Potluck Meal Ideas: Easy-to-Prepare Organic, Vegetarian, Gluten-Free Meals
Spice up your next potluck with an organic, gluten-free, vegetarian meal.
January/February 2008
By Laurel Kallenbach
 |
Share Flourless Chocolate Ganache Tart at book club meetings.
Photo By Povy Kendal Atchison
|
Nothing’s better on a winter evening than curling up with a good book. Except, that is, congregating with book-club friends over homemade delicacies to discuss your latest fiction finds.
RELATED CONTENT
Cool and green, warm and earthy, sweet and tender; there's a salad for every summer's day....
Red, White, & Solar September/October 2003 By Anastasia White Wolf Part of the White House was rece...
A mindfully designed and equipped kitchen the heart of a Kansas straw bale home wins Natural Homes ...
Use aloe vera to relieve and heal insect bites....
My Boulder, Colorado, book club is an eclectic bunch—and our literary tastes are as “potluck” as the food. Our founder, Janet Cerretani, discarded the notion that a group of independent-minded women should all read the same book. Instead, we each read whatever books we want during the month, then report on them and swap titles. Some of our favorites have made the rounds: The Secret Life of Bees, Kite Runner, Lost and Found, The Time Traveler’s Wife, The Life of Pi.
And, oh yes, we eat. We whip up organic vegetarian dishes—most are gluten free—with whatever flavors fit the season. In winter we favor comfort food, and we believe that delicious flavors—like great books—are meant to be shared.
Winter Greens with Apples, Pecans and Stilton Cheese
Serves 6
With its crunchy pecans and crispy apple slices, this salad has become our book club’s legendary pass-along recipe. Escarole is hard to find in Colorado, so we substitute whatever organic greens are fresh.
1 head escarole or other winter greens
1 small bunch watercress
1 head endive
1 organic apple, thinly sliced
1/4 cup pecan pieces, toasted
2 ounces Stilton or blue cheese, crumbled
Black pepper
Sherry-Shallot Vinaigrette
1 1/2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 small shallot, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup organic extra-virgin olive oil
1. To make the vinaigrette, combine everything but the olive oil, then whisk it in. Set aside.
2. Remove escarole’s outer leaves and use only the tender, light-green inner leaves.
3. Pluck sprigs of watercress, discarding long stems.
4. Separate endive leaves, cutting larger leaves in half lengthwise.
5. Place greens in a large bowl with apple slices, toasted pecans and cheese.
6. Toss salad with vinaigrette and sprinkle with freshly ground pepper.
Reprinted with permission from Fields of Greens by Anne Somerville (Bantam, 1993).
Tuscan White Bean Soup
Serves 8
This savory, Italian-inspired soup is from my favorite vegetarian restaurant—Rebar, in Victoria, British Columbia.
Page: 1 |
2 |
3 |
Next >>