STL VegGirl Vines & Veggies

It has been a long time since I have attended a STL VegGirl  event, but a five-course wine paired dinner party is right up my alley. This was also a great excuse to see an old friend, Caryn Dugan, and make a new wine friend, who orchestrated all the wine pairings, Wanda Cole-Nicholson.

I love to see the creativity that comes from Caryn, and I learned about a new vegetable, Celeriac, also known as Celery Root, which was used to make the "steak" main course for the evening. While not attempting to mimic the texture of a steak, and definitely not the same flavors, it was sturdy enough to hold the mushroom sauce on top. 

Celeriac Steak Diane

The coolest looking "new creation" was the appetizer course: vegan caviar made from jellied vinegars and agar. The mixture of vinegar flavors were heated, then dropped into cold oil to create the spheres, looking exactly like roe.

Vegan Caviar over crème fraiche

Then we moved to a salad course, followed by a vegetable and miso infused soup, which had to be one of the best veggie soups I have ever had.

Crisp Mint & Spring Greens Salad

Hearty Spring Vegetable and Bean Soup with a Miso Infusion

We finished the night with a Carrot Cake Cookie topped with Vanilla Frosting.

Carrot Cake Cookie with Vanilla Frosting

Unfortunately, I missed a picture of the wine lineup, probably because I stayed after to help finish off some of the bottles! 

I have included Sommelier Wanda's contact information below as I hope to take more classes from her in the future.

Resources:

STL Veg Girl = http://www.stlveggirl.com/

Center for Plant-Based Living = https://www.cpbl-stl.com/

Wanda Cole-Nicholson = https://www.vinbev.net/