Vegan Mofo, Day 2 — How to Make Friends

Today's Vegan Mofo theme is "How to Make Friends — What's Your Go-To 'Impress Me' Meal?" Truth be told, I don't really have any go-to meals for company. When I'm attending a potluck or hosting a dinner party, I'm typically always trying new things. In fact, even for myself at home, I rarely make the same recipe twice (notable exceptions: ramen bowls — see yesterday's post; recipes for my cookbook projects).

But I can say that I think the best way to make and maintain friendships is to plan plenty of hangout time, preferably involving food and wine. The food doesn't need to be fancy, just easy snacks. And the wine doesn't need to be pricey. The important thing is fellowship and fun.

Last Sunday, my friend Greg was in town from Indiana, and we wanted to have a picnic, but we forgot how early it gets dark these days, and we didn't plan well. So we opted for an indoor picnic in my living room, so the light outside (or lack thereof) wasn't an issue. We invited Cassi over, and she invited her soon-to-be roommate Terrell. We all took a trip to Fresh Market and stocked up on olive bar finds, hummus, pita, Field Roast, and vegan apple turnovers. I popped open a couple bottles of my favorite cheap wine — Whole Foods brand Three Wishes wine and Kroger brand Bay Bridge. Both bottle are only $3 each, and they're excellent.

We sat around our picnic table (a.k.a. my coffee table) in foldout lawn chairs and chatted as we snacked on olives, marinated mushrooms, edamame chickpea salad, artichoke salad, avocado hummus and pita, and bites of Field Roast Frankfurters. Good times!