Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Thanksgiving, an Interview, & Green Options.

Please head over to my new blog at TheUrbanHousewife.com, where you'll find this post & more!

It's been a whirlwind lately! From a quick trip to New York City, a Farm Sanctuary bash, Holiday baking, & starting a new writing job, I haven't had much time to write about mi vida loca! While the NYC posts will likely start next week, for now I have some other things to share with you.

Thanksgiving was a quiet one this year. I didn't want to fuss with a big bash, so a friend & I had a small vegan potluck for those not spending the day with their family. The dishes ranged from classic to extravagant, such as a Seitan & Chard roulade with Cashew Cream, Roasted Brussels Sprouts & Butternut Squash, Stuffing with dried cranberries, mushrooms, & celery, Cranberry sauce, Cornbread, Butternut Squash Risotto, & Potatoes Anna.

For dessert, I made an Apple Pie cake, which was also the seasonal Thanksgiving special I made for Sugar Beat Sweets. The cake was Vanilla with a Cinnamon swirl, filled with Spiced Organic Pink Lady & Fuji Apples, & topped with Vanilla Bean Buttercream & a Caramel drizzle. While the picture was taken so quickly, it doesn't do it justice, it was enjoyed & we managed to eat most of it, despite our full bellies.


Recently, I did an interview for Vegan Nutritionista for her series of interviews with "Famous Vegans". I'm honored to be included with the great people she's written about so far! We talked about two of my favorite subjects, baking & travel! Check it out at Vegan-Nutritionista.com.

Finally, as I mentioned, I took a new job as a writer for Green Options, a network of eco sites. I'll be writing about everything from food & fashion to activism & animal rights. You can check out what I've written so far on my profile, as well as subscribe to a feed of my posts HERE.

One blog I plan to write a lot for is Eat. Drink. Better. which deals with sustainable food news & recipes, but I need your help! Posts like "Beyond Pie; 10 Savory Pumpkin Recipes" aren't possible without other veg bloggers & recipes. We need to show mainstream eco sites that vegan food is the right choice for the planet & it's easy, approachable, & delicious! Hopefully each of you will show support for the site & offer use of your recipes, so I can republish them with credit & in turn drive traffic to your blogs as well!

Let's get the word out about veganism to the eco set! Subscribe to my feed for future posts & don't forget to check out what I've written so far. Thank you for your support!

24 comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

All the baking, traveling, eating, and writing that you've done lately is ASTONISHING!!! And I thought I was busy, haha!! Love it, Melisser!! :-D

Marni said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Marni said...

Congrats on the interview, pulling off a low-key Thanksgiving, and the new writing gig with Green Options. Your vida really *is* loca. ;)

Anonymous said...

Your Green Options gig is so cool! As is your apple pie cake...can I have some, please?

Meg said...

Oh my god, that CAKE! *reach reach*

Anonymous said...

that cake looks absolutely awesome, and they way you described it is making my mouth water. sounds like the potluck was a blast!

congrats on your interview! can't wait to check it out. and on your new writing gig as well. i will be following your posts.

we should all definitely hook up when you come to la!

Anonymous said...

Hooray for the freelance writing! I'll take a peak at your articles on my lunch hour! And, can you please bring me some of that cake if you ever visit Portland again? It looks so good, and Pink Ladies are my favorite. I'll make you Skanky Pumpkin Squares in exchange.

jessy said...

wow! you have been a busy bee, Melisser! sounds like it's been fun though! that's so awesome on the eco sites and also with Eat. Drink. Better. - i'm going to have to check everything out! i totally agree that showing that veganism = awesome for the earth (and animals!) is the way to go! that's the reason i became a vegan (although now i also focus on the aspects of animal rights, social causes, etc.) - because it seemed like the best choice for reducing my impact on the earth! yay!


i love the idea of a thanksgiving potluck! everything looks soooo super awesome! especially your apple pie cake (it sounds DIVINE)! mmmmmmmmmmmm!

okay, i'm gonna hop on over and check out the sites & your interview, too! wahooooooooo!

hang in there and don't get overwhelmed! :D

Bianca said...

Dude, that apple pie cake looks amazing! I'll try to check the Green Options site often. I just went there and saw a link to a story about the Swiss Army banning vegans...that is pure craziness.

River (Wing-It Vegan) said...

I loved your interview! You SHOULD be a cooking show host! I would be your show's #1 fan!

Your job writing for Green Options is so cool! You are such a busy little bee!

tofufreak said...

oooh yum!! everything looks great!! ahhh man. :)

Lisa (Show Me Vegan) said...

congrats on the new writing job! So exciting. I'm going to check it out now.

KitteeBee said...

Dear Melisser,
Please reconsider your dream job. I think you might like developing the world's best gluten free vegan cake instead. It has a nice title.

Yours,
xo
kittee

Tami said...

Oh man... that apple pie cake looks like the best thing ever. Brilliant...and that menu for Thanksgiving has me drooling.

Congratulations on the Green Options writing. I'm off to read your interview.

Anonymous said...

You are one seriously busy lady! So happy that you've had so much success already, and I know that you're definitely going to keep that up. :)

geisha_me said...

As usual, everything looks delicious.
I am jealous for the cake the most! I wish you could mail some of your goodies~! I long for California.

x said...

Great work on the new writing gig, will keep an eye on that website and that cake, oh my, looks so good!

Vegan_Noodle said...

How cool about the writing job!! You are definitely one fabulous and famous vegan!

Anonymous said...

kickass, M!

julie hasson said...

Awesome Melisser!

Erin said...

I'm glad the Thanksgiving potluck went well. The apple cake looks great! And I'll subscribe to your article feed, the past articles are definitely good.

It was nice to see you again yesterday, we'll have to have another event soon. I'm pushing for keraoke...

emma said...

that cake looks SO good, as does all of the other food. i need to go to the city more often so i can pick up some sugar beat sweets!

jb said...

Your Thanksgiving food sounds delicious. I'd love to try the butternut squash risotto!

Jenni (aka Vegyogini) said...

Congratulations on the new writing gigs and interview! I'm so happy we have fabulous vegan ambassadors like you paving the way and showing the world the wonders of veganism.