D-Town Farm: Have you heard about the Co-op Grocery Store coming to Detroit's North End?

The Detroit Black Community Food Security Network is hosting a community engagement meeting
 
Wednesday, December 18th at 6pm at 6558 Woodward  (a part of the Grand + Woodward Holiday Stop) 
 
Come dialogue with us about the future grocery store and how you can get involved! Dinner Provided.
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Have you heard about the Co-op Grocery Store coming to Detroit's North End?

The Detroit Black Community Food Security Network is hosting a community engagement meeting
 
Wednesday, December 18th at 6pm at 6558 Woodward  (a part of the Grand + Woodward Holiday Stop) 
 
Come dialogue with us about the future grocery store and how you can get involved! Dinner Provided.

D-Town Farm: Vegan Thanksgiving Tips: Courtesy of Tara The Vega...

D-Town Farm: Vegan Thanksgiving Tips: Courtesy of Tara The Vega...: Courtesy of Tara The Vegan Rah Rah blog   I have had the great fortune of being a part of an all vegetarian/vegan Thanksgiving, and I’v...

Vegan Thanksgiving Tips: Courtesy of Tara The Vegan Rah Rah blog

Courtesy of Tara The Vegan Rah Rah blog 

I have had the great fortune of being a part of an all vegetarian/vegan Thanksgiving, and I’ve also been to a few non-vegan Thanksgivings over the past few years as well. In either situation, some thoughtful planning and action is required to make a Thanksgiving meal that doesn’t revolve around a giant hulking bird carcass. Many thanks to my Twitter friend @veganyogini who inspired this post of vegan Thanksgiving tips!


When Attending a Traditional (aka non-vegan) Thanksgiving


Communicate with your host. Don’t expect them to make something special for you, but get in touch with them, let them know you’re vegan and ask if they minded if you contributed a dish or two.

1. Try and bring at least two dishes, seriously. They might be the only things you can eat.
2. At dinner, if things look like they might not contain animal products, don’t be shy about asking who made the dish. Most cooks love talking about what they made, so find out why made that gorgeous salad and get the scoop on its ingredients.
3. Be mentally prepared for lots of questions. If you’re eating with a familiar group, they might not give your half naked plate a second glance, but folks who aren’t familiar with your eating choices might start peppering you with the all-too-familiar questions for vegans. “So what DO you eat?” This might be annoying, but be gracious. You might just open up some minds.
4. Bring your own booze. Wines and beers may seem harmless, but many are cask conditioned (read: fish oil) or contain other non-vegan ingredients. I highly recommend checking out Barnivore-they have a very extensive list of vegan and non-vegan beers and wine, including their communications with the various companies.

Planning Your Own Vegan Thanksgiving

1. Do your homework! There are countless vegan Thanksgiving recipes out there. Start planning your recipes now. You can browse vegan recipes sites and build your own menu, or you can work from some of the set menus out there. For example, I cooked mainly from Robin Robertson’s Thanksgiving menu last year, and this year I’m really excited about picking up a Vegetarian Times to read Bryant Terry’s recipes from last year. If you Google “vegan Thanksgiving recipes,” there is a smorgasboard of information out there.
2. Collaborate. My rad friend Sarah hosted our all vegan/vegetarian Thanksgiving a couple of years ago (miss you terribly!), and she and I were in communication right up to before I left the house and who was making and brining what. We still had a few blips, but knowing what the other was up to was key.
3. Delegate. If you’re hosting, don’t by shy about putting people to work when they arrive. You can’t expect to pull of a big Thanksgiving meal all by yourself. Well, you probably can, but it might be a lot of work and unnecessary stress.
4. Poll your guests. Even though you’re creating a vegan meal, you might have people coming who have gluten or wheat allergies. Ask ahead of time, and try and make dishes to accommodate their special needs. Any time I’ve gone somewhere and a host has gone out of their way to prepare something vegan for me, it really means a lot. Pass on that simple kindness.
5. Footnote. I’ve had people ask me so many times “Oh, where did you get that recipe from?” and the I have to remember to go back in find it in my e-mail, look it up online again somewhere, or something else equally tedious. It might be helpful to have a little list of all your URL’s, books, articles, etc. that helped make the meal, and just have it out so your guests can see it and write down the source themselves.

Enjoy this wonderful time of year. For those who love to cook and eat, it’s a wonderful time to share a meal with your friends and family and have a blast making the kitchen a total disaster zone. I have awesome memories from last year’s night-before-Thanksgiving, staying up until 3 am with L, prepping all the vegan dishes we were going to take to our Thanksgiving meals.
Bon appetite!

Have you heard about the future co-op grocery store on the North End? Come Out Monday, Dec.2nd, 2013 - 6pm 7500 Oakland

DBCFSN's Co-Operative Grocery Store. Saturday, November 16th, 2013 11am-2pm

                                                                            DBCFSN'S Co-operative Grocery Store Canvas Saturday, November 16th 11am-2pm | 

Meeting at 9227 Goodwin St. Detroit|

Are you interested in getting the word out about DBCFSN's co-operative grocery store? Are you interested in co-operative economics and want to talk to others about how this model can help our communities? Join DBCFSN members for a canvas on the North End.

We will be having door-to-door conversations with folks about DBCFSN and the future co-operative grocery store in the community. Food will be provided!

Please contact Hallie Clark if you would like to join the canvas at 216-224-3609 or hclark@hungercenter.org. hclark@hungercenter.org . Also feel free to contact Hallie if you have any questions and/or concerns.

Hallie Clark
216-224-3609
Saturday, November 16th 11am-2pm | Meeting at 9227 Goodwin St

Vegetarian Pizza

Vegetarian Pizza

Veggie Toppings:

     1 tablespoon olive oil

     1 sweet onion, thinly sliced

     1 medium yellow squash, sliced

     1 medium zucchini, sliced

     Sliced mushrooms to your liking

     One 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened

     1/2 cup ranch dressing (optional)

     1/2 cup sour cream

     Sea Salt and ground black pepper

     4 Roma tomatoes, sliced

     1 cup fresh basil leaves

     2 cloves garlic, minced

     1/2 cup shredded mozzarella

     1/2 cup shredded Parmesan

Directions

You can use your favorite store bought healthy pizza

crust/dough, or make your own.  Servings 8.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Bake the store bought pizza crust about 2 1/2 minutes. 

Remove from the oven, and let cool for 10 minutes.

For the veggie topping: In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions, squash and zucchini and saute until lightly browned, about 10 minutes

Combine the cream cheese, ranch dressing, sour cream and a pinch of sea salt and pepper.  Spread the cheese mixture evenly over the pizza crust, leaving a 1-inch border.  Arrange the vegetables and the tomatoes over the cheese, then top with basil leaves.  Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and garlic. Top with the mozzarella and Parmesan and bake directly on the oven rack until golden, about 8 minutes.  Remove from the oven, and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into wedges.