When people found out I was going to the Foodbuzz Festival in San Francisco, one of the first comments that followed usually went along the lines of, “Are you going to bring an extra bag for all your swag?” 
Many people figure that the best reason to GO to the Foodbuzz Festival at all is the potential of free SWAG* to be attained, and who doesn’t love free stuff?
*Bet you didn’t know that SWAG means Souvenirs, Wearables, and Gifts…and therefore should be spelled SWaG.^
^In my mind, anyway.
Foodbuzz certainly delivered.
And then I left it all in San Francisco.
Well. OK. Not everything.
So what did I bring home?*
Well, obviously I had to bring home at least one of the two Godiva coffees–
–which made it safely and tastes great, despite its run-in with cabin pressure–
–and the OXO vegetable peeler.*
Thanks to her, I scored not only a bag of granola, but four of their Bunny Bars.
Although I had three different cookbooks to choose from…
…I, of course, couldn’t leave behind the cookbook signed by my new boyfriend TyFlo**Yes, Karen, I will make that nickname happen!
–whose vegan Lovesticks saved my life* at the Saturday morning breakfast.*Well, my stomach.
We hit it off so well that she sent me home with croutons, a Lovestick, and some Sweet Currant Twigs.
Seriously, I’m not kidding you when I say that this bread is AMAZING. I’m not even a bread person, and this bread was one of my favorite things I ate all weekend. 
I’m so excited that it is going to be sold at Central Market here in Austin…and that my friend Molly smuggled out a few of the Coffee Bean Twigs, which were a snackable savior during my travels home (and taste oddly delicious in Trader Joe’s Roasted Red Pepper Hummus).
Because I couldn’t eat all that much at the Tasting Pavilion, the sight of pears from Frog Hollow Farm was heaven to my current happy herbivore life.
I don’t know who Warren is, but his pears are incredible! 
And when I was told to take some, you know I grabbed four. [Two of which came home on the airplane with me, and the others ended up in my oatmeal prior to departure.]
Sadly, Laura could not take home TyFlo…
…but I got to take home the delicious pine nut-and-thyme vegan cookies* she made me.*Best roommate at Foodbuzz ever? Yes, she wins.
And OK. That was a lie. I didn’t actually bring them home…because Sunday morning I stood in my room and ate almost all of them like a ravenous beast who wanted nothing more than crumbly bits of slightly sweet, herbed shortbread-like deliciousness to enter my belly.
Oops.
…PERSIMMONS!!!
And not wimpy, baby Fuyus like I found at the farmer’s market here in Texas. Giant, squishy, yes-these-are-my-favorite Hachiya persimmons! [For $3.99 a pound...as opposed to $3.99 each!]
I had to buy three.
Obviously.
Of course, then I wandered through Chinatown…
…and found a market with persimmons for 89 CENTS a pound.
So I bought a beautiful, big Fuyu, as well as a lovely Asian pear…for less than $1.00.
And those had to come home with me. I can leave my swag…but I can’t leave my fruit! Sadly, the problem with loving squishy persimmons is that they, well, squish easily.
No matter.
Persimmon ‘jelly’ for breakfast sounded like a great idea after a late night homecoming.
Along with a chopped apple grabbed from the free bowl of ‘em in the lobby of our hotel, that I, obviously poached from every time I walked by.
And now I have virtual swag, as, following a 10-minute survey sent out by Foodbuzz that clearly was a marketing tool sent by Alexia–for whom I will I show a photo of the Sweet Potato Puffs I tasted at the Tasting Pavilion as a token of my appreciation–
[Source]
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
i used to work for colleen patrick-goudreau before she made it big – when she was just teaching cooking classes at a Keller-Williams after-hours to a group of 15-20 women! I'd go to her house beforehand to chop veggies and prep food and then i'd wash all her dishes after! she's such a nice, passionate woman!
I hate to admit this, but I'm preeeeetty sure I thought SWAG was Stuff We All Get because of an episode of The Office where Michael Scott said that's what it was. I could tell it was supposed to be a joke but since I didn't know what it actually was, it just stuck that way in my mind. Thanks for educating me, and for continuing to make TyFlo happen.
I love the Appetite for Reduction cookbook because it gives great notes on when things are gluten-free and soy free which I need.
happy herbivore! i wanna hear how you like it!
My eyes are green! WOW!
I have Happy Herbivore and Appetite for Reduction. I think they're both great and have a good variety of recipes. Just my opinion, but I think you'll like those two.
OMG… I can't believe you posted a pic of me licking T Flo. LOL! Very glad you enjoyed the cookies and I and beyond excited to see you in ATL!!!!! (I already know where I'm taking you for a snack/lunch/treat. It's vegan.)
Haha – love the pic of Laura.
I looked for Godiva coffee at the store this week, but because I had a coupon for it, of course they were out. Sigh… Dunkin' it is.
I left my cake mix and the cocktail book at the hotel… on purpose. I does neither glutens nor alcohols at this juncture in my life!