The Potluck - the Good, the Bad, and the Amazing

The GOOD

The term potluck was originally mentioned 

"in 16th century England, in the work of Thomas Nashe, and was there used to mean "food provided for an unexpected or uninvited guest, the luck of the pot" (Wikipedia Potluck)

That means for centuries people have been gathering together to enjoy a wonderful feast - a combo of their own home cooked meals...with a bit of luck on the side...

I nominate the potluck as the number one dining experience I have ever had. Why? How? Arn't there amazing restaurants out there catering to everyone's foodie needs? Yes and no. Truly amazingly good food comes in the form of homemade goodness. 

No matter how fancy shmancy the restaurant -people - in general, will use higher quality ingredients when they create dishes in their homes for the people they love, their friends, and for themselves to enjoy. 

That means at a potluck you will have unprecedented access to secret homemade recipes - higher quality ingredients AND a buffet style bonanza of unique dishes and treats. 

The BAD

Germs. Germs. Germs. Germs. I have a mild OCD germ phobia and really want food well prepreared in sanitary conditions. So for those wonderfully crazy people, like myself - please make sure to pick items that have been heated to high temperatures or really spicy food (some experts say that spicy ingredients can kills some bacteria). Salad is tricky. 

Store bought = Cheaters!

The AMAZING

When you leave the party you find yourself full, happy, and you paid nothing for the meal (accept your own generous offering - hopefully generous.) Feeding others and yourself is beautiful - it binds communities, families, and friends. By literally giving others your energy -> you get energy. That didn't mean to sound too spiritual - but the energy you put into your food is the same that you get out of it.

Food is the most intimate form of art - you ingest a creation. Does it get better than that? I don't think so...

Chili Fest 2012 and Pie Eating Contest

Thank you all for coming to the Boulder Chili Fest 2012 and tasting my beer/Boulder Sausage/Roasted Green Chili concoction. I think I liked my recipe this year even more than last year. 

Even though this chili is a traditional red chili, I added the roasted green chilies to add the roasted and spicy flavor of them. I did this by creating a paste: food process your roasted green chilies, lemon/lime, sea salt. This also makes a perfect salsa that can last for about a week in the fridge. (I eat it with eggs)

Now - why the sausage and beer? Well I did not use any beer, I used a Samuel Smith’s Organic Lager Beer (read review here) and this created a nice touch of bitterness that went well with the italian spicy sausage. 

However, my recipes all start with one single inspiration and I build from that: this time it was at Vitamin Cottage packget of Mexican seasoning (no salt). This was an amazing combo of yummy flavors that made me want to add homely, white and black beans, 5 types of chili powders (each at a different heat level, and hominy (a corn kernel that has been soaked/cooked water/lime usually comes in cans, and in many traditional Mexican dishes). 

I came away with the wonderful experience of watching my patrons come up to my booth extremely skeptical - what does this little girl know about chili - and walking away satisfied - then coming back for more!!! :-) Seeing someone's face enjoy something you created is priceless! I was so happy to feed all of you!!!!



Here is an article from the Daily Camera from the event - and they quoted me too!:-)

Boulder's Angelica Kalika, who made the sausage and beer chili, said she looked for organic ingredients and focused on flavor — not Her chili also included hominy and two kinds of beans.

“When you see someone taste your food and enjoy it, there's no greater high,” she said.

And lastly, I entered the pie eating contest and won 2nd place! It was really hard to do, hands behind the back, and I felt I was suffocating at times - but the crowd was too good to let down.

As promised below is the recipe:

2 pounds of ground beef
3 spicy pork sausages (italian will make it sweeter) - Boulder Sausage
Chili Powders - 2 teaspoons of every variety that you can find - I have 5 types of powders: mild, medium, hot, smoked, and regular - the packages do not have the name of the chili on them, just the heat indicator. Found these in a natural foods store in bulk - bulk is nice and cheap. 
2 teaspoons of paprika
2 teaspoons of cayenne pepper 
1 cup of Samuel Smith’s Organic Lager Beer 
1 teaspoon of sea salt or to taste
1 tablespoon of organic wild flower honey
4 cups of tomato puree  
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
2 canned beans - unsalted - all a different types - white and black
1 can of hominy
1 can of roasted green chili pepper paste (instructions for paste above)

Thank you guys for cheering on my chili!!!

