252nd gathering. Congee

Where? D's
Attendants: G, D, L, and C

Menu:
1) Brown rice congee with fennel seeds, olives, and sundried tomatoes
2) Chickpea cutlets with roasted red pepper strips
3) Apple crisp

251st gathering. Soup, bread, and pudding

Where? A and P's
Attendants: P, A, G, and D

Menu:
1) Red lentil soup
2) Garlic bread
3) Chocolate pudding

250th gathering celebration

Where? G's
Attendants: G, A, B, M, P, C, L, M, Cy, J, and D

Menu:
1) Lost-recipe cashew dip with assorted chips
2) No-tuna salad on cucumber circles
3) Salsa verde with homegrown tomatillos
4) Roasted backyard beets and butternut squash with white-bean aioli
5) Banh Mi Tofu sandwiches
6) Red wine poached pears
7) Avocado chocolate Fudge
8) Baklava
9) Champagne

249th gathering. Butternut squash soup

Where? M's
Attendants: C, L, M, and D

Menu:
1) Butternut squash soup
2) Salad
3) Peanut butter and apples
4) Ghetto dessert (bananas, chocolate chip, cashews)

248th gathering. Tofu piccata

Where? G's
Attendants: G, M, and D

Menu:
1) Tofu piccata
2) Braised homegrown broccoli rabe
3) Cauliflower "rice" with truffle oil

247th gathering. Maqluba

Where? G's (Cook: B)
Attendants: G, B, M, D, and guests N and baby T

Menu:
1) Maqluba (upside-down fried rice dish with eggplant, cauliflower, tomato, and tofu)
2) Roasted chickpeas

246th gathering. Tempeh Bourguignon

Where? D's
Attendants: L, G, and D

Menu:
1) Tempeh bourguignon
2) Homegrown arugula and spinach pesto on toast
3) Sweet-potato-pie smoothie

245th gathering. Burgers

Where? G's (Cook: B)
Attendants: B, G, and D

Menu:
1) Black-bean burgers, with all the fixings (tomatoes, cucumbers, romaine lettuce, cole slaw, sauces)
2) Roasted potatoes
3) Freegan apple sauce

244th gathering. Black pasta

Where? G's (Cooks: G and B)
Attendants: G, B, A, L, M, D, and P

Menu:
1) Black Bean Noodles with homegrown tomato sauce and arugula, and lucky hot peppers
2) Freegan apple pie with coconut ice-cream

243rd gathering. Meatball subs

Where? D's
Attendants: G, A, and D

Menu:
1) Eggplant and bean meatballs.
2) Green salad with homegrown arugula
3) Homegrown tomato sauce
4) Freegan apples and cashews

242nd gathering. Stuffed peppers

Where? G's
Attendants: G, B, and D

1) Poblano peppers stuffed with beans
2) Bread
3) Avocado
4) Mango coconut ice-cream

241st gathering. Wild rice

Where? G's
Attendants: G, B, A, and D

Menu:
1) Wild Rice and mushroom soup
2) Bread
3) Roasted homegrown beets

240th gathering. Soup and bread

Where? A and P's
Attendants: C, A, G, P, and D

Menu:
1) Soup
2) Garlic bread
3) Chocolate peanut butter-chip cookies

239th gathering. Middle-eastern

Where? D's
Attendants: M, G, A, C, B, and D

Menu:
1) Falafel on pocketless pita with lucky salsa verde
2) Lucky cole slaw with homegrown red cabbage
3) Tabbouleh with homegrown tomatoes
4) Cantaloupe

238th gathering. Pasta

Where? C and L's
Attendants: C, M, G, A, and D

Menu:
1) Quinoa pasta with zucchini, mushrooms, and tomato sauce
2) Polenta circles
3) Tofu pups
4) Grapes
5) Pan-fried, homegrown brussel sprouts
6) Spice cake
7) Snap peas

237th gathering. Mushroom fajitas

Where? G's
Attendants: Aa, C, M and G

Menu:1) Mushroom fajitas with lucky tomatillo salsa verde
2)

Lucky red cabbage Mexican coleslaw with cumin lime vinaigrette

236th gathering. Rice, nuts, and veggies

Where? M's
Attendants: M, A, L

Menu:
1) Rice with nuts and sautéed veggies
2) Sliced banana with chocolate and walnuts

235th gathering. Mushroom Stroganoff

Where? A and P's

Attendants: A, P, G, M, and L

Menu:

