Veghead in Deutschland: The Event and The Aftermath

So, this evening's potluck, the first of many, was a success. Plus one point in my book of awesome vegan life scorecards.

I am impressed with myself for having successfully executed an organized event, and I'm really excited to host another one.

We had a mango, corn, and black bean salad. It was quite delicious (and created by the hands of a skilled omnivore). Niki, another guest, brought a Trader Joe's mix of vegan fried rice, and DeVante brought bruschetta. Samantha brought Mung Dahl soup, an AMAZING Indian concoction she got from her Indian friend (very authentic, she even had to make a trip to a special Indian foods store). Another guest brought vegan brownies and oranges from his backyard, and I made twice baked potatoes with kale, garlic, and shallots mixed in to the mashed mix.

The recipe from which I derived my version of Colcannon Potatoes is here from that wonderful blogger of Vegan Planet. (: I will soon post the AMAZING Mung Dahl soup recipe from Samantha...

Overall, it was a really good experience. I'm inexperienced at hosting and usually an awkward conversationalist (because I usually only have veganism on my mind, and it's distracting). But the conversation traveled many places.

The three omnivores that showed up were all markedly surprised at the satisfaction they received from vegan eats and at how good a whole vegan meal could taste. That was really gratifying to me and made me feel like less of a freak. The potluck really de-vilified "vegan" food and took a little of the "us and them" mentality away; at least for those three people, I hope. I was a little worried that the omnivores were out numbered 4:3, because I invited more omnivores than vegetarians, but only three showed up. They didn't seem to mind though, and none of us were overbearingly shoving any sort of dogma at them.

Hopefully these will break down some of the stigma in my community against vegans, their food, and their lives. The number of vegan and vegetarian people is definitely growing in this very republican suburb, and many people are beginning to feel that their lifestyle is being criticized or threatened. Whether that's true remains to be seen. But for now, I just want to enjoy a potluck with my friends.

Unfortunately I forgot to take any photos of the food before we began eating, but I did take photos of the people that were eating the food. I will upload the sign I made and maybe a potluck photo or two sometime soon.

Here are some photos from the first potluck: