#42: après-ski - January 2013

Our après-ski (aka hearty, soul-warming winter foods) cookoff was held on the 17th of January at Nina's cosy new home off Victoria Drive. It was a small one, but we were rather grateful to be pleasantly full instead of outrageously stuffed with rich heavy food. And we actually brought too much wine for the first time in my memory; at least one bottle didn't even get opened! (Likely this was due to the people who had cooking mishaps and had to show up with liquor instead of their intended entries.)

COMPETITORS AND ENTRIES

Amanda: "tree on mountain" barley risotto with butternut squash, basil, and tomato

Jen: "not mush room inside" crimini and porcini mushroom soup with a roasted garlic & basil-spread crostini

Sarah: "we'll always have chickpeas" lentil-chickpea stew with celery, tomato, & parsley (harira), served with a gluten-free teff/sorghum bread (anadama)

Laryssa: "tempeh mushroom pielets" smoky tempeh and mushrooms baked in a spelt crust

Also in attendance were Nina, Steph, Michael, Ash, and Malloreigh.

CATEGORIES AND WINNERS
seconds: Amanda
presentation: Jen
creativity: Amanda
heartiness: Laryssa
overall favourite: Amanda/Jen

overall winner: Amanda/Jen

best name: (unscored category) Jen

#41: oranges - December 2012

Our holiday season cookoff theme was oranges, held at Malloreigh's on the 10th of December. It was quite well-attended and everyone was in the spirit of the season (in spite of or perhaps because of Malloreigh's Christmas music playlist).
I forgot my camera and had to use Malloreigh's, and due to my lack of familiarity with her Canon the photos are not quite up to my usual standard. Also a couple of the entry photos got lost in the process, so the descriptions will have to suffice.

COMPETITORS AND ENTRIES
[photo missing]
Malloreigh: "mulled wine" warm red wine with spices and a cinnamon sugar rim
[photo missing]
Jen: "champagan" champagne poured over a red leaf lettuce & endive salad with champagne-soaked mandarins, red onion, & dried cranberries in an orange zest balsamic dressing

Steph: "rum-I-yam" yams baked with orange slices and rum

Dan: "Chinese taco cart" orange faux duck tacos with blackberry salsa and pickled vegetables

Tim: "M4M"orange-roasted portobello, with oyster mushrooms & shallots in a caramelized mushroom & orange sauce, in a basil-orange dressing

Amanda: "a quarter-cup horizon" endive fried with panko crumbs, shallots, and orange juice, with poached clementines, sesame seeds, and sage

Laryssa: "moon plop" fried chickpea, shallot, cayenne, & orange patty with a spicy cream sauce, garnished with mandarin segments & green onions

Ash: "rhymes with sorbet" orange-pomegranate sorbet with an orange spice sauce

Sarah: "bite me, Terry!" gluten-free orange zest shortbread dipped in dark chocolate

Hayley: "the citrus mindfuck" chocolate cream cheese mousse on an orange-chocolate shortbread crust, topped with mandarin & blood orange slices

Ash competed for the first time. Also in attendance were Angelique and Nina.

CATEGORIES AND WINNERS
seconds: Tim/Amanda
presentation: Sarah
creativity: Dan
orangenuity: Ash
overall: Tim

overall winner: Tim

best name: (unscored category) Jen

#40: French food - November 2012

French cookoff was held at Blühaus on the 15th of November. It was somewhat sparsely attended; perhaps people were intimidated by the prospect of French cooking? Regardless, there were some delicious dishes and a respectable amount of wine.

COMPETITORS AND ENTRIES
Sarah: "tasses de confort" French onion soup with faux beef broth, caramelized onions, black pepper, and melted mozza

Jeff*: "Remy's ratatouille" roasted aubergine, zucchini, tomato, and yellow squash with bell peppers, in a mushroom & port demi-glace

Chris: "tarte d'Alsace deconstruit entre breton galette avec duxelle aux champaignons, sur salade rougette avec herbes et moutarde" cheesy tarragon mushrooms with brandied thyme fried onions, topped with a buckwheat crêpe; on a bed of arugula salad in mustard dressing

Malloreigh: "speak Niçard to me, baby" chickpea socca with caramelized onions, dulce pissalat (anchovy-like salty sauce), roasted garlic, and green olives

Hayley: "the crêpes popped Suzette's cherry" spelt crêpes with oranges and brandy-cherry sauce, with a homemade brandied cherry garnish

Jen: "poire some sugar on me" cognac-caramelized pears with Dauphinoise-style bittersweet chocolate & cognac truffles

*Jeff's was an absentee entry; he had to work but still wanted to compete.
Also in attendance were Kristina, Steph, and Bronwen.

CATEGORIES AND WINNERS
seconds: Jeff
presentation: Jeff/Chris
le plus Français: Malloreigh
creativity: Chris/Malloreigh
overall favourite: Sarah

overall winner: Chris

best name: (unscored category) Jen

#39: squash (second edition) - October 2012

Squash-off the second was held at Flatland on the 25th of October. It was very well-attended, with three first-time competitors and loads of glorious fall food.

