Our Annual Banquet is an opportunity to get together with animal advocates and celebrate our accomplishments over the last year. The banquet includes a silent auction, sumptuous vegan food, and a brief presentation recapping the previous year. It’s our biggest and most important fundraiser, and I hope to see you there! You can register online right now. Tickets are $40 for individuals, $70 for couples, and $90 for families.

I hope to see you on February 22 at our Vegan Chili Cook-Off. Please invite your friends on Facebook.

We’re hiring a full-time communications and events coordinator! Please apply and spread the word.

Our Annual Banquet is an opportunity to get together with animal advocates and celebrate our accomplishments over the last year. The banquet includes a silent auction, sumptuous vegan food, and a brief presentation recapping the previous year. It’s our biggest and most important fundraiser, and I hope to see you there! You can register online right now. Tickets are $40 for individuals, $70 for couples, and $90 for families.

Not only does this email look different, but so does our website! We released it last Friday. Did we make any mistakes? Let me know.

There are nine spots left! Show the Twin Cities that your vegan chili is the best on Saturday, February 22 at our 5th Annual Vegan Chili Cook-Off. It’s at the First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis, 900 Mount Curve Avenue, Minneapolis, MN.

We have three events next week! A dine-out at Galactic Pizza on Tuesday, February 11, our Valentine’s Vegan Bake Sale on Thursday, February 12, and our Veg Love Valentine’s Potluck on Saturday, February 15. Will I see you there?

I’m also excited to tell you about Mistress Ginger Cooks. Our long-time volunteer has written a vegan cookbook! Mistress Ginger will be singing love songs and promoting her book on February 13 and 14. I’ll be there on the 13th if you’d like to join me.

For the animals,

Unny Nambudiripad

Justin Leaf, a longtime CAA volunteer, is pleased to announce his cabaret show, “Mistress Ginger Cooks: Love Songs to Turn up the Heat”, at Bryant-Lake Bowl Theater on Thursday, February 13th at 7pm and on Friday, February 14th at 10pm! In addition to this show, Justin (as Mistress Ginger)  is also releasing a vegan cookbook in Spring 2014 called Mistress Ginger Cooks: Everyday Vegan Food for Everyone.

Junkyard Theater is presenting this special show at Bryant-Lake Bowl Theater, 810 West Lake Street, Minneapolis. Tickets are $15 at the door or $12 in advance or with Fringe button. You can get tickets at www.bryantlakebowl.com or call (612) 825-8949.

More about the show and cookbook

Award-winning performance artist Justin Leaf takes the stage as larger-than-life showgirl Mistress Ginger in this musical revue celebrating Valentine’s Day. With Charlie Smith on piano, Ginger sings songs to inspire love, lust, and laughter. The set list is comprised of a diverse collection of popular tunes, ranging from Cole Porter to Paul Simon to Pink. Whether soulful or comical, swinging or sultry, Ginger’s renditions aim to give the audience a night of full of fun and ripe with romance. This modern-day tribute to the quintessential day of love is designed for everyone, “whether single, coupled, or even tripled.”

Between the songs, Ginger tells a few titillating tales of her expertise in the kitchen, how she whips up meals for her many lovers and satisfies their appetites in more ways than one. With these stories, the show references Leaf’s soon-to-be-released vegan cookbook, written as Mistress Ginger and titled Mistress Ginger Cooks: Everyday Vegan Food for Everyone. The book will be published by Book Publishing Company and available in the spring of 2014.

“Mistress Ginger Cooks” marks the sixth production for Junkyard Theater, established by Justin Leaf in 2009 as a platform for the creation of multi-dimensional performance works that affect an audience through the intimacy of the cabaret experience. Junkyard Theater’s first production, “The Mistress Ginger Junkyard Spectacular” premiered at the Bryant-Lake Bowl Theater in 2009 and was followed by “Bedroom Eyes,” presented at the 2010 Minnesota Fringe Festival. In 2011, Junkyard Theater presented “Spell No. 2” and “Geek in the Pink,” the latter of which VitaMN called “a campy, bawdy, homofabulous romp with moments of real humanity.” In 2013, Justin entered a new realm with “Don’t Rain on My Panda Bear,” featuring Justin performing as both himself and with the character of Mistress Ginger.In March 2014, Junkyard Theater will present “Waters of March,” featuring songs to herald the spring, sung by Justin accompanied by jazz pianist Richard Erickson.

So, bring your sweetheart out for a night of fun and laughter and don’t miss this one-of-a-kind show!

