potluck

Now I get it. Potlucks are so fantastic because you are lucky to only have to make a lot of one thing, and still get to eat a nice variety of food. And who throws the best potlucks? Julie Van Rosendaal. Yep, she bravely opened her doors to whomever responded to a post on her blog.  There were literally streams of people walking down the street with large containers of food.  How cool is that?!

I'll admit that we are always looking for something to do between the general hours of 3-7pm, which  can't involve anything too fancy, or be too far away.  There definitely needs to be some food and the possibility for Carter to do at least a little wiggling. I also had been baking up a cookie and brownie storm for Music for Autism, so I just kept on baking.  I had enough cookies for the potluck too.  Julie's potluck was just the thing.

So what did we eat? Well a lot. And Carter even enjoyed eating his first olive.  Yum.  Who knew?

Here's a small taste:




Warm bread and butter. I could never be sure which is better, but I'll giddily settle for both.


Desserts.... I could use that table right about now!


Thanks Julie! And to everyone else too; it's always great to make new friends.
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Korean or Hawaiian or Confused Beef

Yeah, so it doesn't really know its true identity. But who truly does? Apparently, ancestry isn't as true as it one thinks if you go back 1000 years either. Pretty neat when you figure we are all much more connected than we even thought. Things to figure out one day.... This beef is pretty darn good however, and of course, I wouldn't want to disappoint you by making something tremendously difficult these days. There's always time for that later. The best part is that it is easy to make the beef in a large batch, and freeze most of it, or even half of it in the marinade, and cook up the goodness another day. Just be forewarned that the salty-sweet-heat combo is extremely addicting, so you might or might not end up with leftovers. Do be sure to freeze the flank steak for a while, or thaw it for awhile, before slicing it into thin pieces. It makes it a lot easier to work with, and effortless to slice it thinly. It should be virtually frozen, but not quite hard as a rock. It is absolutely stellar when paired with my Chinese Five-Spice Rice, and given a healthy bit of Sriracha on top, much more than pictured above for sure. As my cousin Leanne said, who was over for dinner, "you haven't put enough until your nose is running." So get squirting that stuff, because it is certainly enlivening, and awesome to have at home, not just at restaurants. GO GET SOME. Check out the cool broccoli. Flowering already, but still good. Anyone know its true name? It was grown by Thompson Small Farm, who are weekly at the Hillhurst-Sunnyside Farmers Market. I owe my thanks to Cheryl Arkison, of Backseat Gourmet, for it, who offered up her Community Supported Agriculture Box last week. What fun! I also got a chance to meet Jenn Chic, and pick up a few cookies and a sticky pecan bun for Jeff. Yum on both accounts! Korean or Hawaiian Style Beef Serves 10 6.5 lbs flank steak, thinly sliced 1.5 cups soy sauce 1/4 cup sesame oil 3/4 cup brown sugar 2 tbsp fish sauce 2 tbsp red wine vinegar 1 tbsp white vinegar 2 tbsp minced ginger 5 cloves minced garlic 1. Divide the flank steak among large bowls, or zip bags if it is to be frozen immediately. 2. Combine the soy sauce through garlic and mix thoroughly. 3. Spoon or ladle the marinade over the beef, and allow to marinate for at least 2 hours before cooking. Freeze most of it, unless you have a lot of friends or a large family! 4. To cook, pre-heat a cast iron pan, griddle, or wok on the barbecue or stove, on medium-high heat. Add the beef in batches, so as not to steam it, but to give it a good brown colour on both sides. 5. Serve immediately with rice, a green vegetable, and some sriracha hot chili sauce on top.
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