vegan bloggers confab

I discovered an awesome vegan foodie conference in my beloved Portland, at my alma mater PSU, in August (the best month to be in Portland) just as it sold out! This is wonderful news for the Northwest and for the vegan food world, not such great news for me. Terry Hope Romero and Isa Chandra Moskowitz will be there!

There seem to be two creative ways to slide into this weekend of cool classes. One is to submit a recipe to Coconut Bliss, the other is to write a song about Vida Vegan Con.


Larry and Luna are every bit as beautiful as when I first met them in Eugene in 2003, and I haven't met a Coconut Bliss flavor I haven't loved. You might want to watch this video to get a taste of their lovely energy.

We're having a heat wave in San Diego right now, and since one of my favorite hot weather treats is a good old-fashioned root beer float, here is a reprise of my recipe:

SMITH'S ROOTBEER FLOATS

9 cups filtered water
1/2 ounce Zatarains Rootbeer extract
1/2 cup organic brown sugar
1/2 cup organic white sugar
1/2 teaspoon champagne yeast
Coconut Bliss - Vanilla Island

Mix yeast into a little cup of warm water (I add some sugar too) to dissolve and get it started. In a large glass container (preferably one you can pour from) mix the extract and remaining sugars with lukewarm water. Sterilize six brown glass bottles with boiling water. I also put the bottle caps in a small dish of the boiled water to soften the seals.

Mix all ingredients together including 9 cups of water in all. Using a good funnel, pour into bottles, cap them, and lay them in the sun for two hours. Bring the bottles in and let stand at room temperature for 24 hours. Serve with generous scoops of "Vanilla Island" Coconut Bliss, and I'm transported back to the A&W drive-in in Anderson with David, on our way home from high school, only better because there's no dairy.

My husband is making music in the next room and we're headed to the Ozarks for a songwriting workshop soon. Maybe we can write a song too. Wish me luck!