picnic n potluck

Continuing the Catching Up on Potlucks series.

But first, a picnic.

A unseasonably warm day along with a simultaneous long lunch break resulted in Steve and me lying in a field, eating awesome food, checking out this cool lookin’ tree.

Steve insisted on catering. This pasta was so good it made my eyes roll back in my head:

Pasta, egg, lotsa veggies (tomatoes, zuke, squash, onions), lotsa olive oil, egg, black pepper. SO YUM.

Part of this complete lunch:

Edamame was delish, and that other bag contains a peanut butter, jelly, and banana sandwich. It contained two, but Steve at one on our pre-lunch walk, as a pre-lunch snack (hahaha.) Then I ate the bananas and some of the peanut butter out of mine and he ate the jelly and bread. Because he is amazing and I love him and I am really sort of bizarre with my eating habits.

(brought my own yogurt/apple/cinnamon mix. Growing lady bones.)

Quality sunbathing. There are pictures of Steve’s incredible abdominals, but I am not allowed to post them. Respect.

So potluck theme was “The Namesake”: Erin announced that we had to make something that incorporated one or both initials of our name.

The problem was… earlier in the week I’d read this recipe for chickpea and sweet potato koftas. I knew it was important that they be a part of our lives.

Fortunately, my last name starts with a V… my middle name is Katherine… and I’m Ileana. Thus, Vegetable Koftas from India!

One taste of the batter and I knew I’d made a good choice.

Lil fritters (dough is STICKY):

Given a flipsie:

So delish! Another winner from Food for Laughter. That girl’s blog. Good for your taste buds, good for your soul.

My beloved Stephen Alexander B took the assignment to a sort of absurd level.

He sauteed onions and garlic…

to make HOMEMADE FLAVORED CREAM CHEESE…

which went under the artichoke hearts (!) which he cut up with chopsticks because he didn’t have any other clean utensils…

For smoked salmon bagels with artichoke hearts.

SO delish:

My (as usual, not at all representative) plate with bagel awesomeness, Erin G’s edamame and green beans, David B’s broccoli, Travis’s taco filling…

And those two bits hiding at the corner of the plate are from the caramel corn that made my head spin.

Plus Patricia pie and Carolyn cake. Too too much dessert that week. Oi.