So..I went to this potluck on the weekend...

....and it was so amazing!
It was a housewarming pot luck for my friends TJ and Alicia and also their housemate Kirk. They have rented an incredible space that was formerly a milk bar, kitted it out with couches and guitar hero, and will hopefully be hosting regular pot lucks, gigs, guitar hero championships and the like.

This pot luck was an awesome way to kick start the new place, there was a lot of people and a whole lot of foods to taste, indoor soccer, music and me having to rush the hell out of there in two hours because of exams....oh god I left so much food behind, it kills me to think of!

Here's some photographs I managed to snap before the hordes went crazy.

Garlic bread production line, courtesy of Zac!

Overeater's anonymous meeting.

It was basically a smorgasboard affair.

Alicia's quality guacamole.

McNabb's all organic mixed salad.

Rocket's pasta salad was not this blurry in real life, promise.

Dish of the tonight was without any doubt TJ's vegan take on "tuna mornay". I'm desperately trying to get the recipe from her so I'll try post it up here when I have my hands on it! Yum it was so creamy and tasty and I dont even LIKE tuna. Obviously.

I don't know who made this crazy peanut butter topped pecan fudge, but I'd like to have their babies.
Delightful roasted pumpkin pizza.

My unquenchable pastry desire was almost sated by these little mushroomy herb puff pastry cuppettes. I'm pretty sure they had some kind of...nut...there too.

Puff pastry obsession continues. A curried vegetable filled pie. Looked unassuming, tasted amazing.
Didn't try these cookies but apparently they were of the "crazy" variety containing crazy ingredients like cherries. This is what Rocket told me. Crazy.

Herby polenta bake. There was a tomatoey bolognese type sauce to go over the top too. Yum.

Oh my god! I was so ready to go on and on and realised that was the last photo! Damn I wish I could relive that night all over again, my stomach is absolutely squawking at the moment with longing. That's what I get for eating SOUP for dinner, just soup! How lousy.

My contribution you ask? The less said the better. Ok I'll say a little. Collapsed Oreo Cake.

Insightful!

Found on Isa's blog

Tips for a Successful Potluck

1) Coordinate with others so that not everyone is bringing sweets.

2) There has to be at least one lasagna.

3) Bring your A-game, spend a few hours in the kitchen, now is the time to impress, not to cut corners.

4) Bring something! And not a little bag of chips, either. If you absolutely can not cook something, then call the host and see what is needed - drinks, fresh fruit. Something. But if more than a few people are doing this, that makes for a crappy potluck.

5) Don’t plan on cooking at the host’s house. What the hell is that about? If you have to do that, then call the host and see that it’s okay. Warming up is absolutely permitted, but preparing your whole dish there without warning? No. Just no, never, no.

6) Bring big portions. Some people have said they bring enough for 6, but why? Is it really that much harder to cook for 12? Like I said, now is the time to go all out. Make time in your schedule, prioritize the potluck. Mean business!

7) Help the host clean up. Or at least offer to. They will probably say no.

8) The host should not be doing most of the cooking. As the host it’s your job to really bring it because it’s your kitchen, but it isn’t your job to bring…all of it.

There are very few gripes I have when it comes to potlucks - if there is delicious food, I'm in a happy place, but this list probably takes all those little things that have irked me ever so mildly in my eight odd years of potlucking, and condenses them!

Having said that I am EXTRAORDINARILY guilty of Number 8. And I will be. Forever. You cant stop me from OVERCOOKING!!

Comfort food: a photo essay.

Well, I've come a long way since the three-slices-of-Kraft cheddar (individually wrapped thanks) and white bread toasties, but not that far. The basic concept is still the same!

This was my pre 11:30am biology class breakfast some weeks back.

Start off with some super amazing impressive and fabulous Kolios vegan cheese from Queen Victoria Market's deli section.

Assemble with a great care, that leads you to be a half hour late for class. Cheeser slices, very finely diced tomato (nothing worse than a molten hot burning tomato strip leaving third degree burns on your chin as you pull it out of the sandwich), chopped mushroom (swiss brown), and fresh basil leaves from my tiny herbarium out back.
Assembled on some nice oat or spelt bread. I cant remember. One or the other. Perhaps even kamut?
Squish time!

End product! A valuable lesson. Always, always dust your toastie with salt and pepper, both sides. Will change your life, I swear it. And dont forget to nuttelex that toastie, outer ways!

Don't neglect your dog, he needs a breakfast too.

Have you ever seen such ooey gooey innards when it comes to vegan cheese before?
From a different angle you ask? How can I say no to you!

Breakfast drink. V8 enriched with oily flaxseed goodness. Mmmm, delicious. No really it is!

........I swear!