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Artwalk: The Vegan and the Vermonter

Vegan cookbook author Eddie McNamara, a former NYC cop and 9/11 rescuer, of Brooklyn, New York, and Vermont cookbook author Tracey Medeiros, a Johnson and Wales University graduate, join forces to bring you samples and recipes! McNamara presents from Toss Your Own Salad and Medeiros from The Vermont Non-GMO Cookbook. Q&A, book signing, and delicious food!

Free and open to the public. Part of the Montpelier Artwalk.

About the books:

Toss Your Own Salad"Everybody knows they should be eating more vegetables," says McNamara. "Maybe you'd actually do it, too, if vegetables weren't so damn boring." TOSS YOUR OWN SALAD: The Meatless Cookbook with Burgers, Bolognese, and Balls by Eddie McNamara is the most entertaining cookbook you’ll read this year. With the right balance of attitude and reassurance, Eddie, who describes himself as “a less attractive, heavily tattooed and bearded Rachael Ray,” shows us how to eat “healthy-ish,” save a few bucks, and enjoy our meals. The Brooklyn-born creator of the “Toss Your Own Salad” Tumblr discovered a passion for cooking when he was a self-professed shut-in suffering from PTSD and panic attacks—the result of working as a Port Authority cop on the rescue/recovery team at Ground Zero for nine months following 9/11. In a ploy to get him out of the house, his wife signed him up for cooking classes, and he was hooked. “I had enthusiastic instructors, passionate classmates, and a Xanax prescription to curb my breakout panic,” Eddie says. Soon he was working at Amanda Cohen’s famous vegetable-focused NYC restaurant Dirt Candy, followed by stints as a private chef and recipe testing/development for several magazines. Starting with a chapter on “Vegetables Your Mom Ruined,” followed by “Where Do You Get Your Protein From, Bro?” and “Lazy One-Pot Meals for When You Just Can’t,” Eddie shares recipes he’s honed and perfected, each with its own no-nonsense intro, including:

  • Parmesan-Crusted Roasted Broccoli (What if broccoli and fried chicken had a vegetarian baby?)
  • Peanut Butter-Acai Bowl (...basically a sundae that's so good for you, you can eat it for breakfast or dessert.)
  • Baked Eggs in Avocado Boats (...looks impressive on Instagram, but is literally just cutting something in half and throwing it in the oven.)
  • Red Hot Kimchi Udon Noodle Soup (It’s almost as easy as your mom. Kidding!)
  • Hangover Prevention Smoothie: (Don’t Say I Never Did Anything For You)

With eye-popping photos, tattoo art illustrations throughout, and a comprehensive list of everything you’ll need in the kitchen, TOSS YOUR OWN SALAD will make anyone’s time in the kitchen more fun and their meals easy, healthy(ish), affordable, and—most importantly—tastes amazing.

The Vermont Non-GMO Cookbook honors the state’s mission to connect with its local organic farmlands and the farmers who nurture and care for them. It also serves as a guide for eating organically and non-GMO in Vermont. The book celebrates the region’s esteemed organic food producers, farmers, cheesemakers, dairy farmers, and the chefs who partner with them to create delicious, innovative, organic, and non-GMO recipes. 

The recipes, which encourage readers to think organic and non-GMO eating first, include:

  • Avocado, Jalapeño, and Cheddar Cheese Cornbread
  • Maple Kale Salad with Toasted Almonds, Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese, and Rustic Croutons
  • Oven-Roasted Organic Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Spicy Apple Cider Vinegar Slaw
  • Apple-Raspberry Pie
  • Roasted Rainbow Potatoes with Herb Pesto
  • Baked Frittata with Baby Spinach, Roasted Red Peppers, and Quark Cheese
  • Grilled Beef Tenderloin with Rutabaga Puree, Braised Cabbage, and Horseradish Cream
  • Old-Fashioned Organic Cream Cheese Cheesecake
  • Fresh Raspberry Sorbet

In addition to mouthwatering recipes, The Vermont Non-GMO Cookbook will include profiles of a hand-selected group of pioneering organic Vermont farmers, chefs, and non-GMO artisans. It will take you on a culinary journey throughout the Green Mountain State, from Ben & Jerry’s homemade ice cream to internationally inspired Kismet Kitchen to the busy Butternut Mountain Farm. Supported by rustic food photography, it will awaken and inspire your palate to the exciting options being offered by Vermont’s burgeoning local, organic, and non-GMO food scene. 

About the authors:

EDDIE MCNAMARA was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York (before it was cool). A former Port Authority cop, he served on the post-9/11 World Trade Center rescue/recovery team. After leaving the police force and graduating from the Natural Gourmet Institute in New York, he interned for chef Amanda Cohen at her boundary-pushing vegetarian restaurant, Dirt Candy, and worked as a recipe tester and developer for InStyle, HGTV, and Women’s Health magazines. Inspired by Brooklyn food, which has roots all over the globe, he shares his vegetarian recipes on his Tumblr page, "Toss Your Own Salad." He lives with his wife in a tiny Manhattan apartment, and no, he's not moving to Portland. 

TRACEY MEDEIROS is the author of The Vermont Non-GMO Cookbook, The Connecticut Farm Table Cookbook, The Vermont Farm Table Cookbook, and Dishing Up Vermont. She writes The Farmhouse Kitchen: A Guide to Eating Local column for Edible Green Mountains magazine and is also a freelance food writer, food stylist, and recipe developer and tester. She is often seen on various television cooking segments preparing one of her favorite recipes while sharing helpful culinary tips with the viewing audience. Tracey travels regionally as a guest speaker and cooking instructor, emphasizing her commitment to the sustainable food movement by using locally produced fresh ingredients to create dishes that are healthy and delicious. The author and her family reside in the Green Mountain State.

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Date: 12/01/2017
Time: 5:00pm - 7:00pm
Place:

77 Main St
Montpelier, VT 05602
United States