Bianca Phillips's Blog, page 114

37th Birthday Weekend, Day 3!

Last birthday post, I swear! Well, until next year when I do it all over again. But as I mentioned over the past couple posts, I stretched my 37th birthday (which was yesterday) out for 3 days with fun celebrations every day. My big friend gathering with dinner and a night out was Saturday. Sunday, we did birthday brunch and a celebration with my family.

Here's my 37th birthday selfie! I take one every year.


On Monday — my actual birthday — I took off work for a stay-cay day with Paul. I slept in until 7:30 (omg!) and then had Ramen Noodles with Tofu & Veggies in my PJs while I watched The Walking Dead on Netflix (I'm a season behind — no spoilers, please!).


I also had some coffee in a new mug that my mom had made for me. It has Maynard on it! He was impressed.


After breakfast, Paul and I went for an easy 3-mile run on the V&E Greenline by our house in Crosstown.


Typically, after a run, I have a protein shake or protein waffle. But I skipped that in favor of leftover Fried Vegan Drumsticks from Imagine Vegan Cafe. We'd eaten brunch there on Sunday, so I had some left, plus leftover mac and collards. Paul had some leftover biscuits and gravy and a piece of a waffle, also from Imagine. So I just made a giant plate!


My parents gave me birthday money to buy new running shoes, so we went to Breakaway Running for a little shopping time in the afternoon. I went back to Brooks Ghosts after a year-long break from them. Last year's model had a weird, hard plastic toe box that made my big toes go numb, but that's gone from the Ghost 10s. Can't wait to try them out after work today!


I also decided to buy myself a jean jacket as a birthday gift to myself. I've gotten so many patches and pins from Goddess Provisions boxes, plus other places. I put ALL of my patches and pins on my jacket. Maybe it's a little busy, but I don't care! Love it!


Around 4 pm, we headed to Alchemy for happy hour cocktails. They have half-off all cocktails and appetizers! I started with a Dirty Martini.


And Paul had a (not vegan) White Russian.


We also ordered an appetizer of Edamame Hummus to share. The hummus was fantastic, but those roasted chickpeas stole the show. They were so crunchy and perfect.


Then it was time for dinner! We drove out east to City Silo Table + Pantry — a super vegan-friendly place with bowls and sandwiches — to meet Mike, Andy, and Tyler.


After a weekend of fried craziness and booze, it felt really awesome to be eating such a healthy dinner. The El Goodo Bowl had buffalo tempeh, brown rice, quinoa, garlic greens, black beans, corn, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and a serrano-avocado sauce. YUM!


I had such an amazing 37th birthday weekend! Thanks for all the birthday wishes (and thanks for putting up with my many birthday posts!).

37th Birthday Weekend, Day 2!

Today is my birthday! Yay! But since it was a Monday birthday (and real talk, because I'm a Libra), I made this a 3-day birthday weekend! Last night, I posted about my birthday party with friends on Saturday night. And tonight, I'll post about my Sunday pre-birthday brunch and family dinner. I'll save the actual birthday pics for tomorrow night.


My BFF Sheridan and her partner Drew spent the night at my house on Saturday night since they live in Little Rock. So on Sunday morning, we woke up and went to brunch before they hit the road back home. Of course we went to Imagine Vegan Cafe! They had Fried Pickles with Ranch on special, so we started with that. Y'all know I love some fried pickles!


For my entree, I went with Vegan Fried Drumsticks with Ranch & BBQ Sauce, Vegan Mac & Cheese, & Collard Greens. BEST FRIED BRUNCH!!


Here's a pic of me and Sheridan at my house before they left town. We're both wearing Herbivore shirts!


Drew always makes the best videos when they come to visit, and he created this awesome birthday video from our Saturday and Sunday adventures.



After they left, Paul and I drove to Jonesboro, Arkansas for a birthday dinner with my parents.


I requested Totchos! So my mom made vegan chili, and she had vegan cheddar, sour cream, homemade guac, pickled jalapenos, and scallions. So good!


