ARE YOU READY TO ROCK?!
Vegan MoFo IV, the Vegan Month of Food, will be upon us in 2 days! For a run-down on what's happening and who's participating, go to Vegan MoFo International Headquarters. There are [EDIT] over 500 MoFo'ers right now. If you're interested in participating, you have until 2 November to sign up.
I've got some very loose plans for this year's MoFo. Some people have every day planned out, others are just gonna wing it, but I've basically got a weekly idea and a couple of things that I'll stick in for each themed week.
My first week is basically "cleaning out the pantry". I'm experimenting with getting a huge order of bulky/heavy groceries in every month and only buying fresh fruit and veg from the store, as well as things I can only get in person (e.g., nooch or cheeze). To make this feasible, I need to sort out my storage. I also need to actually use the stuff I buy in. So for week one, I'll focus on cooking things that I already have on hand and only shopping for fresh ingredients.
Earlier this year, I tested for Alicia Simpson's new book, Quick and Easy Vegan Celebrations, and I just received my tester copy today. I loved so much of what I tested (as did those I fed everything to), but I didn't even see most of the recipes in the book. So in week two, I'll be making recipes from Q&EVC that I didn't get to test. I've only just had a quick look, but I've already seen plenty I want to make.
Week three isn't set in stone, but I might do something like "allergen week". If you know me at all or have even skimmed my blog, you'll know that I have loads of food allergies and sensitivities - several types of nut, melon, avocado, and the newest, quinoa. I know loads of people who are gluten- and soy-free. I'm thinking, for this week, I'll focus on foods that are allergen-free.
In week four, my best good friend Eva is visiting from Newcastle. We're taking the opportunity to sit around and do nothing for three days. However, we will be making tamales, and that happens to also be Thanksgiving week. As a couple of Americans in the UK, we're often forced to come home from work and have sad little T'giving celebrations with our husbands (or alone) while we listen to our friends and family back home talk about getting the day off and gorging on massive feasts with everyone else they know. This will be the first time we've celebrated T'giving together. So the theme for that week will be "PARTY TIEMS".
Throughout the month, I'll also have a couple of other things going on not necessarily connected to the theme of the week. One of my projects will be "Mix v. Scratch". I'll make both a boxed mix and a homemade-from-scratch version of four things - swirl cake with fudgy frosting, lemon drizzle cake, gf chocolate chip cookies, and gf muffins. I'll ask co-workers, friends, and Mike to compare the two on taste and texture, and I'll weigh in on the time it takes to make each.
In addition to that, I'll have a couple of events on - a retirement party, a roller derby bout (volunteering, not skating), and possibly a birthday party, I dunno. I'll do my best to document how I get on with those.
I'll probably post about MoFo prep tomorrow. It's gonna be a busy-ass month. And unlike last year, I'm also working! We'll see if I can even keep up with blogging, let alone themes and projects.