COMPETITORS AND ENTRIES

Hayley: "chocolate volcano" chocolate custard cake with an unknown squash (possibly kombucha based on her description) & chai spices, with coconut-pumpkin seed crumble and cranberry-brandy reduction

Jen: "New Dehli vice" butternut squash & red pepper masala curry cooked with pumpkin wine, on a gluten-free cauliflower crust, and topped with raita, cucumbers, & cilantro

Amanda: "conspiracy theory" red kuri squash, balsamic fig, & green apple in a gluten-free pastry, with balsamic reduction

Malloreigh "craft dinner" pasta shells in a cheesy butternut squash sauce with pumpkin ketchup

Yaara: "dip my biscuits" butternut squash, green onion, & roasted garlic biscuits with coconut gravy and kalonji seeds

Kelsey: "Surrey special spaghetti squash surprise" spaghetti squash in tahini sauce with spinach, tomatoes, and garlic

Sarah: "ermagherd, permpkhin skerhns!" butternut squash & pumpkin scones with a cardamom-spiced coconut whipped cream

Grey: "foncé gâteau rouge de la pasion" chocolate zucchini cake with a raspberry chili coulis, and grape garnish

Brennan: "big tushy bushy winter" butternut squash soy ice cream with nutmeg & clove, topped with pepitas

Angelique: "autumn gnocchi" butternut squash gnocchi with a cranberry-raisin relish, topped with white chocolate pumpkin sauce

Also in attendance were Jeff Z, Steph, Allie, a boy who came with Kelsey (name forgotten, I should really write this stuff down), and Liang (though she wasn't there long enough to vote). Kelsey, Grey, and Brennan all competed for the first time.

CATEGORIES AND WINNERS
seconds: Malloreigh/Yaara
presentation: Amanda
squashiness: Kelsey
creativity: Jen/Amanda
overall favourite: Malloreigh/Grey

overall winner: Malloreigh

best name: (unscored category) Sarah

#38: salad (second edition) - September 2012

A v.2.0 of salad-off was held on September 22nd, at Yaara's place in Strathcona. It was warm and lovely out, so we had the front door open most of the evening, enjoying the air & light.

COMPETITORS AND ENTRIES

Amanda: "cocks orange pippin salad" purslane, pea & fava tips, apple (Cox's Orange Pippin variety), mizuna, & raisins in a lemon-caraway dressing

Jen: "you say tomato, I say fuck you" quinoa & tomato salad with peaches, kalamata olives, homegrown lettuces, almonds, and parsley, in a cabernet vinegar and mustard seed dressing

Laryssa: "fall is beeting down on us" kale, basil, roasted beets & squash, pear, and toasted almonds, with a pickle brine & roasted garlic vinaigrette

Yaara: "sonic death monkey" spinach, avocado, fried tofu, roasted red pepper, & toasted coconut in a chocolate-lime dressing

Hayley: "fake bacon, bitches" romaine lettuce, baby cucumber, white onion, wasabi rice cracker 'croutons', and facon bits, in an almond cream caesar dressing with capers

Hayley competed for the first time. Also in attendance were Angelique and a friend of Yaara's named Grey.

CATEGORIES AND WINNERS
seconds: Yaara
presentation: Jen
best combo: Yaara
creativity: Yaara
overall: Laryssa

overall winner: Yaara

best name: (unscored category) Amanda/Laryssa/Yaara

#37: greens - August 2012

Greens-off was held at Blühaus on the 16th of August. Unfortunately, it was again sparsely attended, with a mere three competitors, but at least this time there were enough others present that we could vote on the entries. We sat out in the backyard and enjoyed the summer evening with beer and candlelight after the sunset.

COMPETITORS AND ENTRIES

Yaara: "the amused bush" kale, blueberry, blackberry, raspberry, banana, & mango raw ice cream with sunflower butter and basil

Jen: "the cussed soup" asparagus, basil, kale & pistachio soup garnished with paprika and basil chiffonade

Sarah: "Kelis's envy" almond milk, banana, kale, & rosewater shake with cinnamon & cardamom

Also in attendance were Nina, Adam, and Yaara's friend (or possibly man-friend?) Josh.

CATEGORIES AND WINNERS
seconds: Jen
presentation: Yaara
creativity: Yaara
greensiness: Jen/Sarah
overall favourite: Jen

overall winner: Jen

best name: (unscored category) Sarah

#36: picnic - July 2012

Picnic cookoff was held on the 22nd of July at McLean Park in Strathcona. Unfortunately, almost no one showed up... only three people! We didn't take a hiatus last year during the summer, as we had done in previous years, and it worked out fine and so we decided to keep them going again this summer because people seemed pretty excited, but apparently not like we thought.
We couldn't vote with so few, but we kept a record of the entries anyway.

Amanda: "Amanda + Megan sexy sandwich" sliced strawberries, pineapple mint, and homemade strawberry jam between cornbread jalapeño pancakes

Yaara: "ultra-thin for her pleasure" rice wraps filled with avocado, mango, fried tofu, lettuce, basil, & green onion, served with a spicy strawberry salsa

Jen: "but it's not oatmeal!" oat cookies made with homemade almond butter, a blueberry jam centre, and fresh sage

We shared our food with a lady who came by doing a survey about the neighbourhood and she declared us all winners.