[Meatless Monday] VA Blogger Meet-up: Vegetarian Cooking Demo

Welcome to a special edition of Meatless Monday! Last week, I attended an awesome local blogger event; and seeing as the menu was vegetarian, I thought this day of the week would be a great opportunity to share the delicious [very green-y] meal with you :)

The Virginia Bloggers in Richmond were invited to a meet-up cooking demo at Kitchen Thyme by Chef Tammy of the Green Kitchen, sponsored by Relay Foods. Whoa, lots of names! Let me break it down:

Kitchen Thyme is a rent-by-the-hour consumer and professional kitchen located in Richmond (the only of its kind here!). It's a great opportunity for small food businesses (e.g. food trucks), chefs, families, etc. that are in need of an [affordable] licensed kitchen!

Chef Tammy (Green Kitchen) is a personal chef and cooking instructor that focuses on local, sustainable foods. Having seen her demo in person, she certainly seems to have found the right job! Chef Tammy was great at keeping the group entertained, explaining exactly what she was doing, and offering up tips and suggestions along the way. She offers a variety of cooking & baking classes, all of which can be found on her website.

Relay Foods is an online grocery store that works with local stores, restaurants, and farms to give you the best (local!) items. I was surprised to find that just about anything can be found on their website and the process couldn't be easier! You shop online, checkout, and either opt to have the groceries delivered to your home or you can pick it up in one of their many pickup areas. Currently, Relay Foods is serving Richmond, Charlottesville, and the D.C. area. If you are interested in trying them out for the first time, feel free to use the code "VABLOG" at checkout to receive $25 off of a $50 or more purchase.

Now that we've gotten that out of the way, we can get to the really important part. Let's say hello to the evening's food:

• Baked Kale Chips (recipe here) - I've made kale chips before, but never with parmesan cheese. These still had a bit of a chew to them, but were nevertheless delicious. Chef Tammy suggested decreasing the bake temperature and extending the bake time for a better crunch (i.e. 200 degrees for 2 hours).

• ABC Juice (kit here) - Relay Foods sells some pretty creative stuff, including this juicing mix of Apples, Beets, and Carrots. Buy, juice, drink...and it was pretty darn delicious for being 100% natural fruit!

• Olive, Lentil, & Mushroom Burgers (recipe here) - I'm a huge fan of homemade veggie burgers. Surprisingly, I've never considered putting either olives or mushrooms in them though (two things I love). The olives were an amazing addition. These burgers held together well, but were more processed that I was used too. While I missed having a chunkier texture, the actual taste was phenomenal.

• Radish and Avocado Salad with Fresh Cilantro (recipe here) - The veggie burgers were served with this salad. The dressing and fresh cilantro made this salad. Plus, Chef Tammy used a combination of greens...the more the merrier, as far as I'm concerned :) 

• Mustard Greens in a Creamy Mustard Sauce (recipe here) - I was curious about this side, never having had mustard greens and the fact that the recipe used cream. If you are expecting Ukrop's creamed spinach, you might be disappointed... The end result were greens in a very light, yet flavorful sauce. The mustard greens retained a lot of it's original freshness and flavor and were complimented by the addition of just a bit of Dijon mustard and cream.

• Carrot Pineapple Muffins (recipe here) - Fresh pineapple was used for this recipe, which the entire group agreed was what made the muffins awesome. They were very lightly sweetened with agave, and were dense enough to make a good mid-morning snack. I was surprised that I actually enjoyed the carrot-pineapple combination; I've always been leery about pineapple and using too many veggies/fruits together in baked goods. 

I loved the opportunity to try new things in the kitchen and meet new bloggers.  Thank you to all of the people and companies that made this meet-up possible!

Hope y'all have a great [meatless] start to your week!