1. Mushroom stroganoff (http://www.vegkitchen.com/recipes/savory-mushroom-stroganoff/)

2. Peas

3. Lucky tomatoes

4. Peach rhubarb crisp (modified version of this: http://cleaneatingchelsey.com/2011/10/25/crisp-fail/)

234th gathering. Mexicali sliders

Where? D's
Attendants: L, M, A, D

Menu:
1) Black bean mexicali sliders with mango sauce
2) Summer rolls (mango, cucumber, homegrown basil) with primal peanut sauce
3) Watermelon

233rd gathering. Risotto

Where? M's
Attendants: G, M, A, D

Menu:
1) Shiitake Risotto
2) Strawberries and chocolate

232nd gathering. Fried "rice"

Where? G's

Attendants: G, M, and D

Menu:

1) Fried "rice" (bulgur wheat, lucky snow peas, marinated tofu)

2) Three-Birds Blueberry crisp (adapted from here)

3) Lavender lemonade

231st gathering. Nepalese

Where? C and L's
Attendants: C, L, G, M, and D

Menu:
1) Nepalese stew 1 (homegrown cauliflower, potatoes, green beans, ...)
2) Nepalese stew 2 (homegrown cauliflower, potatoes, green beans, tomato sauce ...)
3) Naan
4) Basmati rice
5) Fruit salad
6) Chocolate Cake

230th gathering. Double-cheeze lasagna

Where? D's
Attendants: M, G, C, L, A, and D

Menu:
1) Double-cheese lasagna (also known as Payne Diaz lasagna), modified to incorporate homegrown spinach
2) Homegrown Mustard Greens with homemade tahini
3) Athena Melon

229th gathering. Southern

Where? G's
Attendants: G, M, C, L, and D

Menu:
1) Red Beans and Rice
2) Homegrown Brussel Sprout Green Leaves
3) Hurricanes

228th gathering. Pea hummus

Where? G's (Cook: A)
Attendants: G, A, P, C, L, and D

Menu:
1) Roasted red pepper and chickpea soup
2) Pea hummus
3) Bread
4) Rhubarb crisp
5) Champagne

227th gathering. Japchae

Where? D's
Attendants: G, B, A, and D

Menu:
1) Japchae (sweet potato noodles with shiitake, carrots, red bell peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, scallions, and stonecrop spinach)
2) Braised Chinese Broccoli
3) Raw backyard salad (Arugula, Kale, Spinach, Chard) in wasabi vinaigrette
4) Watermelon

226th gathering. Cinco de Mayo

Where? M's
Attendants: M, B, A, G, and D

Menu:
1) Lentil burritos
2) Blue-corn chips and guacamole
3) Brownies

Quasquibicentennial gathering. Blue-plate special

Where? G's (Cooks: G and)
Attendants: M, G, A, and D

Menu:
1) Blue-plate special (Meat and Three)

Lentil walnut loaf
Mac and shews
Mashed potatoes, parsnips, and ramps
Pea shoots

2) Emergency almond chip coconut ice-cream and chocolate

224th gathering. Birthday celebration

Where? G's (Cook: B)
Attendants: G, B, D, A, M, and guests N, and A

Menu:
1) Mushroom risotto with okra
2) Cucumber spinach salad with asian ginger dressing
3) Sweet corn on the cob
4) Chocolate cake

223rd gathering. Curried lentil stew, celery salad

Where? G's (Cook: A)
Attendants: G, B, M, A, and D

The new first rule of the club is here.

Menu:
1) Curried lentil and pea stew
2) Celery salad
3) Bread


1) Curried Lentils (taken from the Jan 2014 issue of Good Housekeeping)

2 med. shallots, quartered

Ingredients:

1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste
1 jalapeno chile, stemmed
4 thick slices peeled ginger
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. ground coriander
2 c. vegetable broth
1 1/2 c. lentils, picked over
1 can (15 oz.) light coconut milk
3 c. lg. cauliflower florets
1 c. frozen peas, thawed
1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
Cooked basmati rice, for serving
1 1/3 c. chopped shelled unsalted pistachios

In food processor. pulse shallots. tomato paste. jalapeno, ginger, garlic. cumin. coriander. and  1/2 tsp. each salt and black pepper until mostly' smooth; transfer to 7· to 8-qt. slow cooker bowl.

