Fruits and Veggies Monday SoCalSteemit Style

Fun on Steemit

We are having fun on Steemit! Right?

The Monday Fruit and Veggie Challenge is fun and has been for 26 Weeks!!! Congrats Lena from building the challenge from a few people and a tiny prize pool (I remember 😘) to what it is today!! Quite an achievement!! And a big Thank YOU for working so hard so we all can have fun!

Another fun activity is to meet other Steemians in person! We do become friends on the platform by reading each other's posts, sharing selfies - some even with crazy hats for #haturday, but the best is to connect in person!

Yesterday, I went to my first official Steemit meetup. I have met other steemians before, but not a bunch of them all at once.

This was the Southern California Steemit meetup and of course, we met in a park. You all know the song It never rains in California. Well, actually, it is supposed to rain but this year - not so much.

The park is was and what does a good German do to get ready for a picnic?
You guessed it! Put on some potatoes!!

These are organic yellow potatoes. They are great for potato salad, so are red potatoes. Russets will do if you can't find any other varieties, but they tend to fall apart a bit when cooked.

Usually, I scrub my potatoes very well before steaming them (I almost wrote steeming - which is what I am doing with them right now - but not on the stove 🤓)
However, when I make a potato salad for a group, I usually peel the potatoes. Some people really don't like the look of peels in their salad.

I'll share the recipe towards the end of this post.

Picnic with Steemians from Southern California

We left our house at noon to make it on time for the 2 pm gathering.
When we got there, the tables were already laden with delicious food. Mind you, a lot of the pictures are of veggies and fruit covered with wrap.
For one, we were in a park under trees and for two, there were a bunch of bees who also thought that our food looks delicious.

Who can blame them? Wouldn't you want to get some of the watermelons if you were a bee?
I liked it a lot!

And look at this veggie tray!!! A tofu dip in the middle adds to the overall deliciousness - and avocados were on the table as well.

The guys are talking with the big bowl of potato salad between them. We were still waiting for more Steemit peeps to arrive.

Look at all of these veggies waiting for these burgers to hit the grill.

One of last week's winner showed us how to make burgers from kidney beans at home, but for this occasion, the storebought ones worked just fine.

Every new arrival brought enough food to feed everyone there. So, between the 10 of us - we had enough to feed another 50 or so. I think that showed how excited everyone was to get together.

The homemade lemon aide made from homegrown lemons was more than delicious!! And the cookies were good too - but sadly for all of us with a sweet tooth, they don't qualify as a fruit or as a veggie.

Potato Salad Recipe

Ingredients

• potatoes
• white vinegar
• Organic Vegetable Oil
• Organic brown onion
• boiling water
• salt
• pepper if you wish
• egg free mayonnaise

Equipment:

• Steam pot or a pot big enough to boil the potatoes.
• A cutting board and a sharp knife
• Large bowl for mixing
• a large spoon
• serving bowl

Process:
Wash and steam your potatoes. If you don't have a steam pot or insert, only add enough water to the potatoes in the pot as needed for cooking. When they are done, the water should almost be gone as well.
This takes a bit of practice to get right. In the beginning, add a bit more than you think you will need.
When the potatoes start to smell good to you, check if they are done. Use a sharp knife and poke into the potato. If there is no resistance, your potatoes are ready and need to be worked with right away.
This process can take anywhere from 25 minutes to almost an hour. It depends on the size of the potatoes and at what altitude you live.
While the potatoes are cooking, cut your onions into small pieces. Let sit for at least 10 minutes before using.
When the potatoes are almost ready, bring your water to a boil.
Put the onions into a bowl.
Pour the boiling water over the onions.
Add vinegar and oil, salt and pepper. Make this a fairly strong brine.
As soon as the potatoes are ready, start peeling and slicing them as thin as you can.
Add the hot potatoes to the hot brine.
Stir them into the liquid as you go.
When all the potatoes are in your bowl, taste and adjust flavors.
The brine will be soaked up by the potatoes.
Red and yellow potatoes will take up less liquid than russet potatoes.

You can eat the salad as is or you can add some egg-free mayonnaise before serving.

This is the base and you can add different veggies. For example, my mom used to grate celery root into the brine, other slice cucumbers very fine and add them. Try it first plain and then, start your own experiments.

If you like to see more amazing fruit and veggie posts, follow the hashtag #fruitsandveggiesmonday

Or go to @lenasveganliving blog and find all the blogs of participants she has resteemed.

If you live in Southern California, follow the #socalsteemit and follow the account with the same name @socalsteemit.

And I highly recommend that you enter the challenge. Here is how in Lena's own words:

THE RULES ARE:

FRUITS & VEGGIES MONDAY by @lenasveganliving

Take and post photo of fruits and vegetables. (It can be variety or just one kind from the garden, supermarket or anywhere you wish, PLANT BASED RECIPES ARE WELCOMED)
PLEASE MAKE SURE THE ENTRY IS 100% ORIGINAL CONTENT!!! (images and text)
Use hashtag #fruitsandveggiesmonday
Mention the creator @lenasveganliving
Please copy and paste link of your entry in the comment section under this post. I always comment and upvote.

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