VSET Potluck, & Cooking Class on Sunday, January 5 , 6 PM

1. Black-eyed Pea Hummus with Matthew Blondell. Black-eyed peas are a Southern tradition at this time of year, and to help us celebrate Matthew Blondell will whip together a hummus using this special freckled bean. If you follow Matthew on Facebook, you probably know about the spectacular vegan creations that fly out of his kitchen nightly. Our meeting will be on Sunday, January 5, 6 p.m at our regular meeting spot, the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, 2931 Kingston Pike. We will begin with our potluck and Matthew will demonstrate about 6:45 p.m. You don't have to be a vegan or vegetarian to enjoy our meeting, just bring a dish and a friend and see you soon.

2. About this Potluck. Please label your dish at home or in the church lobby. Include your name, whether it's vegan or vegetarian, name of dish, and its ingredients out of courtesy for those with special dietary needs. The cost to enter is $4 per person, $10 per household. Paying annual dues to VSET helps us pay our operating expenses. Checks should be made out to the Veggie Fund. There will be two dessert tables, one just for vegan desserts and one for "regular" desserts that may contain egg or dairy products. There will be a tip jar by the dirty dish window to help pay the person who will wash our dishes.

3. Be a Veggie Volunteer. There are many ways to help the Vegetarian Society survive and thrive in the new year. "Big Picture" roles include developing our website, graphic arts, and flyers. Smaller roles, equally important, include set up at 3 p.m,on event Sundays, clean-up after the event, setting out drinks and ice, and playing "food angel organizer" as dishes come into the dining hall. Let Bob know if you can help; contact info below.

4. Our Next Event, Granola 101, on Sunday, February 2. Kelly Steele of South Knox will demonstrate how to make her delicious, nutritious granola at our next event, 6 p.m. I've had her granola and call it the world's best! Be prepared to transform your breakfast. We will continue to meet at the church the first Sundays of March, April and May, and hope to return to the swimming pool at the Arnstein Jewish Community Center for the summer.

5. In Our Community. We thank Leo Sage for bringing Roger Kroll to our last meeting, and hope to see the two of them again. We are still missing Sylvia Smith, Roger's wife, who died last July of lung cancer though she never smoked. Sylvia and Roger were some of our longest-term members and also our biggest volunteers. Congratulations to Devon MIller who demonstrated for us last March, for being the first person to graduate from the Knoxville Montessori School (the school is old, the high program is new). Devon is a dedicated vegan with big plans for her future. We appreciate Linda Wade who gave us such a yummy cooking class on December 1. Gracias, LInda!

For the Animals,
Bob Grimac, Acting President
Vegetarian Society of East Tennessee
[bobgrimac@gmail.com](mailto:bobgrimac@gmail.com); cell. 865-936-0081