Sunday, November 15, 2009

Sarah Kramer in L.A.



Last night, our L.A. vegan community was fortunate to host the incredible Sarah Kramer, author of four fantastic vegan cookbooks and publisher of vegan wall calendars. We held a book signing event to benefit Compassion Over Killing, a multitude of L.A. vegan restaurants contributed food, and fun was had by all.



I was extra lucky to have dinner with Sarah before the event. She suggested Ethiopian food, so I took her to my favorite, Nyala. We each ordered the Vegetarian Combination and savored our food over a mixture of vegan talk and girl talk.

Once at the event, Sarah mingled a bit and then gave an inspiring talk about how she "vegan." A vegetarian since birth due to her mom's vegetarianism, she talked about growing up vegetarian in a not-so-progressive city, and how she eventually found a supportive group of like-minded friends in her late teens. Her first book, How it All Vegan, originated as a zine to give as holiday gifts. It was such a huge hit that she and her writing partner at the time decided to send book proposals to several publishers. Their first choice, Arsenal Pulp Press, immediately and enthusiastically responded and has been publishing Sarah's books ever since.

Not surprisingly, I have copies of all of Sarah's books (I picked up the most recent, Vegan-a-Go-Go, at the event last night). HIAV was published the year after I went vegetarian and I learned so much from it. More importantly, though, Sarah's writing is warm and friendly, making me feel like I had a vegan friend from afar. Through her books, she gave me recipes, eco-friendly housekeeping tips, party ideas, and travel tips. In person, she's just as lovely, friendly, and open.

What a great evening we had! Thank you to all who organized the event, to Compassion Over Killing, and, especially, to Sarah!

12 comments:

Lex said...

OMG, Sarah is my hero! That is so awesome you had dinner with her!!!!!! La Dolce Vegan is really how I learned how to be a vegan cook!

Tracy said...

How fun! I adore her books.

The Voracious Vegan said...

What a fun night! How cool that you got to eat dinner together, that must have made it even more special. I always love reading stories about how awesome people got their start, and I loved the background info about Sarah. Thanks!

Trinity (of haiku tofu) said...

How cool! I'm so glad you got to hang out with Sarah!

Anonymous said...

yum i could go for some ethiopian food

quarrygirl said...

you are one lucky lady!!!

River - The Crafty Kook said...

That is so cool! You had girl talk with a vegan celebrity! :-)

I love it when people stay grounded and friendly even when they become very popular and successful.

Jenn Shagrin said...

Thanks :) You lucky ho! Sarah is so awesome.

I cannot wait for the wedding, either. I meet with a caterer today!

Anonymous said...

We had so much fun at the event. Sarah was a great speaker! And thanks to your reminder, we're going out for Ethiopian food tomorrow! :)

bazu said...

yay- how cool you got to meet Sarah! And that Ethiopian food is just the icing on the cake. Nice.

Unknown said...

soo excited to have met sarah kramer!! vegan a go go looks like it's awesome!

Michelle said...

I stumbled upon your site through another vegan blog and have to say, I absolutely love the variety and creativity that go into your posts. I am someone who is consciously trying to eat vegan, though I cave to convenience with meat sometimes, but having your meal ideas are excellent and inspiring to have at hand! Thank you so much!! Have a fabulous day!