Potluck Challenge

I have a love and hate relationship with potlucks.

I enjoy the element of surprise when you arrive at a party and find an eclectic spread of dishes that are likely foreign to you. It's also a rare opportunity for me to cook in larger volumes than usual -- it gives me an excuse to make grand dishes like a whole roast or a deep-dish pie.

However, catering to the dietary needs or preferences of a group of people is extremely limiting. A lot of potluck standbys like casseroles, stews, and lasagna typically involve meat and/or dairy. Trying to go vegan in order to satisfy the vegetarians and severely lactose intolerant individuals isn't always enough. Nuts are often found in vegan recipes as a source of protein, but nut allergies are unpredictable and scary to someone like me who eats them with abandon. Gluten intolerance forces the exclusion of various grains. The caveats are endless.

There's also the problem of portability and temperature. Stews are great one-pot recipes, but they're a bitch to carry, especially via public transit. Dishes like pie and lasagna need to be carried horizontally in front of you; you can't just throw it in a backpack or sling it over your shoulder. Try balancing a tray of food on a crowded bus filled with pushy jerks and over-sized bags jabbing into your backside. If it's piping hot when you finish making it, you have to factor in the cool-down time before you can take it to go, and figure out how to reheat it once you get to the party. If it needs to stay chilled, you have to put it in a cooler and make sure there's a fridge/freezer at your destination.

Which is why I was relieved to find a recipe for "Lemony Chickpea Stir-fry" at 101 Cookbooks. I don't anticipate any objections from the people at the potluck regarding any of the ingredients. I had trouble finding kale this weekend so I used some kai-lan instead. It's an appropriate substitution given that kai-lan is also known as Chinese kale. It would have been nice to use two colors of zucchini like the recipe author did, but unfortunately, the yellow variety was unavailable. I was short on shallots so I supplemented it with some green onion. The chickpeas were soaked in water and rinsed thoroughly to cut down on their fart factor. Here's hoping that the dish will be welcomed at the potluck.