Potluck Picnic in the Park

Even though we haven't been mealgrouping it in the way in which we began, we've all been sharing meals together semi-regularly. I will be posting more on pulling together potlucks later, but I wanted to share our most recent potluck, which was a picnic in a local park. It was summer weather, there were adorable children playing, delightful adults chatting and fireflies as the sun went down! And all of the food was so, so good.

Summer picnic! (photo by Dianne Wenz of Veggiegirl)

The menu included...

• Pasta salad with black beans and cilantro
• Quinoa mushroom risotto
• Bean salad
• Carrot salad with a light lemon dressing
• Corn salad
• Watermelon salad
• Bread with pesto spread
• Slow cooker focaccia 
• Lima/edamame hummus
• Cookie dough balls
• No-bake double chocolate torte (click for the recipe, do not be daunted by the avocado)

...and an adorable baby!

Chana Saag, Brown Basmati Rice and Two Chutneys

Date:  10/28/2011
Cook:  Jen G.
Menu: Chana Saag (Indian Greens with Chickpeas), Brown Basmati Rice, Green Chutney and Sweet Carrot Chutney

The Vegan Slow Cooker continues to be a great resource. Tonight I made Chana Saag (with kale) and served it with brown rice and two chutneys: a green chutney and a sweet carrot chutney. It was my first time making both-- I'd add some salt to the green chutney next time, and less sugar to the carrot chutney. Heaped in a bowl all together, it was a delicious meal.

I delivered the goods to Jen at one of our local bookstores, where we gathered around Terry Hope Romero, who was swinging by our fair town to talk about baking, pie, Thanksgiving, life and stuff like that. Oh. I have a new book about making pies. Yes. Vegan Pie in the Sky.

There is a Boston creme pie calling my name.

Burritos Filled With Potatoes

Now this is an autumnal meal I can appreciate.

Date:  10/20/2011
Cook:  Jen G.
Menu: Mashed Potato and Edamame Burritos with Quinoa; Tortilla Soup

Mashed Potato and Edamame Burrito Filling from The Vegan Slow Cooker intrigued me and I must say...it was delicious! It was really simple and makes a very tasty eating time experience. I made Tortilla Soup from La Dolce Vegan and it was chock full of black beans and corn and brothy and good. I also cooked up a pot of quinoa to throw into the mix.

I had two regrets about this meal. One was that I left the burrito filling in the slow cooker for waaaaaay too long and the condensation from the process caused the filling to become more watered down than was probably warranted. I hasten to add that it was still delicious. The other concern was that my tortilla chips for the soup were hella stale, dude. Learn from my errors, friends.

Jen C. and I got to have this meal in each other's presence because she came over to make felt flowers as favors for a shower we were planning. Mashed potato burritos and craft night...heavenly.

ICE CREAM!!!

Date: 01/17/2011

Cook:  Jen C.
Menu: Onion and Lentil Soup with Caramelized Cabbage, Green Salad...but that isn't what is important.  What matters is that this mealgroup night involved ICE CREAM SAMPLE TIME!!!

So good, flavorful and warming!

Never underestimate the deliciousness of a simple green salad with beets and yummy dressing.

The soup was frickin' delicious, I have no idea how Jen pulled that magic off, especially since she spent the day in NYC shopping for a gelato freezer for her newest endeavor, ICE CREAM.  We lucked out in that Jen C.'s vendor just so happened to be bringing her samples that day, so for dessert we chowed down on:

YES!

YES!

YES!

 My favorite was peanut butter fudge, no surprise there.  What was surprising was how much I like the cinnamon raisin.  That was my second favorite.  The blueberry was also delectable. 

That night we had a big ice storm.

My trusty steed

Enchiladas

Yeah, not the best looking picture, but it was tasty as heck.

Date: 01/10/2011
Cook:  Jen C.
Menu: Enchiladas with Cabbage-Carrot Slaw

Jen C. gave us the hook up with some really delightful enchiladas this evening.  Even the kid said, "oh, those look GREAT!" when we opened the container.  (He also enthusiastically told his dad upon the latter's arrival home from work, "IT IS A MEALSHARE NIGHT!! AND JEN MADE US ENCHILADAS!!")  The sauce was supergood and a brilliant use of leftovers from a brunch that Rachel and her partner hosted yesterday (Rachel did this awesome thing where she created a make-your-own-ranchero station).

I spent all day and evening working on a project that is due this weekend, and then had a steering committee meeting to go to for a local grassroots environmental group.  It was a joy to not have to worry about providing dinner tonight-- I am grateful for meal group.  Thanks!

