Let’s See What This Chicago Is All About…

Pleeeease, Lou Malnati's, make this vegan!

You may have heard some buzzin’ on the Facebook page, and it’s true, Vida Vegan is considering Chicago for the Spring 2013 Conference.

We’ll be in town January 21-24 to check out event spaces and let Janessa and Jess get a feel for the city. Michele was lucky to grow up there, so yes, we know how unbelievably horrible the weather can be. We just need to make a decision soon, so the time is now.

So…whatcha think? We’d love to go to a new city each year, and Chicago is the easiest one for us, after Portland. We’ve heard the calls for the Southeast Asia conference, but I think we’re a few years from there just yet.

If any of y’all VVC’ers are in town, we’re putting together a little meetup Sunday, the 22nd, for what else but pizza! Meet us at for lunch at 1:00 pm at The Boiler Room. Totally casual, we’ll just give them a little heads-up that they best get their vegan cheese at the ready. Here’s the Facebook event we set up, with a map & stuff!

We’re Gettin’ a Makeover!

Do pardon our dust as we do a little remodeling. We’re going over to a very different design, so graphics will likely be stretched or otherwise ill-fitting, but it’ll be worth it. Our new design will be easier to navigate and maybe even a little prettier. We just want to look our best for you.

We’ll let you know when we’re presentable again…and most likely have a couple more announcements. Why? Because the ladies of the VVC do not sleep.

See you soon!

VVC Cocktail Lounge: Jen’s Lychee Cranberry Sunrise

Today’s cocktail lounge submission comes from my (Jess’) sister, Jen, and this is as much of an introduction as we’re going to get.

Since we’re both devotees of the lychee martini, I’ve been holding out for her secret ratios. And since her boyfriend is a photographer, I figured we were all in luck.

This final product, which she sent me by semi-surprise last weekend, is stunning, but clearly, my sister remains a flashy, on-the-fly bartender…

Photo by Aslan.

Jenny types:
Fresh squeezed tangerines, splash of pure cranberry juice, splash of lychee juice (not syrup!), with a lychee at the bottom!
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You add the cranberry at the end, slowly along the side of the glass to get the effect. 
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Shaken not stirred.
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Jess inquires:

ALCOHOL?

YOU OFF THE JUICE?
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Jenny types:
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HOW COULD I FORGT! Vodka
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[Forgotten letter remains for hilarity]
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This morning, the final day of MoFo, I call my sister, who’s rushing on  her way to work, and ask her to quickly describe this cocktail in one word. Her reply?  
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Delicious.
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And her sincere, parting words:
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If you want a drink, you make this drink.
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VVC Cocktail Lounge: Abracadabra!

Today, “The Rum Diary” hits theaters, and I have a deep and complicated love of Hunter S. Thompson (we had our differences, but I think we would have gotten along in spite of them), so I wanted to mark the occasion with a rum cocktail. Perhaps a room-temperature bottle of cheap, dark rum would be more appropriate, but again, Mr. Thompson and I had our differences.

I picked up a bottle of Myers’s Platinum and searched for white rum drinks. This one stopped me by name alone: Abracadabra. It’s equal parts white rum, mandarin juice, and grapefruit juice (Thompson would approve!), plus some superfine sugar (I only had turbinado so I threw it in my spare coffee grinder). It’s tangy and tart, and the flavor takes about three seconds to fully arrive on your tongue.

Shakey shake shake and dika-dika-do! It’s Abracadabras for me and you!

And now it’s time to stumble to the theater.