September Potluck

The September potluck was held on Sunday the 24th in northeast Austin. Not only did we celebrate the fall, good food, good company and being alive to enjoy all these things, we also celebrated one of our students who will be venturing off to be a sous chef at a new restaurant in California. Good luck, Rachel!

The photos are of the handrolls I made for the potluck. I used a 2:1 ratio of short grain brown rice to sweet brown rice, which I soaked, then pressure cooked. The filling is homemade tempeh that was simmered in shoyu and water, then panfried, along with fresh cucumber, avocado, blanched carrots, pickled shiso leaf, and green onions. I garnished with edible marigolds, chive flowers, and toasted black sesame seeds. I served with a dipping sauce(not pictured), which I made by diluting shoyu with water and adding ginger juice and toasted sesame oil.

Summer Specialty Classes Recap!

The Summer Specialty class have ended, and we're gearing up for the Fall Trimester, which will kick off with Fundamentals on Thursday, September 7. Here's a look at some of the dishes we made in the Mediterranean class, which Madeline Pizzo taught. There's a Seitan Slouvaki, three versions of Tzatziki, a Greek Salad, and some beautiful garnishes for the salad including black and red heirloom tomatoes, walnut-tofu feta, and red pepper matchsticks.

This Trimester, we will have Specialty classes like Homemade Pizza and the Very Best Vegan Thanksgiving Feast. I'll post a few pictures from last year's Thanksgiving feast soon.

Very Best Vegan Thanksgiving Feast 2005

Here are a few pictures from last year's Thanksgiving Feast. We had Seitan Roast with Cornbread Stuffing, Pumpkin Pie with Spelt Crust and Tofu Whipped Cream, Green Bean Casserole, Sweet Potato Casserole with Maple Pecan Topping and a Cranberry Sauce Mold just to name a few items. This year, I'm sure we'll be making some gluten-free versions of a few dishes for our students who are wheat/gluten intolerant.