To Live and Eat in L.A. - A Vegan Food Photo Blog

I had another opportunity last weekend to sit in with Jenny of Spork Foods to take pictures during her vegan protein class. The class was called “Get Your Protein, Vegan Style!” and aimed to answer that age old question, “Vegan? But where do you get your protein?” by cooking up some delicious yet easy-to-make protein rich dishes. I’m not going to divulge any of Jenny’s excellent vegan recipes, you’ll just have to attend one of her Spork Food classes if you want to get the inside scoop. I will however tempt you with a peek at what we learned to make (because I know you like to watch).

Home-made Seitan (which got made into)
Cornmeal, Walnut and Herb Encrusted Seitan in a Lemon Caper Sauce
Balsamic Marinated Stuffed Mushrooms with a Tempeh Vegetable Crumble
Cashew Cheese in an Endive with Micro-greens
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

Everything was delicious and simple to make. I’ve already made my own version of the tempeh stuffed mushrooms here at home as that was my favorite, but we’ll get to that another time.

Jenny’s classes are always a lot fun and action packed with information. Everyone learns something, be they cooking newbies like me, or seasoned cooks. Upcoming vegan cooking classes include: Southern Cookin’, Spring Picnic, Brunch Party, South-East Asian Cuisine, Local and Seasonal Foods (Spring), Fresh, Fast and Healthy, Traditional Jewish Foods, All American Cuisine and more. Find all you need to know and more at: www.sporkfoods.com

…and it went without a hitch thanks to the fine ladies of Spork Foods. Their specially prepared vegan menu included:

Truffle Scented Thyme and Mushroom Gravy
Sage Whipped Mashed Potatoes
Sourdough Stuffing with Caramelized Onions, Apples and Pecans
Juicy Herbed Vegan “Turkey”
(the asparagus in the photo was made by my aunt)

Everything was very tasty. The faux-turkey was moist and flavorful and had a very meaty texture to it. I don’t actually know what it was made of but I assume it was some sort of seitan/gluten concoction.

Here’s how it was lovingly packaged for me beforehand, and I even get to keep the cute bento-like tupperware. Score!

This was the yummy dessert, ‘Maple and Cinnamon Apple Turnover with a Coconut Whipped Topping’. It had just started to burn as I was heating it but I got it out just in time (the dark parts look darker in the photo than they really were). It was delicious and the coconut topping was fantastic as well.

See my previous post for more info on Spork Foods…

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending a vegan cooking class led by Jenny Goldberg of Spork Foods. I’ve never taken a cooking class before so this was a whole new exciting adventure for me. The theme of the class was food ideas for yummy stuff you could bring to a holiday potluck.

I’m not gonna divulge any recipes, but everything was really easy to prepare and the results were all delicious. Everything was pretty simple, yet Jenny’s recipes all had their own little special something that made each dish a winner. The menu consisted of:

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Herbed Biscuits with Agave Lime Butter
Roasted Seasonal Vegetables
Roasted Garlic Hummus
Asian Coleslaw
Maple Tamari Almonds

Here’s Jenny, our hostess with the mostest… isn’t she adorable?

Cookies and biscuits cooling on the rack.

Other than this cookie, I can’t think of a more exciting way to get peanut butter, chocolate and oatmeal in my mouth all at once.

Herby, biscuity goodness. The agave lime butter (not shown) was good enough to lick right out of the bowl. No, I didn’t… but had I, it would have been totally understandable.

Preparation of the roasted veggies.

The very tasty finished product.

Jenny in living motion! The garbanzo’s are on their way to becoming hummus.

Still life with (to die for ) hummus.

Jenny has her way with the purple cabbage. And the cabbage liked it.

The lovely salad plated in a cabbage leaf.

Maple Tamari Almonds. We enjoyed these sprinkled on top of our salads.

What a nice day learning to make good food with some groovy ladies. If you’re in the L.A. area you should check out Jenny and her sister’s Spork Foods, “a gourmet vegan food company which offers delicious, innovative cuisine emphasizing organic, local, and seasonal ingredients”. They offer cooking classes, meal delivery, and catering. They’ll also set up booths at art shows and parties.

And on that note, I just picked up my Thanksgiving meal from these ladies which I’ll be enjoying tomorrow while the rest of my family eats poor, dead birds. I’ll let you know how it was after the holiday. May all of yours be equally yummy!