Thai Veggie Stew

Date: 01/03/2011
Cook:  Jen C.
Menu: Thai vegetable stew with basmati rice

I could regale you with tales of the fun afternoon the three of us (randomly) spent at Corrado's - which is a really bizarre place, and skilled in parting you from your money, because OMG I TOTALLY SHOULD GET BLACK SESAME SEEDS! AND GARLIC OIL! TEA IS ON SALE! HAHA LOOK AT ME, STANDING IN FRONT OF THE CHICKPEA FLOWER WHILE ASKING RACHEL WHERE IT IS! OOOH!...and...and...and... - but instead I will talk to you about Jen C.'s thai veggie stew. 

It was full of cauliflower, broccoli (two favorites in our house), snap peas, peppers...all in a flavorful, coconut milk base.  I am not skilled in the rice department, so I always appreciate people who serve me non-crunchy, tasty rice.  Thank you for another wonderful meal, Jen C.!

Potluck Night and The Veg Edge

So much food that it doesn't even all fit in the picture!

 Date: 12/9/2010
Cooks: Jenna, Jen C., Jen G. and Rachel
Menu: A burrito bar with starring black beans, rice and some fantastic guacamole; a roasted beet, shallot and pecan salad; deluxe macaroni and cheese; zooma zoom zoom butternut rancheros and chocolate chip sunflower seed cookies

Allow me to tell you: Thursday night was a fantastic night if you enjoy good food (which we do).  Instead of doing our three nights of meal group sharing this week, we decided to combine our cooking energy into one night and have a potluck at our friend Jenna's house so that we could all hang out and watch a veg-centric show on The Cooking Channel called The Veg Edge (by the way, check out the amazing looking recipes in the sidebar).  While the show itself had some hits and some misses, the food and the company were both outstanding.  We all ate a TON, and left Jenna's full and happy.  Thank you Jenna, for hostessing!

Forks Over Knives

Instead of mealgrouping it on Monday, a bunch of us attended a pre-release screening of the movie Forks Over Knives (a benefit for Farm Sanctuary). 

We were treated to a Q&A after the movie.  Moderated by Victoria Moran, we had a chance to hear thoughts of folks associated with the movie: filmmaker Brian Wendel, Drs. Matt Lederman and Alona Pulde, Gene Baur and Rip Esselstyn.

The movie and following discussion gave us food for a rich series of conversations that are ongoing.  This is a powerful, hopeful, encouraging, compelling film about the benefits of a plant-based diet.  We hope all of you will get a chance to watch Forks Over Knives when it is released in March.

Road Trip to Rachel's!

Date: 12/1/2010
Cook: Rachel
Menu: Cabbage poriyal and mushroom biryani with toasted cashews; pumpkin chocolate chip muffins

So! We had so much fun eating together the other night that we decided we'd do it again tonight. The two Jens headed over to Rachel's and she had this amazing meal waiting:

  

Cabbage poriyal and the most delicious biryani a girl could dream up!

 

True story: I asked for a spoon so that I could shovel this deliciousness into my maw in the most efficient manner possible

Though we had lofty thoughts of Scrabble, our baser instincts prevailed and we watched TV together for an hour.  With Cuddles.  And Vito Kitty.  The muffins were so tasty, Rachel did this thing where she added chocolate chips and magic.  Again, those who were not with us were sent home big jars of leftovers...lunch for tomorrow!  Thanks, Rachel!

Cuddles cuddled with us while we watched the decidedly non-vegan Top Chef All Stars together.  He is a dog who lives up to his name!

Reunited, and it Feels SO GOOD!

Hunka hunka delicious penne

Yummy cookies!!

Date: 11/29/2010
Cook: Jen C.
Menu: Penne with pumpkin, spinach, broccoli and beans; cranberry oatmeal cookies

November seemed to be such a busy, busy month for all of us.  It was with great pleasure that the female members of Meal Group got together last night to share the meal at Jen C.'s and catch up with each other.  It was a lovely evening with delicious food, and after dinner we drank tea and nibbled cranberry cookies while warming our tootsies by the fire.

The males were sent home copious amounts of pasta in Mason jars, and we also exchanged leftovers from Thanksgiving.

A Vegan Girl's Guide to Life Brings the All the Lady Vegans to the Yard (If a Store is a Yard)

We are here, in all of our glory!

We are all taking this busy, hectic week off from our own meal sharing to share compassionate meals with others.  But! No worries-- we had lots of fun sharing a meal together at our local Ethiopian restaurant the other night along with the author of The Vegan Girl's Guide to Life, Melisser Elliot, and her entourage (hi Jen!) and friends/fans (hi Lori, Jenna and Diane!).

On Sunday, Jen C. hosted a Vegan Girl's Guide to Life book signing at Go Lightly-- and what a fun event.  Not only was it great to hang out with all of the ladies (or ladybros, as Melisser might say) and soak in the major awesomeness of these vegan rockstars, but it was a very laid back and comfortable vibe.  And Melisser's book is really VERY informative and well done, so if you are looking for a book that is jam-packed with straightforward info on living la vida vegan, pick this one up stat!

Check in later this week for some more meal share ideas - and we're thankful for you being you, lovely readers.