For dinner, she drizzled a Daiya New York Style Cheesecake with chocolate syrup and crumbled Oreos on top. We enjoyed this with Ben & Jerry's vegan Cherry Garcia. Yay birthday!


Okay, one more birthday post tomorrow, and I promise I'll stop with the birthday stuff — until next year!

37th Birthday Weekend, Day 1

My 37th birthday is Monday, October 16! But I like to stretch birthdays out for as long as possible. A Monday birthday is a perfect excuse for a birthday weekend with parties and awesome food every day! On Saturday, I started my 3-day birthday celebration with a fun day with friends, food, and booze. I'll share those pics tonight, and then I'll catch y'all up on days 2 and 3 over the next couple days.

My BFF Sheridan and her partner Drew came up to Memphis from Little Rock on Saturday afternoon for my birthday party. Sheridan and I have been besties since eighth grade, and I'm so glad we live close enough to see each other every few months. We had a little time to kill, and Crosstown Concourse — the amazing building where I work — has only been open a few months, so I wanted to take them on a tour. Plus, it was around lunch time, so we started with snacks from Mama Gaia, the all-veg, organic restaurant inside Concourse.


I ran 16 miles on Saturday morning, before they arrived, and I was famished. But I knew I also needed to save room for birthday dinner (which was only a few hours away), so I went with a light snack — the Cena Petitzza with vegan cheese and mushrooms.


After lunch, I gave Sheridan and Drew a tour of this awesome, repurposed 14-story building. Here are Sheridan and I in front of artist Kevin Bongang's mural, a temporary piece that wraps around the Crosstown theater (which is still under construction).

We ended our tour at Next Door American Eatery, also inside Concourse, for beers! 


From there, we walked across the street to Crosstown Arts for a couple of art openings, one of which was for this awesome mural depicting local artist Michael Roy. It was painted by a visiting artist, Patrick Kane McGregor. Both artists posed in front of the mural for us.

We goofed around a bit.

And took a photo in front of the I Love Memphis mural.

And then it was time for dinner! I made birthday plans at Blue Nile with a bunch of friends.



I started with a Tofu Skewer appetizer.

And I went with the Veggie Platter for my main entree. I love Ethiopian food SO MUCH. So very much.

After dinner, we moved the party to Railgarten — a fun outdoor bar that's pretty much like hanging out in someone's giant backyard. They were having their Oktoberfest celebration, so the place was especially packed. We took some pics. I drank wine from a can (classy). We hula-hooped. And we chilled by the bonfire. Perfect night.






More birthday pics coming tomorrow!

Sweet, Savory & Free

I'm so lucky to not have any food allergies! I can only imagine how hard it would be to avoid such ubiquitous ingredients as gluten, soy, or nuts. But I do have a few friends with food allergies, and when I cook for them, I have to be very careful about what goes into my dishes. Debbie Adler's new cookbook — Sweet, Savory & Free: Insanely Delicious Plant-Based Recipes Without Any of the Top 8 Food Allergens — should be a great help in those instances. But it's also just an awesome book that anyone can use because her recipes are delicious!

Those top eight allergens include dairy, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, wheat, fish, and shellfish. Plus, Debbie's recipes are also free of refined sugar and oil. And they're all vegan of course! The book contains everything from sweet and savory breakfasts to homemade condiments (HOMEMADE SRIRACHA!), soups, sides, pizzas, pastas, gluten-free breads, and desserts.

I tried a few recipes and loved them all. I typically eat ramen noodles every Sunday, and I tend to buy those Lotus Foods gluten-free rice ramen packages just because they're all-natural and delicious. So I had to try the recipe for the Sweet Miso Forbidden Rice Ramen Noodle Bowl.


I accidentally got the Lotus Foods Jade Pearl noodles instead of Forbidden Rice noodles, but they were still gluten-free. Just not the right purple color! The broth is made from sweet potato, ginger, turmeric, and green tea, and it's so savory and amazing. I usually add frozen veggies to my ramen bowls, but I've never had a broth made from pureed veggies. Genius!

