Post Punk Kitchen Forum

Is anyone doing any special foods for the 4th? I'm going to see fireworks with friends. We always get there hours ahead of time and have a picnic dinner/endless snacking and play cards or board games or just hang out and chat before the fireworks start. I'm pretty sure I'm going to bring chocolate hummus with strawberries and some sort of store bought cookies for dipping, and I think I'll bring a bag of those Trader Joe's baked onion rings. I'm also contemplating some sort of hearty salad that I can make the night before. I'm drawing a blank on what kind of drink to make. Last year I made sangria, which was great, but I'm not quite feeling that right now. My mint isn't growing well enough to make a big pitcher of mojitos to share. But I'd like to bring a pitcher of some kind of liquid refreshment.

Chocolate hummus? Wow, never heard of it but guess what I'll be making this weekend.

we're getting together with friends at their lakehouse for fun times the weekend after fourth of july. we're bringing tofu pups, tunaless salad for snacking, fixings for sammies (hummus, fake meatsies, avocadoes, etc.), and a tons of veggies for grilling (squash 'n zucchini, asparagus, new potatoes & corn on the cob).

although now that i'm thinking about it some philly cheeze tempeh "steak" sammies might be really yummy with grilled peppers 'n onions. ooooh...i think i'm gonna have to make those happen!

would some kinda boozy strawberry-lemonade be yummy, Rhizo? or perhaps something boozy with blackberries and blueberries!

How can you not be in the mood for sangria?? My favorite punch bowl/pitcher drink. Perhaps daquiris and margaritas are too clichec, so have you ever had Caipirinhas? It's made with lime, superfine sugar and Brazilian cachaca. You'll probably have to go to a well stocked liquor store to get your hands on some, but it's totally worth it. And nothing like celebrating the birth of our nation with the national drink of Brazil.

I don't really have a menu planned. My GF will be doing something with her family, so chances are if I cook something it will be for myself. Maybe finally try my hand at some seitan sausages. I've been putting that off for years. Or, I have a ton of sofrito in the freezer so maybe something from Viva Vegan.

Max, check out Hannah Kaminski's blog (the bittersweet blog?) for the chocolate hummus recipe.
Happyfaced, I've had strawberry, lemmon, basil drinks on my mind for a while, but that might be too weird for everyone, and I'm already bringing strawberries for dipping in the chocolate hummus, and last year someone else brought spiked strawberry lemonade and I'm not sure if they are coming again and if so if they are planing on bringing the same thing.
Nickvicious: My partner was urging me to make sangria, and I was saying how I wasn't really in the mood for it, but then I thought maybe I could do white sangria. Then I thought: red sangria, white sangria; red, white, and blue. I could make a trio of sangrias! Red sangria, white sangria, and blue sangria (with blue curacoa and blueberries in a white wine base). So now I think I kind of have to go with that idea whether or not I want sangria. And yes, I've had caipirinhas, but I like mojitos better.

Iced tea. Build a porch. Have a seat.

You need some food to go with that tea and porch panda. You should be eating cookies while you have a seat!

Perhaps we can arrange an exchange. Porch sitting for all!

You build the porch, we bring the cookies? Sounds like a plan to me!

All I know is that I want to make a strawberry shortcake cake. Speaking of that-

Does anyone know if I can frost a cake with Healthy Top? Will it survive a day or so? I've never used it so I don't know if it's liquidy or melty or whatever.

Besides that, I want potato salad. Probably won't grill anything because the grill will be all meaty, but I might cook some black bean/seitan burgers in advance.

I still have homemade veggie burgers and sausages in the freezer that I can use, but I also recently got Best Veggie Burgers on the Planet so I want to try a new recipe. I'll check out the thread in the Cookbooks forum for ideas.

Not sure what we'll do for the 4th... It's farmer's market day soooooo we might just graze there extensively (endless samples of stone fruit! Crazy vegan sorbets! Baguettes! Coffee! Sauerkraut! Maybe not all at once!) and then go home and possibly drink a summery beer.