Do you make the best vegan chili in town? Enter the competition!

Last week I mentioned our 5th Annual Vegan Chili Cook-Off, and now we’ve opened up registrations to contestants! There are just 13 spots, and we expect them to fill up. Sign up today! If you simply want to attend and rate the chili, it’s free to attend. It’s on Saturday, February 22, at 7 pm at the First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis (900 Mount Curve Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55403).

Our cookbook reviewer is back with a review of Betty Goes Vegan. What cookbook will Michelle review next? You can find out on Minnesota Public Radio!

We have a special dine-out on February 11 at 7 pm, at Galactic Pizza (2917 Lyndale Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55408). For everything we order, Galactic will donate 25% to Compassionate Action for Animals! Even better, they will contribute all day if you simply show them a coupon on our website.

I have a lot of events to announce! I hope to see you soon!

• First, we have a potluck on Thursday, January 23 at 6 pm at our office, 2100 First Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55404. Warm up with great food and company!
• We’re hosting our 5th Vegan Chili Cook-Off on Saturday, February 22 at the First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis, 900 Mount Curve Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55403. We’ll open up registration to contestants soon!
• We’re hosting our 10th Annual Banquet on April 3, 2014. I look forward to celebrating another successful year with you! You can register right now.

We have more events including a Valentine’s potluck and bakesale to announce soon.

Do you live outside of the Twin Cities, Minnesota area and want to plan your own festival like the Twin Cities Veg Fest? We’ve created a new website on how to plan a veg fest! We’ve included all details on how to form a committee, find a venue, coordinate advertising, and more!

“[Betty Crocker]…has always been an advocate for the modern kitchen….[W]ith the rise of veganism and vegetarianism, and a wave of new vegan-friendly products on the market, there’s another new wave of modernity sweeping over the cooking landscape – and many of us need a hand adjusting, in the way our mothers and grandmothers did in their day.” – Betty Goes Vegan: 500 Classic Recipes for the Modern Family by Annie and Dan Shannon.

Annie Shannon captures the spirit of Betty Crocker in Betty Goes Vegan with her personal notes on recipes and tips on gadgets and vegan products. More than the recipes, Annie’s story of being in a professional rut and being re-inspired through her Betty Crocker blog project resonates so loudly throughout the cookbook it inspires the reader to dive in with abandon too. From blog project to VegNews’ Best New Cookbook 2013, Betty Goes Vegan is an inspiration for modern day “Bettys”.

The recipes in Betty Goes Vegan harken back to my childhood growing up on Minnesota’s Iron Range. Familiar dishes like stroganoff and meatloaf are remade compassionately with vegan ingredients. If you miss your family’s mayo-based salads, have no fear, Chapter 3 on lunch has you covered. Many of the recipes showcase faux meats and cheeses, and the Shannons offer several overviews of the products for the novice throughout the book.

In addition to the usual chapters on breakfast/brunch, lunch, dinner, baked treats (aka desserts) and appetizers/snacks, there is a section on holiday favorites that offers quick ideas if you find yourself hosting a holiday meal. With 14 pages dedicated to Thanksgiving, you’re bound to find something new to add to your current rotation. Maybe a beer can tofurky (p. 444) or mini pumpkin cheesecakes (p. 454)? The baked treats chapter will also make you wish you had a whoopie pan with 9 recipes ranging from tiramisu (p. 346) to dreamsicle (p. 344).

I tried seven recipes from the cookbook and found them more of a starting ground for inspiration than a follow it to the letter guide. The vegan ranch dressing (p. 110) was flavorful (non-vegans couldn’t tell it was vegan), but its consistency was more like a dip than a dressing. The artichoke dip (p. 408) was a lemony, slightly funky and richly gooey dip that satisfied a need for overindulgence. I doubled the chocolate chips for the chocolate chips cookie recipe (p. 296) and was surprised at the whipped consistency of the dough. The cookies had crisp edges and fluffy centers and were devoured at a party by vegans and non-vegans alike. You can read more about my experiences with the recipes on my blog, Accidentally Meatless.

What I liked most about Betty Goes Vegan is Annie Shannon’s personal touch and vulnerabilities. She shares women’s history lessons, arguments for veganism, and a study of Betty Crocker in an introspective tone that challenges the reader to see beyond stereotypes and be a role model through compassionate, inspired living.

Betty Goes Vegan: 500 Classic Recipes for the Modern Family

by Annie & Dan Shannon
First Edition: February 2013
Grand Central Publishing