The Official Vegan Mofo Press Release & Cheesy Brussels Sprouts Breakfast Grits

Optional walnuts add crunchy texture to overall creaminess of rich dish.

If you haven't signed up for this year's Vegan Mofo now is the time to hop to it! Here's the official press release edited for my blog purposes:

Vegan Mofo 2014.

August 23, 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  

VeganMoFo VIII: Vegan Month of Food, with hundreds of bloggers from around the world participating!  

The 8th Annual Vegan Month of Food (aka VeganMoFo) is ready to take the internet by storm! Starting September 1, 2014, several hundred bloggers and instagrammers from all around the globe will pledge to post about vegan food at least five days a week for the whole month of September. The most dedicated participants try to blog all 30 days. Food writers, bloggers, and home cooks will write about what they eat and what they cook, all with the intention of showing off the wide and delicious world of vegan food. Some participants use VeganMoFo as a motivation to tackle massive culinary projects, some choose a different theme for each day of the week, and still others take on the challenge of daily posts from the seat-of-their-pants!

This year, for the first time, VeganMoFo will be actively including the participation of the vibrant vegan community on Instagram – with the hashtag #veganmofo2014. If ever you have wondered about what vegans are eating for breakfast, lunch, and dinner – you will be amazed at the variety of meals and foods. There will be everything from summer produce, family dinners, green smoothies, mountains of cookies, waffles, and goji berries!

Local blogger Janyce Denise Glasper of AfroVeganChick is one of the blogs participating this year. She first began AfroVeganChick blog in 2012 which focuses on home cooked comfort food recipes, local restaurant reviews, beauty D.I.Y., natural hair progression, and much more.

An alphabetized list of all participating blogs and Instagram accounts will be posted online at the Vegan MoFo Headquarters International (http://www.veganmofo.com). There you will also find information about generating an RSS feed to help you keep track of all the food writing. Vegan MoFo can also be followed on Twitter.com @veganmofo.

VeganMoFo is a grassroots event that evolved from an international community of vegans who love to cook, and are passionate about sharing their love of vegan food with the rest of the world. First organized by famed vegan chef and cookbook author Isa Chandra Moskowitz (theppk.com), VeganMoFo has been gathering more and more enthusiasts each year. Anyone interested in food should definitely go online and check it out. And be prepared for a growling stomach! 

Whew! Did you get all that? Isn't it exciting????! My 30 day theme is Taste The Nom Nom- which will feature all kinds of mouth watering salads, entrees, desserts, appetizers, and perhaps some wonderful Philly/NYC pit stops along the way. I cannot wait!
As for today, just packing remainder of boxes and gearing up for Monday moving. Along with moving comes clearing out the refrigerator/freezer- eating all perishable foods ASAP.
There is nothing like waking up in the afternoon craving breakfast. I'm not a morning person, but that doesn't mean one skips out on most important first meal of the day.  So here is another delicious cheesy plate. This time polenta is creamed to epic proportions with Brussels sprouts and Daiya cheddar added to the mix.
I love Brussels sprouts. Adore them immensely. Delicious rounded small "cabbages" are steamed and smashed into oblivion, a perfect companion to creamed polenta. Daiya's cheddar just melts right in. Every bite is comforting indulgence. See. I'm all ready for Vegan Mofo already!

Cheesy Brussels Sprouts Breakfast Grits Ingredients and Preparation

1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1/2 Trader Joe's 16 oz organic polenta, diced
1 cup cooked Brussels sprouts, mashed
1/4 cup almond milk
1/2 cup Daiya Cheddar Style Shreds
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

In a heated skillet, stir garlic and coconut oil together.
Add polenta, using spoon to mix and mash cubes into smaller and smaller pieces for about 6-7 minutes.
Cover with lid.
Combine Brussels sprouts, almond milk, Daiya, and spices with polenta. Let this warm for another 4-5 minutes. 

Stir once again and turn off heat.

Plate and top with crushed walnuts and extra black pepper.

Served with a side of strawberry banana peanut butter smoothie. Heaven.