Favorite thing this year at the Boulder Creek Festival 2012

From a distance I spotted these little magical spherical delicate items. Housed in a little cart/house these cakes are soft and not too sweet. 

Untangles into spirals!

This is a European tradition, mainly originated from Hungary, is a talk pastry cooked on a revolving metal bar that bakes the cake while it spins. There are different toppings to put on the cake from powered sugar to coca. 

However, I usually always go with original, the less surgery and the more tasty option in most cases when trying something new. Visit them at www.ChimneyCakeUS.com.

What a beautiful day it was, love the yearly rock sculptures!

I got a kids tattoo! Glitter!

Gypsy House, Captial Hill, Denver, Colorado

Turkish coffee was a delight!! Times of cumin and nice added sweetness. The atmosphere was eclectic and full of wild imagery. Also dust free.

I love Zevia!

Hello my fellow Lazy Foodies!!!

Zevia is the perfect example of balancing the health to taste ratio!!!!:-)

Just wanted to remind you to go here: http://www.zevia.com/savings for your Zevia Coupons!

And no, I am not getting paid for writing this - everyone who knows me, knows I am a crazy Zevia hording girl.

Why do I love Zevia - a haiku by Angelica The Lazy Chef - an avid Zevia consumptionist:

Zevia, the bomb

Honey, butter, drink, snack shack 

Fuz love in my mouth

This calorie, sugar free drink is my favorite beverage. I go crazy when it goes on sale. Thats all I have in my garage. I take it with me on trips and when I get pizza (I'm not a diet soda girl - no aspartame or Splenda for me.) I am proud to whip out my Zevia and drink to my hearts delight - knowing I am consuming wholesome goodness!

Still have not had a chance to find the new flavors in store - but I will update you as soon as I find them.

Right now I'm a grape girl, but the caffeine free soda is coming in a close second to Dr. Zevia. These flavors are amazing - sincerely a perfect alternative to regular sodas - and the ingredients are good for you (in my opinion) and are true flavors - not a chemical after taste.


The trick for affordable Zevia: (I'm a student - so budget, budget, budget)
1. Watch Whole Foods for their weekend sales (not all of them are publicize online in any capacity - its hidden - you can find out what is on sale if you physically go into the store) and then you match your Zevia.com online coupon with their in store coupon http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/coupons/. And watch their expiration dates for their Zevia in store sale and their Whole Foods coupons.
2. Watch for Vitamin Cottage and Sunflower Zevia sales - match their sale with the online Zevia coupon.
3. Get more Zevia coupons from Mambo Sprouts http://print.coupons.com/couponweb/Offers.aspx?pid=15046&zid=uw18&nid=10&bid=alk06290906482cac7c5267216
4. Zevia.com will update their coupons monthly - you can print two per computer (same with Mambo Sprouts) and then each household can get a mailing for Zevia.

Leave a comment if you have more ideas for affordable Zevia! Whooohoooo!


Cheers!
Angelica The Lazy Chef 

Foodie Boulder

Last year Boulder, Colorado was named the number one foodie town in America by Bon Apatite magazine. I went out to the best restaurants in town to ask why.

John's
Thai Avenue
Jax's Fish
Piece, Love and Chocolate

CU Boulder's C4C - Persian Paradise for Foodies

If your a Boulderite and/or CU Boulder student you will love the C4C. This 17 million dollar Center For Community has office and event space upstairs and below is filled with coffee shops, express food, and a wonderful buffet.

A trip to the buffet its about 12 bucks and $7.50 for students. All the sections of the buffet are amazing for campus food, but, my personal favorite is its Persian Ghaza section where the meat is cooked on sword skewers! Serving up quality cuts of lamb, beef, and chicken - its yummy time. 

After a trip to the Persian Ghaza section, there's no going back - If I want Persian in Boulder, I'm going to the C4C.

Chef Hadi and his team makes sure that everything is made with love. Watching him cook, I think the secret is glazing the kabobs (lamb and/or beef, chicken) with a butter mixture. This allows them to crackle and smoke and it creates an intoxicating aroma that sucks students into his line.

All the food he uses is so fresh, even the herbs that you top the meat with is grown right on the territory. Fresh is key to buffet style food - it takes skill to keep food moving.

Top it all off with authentic Persian tea - served very fancy right at the station. 

From cucumber dressing to couscous with tomatoes, to grilled veggies - its a foodie lovers paradise - all located in a campus dining facility. Who knew?