LTH Vegetarian Small Household Dinner Exchange Jan. 10, 2010

Date: January 10, 2010

Time: 11:30 am

Location:
Green Zebra
1460 west chicago ave
chicago illinois 60642

We'll cap brunch at 10 (preference given to exchange participants)

Brunch-- The Brunch is now at capacity but please contact me via PM if you are interested in attending brunch or participating in the exchange.- Ava

ecs
lemoneater +1
pairs4life +4
Indianbadger

Exchange
ecs- Stuffed Grape Leaves
lemoneater- Dahl Makhni
pairs4life- Edamame Soup
Indianbadger- South Indian Style Coconut Rice


Number in the group: We will cap attendance at each gathering at 10 so that participants are never making more than 10 servings of anything. Couples will be counted as one serving.

The food: There are great omnivore dinner and dessert exchanges that happen monthly. This is for people interested in doing a vegetarian dinner exchange (without meat, meat stock etc, but can include eggs and dairy). We make 5-10 servings of one dish, and bring back 5-10 different dishes. Participants bring one pre-portioned serving of their food for everyone who has RSVP’d to come that month. A serving is whatever you think it is for your food item. The priority will be for entrees, soups, salad, stews, pastas, grains, etc.

There's a preference for healthy dishes, one no-wheat eater, one veg Atkins. If your dish has wheat or carbs, it can be included, but just inform the group in your post.

The containers/delivery system: Everyone in the group should use the Gladware 3 1/8 cup plastic containers (it’s the approximately 7” x 7” square). You’ll portion your food into those containers to bring and hand out at the gathering. You can freeze them or not depending on your schedule and when you make your food. There is no need to fill the container, just put in whatever is a serving to you. If you use something else to deliver your food that month (Ziploc bags, plastic wrap, etc.) you should also return the empty containers from the last round so that everyone always has a stash of these containers for the exchange and doesn’t have to run out and buy more.

The process:

Each of us will take turns being the organizer each month. Each time we meet, someone will offer to organize the next month’s gathering.

Approximately two weeks before the next gathering, the organizer will post a new thread to the events page announcing the date and the location for that month and asking for RSVP’s.

Participants will need to RSVP their attendance by one week before the monthly gathering. They will then need to post what they are bringing by three days before the gathering. This is to help make sure we get some balance in the food so that we’re not all bringing something that has to be eaten in the next 2-3 days; that there’s a balance of stuff that can be frozen for later, or eaten sooner.

The organizer will monitor the thread to see what people are bringing. The organizer will also make reservations for the group at the restaurant where we will be gathering. People can choose to stay for the meal or just come and exchange food and leave. Just let the organizer know so they can get an accurate count for the reservation. Other LTHers are welcome to join us for the meal, even if they are not bringing food to exchange.

I'm in for brunch and exchange - looking forward to it!

I'm +1 for lunch, and thinking of making dalk makhni (Indian black lentils). What about everyone else?

I will make Eggplant Curry. My mum & sister are coming into town from South Carolina (they told me on NYE) so I wanna see if others are coming for brunch before having my family takeover . Otherwise my family can sit near but separate. Plus I don't know what my sister's plans are. She may meet other friends she has in the city.

@lemoneater- We ate at Marigold last night. Dalh Makhni is a favorite of mine.

Hi,

Please add me to the list. This will be my first exchange.

I want to bring South Indian Style Coconut Rice. If people want it vegan I can omit the Ghee. If people want it less spicy (hot), I can omit the Green Chiles as well.

Hope to see y'all.

Victor

Indianbadger wrote:Hi,

Please add me to the list. This will be my first exchange.

I want to bring South Indian Style Coconut Rice. If people want it vegan I can omit the Ghee. If people want it less spicy (hot), I can omit the Green Chiles as well.

Hope to see y'all.

Victor

Welcome Victor, You are in. I see a theme here on food.

Sorry, I have been slow about responding, but I will be there! Not sure exactly what I am bringing yet, but thinking about something Middle Eastern. Looking forward to Sunday!

ecs wrote:Sorry, I have been slow about responding, but I will be there! Not sure exactly what I am bringing yet, but thinking about something Middle Eastern. Looking forward to Sunday!

I'd assumed you & veghound were coming but thanks for confirming.

Indianbadger wrote:If people want it vegan I can omit the Ghee. If people want it less spicy (hot), I can omit the Green Chiles as well.

I vote for ghee and chiles.

It turns out that when you go to Trader Joe's and buy black lentils, there's no guarantee that this is urad dal... So this may be more of a spicy lentil stew.

What's the final count for servings, 3 or 4?

lemoneater wrote:What's the final count for servings, 3 or 4?

I count 5 in for the exchange so you will need to provide 4 servings. Looking forward to it.

I just wanted to confirm that there are no nut allergies. I am planning on making stuffed grape leaves and usually include pine nuts, but they can certainly be omitted if there is an allergy.

Indianbadger - I say include the green chilies - I love spice.

No allergies here

ecs wrote:I just wanted to confirm that there are no nut allergies. I am planning on making stuffed grape leaves and usually include pine nuts, but they can certainly be omitted if there is an allergy.

Indianbadger - I say include the green chilies - I love spice.

No allergies. Indianbadger you can make it spicy. I think I may change to either a soup or pasta so that we aren't quite so heavy on Indian food.

I've not heard from veghound so at this point I'm going to assume she is not participating this round. That means there are 4( ecs, Indianbadger, lemoneater, & pairs4life) of us for the exchange.

That means only 3 servings are required.

I will bring edamame soup.

I am so sorry that I didn't respond to this thread--I will not make it, but should have let everyone know sooner since we discussed it at the last meeting. Work has taken over my life, but I'll be back next month. If no one who attends tomorrow wants to organize next month, I'd be happy to send dates and a location around.

Hope you all have fun! I really enjoyed your company and food last month.

veghound wrote:I am so sorry that I didn't respond to this thread--I will not make it, but should have let everyone know sooner since we discussed it at the last meeting. Work has taken over my life, but I'll be back next month. If no one who attends tomorrow wants to organize next month, I'd be happy to send dates and a location around.

Hope you all have fun! I really enjoyed your company and food last month.

I definitely know how that is. You will be missed. Check your messages for the next date. If you want to come just for brunch there is space for you tomorrow morning.

Cheers,

Rave reviews to ecs for the dolma, and extra stars for making TWO additional side dips.

By the way, the lentils are especially tasty if you add some cream right before eating.

Lemoneater- Thanks so much for continuing the tradition of a gift for the organizer.

Alistair has broken into the goat cheese & say it is wonderful. Looking forward to breaking into the burrata next week.

lemoneater reminded me that I might not have shared what the dips are. one is a very thick hummus. my son likes to eat with his hands (hence the thickness). the other is an eggplant and yogurt dip. lemoneater, i don't have an exact recipe for it, but here is the basic...just in case you want to make it.

Roast an eggplant (450 for ~30 min). Peel the eggplant and roughly chop. Put in a food processor with 2 or 3 cloves of garlic, 1/3 cup greek yogurt (I actually had no fat in the fridge but full fat would be even better), ~3 tablespoons dill (parsley is also good or whatever you have in the fridge) and blend. Season with salt and pepper.