Summer Travels Food Diary – Seattle and Vida Vegan Con

As the owner of a vegan bakery and confectionary, I seek any opportunity to visit other vegan bakeries, confectioneries and sweet shops to eat exquisite morsels and celebrate the delightful creations whipped up by my colleagues in the compassionate food business. On a recent trip to my old stomping grounds near Seattle, I made a point to stop in to the new, all vegan Bouteloua Bakery for some marvelous baked goods. Owner and master baker, Megan Jensen, crafts mouth-watering goodies in the kitchen, from cupcakes, cookies, and cinnamon rolls to pain au chocolat and croissants. Deciding how many of which to buy was my favorite part. If I’m dreaming, do not pinch me!

With its lively vegan community and Nia HQ, Portland, Oregon (PDX) has seen the wheels of my suitcase many times this year. A last-minute schedule change in August allowed me the opportunity to attend the phenomenal Vida Vegan Con. In addition to making new friends and finally getting to meet many gifted and entertaining bloggers and vegan superstars I knew already online, another highlight was the creative vegan food, including labels on the raw and gluten-free offerings. It was a rare pleasure to know that all weekend, I would be eating delectable meals and I didn’t have to cook a single dish! The fabulous organizers, Jess, Janessa, and Michele, took such good care of us that for once, eating at a conference didn’t require finding the only meager vegan option at the buffet or requesting special treatment from the servers. Instead, every one of us got special treatment!

Photo by Ryan Suffern

Dare I neglect to mention the inspiring, intelligent, rejuvenating workshops and extra events like the screening of the impassioned film, Vegucated, tour of Bob’s Red Mill, Galarama, meeting the lovely Carolyn Scott-Hamilton (who happens to share my high school alma mater in Florida!) and my newly discovered soul sister, Kim Garr and her all-things-camera wizard husband, Ryan? No way! I learned some new photography tricks from the ultra-talented Hannah, Isa, and Susan; expert writing tips from Dynise, enjoyed a demo of Fran’s Chocolate Cake to Live for (and it IS!); vegan parenting camaraderie from Ben, Sarah, Sayward, Joanna, and Michelle; uplifting encouragement from Colleen, and mad story writing skills from Terry. Marketing suggestions flowed from Fran, Kyle, Anika, Stephanie, and Jess; plus publishing know-how by prolific authors, Bryanna, Julie, Joni Marie, Ryan, and Isa. (Yes, I am still working on my cookbook!) Finally, blogging motivation gushed from Laura, Ben, Jordan, and Jasmin.

Photo by Gena Hamshaw

For me, relishing uniquely prepared food is one of the best parts of being vegan and getting to do so for my “Veganize It!” column in VegNews Magazine is especially rewarding. Not only do I get to share my savory side, but the VegNews founders take good care of their family of writers. Those of us who happened to attend the conference were treated to multiple foodgasms at Portabello on Friday night. Now, you all know that I’m a food snob, right? Well, this was easily one of the top five meals I’ve savored. It may have even shot to number one. I’m not sure. I was drunk on said ‘gasms, as were my tablemates, Jasmin of Our Hen House, Elizabeth of VegNews, and Gena of Choosing Raw. So entranced was I that my camera didn’t make an appearance. But, who needs to take photos when you’re at a table of bloggers? Luckily Gena took gorgeous photos of each course and chronicled our meal on her blog post, Unsurpassed. Read it. And weep.

PDX isn’t only a vegan mecca, it’s also the national headquarters of Nia, my favorite way to move, that ranks very close to my predilection for fair-trade chocolate. I was on cloud nine when I got to balance all that luscious eating with an invigorating Nia class on Friday morning.

I returned from the conference all-jazzed-up and no time to spare. Drats! Truthfully, I feel thoroughly blessed to have a virtual plate full of all my favorite things and a magnanimous vegan community with whom to share it all. Deep gratitude to all my friends for making this summer’s travels memorable, inspirational and lip-smacking!