Cookbook Club - Vegetarian Edition

Back in February I discovered two "local" libraries had Cookbook Clubs. I say "local" because both of them are 30 minutes away - in opposite directions.  There are at least four libraries closer to me than either of these two.  However, none of them are offering this fun opportunity. Each month the group gets together for a potluck of dishes they have made from specified cookbooks or cuisines.

I was so excited when I heard about them,  I signed up right away for both of them.  Now, six months later, one of the groups has dissolved. I went twice - once one of three people and the second one of two people.  The second group is flourishing and I have been having a lot of fun with it. Cuisines we have covered include Thai, Chinese, Mediterranean, French and Indian. Each night there are 10-20 people there, so it is a sample-palooza!

This month's theme was simply...vegetarian. Even before I made the Sweet Potato Peanut Stew last weekend I had already decided to make it for Cookbook Club (I just couldn't wait to try it). I wasn't thinking about the fact that I had already blogged about it, so as I was making it for tonight I was taking pictures. And who am I to let pictures go to waste??  ;)

Tomato paste, peanut butter and cumin. By the way I am loving my tomato paste in tube. So much more convenient than those little cans when you need a tablespoon or two.

Add part of the broth and whisk it together well. I am pretty sure it would have been a chore to work the peanut butter into the stew without this step.

 Veggies in.

 Add peanut butter mixture and the rest of the broth. Bring to a boil. Everything was immediately smelling delicious.

 Add kale and simmer. 

When my stew was finished, I realized it was too much kale. At least, I felt like ti was too much for the cookbook club tasting. I didn't want someone's bite to just be a way of kale, no matter how tasty it was.

Side note:  I have a HUGE pet peeve about Cookbook Club  - the lighting. All my pictures come out way too yellow and I don't have the chops to fix them. Perhaps there is a setting on my phone/camera I am missing. 


Okay, back to the stew, I was determined for my dish to be served warm. Piled in the basket surrounded by beach towels is a is a cast iron Dutch oven of stew. I am happy to report, it arrived in tact and piping hot :)

My stew set up.  I brought little cups for the samples. Suggested toppings were chopped peanuts, cilantro and lime - so I brought a little bit of each. That might have been a bit of a mistake. There was too much craziness at the table for people to doctor up their sample.

In previous months we have set up the food buffet style, but someone suggested family style at the last meeting.  I do really like sitting family style so we can talk more among ourselves as we eat. It is just more difficult to manage dishes that aren't easily passed - hot pots, etc.  

Our leader made avocado deviled eggs and green apple dill sandwiches. The sandwich filling had good flavors, but was overpowered by the bread. I think I would prefer it be served as a salad or even open-faced.

Someone made vegan peppermint patties....well, almost. She decided at the last minute not to dip them in vegan chocolate. Instead she chose Ghiradelli dark chocolate - I support her decision.

Don't judge...no really, please  don't judge. As always, I took a taste of everything. As you know a taste of everything adds up. I ate it all.

In addition to what I already mentioned, other items on the menu included:

Strawberry Caprese Salad - tomato, strawberry, basil, basalmic and cute little mozzarella pearls. Lately, we have been into fruit salsa. I am not a big fan of tomato and the fruit together. I think this salad would have been better with either the tomato or the strawberry. I am actually a little intrigued by just using the berries.

Dueling summer squash casseroles - one was made with zucchini and the other with yellow squash. They were both creamy and cheesy. Both delicious, but quite different.

Lentil veggie stew - carrots, beats, potatoes, etc. It had cinnamon in it, which actually reminded me a bit of the squash lasagna I made last weekend. It was good, but I have other lentil recipes I prefer.

A bean and cheese quesadilla with guacamole...what's not to love?

Cuban black beans with papaya salsa. As I mentioned, I've been into fruit salsa, so papaya salsa! The cook of this dish said she doesn't like spicy so she didn't use all the peppers - a little more heat would have been perfect with the papaya.  I also have a Cuban black bean recipe we love - makes me think I need to get that recipe back out for fall.

Sicilian potatoes and green beans - green beans and potatoes are boiled together then dressed with a vinaigrette which they are still warm.

After the meetings, the leader scans everyone's recipes and emails them to the group.  I am eager to read them. With the new family-style format it was much more difficult to hear/concentrate on people when they were describing their dishes. I liked hearing how people made their items and I felt like I missed quite a bit last night.

I try to be honest blogger....and to be honest I might have over-kaled the stew. I was concerned it would be difficult to serve in my little cups with big wads of kale. The first batch I made I used spinach, which wilted much more than the kale. (The spinach also retained a much more attractive green color.) To be clear, it was not a "too kale-y" taste issue, just that I thought it would be more difficult to sample and didn't look as pretty. This is actually a bowl of kale I fished out the pot and left home.

When I got home I added that kale back into the leftover stew and all is well. I can eat ugly food :)

I love these storage containers. I have them in three sizes (quart, pint and cup). I love the look and the practicality of them. I remember I first discovered them when I was going through my wonton soup phase. The Chinese restaurant used them.  I would get a quart of soup for about $2.50 with an awesome reusable container. I may have eaten the soup for the containers. One day, I asked if I could just buy some of the containers - I didn't know at the time I could buy them on Amazon. The restaurant was willing to sell them for $1 each. Not what I had in mind.  Check out the 8 oz. size here. (48 for $13)

So that is your taste of Cookbook Club. Next meeting is in September and I have three issues....

1) The theme is "favorite dish". Wait, what???  How am I going to choose what to make for that one?  At first, I was a bit disappointed in the theme because I've been enjoying sampling specific cuisines. But then as we talked around the table, I started to think it would be fun to try people's "best" dishes.

2) I won't get to try a new recipe. Clearly you all know by now,  I am ALL about the new recipes.

3) After coming to terms and getting a little excited about the possibilities.....someone mentioned the date of our next meeting....September 25th. Our wedding anniversary.  Whomp whomp (not the marriage - the date conflict).  What do I do now?