just over a week ago, we joined the hot knives team on the verdugo patio for an afternoon of snacks and beer to celebrate the release of their new vegetarian (and vegan-friendly) cookbook, salad daze.

we’d been looking forward to this day for ages—we’ve been HK fans for years, and even had an opportunity to test out one of the the salad daze recipes (magic shroom dust, loved it!) several months ago. now that the book has been released into the world and i’ve got it in my hands, i can safely say that it doesn’t disappoint. page after page of meatless recipes, with all the vegan ones clearly marked, each listed with their own thoughtful beer and soundtrack pairing.

so how was the release party? it was awesome! we always love kickin’ it on the verdugo patio with some good beer, but eating hot knives food at the same time makes it even better. on this day, the dudes prepared a slew of appetizers including some recipes from the book, and played a strictly salad daze playlist of bands we love including the fall, the stooges, and belle & sebastian.

here’s what we ate…

grapevine dolmas, page 86.

i myself couldn’t stop poppin’ the grapevine dolmas (a salad daze recipe on page 86). these grape leaves were filled up with za’tar-spiced rice, toasted sunflower seeds, and pickled grapes. phenomenal.

hot nuts, page 34.

we also got our fill of hot nuts (you can find these in salad daze on page 33), which included smokey almonds and spicy peanuts.

there were also some incredible grilled curried cashew cheese stuffed dates, and lots of homemade bread to go around.

good food? check. good beer? check. good music? check. good company? check.

we even got an autographed copy of salad daze from the dudes themselves…

don’t be jealous though, just get your own copy! the book is now available around town at urban outfitters locations, local bookstores, and of course you can order it online as well.

i know that almost all vegans have a pretty huge cookbook shelf, and trust me, salad daze will make a great addition to it. recipes i cannot wait to make include hot chips (homemade potato chips), the kale & potato breakfast salad, the winter seitan loaf, all tomorrow’s dumplings, and coco panna cotta—i could go on and on!

for more hot knives, follow them on twitter and check out their blog.