From the Well on Wheels Kitchen

It's been a busy couple of months and I haven't had time to post photos of some of the meals I've been making for clients. Here's a quick peek at what's been cooking in the Well on Wheels kitchen:

Sesame Tempeh with Asian Slaw, Tempeh "Sausage" and Peppers with Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Roots with Maple Mustard Almond Butter on Confetti Rice

4th of July Special: Barbecue Chickpeas with Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans, and Chili Spiced Street Corn

Jambalaya with Creole Spiced Zucchini and Cashew Crema

Testing the Maple Mustard Almond Butter Sauce on Roasted Sweet Potato

Brown Rice, Carrot, and Collard Green Sauté 

Testing No oil, No Sugar Dessert: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies made with Sunflower Seed Butter and Bananas

Cabbage Stuffed with Sautéed Veggies, Mushrooms, and Tahini Dressing

Testing Carrot Ginger Sauce on White Bean Cakes 

Carrot Ginger Sauce on Sesame Tofu, Brown Rice, and Veggies

Roasted Sweet Potato "Steaks" with Sundried Tomato and Mushroom Sauce on Sautéed Kale and Quinoa topped with Almond Cream Cheese 

Sesame Tofu with Crimini Mushroom Gravy, Mashed Potatoes, and Green Bean Amandine

Tofu Piccata with Asparagus and Mashed Potatoes

Salt & Pepper Tempeh with Carrot Ginger Sauce and Sautéed Shiitake

Veggie Pasta with Cashew Crema and Fresh Garden Herbs

Jamaican Kale and Butternut Stew with Cashew Crema, Barbecue Chickpeas with Mashed Potatoes and Veggies, Three Sisters Stew with Quinoa

Spinach, Pumpkin, and Chickpea Coconut Curry on Basmati Rice, Roasted Cauliflower Steaks with Spring Veggies, Black Bean and Brown Rice Stuffed Zucchini with Roasted Red Pepper Coulis

Vegan 101 Cooking Demo

I love introducing people to vegan food. Whenever I give library presentations, I never know who will show up or what their interest will be. Sometimes people a curious but cautious, sometimes people are already vegan, and sometimes they just come for the free food! But nearly always, everyone leaves pleasantly surprised realizing how delicious and easy it is to make.

That was the case this afternoon when I gave a food demo at Canton Public Library. It was a full house with about 30 people, about half of whom identified themselves as either newly vegan or semi-vegan. There was even a whole vegan family with three young kids!

I made one of my favorite recipes for this time of year:  Spring Quinoa Salad with Asparagus, Pistachios, and Dijon Vinaigrette. I talked about the health benefits of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory foods, where to get protein on a vegan diet (hint: quinoa is a complete protein!), and how to prepare food that has a balance of color, taste, and texture.

Everyone appreciated the step by step instruction and explanation of how to cook the perfect pot of quinoa. And of course, they loved getting samples of the finish recipe!

It's a colorful salad which is perfectly fine served straight from a bowl. But, because I like to get creative, I demonstrated how to serve for a party dressed up with a scallions, chopped pistachios, and edible pansies for garnish. It was almost too pretty to dig in!

As always, if you know a school, library, or organization that would enjoy having me give a presentation, please contact me to schedule a speaking engagement. I'm happy to help make eating vegan easy for you!

Vegan Cooking Lesson

I love love LOVE experiences like these! It's so wonderful when we cook together and share delicious food! 

I was asked to put together a Mexican themed menu for a Mother's Day celebration. This morphed into a cooking lesson since my client wanted to learn how to prepare the food along with her niece.  

It was such a pleasure to cook with a budding young chef who was very interested in learning and share some chef's secrets that I hope will make cooking a fun adventure. 

Here's what my client had to say:

"We had such an amazing, fun, educational and delicious day with personal instruction by vegan personal chef Mary Lawrence of Well on Wheels! 

Abby and I had so much fun in Mary’s cooking lesson. Abby is a serious Sous Chef!! 😊

We celebrated an early Mother’s Day Compassion Feast with an awesome Mexican flare, that coincidentally just happened to fall on Cinco de Mayo weekend. Vegan black bean and zucchini enchiladas, tostadas, Mexican rice, fresh guacamole, fresh salsa and cashew nut cheese." 

This was also such a great example of vegan activism since my client is the only vegan in her family and is interested in getting everyone interested in learning more about a plant-based diet. Delicious food helps make that happen!

If you'd like to learn more, contact me to schedule your personal, customized cooking lesson!
  

Peas & Love Veganic Community Garden

I recently embarked on an exciting new project: a veganic community garden.  Crops grown will feed people in need in Hartford county through the Manchester Area Conferences of Churches food pantry. In addition, volunteers will learn about veganic farming methods and vegan food preparation through educational events and cooking demonstrations.  We are planting the seeds of peace, love, and justice through veganic farming. 