From the Main Attractions chapter, I made the Mushroom Herb Ragu over toasted quinoa (from I Heart Keenwah). Paul loves mushrooms, so I knew this was a main dish we could eat together. Plus, I'm still doing the Dr. Fuhrman GBOMBS thing, and I need to get mushrooms in daily. This creamy dish is made with coconut milk and thickened with tapioca starch. I did have to add a little extra tapioca starch beyond what the recipe called for though as mine didn't thicken quite enough at first.


On the side, I made the Creamed Kale from the Meals in Muffin Tins & Ramekins chapter (what a fun theme for a chapter!). I've never actually had creamed spinach, but this is Debbie's take on that classic dish, using kale instead of spinach. The kale is steamed, chopped, and stirred into a creamy coconut sauce seasoned with coconut aminos. On top, you sprinkle Debbie's homemade Parmezan (a parm blend made from ground sunflower, pumpkin, and hemp seeds), and then you bake it in the oven.


Wow! The creamed kale is so full of flavor, and it's just fun to eat an individual portion in a ramekin! And I'm glad I have extra Parmezan left for topping other dishes.

I had a hard time deciding what to make from this book because everything looks so good! The Sriracha Hemp Noodles, Chipotle Mexican Omelet Tostada, Fakiin Bacon Crescent Rolls, Ultimate Veggie Pad Thai, and Cookie Dough Cupcakes are all calling my name! I also love that Debbie includes lots of traditional Jewish dishes, like Matzo Ball Soup, Challah, and Kugel. I'm not Jewish, but I've long been drawn to those traditional dishes.

Whether you have a food allergy or you just want healthy, wholesome, vegan meals (free of oil and refined sugar!), Debbie's book has something for you!

New Items at Mama Gaia!

Mama Gaia — the totally organic, vegetarian restaurant in Crosstown Concourse — has added two new menu items for the month of October. I tried them both, and they're among my new faves at the restaurant. Full disclosure: I do the social media and PR for Concourse, as well as Crosstown Arts. But I'd be sharing Mama Gaia news whether I worked in the building or not because I love this place! I'm so lucky to have an awesome, healthy vegetarian place in my office building.

Everything at Mama Gaia is organic, and nothing is fried. So you can feel pretty good about whatever you're eating there. The menu consists of pita sandwiches, bowls, and salads, but they just added a new vegan burger that blows so many others out of the water. And it's the first vegan burger offered in all of Concourse (several places there have veggie burgers, but they're not vegan). I tried the Smokehouse Veggie Burger this week — with vegan cheese, smoked onions, and garlic aioli. This typically comes with dairy cheese, but they're happy to make it vegan.


LOVE this patty! It's a homemade veggie patty, not a soy/seitan patty. So it's soft, but it holds together well, and it's packed with flavor. The smoky onions really take it up a notch. For all of October, you can get the burger in a combo meal with a side and drink (they serve Oogave agave-sweetened sodas and ginger-green tea lemonade) for $12. I opted for the Hummus & Veggie side.


They also added a new BBQ Tofu Pita with a smoky BBQ tofu and a creamy, vegan Asian slaw. It's a messy sandwich, just the way BBQ should be. And they're very generous with the tofu! I got one to go last week with a side of Mama Gaia's baked fries. This is also available for the $12 combo.


By the way, my pics are just everyday shots, but my friend Justin of The Chubby Vegetarian did these pro shots for Mama Gaia. YUM!

Three-Bean Beer Chili!

As I mentioned a few posts ago, my partner Paul is trying to eat more vegan and vegetarian meals. He's not going all the way, but he wants to get fit and feel better after years of eating crap and not really taking care of himself. He's started running again, and he's actually eating dinners that I cook. Before, all he wanted was frozen burritos, frozen pizzas, ramen, and cans of ravioli.

The other day, he said "How come you never make chili?" I explained to him that chili was a fall/winter food, and it's still in the high 80s here (even though it's officially fall). He said he didn't care about that, and he wanted chili soon. So last night, I made some chili! I didn't follow a recipe, just came up with a new one, so I'm sharing it in this post.