To same slow cooker bowl. add broth. lentils. coconut milk, and 1 c. water. stirring to combine. Place
cauliflower on top. Replace lid and cook on High 5 hrs. or on Low 8 hrs. or until lentils are tender.
Into slow cooker bowl. stir peas. lime juice. and 1/4 tsp. salt. Serve over rice; garnish with pistachios.

222nd gathering. Three-way Smorgasbord

Where? D's
Attendants: G, B, A, M, and D

Menu:
1) Tu-no salad served on freegan cucumber
2) Nacho roasted chickpeas
3) Spicy roasted red pepper tempeh soup with Hedlesky's spinach

1) Tu-no salad
Ingredients:
- 1 cup overnight-soaked sunflower seeds
- Celery
- Onion
- Garlic
- Sun-dried tomatoes
- Salt and pepper

Combine ingredients in food processor and process until desired consistency.

3) Spicy roasted red pepper tempeh soup
Adapted loosely from this recipe with the following modifications:
- Onions, celery, and garlic are sauteed before boiling the stock
- The stock was made with roasted red peppers, red-pepper sweet miso, tamari, and nutritional yeast
- Local spinach was used
- Tofu was replaced with tempeh, which was pan-fried before addition to soup
- Red peppers were also pan-fried

221st gathering. Consensus

Where? G's (Cook: B)
Attendants: G, B, M, and D

Menu:
1) Pasta puttanesca-style (with olives, capers, tomatoes, ...)
2) Bread
3) Fruit salad

Following an anarchy-inspired consensus-based process, B was elected to the permanent council of the VSC. It was approved that home-grown ingredients be used in meal preparation whenever available.

220th. Homemade chocolates

Where? M's
Attendants: M, B, G, A, and, D

Menu:
1) Lentil rotini soup
2) Bread
3) Spinach salad
4) Homemade peanut butter-stuffed chocolates

219th gathering. Cassoulet

Where? G's

Attendants: B, G, M, and A

Menu:

1) Cassoulet

218th gathering. Red Curry

Where? D's
Attendants: G, A, D

Menu:
1) Shanghai Boy Choi and Shiitake tapas
2) Cauliflower red-curry soup
3) Bread
4) Chocolate

217th gathering. Cabbage soup

Where? G's (Cook: Aa and P)
Attendants: Aa, P, G, M, B, and D

Menu:
1) Cabbage soup
2) Green salad
3) Fruit salad
4) Homemade bread

216th gathering. Bean burgers

Where? G's
Attendants: B, G, A, M, and D

Menu:
1) Black bean burgers, tomato, lettuce
2) Fries
3) Corn chips

215th gathering. HOT POT for Lunar New Year

Where? D's (Cooks: everyone)
Attendants: G, B, A, and D

Menu:
1) Hot pot

Ingredients:

Enoki mushrooms
Shiitake mushrooms
Homegrown sun-dried tomatoes
Yu-choy tips
Baby bok choy
Carrots
Cauliflower
Tempeh
Bean-thead noodles
Dumplings
Napa cabbage

Simmered in vegetable broth spiked with sliced ginger

Sauces:

Secret sauce (tamari, green onions, minced ginger in sizzling peanut oil)
Black bean sauce
Hoisin sauce
Chili Oil
Sriracha

214th gathering. Chili

Where? G's (Cook: B)
Attendants: G, B, A, M, and D

Menu:
1) Chili
2) Corn chips
3) Homemade bread
4) Chocolate

213th gathering. Lustrum Celebration!

Where? G's
Attendants: G, A, B, and D

The honorable VSC turns five-years-old

Menu:
1) Pozole (adapted from a combination of this and this recipe)
2) Chips and salsa
3) Chocolate pudding
4) Dom Perignon 1996 vintage*

*I have had a lot of great vintages of Dom Perignon, but I do not remember any as impressive as the 1996. Even richer than the brilliant 1990, the 1996 is still tightly wound, but reveals tremendous aromatic intensity, offering hints of bread dough, Wheat Thins, tropical fruits, and roasted hazelnuts. Medium to full-bodied, with crisp acidity buttressing the wines wealth of fruit and intensity, it comes across as extraordinarly zesty, well-delineated, and incredibly long on the palate. Moet-Chandon deserves considerable accolades for this prodigious example of Dom Perignon. Anticipated maturity: now-2020+

Score: 98

Robert Parker, eRobertParker.com (Feb 2004), February 2004

Estimated price: $300