I just moved and haven't quite settled into my house, let alone kitchen yet. But I invited some friends over anyway for a little bbq on my deck. I am thinking I will keep it simple. Veggie dogs and burgers with all the fixings, potato-green bean salad, corn on the cob with eb and coarse salt, root beer floats, chips, crudite and some dip, maybe some macaroni salad or some traditional salad with spruced up italian vinagrette and fresh italian bread from the italian market. Something like that. Brownies with berries for desert. watermelon too.

Now I'm going to a pool party and I want to bring something. The host is vegetarian and there will be one other vegan, so yay! I'm thinking a big tupperware full of falafel and tahini sauce. OR, I'll finally try my hand at these deviled potatoes. I also got some ghost peppers the other day, so I really wanna make ghost pepper salsa. If all else fails, I'll pick up a pizza from Whole Foods and a 6 pack of Kiltlifter.

We're camping - well, my daughter and I are with some friends. Planning to have corn on the cob, vegan hot dogs, potato chips...

i'm going to hang with a boy i've been seeing and his family in the boonies of georgia, so i think this'll be the one day out of the year i'll eat boring salad. but i think i'll bring a kohlrabi, toasted walnuts, dried fruit, so hopefully it won't be such a boring meal.

I'm having a backyard BBQ/sprinkler-jumping party. So I'm going with a traditional, toddler friendly menu:
-vcon black bean burgers
- guac, salsa & grilled pita chips
-grilled corn
-potato salad w/ peas & carrots
-macaroni salad
-veggie baked beans
-sangria
-watermelon star kebabs & homemade blueberry ice pops for dessert

xstartxtodayx, you sound like you are about as good at "keeping it simple" as I am, and your menu sounds great!
nickvicious, I've been wanting to do the deviled potatoes for ever and I then I keep forgetting all about them. Make them and report back!

I'm having omni friends over--we're all doing the 28 day Engine 2 challenge. They're super adventurous so I suggested that we do a veggie burger taste off. We're having the Thai burgers and Black Bean burgers from Peas & Thank You, & the Island Burgers from Caribbean Vegan. I'm also making the Spicy Sweet Potato Fries from Caribbean Vegan and a peach/heirloom tomato salad that I'm going to make up. Kombucha to drink.

I think it's going to be spectacular spectacular.

some kind of berry cobbler. I still need to figure out exactly what recipe though.

4th of July seems like such a fun holiday! That menu sounds so great. There's a drink that we like to make in summer (at Christmas time in particular) that I got out of this really old cookbook from the 1920s published buy a country women's group right here in South Australia, not far from where I was born. It's really interesting. What you do is steep some crushed raspberries in gin for a few hours, then sieve them out - the gin is such a pretty pink - then you mix the gin with dry white wine, half sparkling mineral water, half lemonade (the clear kind like 7up, not the lemon squash kind), a little raspberry liqueur or kirsch, & serve it in a tall glass with plenty of ice, decorated with lime slices, mint leaves & frozen raspberries. It is so delicious, but you can really put a few away & they become quite lethal. I like the idea of the genteel ladies in the 1920s getting squiffy on raspberry gin cocktails.

final menu - more people are coming then I thought so I added some more cocktails & dessert for adults

I'm making the Q Sandwiches from Vegan Diner with the burger buns recipe to go with them. The German Potato Salad recipe from HVMFMA as a side with roasted aparagus. For dessert I'm going to make a peach cobbler. It's going to be a yummy dinner!

Well, I spent it by myself, but I'm making some "bbq" tofu and veggies, roasted mushrooms with garlic, corn on the cob, and an apple turnover for dessert. If the holiday is going to suck, at least I will have a nice dinner!

seitan ribz
nori tofu cakes with a creole remoulade
grilled asparagus
potato salad
homemade sourdough bread
earth balance mixed with fresh garlic, white pepper, and fresh dill
oven roasted corn
chocolate almond mousse mini-tarts for dessert

I'm tired. And full.