I made a beer chili, using a full can of Sam Adams Oktoberfest beer for a super-fall flavor. Beer adds such complexity to chili. I also used a full bag of Beyond Meat Beefy Crumbles because protein is awesome. Plus mushrooms because I try to eat some every day. I topped my bowl with a little Daiya because why not?

Paul requested cornbread on the side so I made the Jalapeno Corn-Cornbread from Cookin' Crunk, which has corn kernels inside and chopped, pickled jalapenos on top!


Three-Bean Beer Chili Yields 4 servings
1 Tbsp. olive oil1 onion, chopped2 cloves garlic, minced8 oz. mushrooms, sliced1 package Beyond Meat Beefy Crumble1 12-oz. can or bottle of Oktoberfest beer1 24-oz. can crushed tomato2 14-oz cans mixed beans (I used Simple Truth Organic Tri-Bean Blend), drained & rinsed2 Tbsp. tomato paste2 Tbsp. chili powder1 tsp. salt1 tsp. maple syrup1 Tbsp. apple cider vineger
Heat the oil in a large soup pot and add the onion. Saute 3-5 minutes or until soft. Add the garlic and saute one more minute. Add the mushrooms, and saute 3-5 minutes. Add the crumbles and saute until thawed and lightly browned.
Add in the beer, crushed tomato, beans, tomato paste, chili powder, salt, and maple syrup. Bring to a boil and then lower heat to a simmer. Simmer for 30 minutes. 
Turn off heat and stir in the apple cider vinegar.

Crosstown Culinary Crawl

I live and work in Crosstown Memphis, and in my spare time, I volunteer as the secretary for the Crosstown Memphis Community Development Corporation. We're a new(ish) board dedicated to improving safety, boosting economic development, and beautifying the Crosstown community. This past Saturday, we partnered with City Tasting Tours for a Crosstown Culinary Crawl to show off some of the awesome restaurants around the Crosstown area.

You've probably read my posts about Crosstown Concourse, the one-million-square-foot, 14-story "vertical urban village" where I work as the communications coordinator for Crosstown Arts. Concourse has a number of restaurants, but they're all new to the area, having all just opened this year. But we wanted to share the great restaurants around the building, which have been around for several years before the Concourse development even broke ground.

The CDC and City Tasting Tours chose Phuong Long, Midtown Crossing Grill, and Mardi Gras Memphis for the tour. But first, Misti and I started at my house with a little pre-game wine, Rosemary Pecans, and Praline Peanuts. The nuts were fresh-roasted at So Nuts & Confections in Crosstown Concourse.


Then we walked over to Concourse, where the tour group mingled and listened to a performance by the Snowden School Band. It was time for the food tour at 5:30 pm, and everyone walked over to Phuong Long, where we were treated to a buffet! Here's our group!


My friend Misti joined me on the tour.


This wasn't a vegan food tour, but there were a number of options at a couple places so I felt confident that I'd get my money's worth for my $35 ticket. And I was so right! Phuong Long had Lemongrass Tofu & Rice, a Veggie Lo Mein Stir-fry, and (not pictured) Veggie Spring Rolls. I went back for seconds on the tofu!


Next stop was Midtown Crossing. Most tour participants got a mini Vegan Banh Mi, the Artist Pizza, and a Cannoli. But owner Octavia hooked me up with two mini banh mis (the Bianca Banh Mi with tofu, hummus, & pickled veggies) and a salad since she knows I'm vegan.



By this point, I was stuffed, so I didn't mind that our next stop — Mardi Gras Memphis — didn't have vegan options. It's a Cajun restaurant, and the menu is not vegan-friendly at all. Here's our group at Mardi Gras though! They had crawfish etoufee and catfish. I was happy to just sit and talk, knowing that wouldn't be leaving nearly as over-stuffed as everyone else.


Here's our City Tasting Tours organizer Cristina (in the green shirt with the head wrap)! We used to work together at the Memphis Flyer, and now she organizes multiple food tours around the city each week.


And this is Porsche, the CDC board member who really did the heavy lifting on organizing this tour with Cristina. Porsche and I also work together at Crosstown Arts.


