Napa Valley, that’s a wrap: The book event, more food, and lunch with Colleen Patrick-Goudreau

Where did we leave off?  Oh, yes. I started with day one in Napa, then day two. I took a short respite to travel back to Colorado so Monday I shared my upcoming summer classes in Colorado classes; now it’s time to wrap up the Napa trip!

I started my Sunday morning with juice (coconut water, melon, lemon, ginger and carrot) and a very veggie breakfast.

coconut water, melon, lemon, ginger and carrot juice, Andaz Napa

Then it was time to go to the Whole Foods Napa Culinary Center.

JL Fields at Whole Foods Napa 1

Following photos courtesy of Whole Foods Napa:

JL Fields at Whole Foods Napa 2

JL Fields at Whole Foods Napa, Mediterranean Beans with Greens

JL Fields at Whole Foods Napa 3

JL signs in Napa

I made two easy dishes. The Mediterranean Beans with Greens (pictured above) served over farro and Curry Cashew Butter, served on rice crackers (both recipes in Vegan for Her).  The point of my appearance was to demonstrate, and share, how uncomplicated a vegan diet can be. There was one lone vegan in the audience – the rest were veg-curious – and all were really engaged and asked terrific questions! I had a blast and I have to give a major shout out to Crystal, Culinary Artist at Whole Foods Napa, for being completely amazing. 

After the demo and book signing I met up with my husband and friends for dinner at Angèle Restaurant & Bar in downtown Napa, on the river. It was such a stunning night – dusk, crisp air, sitting on the outdoor patio with heat lamps.  Divine.  The menu was not even close to be being vegan-friendly. Frankly, I was a little tired of trying to get creative with menus so I turned it over to the server. I simply said I’m a vegan, I’m sure I could go over the menu and try to figure something out but I’m exhausted. Would you mind asking the chef what he might suggest, or prepare, for a vegan? I got this:

vegan at Angèle Restaurant & Bar, Napa

Salade de Tomates, hold the cheese and a special plate of vegetables, which were exquisite and oh-so-fresh.

The next morning we dragged ourselves out of bed – the three non-stop days had caught up with us – and we headed downstairs for more smoothies.

Kale smoothies, Andaz Napa

Busted! We were both instagramming our breakfast drinks!

We packed up and began our drive back to the Oakland Airport – but not before meeting my dear friend Colleen Patrick-Goudreau for lunch! She suggested we meet at Timeless Coffee Roasters & Bakery; the treats are all vegan and each day Timeless features one vegan lunch.  Lucky us, we got to enjoy the Shepherd’s Pie. I don’t even know what was in it, but, damn, it was delicious! So was the tea.  And so was Colleen’s company. She and Dave were meeting for the first time and hit it off (who doesn’t hit it off with this guy? I married well).  We had so many wonderful belly laughs (and brilliant ideas, if we do say so ourselves) and the hour simply flew by.

Colleen Patrick Goudreau and JL Fields at Timeless Roasters & Bakery, Oakland

And a few hours later were home, sweet home, in Colorado Springs.

4 thoughts on “Napa Valley, that’s a wrap: The book event, more food, and lunch with Colleen Patrick-Goudreau”

  1. Wait, I thought Dave only instagrams pictures of bar plants!? 😉 Sounds like you had a wonderful trip!!

  2. The best meals i have had are at un-veg restaurants when i trust the kitchen! I suspect the cooks enjoy the “challenge” and chance to be creative in a different way

    1. Same here, @d75b0faa0facdf43b37eb68d2307ee05:disqus. To this day, one of my best vegan meals was at a restaurant in Jim Thorpe, PA – the chef outdid himself (we became friends after that great meal and a year later we co-hosted a ten-course vegan meal at his non-veg restaurant!)

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