When Brian Patton, a regular guy rather than a highfalutin chef, began posting cooking videos on YouTube as his alter ego, “The Sexy Vegan,” celebrity status quickly ensued — along with a publication deal for his first book, The Sexy Vegan Cookbook. Now he’s done it again with his new book, The Sexy Vegan’s Happy Hour at Home: Small Plates, Big Flavors, and Potent Cocktails. In this entertaining guest post, His Sexiness offers practical advice for organizing your own happy hour gatherings this summer! Also, be sure to check out his recent cooking demonstrations in the kitchen at The Portland Oregonian and on AM Northwest, as well as the hilarious trailer he created for the book.

We were thrilled to learn that Brian Patton, author of The Sexy Vegan Cookbook, was recently nominated for VegNews magazine’s “Best Cookbook Author” award. We certainly feel that the title more than befits him, and we’d love to enlist your assistance in helping him win this prestigious award.

Everyone is different. We have different body chemistry, different nutritional needs and restrictions because of genetics or allergies, and different upbringings and emotional states that cause us to associate certain aromas and flavors with feelings and memories. The sum of all this, multiplied by some very powerful advertising, results in the foods that we choose to consume. If we toss genetic anomalies, emotion, social stigma, 60 years of “meat marketing,” and even ethical and environmental considerations out the window, we're left with a simple question: What are we really supposed to eat?

I am a bit of a recipe hound. I have stacks of cookbooks that I love to pore over on slow weekend mornings. As a fairly lazy vegetarian, I usually start out my Google recipe searches with “easiest best ever vegetarian…”

Last year, while poking around online in search of something easy, creamy, and preferably carb-heavy, I stumbled upon a YouTube video of “the Sexy Vegan” preparing “Creamy” Asparagus Pasta. This wasn’t your standard cooking video.