The official tour ended at Mardi Gras, but some folks went over to Crosstown Concourse for dessert at Area 51 Ice Cream. They do have vegan sorbet there, but Misti and I were too full to eat another bite so we headed back to my house. I love Crosstown!

Picnicking on the Mississippi River!

Sunday Funday! Today was a rare Sunday that I actually had zero responsibilities. I got all my chores done on Saturday, and my only plan — a friend's birthday brunch — was cancelled. So we slept in until 8 (I know, that's not late. But when you typically wake up at 5 am, it's pretty great), and then Paul and I brainstormed what to do.
He had never been over the Big River Crossing, the new(ish) pedestrain walkway over the Mississippi River. It goes from downtown Memphis to West Memphis, Arkansas. I run over the bridge all the time, but I wanted Paul to check it out. We packed a picnic, and he invited his friend Cory.

We drove downtown and walked about a mile over the bridge, which crosses over the river, into Arkansas. Here's a view of the Memphis skyline over the river.

And here's the view from Arkansas, over some fields. You can see the Pyramid!

We grabbed a picnic table on the Arkansas side and spread out out food.


Every store in Midtown was out of vegan deli meats, so I bought some Field Roast Celebration Roast and sliced it very thinly to make sandwiches. Cory and Paul (not vegans!) loved the Field Roast! Paul actually couldn't stop eating it off the cutting board when I was making sandwiches (and he requested two sandwiches). I made mine with Chao cheese, Dijon, & vegan mayo.

I also had hummus & pita, baby carrots & vegan ranch, marinated beets, and grapes. Oh, and wine! We brought two bottles — red and white.


After the picnic, we made the long trek back over the river to our car. Paul brought his bluetooth speaker, so we played some 80s dance tunes for the walk and sang along (loudly). Pretty sure all the other walkers and runners on the bridge were totally into our jams.

Paul took a quick selfie at the state line over the river!

Baby Squirrel Update!

Warning: This post contains WAY TOO MANY adorable photos of baby squirrels.

Kevin & Kathy at my office!
In early September, I blogged about Kevin and Kathy, the two orphaned baby squirrels who fell from their nest in my backyard tree. If you've followed by blog or Instagram for any length of time, you may already know that Paul and I are kind of like squirrel whisperers. Ha! For the past four years, always around this same time of year, orphaned baby squirrels have come into our lives. The first two also fell from our backyard tree, and the third (last year's Gertrude) was found in Overton Park by my neighbor. Of course he brought her to my doorstep!

They've all been successfully raised to adulthood and released into the wild (aka my backyard). This year is the first that we've had multiples! It's definitely twice as much work. Kevin and Kathy were in a nest of four that fell from my tree after a storm. Their two siblings were already dead, but Kev and Kat were hanging on. We nursed them to health, and now they're rambunctious little teens wrecking havoc in my bathroom.

Kathy's first picture with her eyes open! Kevin only had one eye open for a few hours before the other popped open
When they're tiny babies, they eat formula every four hours, so they came to work with me at that time. They were so innocent and sweet then, sleeping most of the day. At that stage, I kept them in a small cat carrier. Around the same time Paul and I were leaving for Atlanta a couple weeks back, they were starting to get more active. Luckily, my parents were able to squirrel-sit that weekend!

Kevin's first bath! Kathy's first bath!
Baby Kathy!
When I picked them up from my parents after our return, they were SO MUCH BIGGER. In only four days! Once they're at that active stage, I let them run loose in my master bathroom. I change out my good shower curtain for a cheap-o one that I don't mind getting clawed (they love to climb shower curtains). And I move all of my makeup and stuff off the counter so it doesn't get peed on. I have two bathrooms in my house, thank goddess.

