That time is upon us, Potluck participants! Just as in a real, in-person potluck, there is some preparation that needs to be done before the guests arrive. Thankfully none of us has to tidy the house, lock the dog in the guest room, improvise when the dish we prepared tastes like fireplace ash or decide what to wear. Below are some thoughts and suggestions and the info on where to learn how to connect us all on May 12. My hope is that these instructions are clear enough that any pre-potluck jitters are eliminated! I’m looking forward to finding out what you’ve all come up with and to “breaking bread” with the wonderful folks I’ve met through blogging!
There’s a lot of info here and I appreciate your patience in slogging through it. First of all, I just have to say I luv you – there is a nice distribution of dishes, no orphans – but the obvious favorite is the dessert category! Perhaps the next Potluck should be all vegan sweets?? (Yes, I’m already talking a second Potluck…)
A Gentle Reminder:
I’m really pleased to have quite a few non-vegan bloggers participating in this event. It just might be the answer to the age old question: Can’t we all just get along?? I do want to mention here that all recipes should be animal-free. If you are a vegetarian or an omnivore and have prepared your dishes with eggs or dairy, please also include the non-vegan equivalent (i.e., nut milk for dairy, egg replacer of some kind for eggs, vegan cheese for dairy cheese, etc.). I would caution anyone against preparing a dish that relies heavily on eggs, such as a custard, souffle or frittata, as this makes a translation into a plant-based dish a might tricky to say the least. If you have any questions about this, please shoot me an email.
One other reminder. In case there is any confusion, you will be posting your photos and recipes on your blog on the day of the event (May 12), not submitting the recipe to me. Probably you all understood that, but I just wanted to clarify.
Meet Your Hostess:
Lidia at Vegan Bloggers Unite! has graciously agreed to have VBU! be the launching site for the Potluck. Chances are, readers will land on a blog within the circle and move backwards or forwards from there, but I thought it would be a great idea to have a starting off point and her blog is the perfect place. VBU! readers can begin their Potluck journey from the very first appetizer. Lidia has been a wonderful support as I’ve fumbled about with this idea, so thank you, Lidia!
Suggestions:
This might seem like a firm grasp of the obvious here, but it would be a good idea in our posts to briefly mention that we are taking part in a virtual potluck that connects like-minded foodies and bloggers for a worldwide eating and drinking celebration. I will also most likely put the words Vegan Virtual Potluck in my post title.
Timing:
Since bloggers from around the globe are participating in this event, timing our postings will be a bit funky. My plan is to set my post to automatically publish at midnight on May 11. There will be some lag time between published and unpublished posts – it would be too complicated to try and coordinate everyone. My feeling is the earlier I have the post up, the better.
How I Listed the Blogs:
Bloggers are listed in the order of courses, starting with appetizers and going through to desserts. Sort of like progressing through a real meal. Within each course, I’ve placed blogs in alphabetical order.
Why the Links are Important (The Links are ALL):
Imagine that you are riding a bicycle on a silky smooth path. As you easily pedal along, you take in the beautiful scenery and glide with ease over the gentle hills and valleys. Suddenly, however, someone thrusts a stick in between the spokes and you come to a complete and unpleasant halt. This is what would happen if one of us has a broken or bad link. Our readers will come to a screeching stop and will be unable to move forward or backward. Blog readers, for all of their wonderful traits, are fickle creatures. They will leave the site and miss out on the remaining Potluck contributions.
It is imperative that the links be valid and it is imperative that everyone who participates publishes their post on the day of the event. If something occurs and you wish/need to back out of the Potluck, please let me know a day or two ahead of time so that I can make the necessary adjustments. If you have questions or problems with adding links, email me – or – Tweet me @AnOlive so I can help you. Please, please, please check the list of participating bloggers one last time before the event (i.e., on May 11). If there is any shifting about, you will need to change your links.
It is also imperative that all of us update the links the day after the Potluck. Why? Because you want readers who are visiting for the Potluck to land on the specific posts about the Potluck – not the blog/site in general. Just update the links the same way that you entered the first links (see instructions).
The Not So Good News for WordPress Users:
The fancy-schmancy HTML I wrote was summarily rejected by WordPress, perhaps due to an HTML vs. XHTML issue, or more likely because I have a freebie WP account and only so much tinkering with the coding is allowed. Who knows. After freaking out about this for a while, I decided to come up with a different solution and not turn any more of my hairs gray. I’m working with WP Support (Chris, you are so very nice!) on coding, but don’t want to hold anyone up. Perhaps we’ll have the kinks ironed out for the next Potluck. In the meantime, Blogger users CAN use the HTML code. You can find out how to do that on the VVP Page.
The Good News:
The upside to the Not So Good News is that I think the solution (two solutions, actually) will be much easier for everyone and the process much more familiar. Not as good-looking, but they’ll get the job done. Rather than outline them here, instructions for both methods are available on the VVP Page. Briefly, Method 1 involves inserting graphics and linking those graphics to sites. Method 2 is simply inserting links into your text, the same as you do when you mention another blog, website or article. Probably all of you have inserted links directly into your text before. Both methods are very easy, but I encourage you to use the one with which you feel most comfortable. I don’t want this to be a stressful occasion, I want it to be fun and social and rewarding.
Here are the two graphics (Method 1):
Go ahead, click on them (but come back here when you’re done). They’ll take you to two different sites. (Yeah, there’s a shameless plug in one of them.) Which is exactly what your graphics will do once you insert them and link them. Instructions on how to do this are on the VVP Page. You can either copy and save the graphics from here, or from the VVP Page. Size the graphics to whatever works best with your blog. The last person in the Potluck will get a different graphic which I will email separately.
So…the sooner you insert the links and/or graphics (which are available on the VVP Page) and test them the more time I have to straighten out any problems that may arise. I don’t anticipate any issues, but never say never. Please email me if you have questions or if you need help.
Ways to Connect:
I’ve added all of your blogs both to the FB Event page as well as onto my Pinterest board called Virtual Vegan Potluck May 2012. It’s been great seeing some of you on An Unrefined Vegan’s FB page as well. Thanks to the many of you who have Liked it – and please – if you have an FB page (many of you do) put your link on my FB Page so that I’m sure to Like you back! I’ve gotten most of you, I think, but there are always a few that slip through the cracks.
Get Social!:
Speaking of connecting…Once you’ve put the final touches on your special dishes, have taken the photos and written the post and published it for all the world to see – invite the guests! What good is a potluck without people to snarf down the gorgeous goodies?? Tweet, post on FB and contact your friends. Let’s drive some serious traffic through this thang!
Please come back to this post if you have questions. If you don’t find the answer, email me. Once again, instructions on how to link are available on the VVP Page. The sooner you write your draft and insert your links, the more time I have to help you if you encounter problems. I hope everyone enjoys the Potluck and once again – thank you all so much for your enthusiasm, creativity and your love of GOOD FOOD!
The first time I made this simple miso soup, I was home alone and suffering from a bad cold. All I wanted was soup (a little sympathy wouldn’t have hurt, either), but I didn’t have the desire or energy to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. Miso was the perfect solution. Quick, easy, comforting and healthful to boot. You can make it as fancy or as simple as you like.
3-4″ piece kombu
Chile-Garlic Sauce
