SNDC is Not a Dinner Club

Update 2/1/10:

Hmm. Well, I couldn’t figure out how to add this photo and insert the links and keep it with the original publishing date (which I’ve now forgotten), so sorry about the confusion.  This was a month or so ago, and I thought I’d update it with the “best of” tag that we had talked about…

I’ve put in links to the recipes, and added a photo that I took of this SNDC gathering…because it was SO GOOD! I’ve made it again since then…I’d say this was one of my all-time favorite SNDC recipes. –Lena

Enjoying the Fooll Mudammes!

Just to formalize what’s been confirmed over e-mail: Brian and Lena are hosting this weekend, even though it’s my turn, because my major cooking appliance is on the fritz. Also, we’ll be gathering at 1 p.m. instead of noon because of some scheduling issues.

We’ll be having a North African-inspired brunch, with fooll mudammes (a fava bean dish) and morning couscous. I’ll bring just about everything needed — including some pitas to have with the fooll mudammes. I’m going to assume that Brian and Lena have salt and oil at their home, and not bring that.

I’m hosting this week, noon Sunday, 1201 NE 21st Ave.

When I visited London for a week during my Grinnell years, the hostel I was at offered a traditional English breakfast. I didn’t really understand what I was looking at, though, and so I ate the eggs and avoided everything else.  I’d like to revisit the past, only this time enjoy the full breakfast — but modified to make it vegan.

Here’s what we’ll have:

• Vegan baked beans, from a can.
• Fresh sliced tomatoes. (We can fry these if anyone would prefer them that way.)
• Tempeh bacon.
• Tofu scramble.
• Fried mushrooms, sprinkled w/salt & pepper and cooked in olive oil.
• Vegan sausages.
• Hash browns – cooked from pre-shredded grocery store potatoes.

The only major thing missing is Earl Gray tea – though orange juice or mimosas would be a fine addition too. If you’re feeling really ambitious, you could make baked beans ahead of time and bring them — but I think canned beans will be fine.

Come hungry! And please, RSVP so I get enough of everything.

So it’s my turn to host, but it sounds like Mike, Dan and Ellery won’t be available this Sunday. Should we skip another week and resume SNDC as usual on Jan. 17? Any thoughts?

I’d like to try to make this Christmas Morning Frittata for our innaugural SNDC brunch, noon at my place (1201 NE 21st.). I’ll have all the ingredients on hand, plus coffee and some kind of fruit. I’m planning on substituting broccoli for the green bell pepper, and may want to swap in leeks for the onions.

Is everybody OK with dairy mozzarella? Or should I look for a vegan alternative?

IF any SNDC-ers already have Worcestershire sauce, I’d love to use yours. If nobody volunteers to bring any by noon on Saturday, I’ll get some at the store. NOTE — please only volunteer bring it if you have the kind that doesn’t contain anchovies, as I don’t eat anchovies. If you’ve got the anchovy kind, I’d rather buy vegetarian Worcestershire.

I think I’m due to host, after something like a month away from SNDC. I hope you folks can make it – 5:30 p.m. Sunday, 1201 N.E. 21st Ave.

Let’s try this “vegetable tian” recipe, which seems to be well-loved by the people of the Internet – including vegans, who omit the cheese, as shall we. Apparently “tian” is either a French casserole dish or an ancient Chinese term for a supernatural ethical course. Wonder which was intended here?

Anyhow, here’s what we need to do a 1.5X recipe:

• Good olive oil – Courtney
• 3 large yellow onions, cut in half and sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced - Courtney
• 1.5 pound medium round potatoes, unpeeled - Courtney
• 1 to 1.25 pounds zucchini - Courtney
• 1.75 to 2 pounds medium tomatoes- Courtney
• 1.5 teaspoon kosher salt- Courtney has coarse sea salt, a decent substitute
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper - Courtney
• 1.5 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, plus extra sprigs
• optional: vegan gruyere, if it exists.

It would also be good to have:

• some kind of juice – I think apple juice sounds good
• maybe a bottle of wine or a six pack of beer.

It takes a fair amount of time in the oven, too, so don’t forget your sparkling conversation.

OK, I’m excited about getting together with folks at 6:30 p.m.Friday at Mount Tabor. I’ve been trying to think of a good place to meet each other, since the park is kind of big, and I think we’re best of looking for each other at the top of the hill near the statue. (Which depicts “Harvey W. Scott, editor of The Oregonian newspaper from 1865-1872 and from 1877 until his death in 1910. ”  according to this site.) Be prepared for some uphill walking, I guess.

I can bring my mini-charcoal grill. Mike, do you still have one of these and would you also be willing to bring it?

