potluck I

Last night we went to a potluck holiday party given by one of my colleagues -- something of an annual tradition. Since I'm usually the only vegan in a room, and one of the minority of vegetarians, I often feel like there's some responsibility encumbent upon me to bring some amazing vegan item that will impress the carnivores and also ensure that I have something to eat. I have a couple of casserole-type things that I often bring to potlucks, but last night I went the super-easy route instead, with an olive tapenade:

1 cup kalamata olives
1 cup pine nuts
1-2 TBS capers
1-2 cloves garlic
1 TBS lemon juice
1 TBS olive oil
1/2 tsp basil
1/4 tsp black pepper
parsley (optional)
Throw it all in a food processor until smooth. It helps if you process the pine nuts first before adding the other stuff, but it works out OK the other way.

Add a nice crusty bread from the bakery and you're all set. Great as a starter, or with salad as a light meal.

It's a great recipe but actually not so great for potlucks, since it's not entirely evident what it is . . . and it's sort of purply-brown in colour.

But it worked out. The party was small enough people could ask if they wanted to know what it was.