Puget Consumers Co-op Vendor Fair

Issaquah PCC Vendor Fair-
September 10^th & 11th - 2011
Field Roast spent this past weekend just 20 minutes east of Seattle in lovely Issaquah as a guest at the Puget Consumers Co-op (PCC) Vendor Fair. We set up our table and canopy in the parking lot and handed out free samples of our 3 sausages: Italian, Mexican Chipotle and Apple Sage, - voted a PCC’s kidspick, and our newest addition to the family the Frankfurter dog! Thanks for stopping by and saying hi if you did, we love to hear from you. We had an ideal location, third stop on the right from the entrance, in excellent company between new and old friends. Our modest booth greeted many new fans, complete disbelievers and even some amazing Field Roast Evangelists. I love telling traditional omnivores that the meat they have in their mouth is completely vegetarian, comes from grains and doesn’t contain nitrates or cholesterol, like a sausage made from animal products.

Some people looked at me in extreme disbelief and wonder – can they trust this girl behind the delicious smelling sausage counter, cooking up the tasty meats? It smells and tastes like ‘real meat’, how can this all be true? I wish I had a hidden camera on all of the stocky sporting looking men who almost choked on their sausage, when I said “it’s completely vegetarian”. This could be my new most favorite part of the job!

Over the 2 day festive and sunny event - Jennifer and I demoed almost 50 pounds of our 3 top selling products. Everyone wanted to try our newest addition to the Field Roast family – The Frankfurter dog. The comments were interesting… one woman said “my childhood has just flashed before my eyes, I haven’t had this taste in my mouth since I was a little girl”. Funny how taste can trigger long lost emotion isn’t it? I know exactly what she meant. I haven’t had a hot dog in years.

My first day working here with the company, I walked in and said I must try the new Frankfurter – today! That night I took it home, grilled it up, put it on a bun with yellow mustard and took my first bite. It almost brought tears to my eyes because I could see my grandmother handing me a traditional hotdog as a child. So many years, even decades have passed since I’ve had this memory; happily triggered by my first taste of the new FR Frankfurter.

The Frankfurter is out in stores now and at Safeco Field if you happen to be at a baseball game in Seattle. Pick up a 6 pack of dogs at your local co-op or grocery store and let us hear your thoughts! We would love to post them on the blog so that others can share in this emotional experience. Go ahead and email us at info@fieldroast.com

Cheers!

FRinEveryKitchen

A hungry PCC employee knows what’s good for her!

For more info on this co-op visit:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCC_Natural_Markets

VegFest Seattle 2010!

VegFest this year was our most ambitious effort yet! Cindi, Danny and Mel all gave their weekend up to "man" the booth and make up four sampler size meatloaf recipes for the masses. We wanted to illustrate this year that the meatloaf isn't just a loaf of grain meat, but an ingredient to add umph to your vegan dishes and make some comfy food that tastes really good!

To kick off the show, we made sloppy joes! This mixture of ground Field Roast Classic Meatloaf, tomato paste, garlic, onions and spices really makes a hearty sandwich. We used slider buns to make them sampler size, but displayed them in their full size...with a side of chips.

Meatloaf with Porcini Gravy ended the Saturday menu, and yes we used our Field Roast Davy's Gravy mix to make this! If you are hoping that this will be available retail...it is a long time coming. The best way to get this into your local store is to bother the folks who fill the bulk section. Who wouldn't want to buy an amazing dry mix for vegan gravy!?

On Sunday, Mel and the volunteers served up our Meatloaf ground up and seasoned with cumin, chili powder for a taco meat. This is one of my favorite dishes to make with the Meatloaf, and the leftover meat even went onto Bob Gerrish's Pizza Works creations at the next booth!

The last menu item was a tiny meatloaf slider. This came about simply because a lot of us here at Field Roast use the Classic Meatloaf this way. Just slice it and pan fry it, and put it on a bun with your choice of fixins. My five year old son calls this his "happy meal". We just used ketchup and mustard, easy peasy.

We also announced our Classic Meatloaf Recipe Contest! This is very exciting...more to come! Soon we will post the entry form online!

Thanks again to Seattle, for being so kind and excited to see us at VegFest every year. And all of our local partners who make making Field Roast all that much more worth it.

First NOLA Veggie Fest, a hit!

On May 17, in the French Quarter, New Orleans held its first NOLA Veggie Fest. There were over 500 attendees who enjoyed a day of scrumptious food, educational speakers, and entertainment. NOLA did a fabulous job representing Field Roast, and we’re so happy to have been included in the festivities. Members of The New Orleans Vegetarian Meetup Group were the primary volunteer organizers and volunteers for the Fest. Thank you to everyone who helped! All proceeds from this vegetarian festival went to The Humane Society of Louisiana, which is the local animal protection charity with a mission to promote veganism, and nonviolence and compassion for all creatures. According to The Humane Society of Louisiana, plans are already underway to expand the Fest to a 2-day, weekend long event in 2010. We wish them great success in the many years to come!

VegFest: Virginia Style

Here's a happy, healthy suggestion for our friends on the East Coast: Richmond, Virginia is holding their annual VegFest on Saturday, June 20. This vegetarian festival is a project of the Vegetarian Society of Richmond, and Vegan Action, and will be held in the Azalea Gardens in Bryan Park, from noon to 6 PM. Jon, with Sunergia, is helping Field Roast have a presence there, and will be sampling out our sausages (THANK YOU, Jon!). This will be our second year in attendance; last year, Ellwood Thompson's represented Field Roast. Admission is free, so bring the entire family! There will be delicious food, live music, guest speakers, local businesses, and nonprofits for all to enjoy. So go show your support for the vegetarian diet (whatever your reasons may be), and see how it can be a positive and easy choice!