Food ideas:

• Hamburger buns – LOTS – Dan
• Veggie burgers – quantity depends on how many people will be there and how many people are likely to want two burgers. Eight or 12, maybe? – Dan
• Cheese – Courtney
• Soy cheese. – Dan
• Ketchup - Courtney
• Mustard - Courtney
• Onion – Courtney
• Tomato – Courtney
• Lettuce
• Veggies or fruit for munching
• Chips
• Dishes
• Cups – Courtney
• Water – Courtney
• Juice
• Added item: More picnic blankets?
• Either a salad or some grillable veggies. Sara

Also, I think a good portion of the people who will be there on Friday night might be people who enjoy eating meat from time to time. If anyone is an expert in the world of meat burgers, we might want four or six of those.

I don’t know if anyone would like to bring wine or beer. I’m not sure if it’s officially allowed, but moderate drinking seems to be generally ignored in city parks.

Hi all,

I won’t be able to attend any SNDC events until mid-September, because of some rather extensive weekend camping plans over the next three weeks, followed by my mother-in-law’s 60th birthday party. I’ll be back in rotation on Sept. 20. But would folks be interested in having SNDC on a Friday next week — Aug. 28? Several Grinnell alumni will be in town that Friday but not that Sunday (Sarah Aswell, Jamal Rogers). I haven’t asked either of them yet, but I think it would be fun to invite them to join us.

In a more perfect world, I’d just make Friday, Aug. 28, into a party night and invite everyone to my house. But my house has become a staging area for four people who are attending  Burning Man, and there are so many tents, sleeping bags, camp chairs and other supplies everywhere that it’s hard for just me and Ben to get around. So I can’t host.

But maybe we could all meet up at Laurelhurst Park or Mount Tabor at 6:30 p.m. that night fire up a portable grill and roast some veggies and Gardenburgers together. What do you think?

(In case I’m not explicit enough, I’m talking about NEXT Friday, not Friday of this week.)

I’m hosting this week: 5:30 p.m. Sunday, 1201 NE 21st Ave. Look forward to seeing folks. I normally don’t like eggplant, but one of my first SNDCs involved this recipe, and it was delicious. Meanwhile, I’ve got a bunch of eggplant at home and I’d like to share it. So here’s what we need:

• 6 medium potatoes, well scrubbed and quartered (peel or leave the peels on) – Courtney
• 4 medium eggplants, halved lengthwise or 6 smalleggplants, halved lengthwise – Courtney
• 2 tablespoons cumin seeds
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil – Courtney
• 2 onions, finely minced - Courtney
• 2 small fresh serrano chili peppers, seeded and finely minced - Courtney volunteers jalapeno as a substitute
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger - Courtney
• 2 tablespoons black mustard seeds or brown mustard seeds - Courtney
• 6 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
• 4 teaspoons garam masala
• 3 teaspoons salt - Courtney
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander – Dan
• 1 teaspoon turmeric - Courtney
• 2 pinches cayenne pepper - Courtney
• 1 lemon, juice of – Dan
• 2 tablespoons honey - Courtney
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste - Courtney
• 2 cans  chickpeas – Ellery

If my brother and sister-in-law can make it, they’ll bring a dessert. To recap, I don’t have: 2 tablespoons cumin seeds; 6 tablespoons cilantro; 4 tablespoons garam masala, juice of 1 lemon, 2 cans chickpeas. We could also use alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages, and maybe finger food to snack on as we cook.

Am I hosting this week, or is Dan? Anyhow, I’m not logging on with a recipe right now, just some details on the abundant vegetables at my disposal.

I have:

• cabbage (small, bright green head)
• one fennel bulb with fronds
• lots of sweet onions (Walla Walla)
• carrots
• broccoli
• green beans
• LOTS of new potatoes – red and yellow
• A good number of delicious tomatoes, bursting with ripeness.

I also have some beets, but I think I’ll be eating them tonight on my own.

I’ll be on the hunt for recipes that might take advantage of this cornucopia, and I might post some ideas in the comments later today. If any of you have thoughts, this would be a good place to share, too. Or if any of you have abundant produce you’d like to contribute.

Ben and I are hosting this weekend (NE 21st & Multnomah, 5:30 p.m.), and I’d like to make use of the greens we got from our CSA in this recipe.

Doubling the recipe, we need:

• 10 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided – Ben & Courtney
• 6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced – Ben & Courtney
• 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper – Ben & Courtney
• 2 large bunches greens  – Ben & Courtney
• 2 cups (or more) vegetable broth or low-salt chicken broth – Ben & Courtney
• 2 15-ounce cans cannellini (white kidney beans), rinsed, drained
• 2 teaspoon (or more) Sherry wine vinegar.

Also appreciated: Alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages.

The greens we’ll be providing are purple peacock broccoli, which is a kale broccoli hybrid. They’re mostly leafy, with a small broccoli-cluster in the middle. I’ve got just one large bunch of this, so I’ll get some other greens to mix in as well.

I have red wine vinegar, if nobody has sherry vinegar. I’ve also got Israeli couscous to serve the dish with, and parmesan to sprinkle on top for anyone who is interested.