Big Summer Potluck

Big Summer Potluck - Photo by Erika @ The Ivory Hut What to share? What to share?

Clearly, there are a million thoughts buzzing my brain. It’s been that kind of week—busy and fun and social. I’ve spent it re-connecting with dear old friends and meeting new friends—some of whom I’ve talked to but never seen. I’ve relaxed, listened, talked, prepared and eaten food. I’m kind of exhausted. Pleasantly exhausted.

So, let me start at the beginning. I’ll give you the Cliff Notes version.

After spending a wonderful weekend with my sister—flea marketing and eating home-cooked seafood dinners on the beach—I headed back home to work, clean, bake, and pack. Two days later, with the little dogs bouncing in the back of the car, we hit the road again. Back to the beach where I handed over the dogs to a group of 20 & 30-somethingish adults and then headed south to Cape May to spend two days with friends at their beach house. Wow. It was a wonderful visit. I de-stressed the minute I got there. (Note that for a few minutes I was stress free.)

Back in the car for the two hour drive to our beach house. Say hello to little dogs bouncing off the walls, hubs and son just in from a week long business trip, 30-somethingish adults hanging out. Say goodbye to that “I feel like I just left the spa” feeling.

For the next day and a half I busied myself getting ready to attend the Big Summer Potluck hosted by the fabulous Anderson clan at their home in PA. Groceries were bought, scones made (and trashed), and hyperventilation calmed. (Hubs took me and the kid out to dinner.) I came home and made those scones again. Never say die! The second time they were marvelous.

Then I crashed. I lay in bed for a few hours thinking, “I have to get up at the crack of dawn.” And, just before the crack of dawn I finally fell asleep. One annoying alarm, two big cups of coffee and a scone later I was back in the car for the two hour drive to the Big Summer Potluck!

I was anxious to meet the organizers of this foodblogging event, Maggy (ThreeManyCooks) and Erika (Ivory Hut), and all my fellow bloggers. The place was buzzing like a hive when I got there. Let the day begin.

Maggy and Erika—energized, organized, and in-the-know—had put together something special. The house was beautifully appointed and perfect for this kind of get-together. It had the right flow and when you walked in it felt like they’d done this about a thousand times before. They pulled together a wonderful forum of foodblog content for a handful of brand new to sage foodbloggers and food industry mavens. They fed us the food of foodies—incorporating their own recipes, sponsors’ fare (coffee, cheese, wine, yogurt), and all manner of treats beautifully crafted by the ladies and gentleman who attended. It was a foodbloganza on an intimate scale.

We mingled, we ate, we listened, we learned. Our heads were filled with everything from how to create and write a recipe (Pam Anderson) to a cooking demo (Abby Dodge), food styling (Melissa DeMayo) and food photography (Erika Pinead) to how to foodblog from the heart (Alice Currah). We even had a peek into the world of public relations courtesy of Auritt Communications. The sisters Anderson—Maggy & Sharon—kept us moving along with the perfect amount of time allowed for chatting among ourselves.

The energy level was high all day and about four PM we fired up that coffemaker to get our second wind. It was time for the big giveaway—let me tell you the sponsors were very, very generous. Kitchen Aid in particular stole the show with stand mixers, food processors, blenders and hand mixers for a few lucky folks. There was also a very special knife, spices, a coffee maker, and some amazing goat cheese as giveaways.

Next cue the wine and cheese. Mingle, mingle, mingle. Goodbyes were said. Hugs and promises to keep in touch and see each other next year (or sooner) were exchanged. I headed out the door with goodies in hand—the most cherished of which is Pam’s latest cookbook, the soon-to-be-released Perfect One-Dish Dinners.

I left the lovely Anderson house in the woods and headed back to my beach retreat. The two quiet hours in the car was what I needed to let the day sink in and to regain energy for the next day.