We recently held the first organizational meeting of the Peas & Love Veganic Community Garden to begin planning. Soon this small patch of land will be planted with peas, carrots, radishes, kale, chard, and collards and surrounded by an herb and pollinator garden to attract bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects. 

One of the principles of veganic gardening is creating an environment which mimics the natural ecosystem and minimizes outside inputs. We have a compost pile on site, plus lots of leaves and pine needles for mulch. The only thing we’ll need to be careful about is not being too inviting to the deer, birds, and woodchucks who live nearby! We’ll experiment with row covers and fencing tied with CDs.

Thank you to all who attended, the Unitarian Universalist East for the space, and to Awesome Foundation for the "seed money" to start planting!

Very Vegan New Year Cooking Class

I had a great time cooking up a three-course gourmet vegan dinner at The Weekend Kitchen in Essex, CT this weekend. We wined and dined in a gorgeous 18th century inspired farmhouse kitchen and prepared a delicious menu of fresh, seasonal ingredients.

This class provided hands-on instruction on  how to create whole food plant-based recipes perfect for entertaining guests or eating on a daily basis. 

Students learned techniques for balancing color, taste, and texture, maximizing nutrition by using fresh, seasonal ingredients, and incorporating foods high in antioxidants and phytonutrients into their cooking repertoire. 

We created eight recipes from my new cookbook, Eat Vegan with Me. These quick and easy recipes taste as good as they make you feel! 

We started with an appetizer of Endive Leaves with Vegan Caviar and Cashew Crema. This savory start whetted appetites for the meal to follow.

The entree included a Pecan Crusted Tempeh that was marinated in a seasoned tamari and tomato paste sauce, then dipped in a gluten free breading of crushed pecans, nutritional yeast, corn starch, and other ingredients. 

 

This was served on a bed of mashed root vegetables, coconut roasted asparagus, and a savory crimini mushroom gravy. 

We finished our meal with gluten free Dirty Blondies made with coconut, chopped pecans, and chocolate chips. The secret ingredients were Great Northern Beans and oatmeal pureed into the batter to create a rich, dense texture.  The dessert was not only delicious, but heart healthy as well. 

The Dirty Blondies were plated with a cinnamon spiced Maple Pumpkin Butter Sauce that added a bright contrast to the dessert. 

Afterward, we sat down at the long farmhouse table to enjoy the meal we had prepared together. Thank you to Nancy, owner of The Weekend Kitchen, and to everyone for attending this fun class! Happy Vegan New Year! 

What is your greatest health challenge?

Whether it's digestive issues, chronic pain, cardiovascular disease, or autoimmune disfunction, I'm here to help! In the first video of my new health & wellness series, I discuss four steps you can take to get started healing your body right now. 

What is your greatest health challenge that holds you back? Post your question or comment below.

I look forward to connecting with you!

Vegan Resolution presentation

Yesterday I had the pleasure of speaking before a group of about 50 people who had come to learn about how to be a healthy vegan.  The theme of the presentation was "Vegan Resolutions," for anyone who had made a New year's resolution to go vegan.  I was happy to learn that almost half the audience were vegan and the rest were, as I like to call them, "pre-vegans" - those who came because they were curious, but not yet ready to commit to making a change.

There was interest right from the moment people walked through the door and saw a beautiful array of vegan snacks out on a table generously provided by the Unitarian Universalist Society's sustainable living committee for them to sample.  Conversation was lively and everyone was primed to learn more about how to make these delicious foods just from plant-based sources.

It comes as second nature to me now, having been vegan for nearly 20 years, but I remember one of the first vegan meals I ever ate at a restaurant and being shocked that you could make ravioli with a béchamel sauce without using any butter or cheese!

 

I imagine there were many people in attendance here who had the same reaction when eating a layered bean dip topped with melty gooey Daiya cheddar and decadent chocolate brownies.

I shared information about obtaining maximum nutrition on a vegan diet including where to get your protein, iron, and calcium, stocking your pantry with superfoods, and overcoming obstacles to making the vegan transition.  For more information and individualized recommendations, I offer a Vegan Wellness Jumpstart and nutrition coaching services.  Contact me for details!
  

New Year's Day Vegan Brunch

Hello 2017.  Let's make some mischief!

We kicked off the new year right with a Vegan Brunch catered by my personal chef business, Well on Wheels.  It was an intimate gathering of friends coming together to talk about food, families, activism, and spreading the vegan message while eating some decadent savory and sweet goodies.

The menu included Tofu Florentine Quiche, Benevolent Bacon, Sesame Strignbeans, Kite Hill cheese and vegan caviar on baguette, Cranberry Streusel Muffins, Apple Cinnamon Bread Pudding with Maple Pecan Praline and Coconut Whip, grapes, clementines and pomegranate, and chocolate truffles.

We talked and ate, then ate some more.  Even though it felt decadent, there was a lot of healthy stuff here with the fruit and veggies, so we didn't feel too guilty when everyone left stuffed.

Let's make 2017 a year of spreading the easy peasy vegan message that you don't need to feel deprived to be vegan, and anyone can do it.