The holiday season is a time for celebrating and giving
thanks, usually with the accompaniment of good friends, family, food, and
libations. Anyone looking to celebrate in more sustainable ways by serving
vegan and vegetarian versions of traditional fare (and delicious vegan wine,
too!) will be thankful for Green Avenue.
The YouTube series is the latest project of NOCCA and UNO grad
Zoë Johnson, the up-and-coming media artist behind Zoë Cloud,
and is being produced in collaboration with a pair of Johnson &
Wales-educated culinary artists: chef Jennifer Piper, aka The Green Being,
and second-level sommelier Brion Cephus, aka The Certified Wino.
Between now and the New Year, the Green Avenue team
will upload an eight-part educational series on vegan food and wine pairings
that offers inspired renditions of decadent Southern soul food classics to
adorn your holiday table and win the adoration and gratitude of all your
guests—those with restricted and unrestricted diets alike.
Piper, a "Thanksgiving baby," is particularly excited to
share vegan recipes for mac-n-cheese, braised mixed greens, candied yams,
garlic mashed potatoes, "beyond lentil loaf," and creamy gravy, along with special
treats like apple-spice Bundt cake, raspberry Linzer cookies, and chocolate
chip cookies. In December, expect even heartier recipes, such as oyster
mushroom stew and green bean casserole, as well as brilliant recipes for using
leftovers.
Throughout the series, viewers will be introduced to the
world of vegan wine and the basics of wine and food pairing, which, according
to Cephus, is not a "science," but is actually "super suggestive" and "much
easier than people make it out to be." After all, "who can complain about
drinking some grape juice?"
Like all of Zoë Johnson's projects, the series itself is a
pairing of passions—for inspired and inspiring media and for educating and connecting
people to support creative, sustainable lifestyles—a true gift that keeps on
giving.
