This was a delicious meal which will probably be our last of the asparagus season. The lemon balm pesto was delicious. Serving Size: 2 Ingredients: for the pasta: 2 cups wholewheat penne 1 bunch fresh asparagus 1 cup lemon balm pesto for the pesto: 2 cups fresh lemon balm leaves 1 cup fresh parsley leaves […]

Vida Vegan Con III, the vegan blogging conference to end all conferences EVER, is coming to Austin on May 29-31 2015, and you totally want to either speak at it or go to it because it’s THE BEST EVENT ON EARTH. Seriously, it’s all the raddest vegans, all the best vegan food, and panels and hang outs and galas and silent auctions and snacks and I’m telling you, it’s vegan summer camp, but more awesome than that sounds. It’s just the mickey fickey BEST.

Here’s details for applying to speak. (Do this before July 9th! Do it! You totally have something amazing to say!)

Here’s details for early registration, which opens THIS FRIDAY!

Now, go apply to speak! Or put early registration in your calendar! DO IT NOW! The world needs to see you and hear you in all your amazing vegan glory.

We recently spoke to Gillian Loughran, who has an autistic son, Finn, and is the editor of Autism Eye, a magazine aimed at providing parents with practical information about raising children with an autism spectrum disorder. Following some recent comments in the media about a connection between the symptoms of autism and dairy consumption, Gillian […]

Buying organic food is an exercise in personal virtue: You pay more to consume food that’s healthier for you and less damaging to the environment because it’s grown without artificial or toxic chemicals. This powerful perception, based more on belief than facts, goes a long way toward explaining why demand for organic products has grown […]

Let’s get this out of the way: the lines were long. And I mean like, crazy long. Long enough to wind through the outdoor patio lined with pop-up vegan restaurants and snake back around on themselves.

The first annual Oakland Vegan Beer & Food Festival this past Saturday was well attended, almost shockingly crowded. We knew Oakland loved a good vegan dish (and beer), but wow. Some reported waiting in line for up to two hours.

Although certainly frustrating, I’m going to look at the silver lining here and posit this simply means they’ll need more space and more food booths next time, which the organizers know—not such a bad thing.

After the fest, Hella Vegan Eats posted a love note to the community on their Facebook page that included this insight: “We are overjoyed that there was such a positive response to this event even with the crazy long lines. We can’t wait to begin planning next year’s #OAKVEGBFF with way more vendors, more space, better organization, etc. Now that we know to expect so many people, we can plan accordingly!”

Personally, I waited half an hour in line then another half hour for one of the most delicious dishes I’ve ever had, courtesy of S+M Vegan. The flavorful Okonomiyaki (savory Japanese pancake) stuffed with tots and veggies and topped with pickled relish and sweet soy was succulent and satisfying. Standing while eating, I finished it far too quickly.

While waiting, we sipped tart ciders and sampled decadent pastries including a gooey chocolate grasshopper bar and caramel cupcake from Timeless Coffee. As the Oakland sun beat down, I tried tastes of a dark Ale Industries Rye’d Piper and the Linden Street New Oakland Glow.

I also got a chance to chat with the duo behind Rhizocali Tempeh. They mentioned that they were surprised, coming from Gainesville, Florida, a town with two independent tempeh-producing companies, to find no other locals currently producing tempeh in Oakland. Nuts, right? The organic tempeh-makers based in the same commercial kitchen as Hella Vegan Eats and S+M Kitchen.

Wildly popular fest organizers Hella Vegan Eats had some especially long lines as well, but I saw many a vegan walk away ecstatic with a glistening plate of fried “chicken” and waffle or mac-n-cheese Lusty Lovers tacos from their booth.

While the food vendors were all lined up in the outdoor patio, inside we got to check out some rather shiny classic cars and art installations.

Outside, dogs roamed the lines, some very cute pups up for adoption via Rocket Dog Rescue—which received 20 percent of the event’s proceeds—and others brought by attendees, just stretching on leashes and seeking fallen drops of precious veggie meats.

To see more yummy photos of the event, creep on the #OAKVEGBFF hashtag on Twitter and Instagram.