Nope, the fun wasn’t over yet. Jeanne (Four Chickens), Amber (Bluebonnets and Brownies) and Amber’s hubs joined us for a day at the Jersey Shore! More food, more talking, more getting to know each other. We got to communicate in more than 140 characters at a time. We got to relate. We laughed, calmed the bouncing dogs, and chatted about life and….food. We barely got to the beach but did take a quick stroll to the boardwalk and gazed across the sand and people to the surf beyond. After all, it would be embarrassing to be a block from the ocean and not even see the water.

And, that my friends, is the end. Well, almost. Because this week is my vacation (yay!) and I plan to decompress totally before getting back to the real world. A girl can dream.

FYI - Doughnut Muffins by Jen of How to Simplify were the hit of the day. So, I thought I’d de-glutenize them and join the rest of the group in oohing and ahhing over them. But that’s a post for another day.

To be continued…

Big Summer Potluck

Attendees

Abby Dodge

Add A Pinch

Bluebonnets & Brownies

Bon Apetit Hon

Bread and Putter

Bucks County Courier Times (Food Blog)

Dine & Dish

Fine Cooking

Four Chickens

How To Simplify

Modern Wench

My Kitchen Addiction

She Wears Many Hats

Sugarcrafter

Smells Like Home

Smith Bites

Souffle Bombay

Three Many Cooks

The Coquettish Cook

The Dinky Kitchen

Tickled Red

The Ivory Hut

The Peche

Wenderly

What’s Kookin’ In Kara’s Kitchen

Click the links to see:

Sponsors

Photos by Erika of Ivory Hut

Photos by Jen of Forgotten Foodies and My Kitchen Addiction

Community Supported Agriculture

I baked a cake yesterday—an elusive recipe I just can’t give up on. This was Take Four, I think. It’s getting there. Last time it flopped. Time before it was a bit gummy. This time—too dry. The good news is this time it isn’t gummy and it didn’t flop! It’s flavorful even if it looks a little naked. My kid said it didn’t look like my other “fancy” cakes. (Clearly he doesn’t read food blogs because this kid has never seen a really fancy cake!)

Baking wasn’t up to par yesterday but, the rest of the day was stellar. I have an urge to tell you all about it. It wasn’t spectacular in the Hollywood sense of the word. It was spectacular for an every day person like me. It’s something I like being—an every day person—because the chance for a simple day like yesterday to be spectacular is abundant.

I awoke just like any other day. Lay in bed a few minutes adjusting to the knowledge of being. The sounds, the body, what had happened, what was yet to happen. Into my head popped two good thoughts. It’s my birthday! It’s the first CSA veggie pick up of the season! Bazinga.

A cup of coffee, a few dog snuggles, a dinner invite from the hubs, and a cake later I was heading out the door for the one hour drive (in the rain) to the farm. With the kid in tow. (Yes, he went with me to the farm for my birthday! One of the best gifts ever.)

We walked into the barn at Genesis Farms pretty much at the starting whistle. The staff was beaming, excited to share their crops and to say hello after the long winter. We picked baby lettuces, arugula, beets, potatoes, turnips, leeks, garlic, walla walla (what the hell is that?), chard and fragrant herbs. The kid picked out a freshly baked french boule and we got one for my Mom, too. We chatted with greeters and the staff about cooking with baby garlic (why didn’t I ask about that walla walla?) and storing vegetables. I think I committed to being a greeter at some point in the future. It was a mere twenty minutes of sharing something very basic—greetings and food. What can I say? It buoyed me.

Apparently it did the same for the kid because he was talking food in the car all the way to my mother’s house. While the smell of fresh rosemary, garlic, and bread filled the air around us we discussed Potato Leek Soup—which we’ll be having for dinner tonight. It was good to see a “Net Generation” kid enjoy the simple things in life. All the trepidation about the shape of world we’re passing on to them was washed away for an afternoon as the door to the simpler life I remember was re-opened.

Yep. It was quite a good day

So begins this year’s CSA experience. I’ll be going back in two weeks to pick up my next haul. I’m hoping the kid will take the trip with me again this summer. Until then you might want to check out the CSA Chronicle and “recipes” from last year.