Friday, February 14, 2014

Olympic Sized Fun!

Last weekend we hosted our biannual Olympics Opening Ceremony party, and it was such a good time!
The rules are as follows:
~ Each guest must pick a country and bring a dish representing that country
~ Bonus points are awarded for wearing national colors or national dress
~ Games are held, medals are awarded, and we play the national anthem of the winning country


After some deliberation, I decided to represent Georgia. I made these wonderful Red Beans with Cilantro-Walnut-Apricot sauce. I first heard about this dish on an NPR show, and once I tried it, I really loved it! Plus, authentically vegan!


I know some people are not very excited about these games for various political reasons, but I just love the Olympics and part of what I love is the emphasis on individual achievement and determination. That said, I just had to make a giant Rainbow Salad in support of LGBT athletes around the world!


As you can see, there was a ton of amazing food! People really went all out and made so many amazing and delicious dishes.


Here's my plate, featuring Argentinian Locro stew with Quiquirimichi Sauce (!yum!), Ukranian Stuffed Cabbage, Italian Blood Orange & Fennel Salad, Mexican Rice & Mango-Black Bean Salad, and a Hummus sandwich from Togo's (representing Togo, get it??). It was super delicious dinner!



Of course there was dessert! Ms. S made these amazing Maltan desserts called Qaghaq ta'l Ghasel filled with semolina and molasses that were super delicious and unusual... and I made Finnish Aland Pancakes. This recipe is from "30-Minute Vegan Taste of Europe," and I have had my eye on it since I first cracked open that book. AMAZING. They are thick and custardy and just a little sweet - flavored with raisins and cardamom. The book suggests serving them with almond butter and jam, which was a very wise suggestion indeed.

This year, the "sports" we had at the party included face making and "figure socking." This was our first time ever introducing judged events, and it was great fun. For your amusement, I offer you a video of Mr. Vegan Eats & Treats and I doing our figure socking routine on the living room floor. Good times! We earned a silver medal for this performance! 

10 comments:

  1. I love the Olympics and have been looking forward to this post.

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    1. Panda! You are the best! It was a great party! I'll think of you when I watch the Oly's!

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    2. I love it when the athletes get so excited to just be there. So much joy.

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  2. I love that you picked Georgia! Those beans look amazing.
    I think it is weird that everybody is bashing Russia, when the Olympic Games have taken place in other countries with questionable governments before. And I wonder why they chose Russia in the first place? It's like the soccer world championship that's going to take place in Quatar. I mean, why? But I guess the answer is that the whole organisation behind Olympia is corrupt, so...It's definitely not the athletes' fault and they are still giving all they have to be there and take part in the games.

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    1. actually - one of my new year's resolutions is to learn more about Georgian food - I think it has a lot of untapped vegan potential!!

      I agree... every country in the world has its problems, and its moral faults... and the Olympics is supposed to be about commonality and international friendship. That's what i love about it!

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  3. I am watching mostly for the Swedish hockey team. I am going to try your red bean dish because I bought about 3 lbs of red beans on sale and was out of ideas.

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    1. oooh, if you try the recipe, let me know what you think! I really loved it!

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  4. What a wonderful idea; I love the rainbow salad :) I hope it all tasted as good as it looks!

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  5. Anonymous9:23 AM

    That is a fantastic idea!

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  6. Ooh, the splits! A well deserved silver, indeed. Great looking food too :)

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