She loved it, and I loved meeting all the other dogs who happily bounced around.

Strange pup likes to sit on the floor.

We had one final stop on our way to the airport: the Diamond. My friend Kate, a Charlotte native, told me I had to eat there during my stay, so we added it to the agenda. It’s recently reopened and I don’t know all the drama behind its previous incarnations, but allow me to say that the Diamond made me one of the tastiest Greek salads I’ve ever had. The menu is definitely not tops on anyone’s vegan-friendly list, but our waiter hooked me up. Oh yeah, we ate more fried pickles, too. They are yummy. Then I got hemmed up by TSA for forgetting to empty my water bottle, but what’s air travel without a little bit of bureaucratic bullshit anymore?




Well, there you have it. My time in Charlotte, as told through food. I had a blast and enjoyed some much-needed sister time, but I was equally glad to come home to Red and Lucy. I wish you all many delicious vacations, wherever you go!

Hi and goodbye (but not for long)!

Hello there, my darlings! This will be a quick post, just to show you a couple things we’ve eaten lately and to kiss you goodbye until later next week. I’m headed down to North Carolina to see my sister and partake in some Southern-style vegan goodness! I have a mile-long list of restaurants to visit, so I’ll try to hit as many as I can and take pictures for you. Three words: All-vegan takeout!

In the meantime, I have to admit that Red and I haven’t made that many interesting meals lately. You guys really don’t need to see any more pictures of spaghetti, and the risotto was very tasty, but it was out of a package. The Baja Fresh burritos and Chinese takeout probably don’t warrant a mention, either. Still, here’s something tasty:


Here we have Classic Black Bean & Veggie Chili from Appetite for Reduction. Confession time: I don’t know that I really consider this “chili” since it’s not thick enough to scoop up with a tortilla chip. It reminded me and Red of posole without the hominy. However, we love posole, so it worked out. As you see, I canceled out almost all the low-fat benefits by piling on the avocado slices. Avocado makes everything better.


We also made AFR’s Veggie Potpie Stew. We may almost be finished with stew season, which is a delight because I am sick as hell of gray, rainy weather. I want to be warm, dammit! This stew was a nice distraction, though. It was our first time cooking with yellow split peas, and I am pleased to have added a new legume to my repertoire. Isa is not kidding when she says it thickens up—this surpasses what I’d call fork stew and is basically yummy vegetables in yummy gravy. Liz at Cooking the Vegan Books recommends adding a splash of Worcestershire sauce, and I think that is a brilliant idea. Another reason she is cooler than I am is that she got her act together to make biscuits to go with it. I just had toast.


As you see, it also makes a great wrap! Versatile stew for the win! I think I am going to start wrapping everything now. Wraps are so much fun.


This is Southwest Roasted Asparagus and Corn from 30-Minute Vegan. This was so easy and tasty! Chop, toss, oven. Red bravely diced the jalapeño without wearing gloves, which is more than I can do. We scooped it up with tortilla chips for the perfect quick, light dinner.

That’s it for today! Keep an eye out for my North Carolina roundup in the next week or so. See you soon!