EAT T W O D A Y S T W O M E A L S N O M E A T

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1 EAT FIGS not pigs T W O D A Y S T W O M E A L S N O M E A T A L O O K B A C K A T T H E S E L L - O U T P O P - U P S A T R O O T + A N I N T E R V I E W W I T H A S H L E Y H A N K I N S - M A R C H E T T I PHOTOS BY SHAINA LIGONDE D W F S U M M E R

2 ASHLEY HANKINSMARCHETTI on going vegan cold turkey, why her blog might literally be keeping her alive, and how she replaced pork with passion in her diet. Were you into cooking before going vegan and starting the blog? Yes, both Ashlee and I have always loved cooking. She actually graduated from culinary school. Our love of cooking and food is something we definitely bonded over. Was there a specific event or piece of information you learned that made you give up eating animalbased foods? When did that happen? Yes! On September 21, 2015, we watched the documentary "Cowspiracy." After learning about the devastating effects that animal agriculture has on our planet, we became vegan the very next day, cold turkey. You started Eat Figs Not Pigs with Ashlee, your wife, how do you divide the duties? What's it like sharing this experience with her? I actually started Eat Figs Not Pigs by myself. I designed the site, take all the photos, and I am the sole author for each of the blog posts. Ashlee helps with recipe development and she listens to all my crazy ideas. She s the best support system. I love sharing this experience with her. It s honestly brought us so close together. What's your favorite dish to prepare? What's a dish you want to tackle next? My favorite dish to prepare is usually a pantry dish, which basically consists of whatever we have in our fridge and pantry. Generally, it s a combination of quinoa or some type of grain, veggies (I m usually always stocked up on kale, cauliflower, broccoli, onions, cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, and avocado), sauerkraut (I LOVE SAUERKRAUT), a drizzle of some type of sauce (usually Tahini or cashew based), and topped with a dash of coconut vinegar and raw pepitas for an extra crunch. If you watch my IG stories, you ll see me making this combination very often. It s my go-to dish. Scenes from dinner

3 1CEVICHE DE COCO Housemade tostada, young coconut meat, tomatoes, red onion, jalapeno, and guacamole dinner 2 ENSALADA CAESAR Kale, cashew Caesar dressing, crispy tortilla strips, seasoned pepitas, and avocado 3TACOS TRES MANERAS Carnitas: Jackfruit, salsa verde, pickled red onions, and cilantro Asada: Soy, salsa rojo, onion, and cilantro crema Barbacoa: Cauliflower, cashew crema, pickled cabbage, and radish 4DRUNKEN HORCHATA Horchata popsicle and Patron XO Cafe

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5 Scenes from brunch What's the learning curve for becoming a skilled vegan chef? I m far from skilled, but I definitely believe the learning curve has been practice, practice, practice. Our entire lives basically changed overnight, so it s still a learning experience for us. At first, I thought our diet would be restricted, but with limitation came tons of inspiration. And having an open mind to new ingredients is very crucial, in my opinion. Are you surprised by the following you've developed being so new to vegan cooking? Yes and no. I mean, I remember when I was only getting one or two hits a day, which were probably from myself or Ashlee. But I credit my following to my passion and commitment to food blogging, recipe developing, and research. Without this part of my life, it almost feels as if I d die, I love it that much. I m so thankful that people actually care about the food I make and post. And now with this new venture we re taking with Pop-Up Eats, it feels so good that people actually want to try our food. It s all so surreal. Did you grow up in the Central Valley? I m an Army brat, so I moved around a lot as a child. I ve lived in Fresno all of my adult life, so I consider it home. My wife, Ashlee, was born and raised in Fresno, and she loves it so much. After meeting her, I grew a real appreciation for this city. She has so much pride and sees so much potential, it's very enlightening. What's it like being vegan in Fresno? Being such a big ag city, we aren t the most vegan or vegetarian friendly. My wife and I pride ourselves on supporting local businesses, and many of the restaurants we used to frequent before going vegan don t even have vegetarian items on their menus. It s definitely frustrating, but I think the demand is growing and through this experience, I ve met some really amazing people, both vegan and nonvegan, who want to start incorporating more vegetables and plant-based meals into their diets. So what was the hardest thing to give up when you went vegan? I m really lucky because transitioning to a vegan diet wasn t too hard for me, at least when it came to giving up foods. I m especially thankful because Ashlee was down for the cause, too. I know a lot of people whose significant others are not willing to change their diets. I imagine that must be really tough. When we went vegan, I couldn t believe so much information was hidden from us as consumers. That anger really fueled my passion for a vegan lifestyle. It was literally like a lightbulb went on in my head and from then on, I couldn t even look at food the same. If anything, I d say the hardest part was un-learning everything I knew about food. I lived 27 years eating meat, dairy, and eggs on the daily, and starting new habits was very overwhelming. I cried a lot that first week. I will say that I really miss hot Cheetos, and sour cream and onion chips. I m a bit of a chip whore, so seeing the words "contains milk" in the ingredients really saddens me.

6 brunch 1 CEVICHE DE COCO Housemade tostada, young coconut meat, tomatoes, red onion, jalapeno, and guacamole 2ENSALADA CAESAR Kale, cashew Caesar dressing, crispy tortilla strips, seasoned pepitas, and avocado 3 DOS TACOS DIFERENTES Carnitas: Jackfruit, salsa verde, pickled red onions, and cilantro Barbacoa: Cauliflower, cashew crema, pickled cabbage, and radish

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8 FEATURED RECIPE VEGAN COCONUT CEVICHE PREP TIME 10 mins COOK TIME 30 mins TOTAL TIME 40 mins INGREDIENTS Tortilla chips, for serving 2 cups coconut meat, cut into bite size pieces 1 TBS vegan fish sauce, optional 2 cups cherry tomatoes, quartered ¾ cup red onion, minced ¾ cucumber, chopped ½ cup loosely packed cilantro, chopped ¼ cup El Pato (yellow can) 1 avocado, diced 1 lemon, juiced 1 lime, juiced 2-3 garlic cloves, finely minced 1 TBS Tajin seasoning 1 TBS olive oil 1 tsp ground cumin Salt and pepper to taste INSTRUCTIONS In a bowl, combine all the ingredients except the lime juice and avocado Gently toss to ensure all the ingredients are fully incorporated Cover and let the ceviche marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes (we recommend an hour) When you are ready to serve the ceviche, add the avocado and lime juice, toss gently Add additional salt and pepper to taste Serve cold ENJOY! NOTES 1. Ashlee and I buy young coconuts at our local Asian grocery store. We drink the coconut water and use the "meat" for ceviche. 2. If you are not able to find young coconuts at your local grocery store, some health food stores such as Sprouts or Whole Foods carry young coconut meat. I recommend calling ahead in advance and asking.