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.

Rachel Shares Some Thoughts on Meal Group

Hi there!  I'm Rachel, and I'm the third member of Suburban Vegan Meal Group.  The reasons I joined up with the lovely Jennifers were as simple as variety, economy and community.   

 

First, variety.  I don't know about you, but there is something about cooking for a larger group of people (especially when they are as good at cooking, baking etc as both Jennifers are) that really makes you step up your own game.  I've tried a lot of recipes that I would never make for just my partner and myself.  Plus, there is the HUGE bonus of no leftovers. Instead of making a large recipe and eating the same thing over the course of 3 days, now I get to share my meal with awesome friends and have something fresh and exciting the next day (though leftovers make the best lunches).  And of course there is all the variety that my Meal Grouping cohorts bring to the table.  I'm not as comfortable with lasagnas as Jenn G is, so where for me lasagna is a whole day endeavour with lots of cursing, thanks to Meal Group I get fantastic lasagna delivered to me that my partner and I get to fight over.  Each of us has a different set of go to dishes we love making, and so instead of eating my own few rotating recipes, my partner and I get a much more varied set of meals to try, and we've been introduced to new ingredients that are now part of our repertoire.

 

Second, economy.  It takes as almost as much time to cook for 2 as it does for 10, so Meal Group is a huge time saver.  And it means that for 2 nights a week we get a delicious homemade meal, with no effort or cost to us. WIN!  Plus, because I work in the City and have a long commute, I find that instead of coming home exhausted and deciding to eat out or order take out, I get to have a home cooked awesome meal.  My partner and I used to eat out 3 to 4 times a week, and since joining Meal Group we eat out about once a week. 

 

Third, community.  Nothing brings you closer to people than sharing meals with them.  We touch base about who wants what, we know each other's preferences, give each other feedback on our meals and we get to be a big part of each other's lives. The community it creates has become a vital part of my life, and I'm so grateful to have such amazing women in my life.

Feeling Crafty? Check This Baby Out for Your Food Transport Needs!

Image: Diane Gilleland for Craftzine

In the spirit of getting some DIY crafty sass on, I wanted to pass on the directions to this fabulous looking cozy that I recently came across.  Stick your casserole dishes in there and you and your meal sharers are all set to eat some seriously warm food, even during the chilly months.  I would probably be committing to making it right now if it weren't for the fact that we've just entered the late November/early December pre-holiday craftsanity in our household.

But January is full of promise!

The main component is a used wool sweater but the non-secondhand-wool-users amongst us should substitute with fleece.

I also love the idea of sliding a cutting board under the bottom of the casserole dish- genius!

Heres to many fabulous shared meals, warm from the oven!

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.

How NOT to Do It!

Quinoa, lentils, cauliflower & potato mash

Date: 11/19/2010
Cook: Jen G.
Menu: French lentils, quinoa with toasted almonds and cauliflower and potato mash with peas


You should not wait until the last minute to plan the mealshare meal (like, prior to 5:25 would be good).  If you do wait until the last minute, you should only attempt this Level 10 endeavor with a well-stocked cupboard, which I did not possess this evening.  If you foolishly forge ahead, you crazy Last Minute Lulu With Your Bare Cupboard, you should expect the unexpected.  Like maybe someone needs a ride home from Secaucus during rush hour, and you need to pack up the kid and spend prime dinner making time sitting in traffic on Route 3. 

In conclusion, being uninspired is not the same as unprepared.  I'm thankful that I have such a flexible mealshare partner who not only was cool with having a late dinner but even picked it up on her way home (thereby affording my kid the opportunity to eat his meal before passing out from low blood sugar).

Transport

When it comes to meal group, we have found that we have all struggled at one point or another with thelogistics of transporting the actual food. Since the three of us feel very strongly about reducing our food/footprint, we tend to stay away from disposable plastic bags such as Ziploc. We generally don't use plastic baggies but we do re-use plastic bags from the store. In my house, we also have waxed paper baggies that I occasionally stuff things like cookies into.

We've listed some thoughts about meal group transport:

1. Re-used take out containers and containers from the store - fairly self-explanatory. We save these and stick food items in them that are not warm or hot since they are almost always plastic, and we have some concerns about leaching.

2. Serving dishes - There are times when we've baked something (a casserole, a pan of cornbread, a mini-loaf of chocolate chip cookie bars) and we just deliver that portion of the meal in whatever we baked it in...this works well for us because we know each other and trust each other to care for and return our dishware. In my case, I also don't have much attachment to most of my bakeware.

3. Tiffins and stainless steel containers - These are really fabulous! The two-tiered tiffin from To-Go Ware and the smaller sidekick containers are great food transport devices.  The tiffins are quick to fill and hold a respectable amount of food.  The sidekicks are great for smaller amounts of sauces, chutneys or sides.

A tiffin with broccoli on the top and pasta on the bottom level; pumpkin pasta sauce is in the jar.

4. Jars - My favorite choice! Simply save the glass jars in which your pickles, pasta sauce and condiments are packaged. Run them through the dishwasher or, if you don't have one, soak w/ a little vinegar. They are sturdy, readily available, low cost, non-leaching and easy to both fill with and remove food!

The whole meal: pasta, sauce, broccoli and chocolate chip cookies in a reused plastic bag.

5. Tote bags - We bag everything up in tote bags. My family has a lot of tote bags and so we chuck the shares into whatever small/medium reusable tote comes to hand. Although it might make sense for others, we don't have dedicated tote bags.

As noted previously, we are all very flexible and so although our agreement is that we will deliver our meals, there are many times that some or all of us might pick up if we are in the area or if we know that it might make life easier for the other(s).

If you are looking for inspiration to reduce the amount of plastic in your own life, I really recommend Fake Plastic Fish. Beth nails it with her amazing site. (Full disclosure: A major pet peeve of mine is when vegans will go to the mat defending animals but fail to make the connection that their consumer choices and habits have major impacts on, well, animals.)

I hope that this info on some of our nitty-gritty details is helpful!

Ready for delivery!

Cheese Steak Sandwiches!

Date: 11/15/2010
Cook: Jen C.
Menu: Cheese Steaks and Purple Potato Salad

Jen C. whipped these up and they were delish! Field Roast slices sauteed with onions, lovingly placed upon a chunk of baguette and topped with cheddary Daiya. I am of the opinion that almost everything is better with Veganaise on it and so I added some to my sandwich.

The potato salad was a simple but yummy concoction of potatoes, onions and carrots.

A totally tasty way to begin our week - thanks Jen!