Culinary Activism

As the lovely Debora has posted on our subversive brunch activities, I'll simply remember my favorite things:

The Spinach-Artichoke-Mushroom Strata, complete with supersonic orange soy cheese, turned out well. It's incredibly simple to make, and serves as a perfect lunch when paired with a green salad.

Debora made Lemon Corn Waffles in advance. We encouraged brunchers to give them a quick dunk in the toaster before dousing them in dark sexy Blueberry Sauce.
Rosemary Roasted Potatoes were kept warm in a rice cooker on the buffet table. We also served Seitan Bacon, a favorite of our comrades at the Olympia, Washington Guerilla Brunch.

Wondering if we'd have enough food, I made a quick batch of Orange Glazed Scones from Vegan with a Vengeance. The masses soon descended on these, and gave rave reviews. I recommend making some and getting glazey and nibbly. Post haste!

And--from Green Mountain Coffee, THE BEST COFFEE EVER. Organic and fair trade and wonderful, it was amazing stuff.

Plenty of fresh fruit. This time: papaya, strawberries, bananas, oranges, pineapple, and cantaloupe, much of it organic.

We were blessed with flatware and dishes, and Debora purchased some white tablecloths on the cheap. Ron and I grabbed our scooter keys, some shopping bags, and scissors, and soon the neighborhood had a few less blooms. I had just planted the terrace with all sorts of green and white plants: hydrangea, petunias, dahlias, zinnias, and some herby stuff. Everything was cute and matchy, the perfect backdrop for conversations about activism and anarchy.

And scones.

Our first brunch - May 21, 2006

Welcome to our first Brunch Revolution! We had a great turnout, right around 20 people, which is awesome for our very first brunch! Thanks to everyone who showed up and joined our little revolution.

Our first arrivals were Allen and Jamie, and they were great sports about helping us finish the setting up. This goes hand in hand with being part of a revolution - we all own this brunch. Conveniently this means we gladly accept any help. Of course they also got to dig into the food first as well!

It was perfect weather for our brunch on Joy and Ron's terrace. Sunny, slight breeze, and warmish, but not too warm.

Most of the revolutionaries seemed to have heard about the brunch through RMAD's mailing list, though we had a few coworkers and friends of coworkers show up as well. So not everyone was from the vegan/vegetarian community, which is great. We want this to reach everyone.

We didn't do a lot of advertisment for this first brunch. My ideas to reach more people are to post fliers in local coffee shops, community eateries, Three Little Figs, and other places that occur to us. If anyone has suggestions, please let us know!


Notice the flowers on the table? Guerilla gardening! Ron and Joy snuck around the neighborhood the night before the brunch, gathering up some of these gorgeous flowers to use as our centerpieces on the tables. Guerilla gardening is apparently a growing movement in London, and perhaps other places, where people will sneak out and plant flowers in the medians and other public but unflowered places. Take charge of the world around us and make it more beautiful for everyone! Clearly that is the message. Oddly, this is something that Ron and Joy have done in the past, spreading a message of Love in Wash Park.

This blog entry wouldn't be complete without a bit of explanation about Joy's kitchen, the former bathroom. The counter our lovely Food Goddess is working on is where the bathtub not only was, but actually still is. The countertop simply went over it. You can't actually see the toilet or the shower stall, but I promise they are there as well! Joy does not have an oven, proving with her delicious food that the impossibly tasty is possible even in impossible kitchen situations! The excellent music was provided, or at least chosen, by Ron. Not to mention a great deal of muscle provided in schlepping the tables, chairs, dishes, silverware, and glasses up from the Mansion's industrial kitchen downstairs.

Ron is a law student at DU, which is how he and Joy got this apartment in such a sweet location. He works hard as a chancellor scholar law student (currently in his 2nd year), and they get to live surrounded by history and beauty for a couple years.

The Tienzo terrace, with its views of the lawns, was a lovely spot for the brunch, but we are currently planning on having it downstairs off of the "yoga room" next time. The set up and break down was quite labor-intensive, and we need to avoid burnout as much as possible!

We put a collection basket out for the SHAC7, but we weren't quite organized enough to properly communicate the issue and donation collection. We will choose our supplemental issue/cause and explain in advance next time so everyone will know ahead of time.

Claire, the current only (fur)child of Ron and Joy, made an appearance in Ron's arms just as Class B dealers were being discussed - how appropriate for driving home that particular issue!

The brunch was an apparent success. Everyone seemed pleased with the food, the conversation, the location, and the tour of the mansion! A big shout out to Ann and Peter for their enthusiastic help in cleaning up after the brunch. Greatly appreciated, as I'm sure they know!

We are looking for volunteers to take 30 minute "host/hostess" shifts during the brunches. If you are interested, email us at brunchrevolution@yahoo.com and let's talk!

We hope to see you at our next Brunch Revolution - June 4, 2006. Same time, same place. The menu will be posted soon!

Shout out to Christine!

I just have to thank Christine in advance. She is donating a bag of organic mixed greens to our brunch, so the green salad is now definitely on the menu, to be served with some sort of yummy and interesting vinagrette that Joy will whip up. Thank you Christine (and Peter)! Can't wait to see you all on Sunday!

Our first menu!

The long awaited update!

Our planned menu for this Sunday is as follows:

Spinach Mushroom Artichoke Strata

Cornmeal Waffles with Blueberry Sauce

Rosemary Roasted Potatoes

Seitan Bacon

Fresh Seasonal Fruit

Assorted Juices and Teas

We might add a simple green salad to the menu as well. Depends at least partially on the numbers of people we think will show up. It is looking good so far! I hope you are all able to come and help us make our first Brunch Revolution a success!

Upcoming Brunches

Sundays are wonderful, because we're keen on laziness (if that's possible). Join us for brunch in the Denver area on these Sundays, and others throughout the summer:

May 21
June 4
June 25

All brunches are 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. $5, all you'd like to eat.

Please email us at brunchrevolution@yahoo.com for location information. We'll try to post menus a few days out, so check back soon.

The Brunch Revolution Manifesto

COMMUNITY
This is a place for all sorts of people: radical, religious, atheist, artist…whoever you are, you are welcome here. Conversation is encouraged. Please come to the table with respect and care for others.

VEGAN. FOOD.
For environmental sustainability, human and animal freedom, economics, health, and our biological and spiritual principles, everything at brunch is vegan. Purchasing local, organic food is also important to us, and we do so whenever possible.
We believe one of the best ways to promote a vegan ideology is by serving delicious food. Joy used to be a pastry cook, and Debora is a produce genius, so we love to cook and eat.

THRIFT
Brunch is $5 per person, all you can eat. If our turnout is exceptionally good and our costs are easily covered, the price will be lowered. Leftovers (should there be any) will be donated to Food Not Bombs or given to our homeless neighbors.
Funds from initial brunches will be used to reimburse Joy and Debora. After that, funds will be used only to cover the cost of future brunches. We’re not so hot on capitalism, so no one profits financially from any brunch activities. And if we want to raise money for a cause, it is a separate collection plate, with your full knowledge.

LIBERTY
We believe in freedom from authoritarian policies. We technically don’t qualify for government regulation, as we’re not-for-profit or a restaurant, but it’s not surprising that some might oppose the idea of “guerilla brunches.” For this reason, we prefer to keep our subversive and revolutionary ways quiet. Further, while Debora and Joy do the arranging and cooking, we don’t own this brunch, so please take ownership of our offering; it’s yours.

Introduction

Welcome to the Revolution!