They made a nest in the bathroom trash can. One day, we found Kevin hiding inside the plunger.
Kevin chilling on the toilet
They're currently still on formula twice a day, but they're also eating shelled nuts (they LOVE pecans!), sweet potatoes, green beans, broccoli, grapes, apples, carrots, and corn. Each morning, after their formula feeding, I set out a plate of fresh snacks and they go wild all day. When I come home from work in the evening, the bathroom floor is littered with nut crumbs and bits of fruit and vegetable. And poop. So much poop.
Their first pecans!
Kathy eating a sweet potato Kevin is a messy eater.
Their personalities are really coming through now. Kathy is the hellion. She's super-brave and fears nothing. She loves to jump on people and perch on shoulders (or play with my hair!). She has to eat first or else she'll push Kevin's head away from the bottle! 
Kathy holds up her left paw when she's ready to pounce! Kathy on Paul Kathy on me
Kevin, however, is super-sweet and a little shy. He isn't big on climbing people and would rather chill out and eat nuts. Kevin LOVES to eat. He's such a cute little chunk!
Silly baby Kevin eating on his back like a weirdo
They'll be 10 weeks old on Tuesday, and they're ready for release at 12 weeks. So we only have a couple more weeks with these babies! And that's okay! Love them, but I'll also be pretty stoked to have my bathroom back. I'll update y'all when it's time for release.

By the way, if you ever find a baby squirrel and need advice, I'm here for you! Also, here is the website I use. It's filled with everything you need to successfully raise and release a baby squirrel.

Bowls of Goodness

What is it about food in bowls that just tastes better? I'm not even sure when the bowl thing started in the foodie world, but I know it wasn't a thing for me until well after going vegan. In fact, it may have been my first visit to Portland for the first Vida Vegan Con in 2011 that really opened my eyes to the magic of bowls. Vegan bowls were such a thing in Portland at that time!

A standard bowl contains the grain/bean/green/sauce combo, but bowls can really contain ANYTHING so long as it's eaten from a bowl. That's evident in Bowls of Goodness: Vibrant Vegetarian Recipes Full of Nourishment, a new cookbook by Nina Olsson. This is not a totally vegan book, but most of the recipes are vegan or are easily veganizable. Some do call for yogurt or eggs, but there are also recipes for tofu scramble, vegan kale caesar salads, and banana n'ice cream — all served in bowls of course. The photos are gorgeously styled such that you'll want to make EVERYTHING. I'm even tempted to veganize the few non-vegan recipes, just because the pictures are so pretty.

I made a couple recipes from the book. Since Paul loves pasta and lentils, I knew he'd like the Lentil Ragu. This lentil-based marinara is made with mushrooms, carrots, tomatoes, and shallots. It's absolutely full of flavor. The book suggests serving this atop zoodles in a bowl, which I did for my dinner. I served Paul's over whole wheat rotini because he's still new to this healthy eating thing, and zoodles may be a little too advanced for him.


Since the sauce is served hot, I blanched my zoodles in boiling water for about two minutes, just so they'd be warm and slightly softer yet still firm. By the way, I served some of the leftover sauce to Paul's friend Matt (who also happens to be vegan), and he loved it too.

From the salads chapter, I made the Moroccan Harissa Salad, a unique combo of roasted veggies, raisins, almonds, and tahini dressing.


I tend to fall into salad ruts and make the same green salad with romaine, carrots, peppers, tomatoes, and cucumbers every time. So I love to explore salad recipes in cookbooks for new ideas. This spicy-creamy-citrusy salad is made with roasted cauliflower and red onions, raw carrots, and avocado and topped with an orange-tahini-garlic dressing. The cauliflower is tossed with harissa paste before roasting for a slight spiciness. Very yummy!

Bowls of Goodness is broken down into chapters for breakfast bowls (with lots of smoothie bowls and some savory grain/bean combos), soups, salads, grain bowls, zoodles/noodles/pasta, hearty bowls (think curries and stews), sides, and dessert bowls (crumbles and homemade ice creams!). A few highlights: Yogisha Soup (sweet potato-coconut soup), Ramen Wonder (a ramen bowl!), Pumpkin Salad (roasted pumpkin, beet, & tahini dressing), Buddha Bowl (chickpeas, tofu, quinoa, & turmeric dressing), Watermelon Poke Bowl (with soba noodles, seaweed, and tempeh), and the Nice Cream with Caramel Sauce.