Who doesn’t like a good party? Gail, author of the blog Kitwocky has a post about vegan-style entertaining. Here she is in her own words, “When I decided to write a blog, knowing that my husband and daughter would likely end up in the posts from time to time, I consulted them to see whether they preferred that I use our real identities or something a bit more anonymous. They voted for the latter. My daughter, who was 10 at the time, requested the name “Queen Cobra.” That will be her full name in these posts, but I’ve also given her the nickname “Queenie,” for ease of typing. My husband will simply be known as Mr. Man.
That left me. The title of this blog is also my alter ego: Kitwocky. The Kitwocky is a mythical creature that was born from Queenie’s imagination. It is a distant cousin of the Jabberwocky, but much friendlier (the Kitwocky is vegan, and while it might look fearsome with its sharp teeth, it prefers to work out its problems nonviolently).
This is the first in a short series of posts I put up featuring vegan entertaining. The reason: I want the world to be clear, just in case it’s not, that vegan entertaining can be every bit as delicious and stylish and fun as its non-vegan counterparts.”
Follow Gail’s adventures on her blog, and Twitter. Welcome Gail!
For the next couple of posts, I’m going to go through some old photos to showcase a few of the parties I’ve hosted in the past. The reason: I want the world to be clear, just in case it’s not, that vegan entertaining can be every bit as delicious and stylish and fun as its non-vegan counterparts. More so, really, because vegan gatherings are, by definition, compassionate affairs. In these party posts, I want to convey what I feel deeply, which is that a vegan lifestyle is one of abundance and joy, not one of deprivation. And I can assure you that all of my non-vegan friends thoroughly enjoyed themselves!
The party in these pics was a Spring Brunch that we hosted at our home in Venice, California. I adore brunch, and serving brunch to friends is one of my favorite ways to entertain. It’s always a low-key, relaxed atmosphere, and I’ve worked out a menu that is made entirely in advance, allowing me to have fun with my guests.
Here is the food, ready for people to arrive.
I made several things from Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s book, Vegan Brunch (a fantastic book!), including the broccoli quiche and tempeh sausage crumbles. I dipped into another of Isa’s books, Appetite for Reduction, and served a delicious quinoa salad with balsamic vinaigrette (so delicious that people asked for the dressing recipe). There’s also fresh fruit salad and a couple of varieties of muffins (at this event, it was the Peach Ginger Muffins from the Babycakes cookbook, as well as my Sage Blue Corn Muffins (the recipe for which is in a prior blog post)).
Here’s the spread after people started digging into it.
As for the beverages, there was the non-alcoholic: fresh iced mint tea…
… and an assortment of alcoholic things, for those so inclined. There are plenty of vegan wine options – you just have to do a little research or have a vegan-friendly wine shop nearby.
We also had a couple of special offerings for the kids. First was Queenie’s cinnamon apple slices (just raw apples, cut up and tossed in cinnamon powder) served with a sweet peanut butter spread of her own creation. This station turned out to be just as popular with the adults as the kids.
And we had some fun bubbles and sidewalk chalk to play with (also popular with adults).
And the grand finale: the crazy awesome donuts from Babycakes. We picked up the chocolate glazed and the cinnamon-sugar sprinkled. They were both huge hits.
I look forward to hosting my first Pacific Northwest brunch, and while I will miss the donuts, I’m excited to substitute treats from Violet Sweet Shoppe!
I hope this inspires you to host a fun party of your own. Getting people together and serving them tasty food is always the recipe for a good time.
Enjoy! xo
