Jatin and Priyanka organised a vegan potluck on Christmas Eve and the turnout was huge - 50-60+ people wow! 

(Photo credits to Wai Lek)

This is the 5th vegan potluck I've been to! I forgot a couple of them haha oops here are the posts if you're interested:

Vegan Potluck Dinner! June 2013

World Vegan Day Potluck! November 2013

Vegan Potluck Picnic December 2013

World Vegan Month Potluck December 2014

There was SO much food omg 

I had friends over at my house for mahjong and Secret Santa so I asked Dad to cook curry for me to bring hehe. People enjoyed it yay! Thanks for the compliments, Dad is glad to hear that haha ^^

We started off with cupcakes brought by Cheryl (@cq_veggiefinds), which are baked by Ishwari of @sg_cupcakes! I had the Biscoff one which I really liked - not huat-kueh-y at all! :)

Next was fruit and nut bread from Ting Ting (@vegting) which was made with a food processor and was much fluffier than any bread I've ever made! At the left is pineapple danish pastry made by Jia Xin (@wildvegann) which tasted like CUSTARD wow 

Tania (@hangryaunty) and her mum made coconut milk & fruit agar! :)

BBQ shroom sliders made by Sabrina (@vitalityrawr) - she always amazes with her raw creations!

I don't know who contributed most of these but Alicia (@liveandletalicia) brought curries from Gokul and Wai Lek (@wailek), boss of nomVnom, brought nomVnom's sausages! 

I should probably try eating at nomVnom lol I've only been to their old Golden Shoe outlet once :x

Yummm

There was also pasta salad, chocolate mousse, eggplant dip and fruits!

BBQ-ed tofu skewers too!

And a DIY gado-gado(?) station!

Ryza (@theveganmumnson) and Cherish brought a pulled jackfruit shepherd's pie and chocolate cake-pudding(?).

At the end Zenna of @welldressedsaladbarsg brought cake!!

Priyanka made these super cute photo booth props!

Yay glad to reconnect with old friends and make new ones!

With Nadiah (@naddieflowers), Ting Ting and Alicia!

Also I forgot her name but thanks for the polaroids!!

We also had a $5-budget Secret Santa which was interesting haha

Glad to be able to attend this potluck - great food and even better company ^^ Thanks again to Jatin & Priyanka for hosting this!

I made these for the vegan potluck on Sunday! ^^ I guess this is the vegan version of Thai fish cakes..? 

Bought a whole lot of tempeh HAHA. The cashier & packer were shocked!! The packer didn't know what it was (she thought it was curry powder or something) until mum told her lol. I didn't actually need this many (they don't show the weight and I suck at weighing things with my hands -_- ) but it's okay because it freezes well. Each packet is S$0.50 and the tempeh weighs about 100g (2 pieces of 50g each) - I think it's a good size for one portion. 

I got these at Vivo's Giant, near the weighing section where there's the parsley and spring onion. Nearly cleared out the basket oops :x

I tested the recipe out for dinner the night before the potluck. This is made with 2.5 packets (250g) of tempeh. My parents generally liked it but felt that it needed more oil. Hahaha typical

It looks like there's quite a lot of ingredients but don't fret! You can swap out or omit ingredients and customise it to your liking.

Did you know that genetics determine whether you like Chinese parsley (coriander) or not? To some it tastes wonderful but to others it's soapy and repulsive. (Wow I remember this from doing a school report!) Interesting. I used to hate it when I was a child though. Then my dad kept on buying it (to use for dinner on the weekend) and leaving the rest of the bunch in the fridge to rot. And because I don't like wasting food, I finish it for him. And tada!! After a few weeks it was bearable and after a few months I liked it (and still do). I must be genetically inclined to like it but I was a picky kid that didn't like greens haha.

Oh and my grandparents have said that you like it when you become 爱美 ('wishing to appear beautiful'). Makes completely no sense LOL.

It's a really simple recipe because all you need to do is to throw everything in your food processor before pan-frying it!

There's peanut flour in this but you can replace it with oat flour (rolled oats pulsed in food processor), gluten-free all purpose flour or even plain flour. Ugh should've checked if anyone has peanut allergies before using peanut flour!

Based on the texture you want, you can pulse the mix a few times or blend it until it's completely smooth. I left it slightly chunky for more variations in texture. 

This recipe is inspired by a recipe in a Singapore Chinese cuisine cookbook (I can't remember the exact name). The original recipe used egg, so I thought of adding a flax 'egg' to this (1 tbsp flaxseed meal + 3 tbsp hot water) as the binder. But I found that there wasn't a need! Somehow the mixture holds very well together and yet doesn't stick annoyingly to your hands! 

Also, the original recipe adds lemongrass into the food processor. o_o I didn't trust my food processor to make it fine enough so I just used lemongrass-infused water... which was probably hardly even detectable.

 Just shape the mixture using your hands and start pan-frying!

I omitted spring onion in part of the tempeh cakes to cater to the Buddhist vegans. I shaped the cakes into circles and squares and made those signs (the sticks are lemongrass haha) to differentiate between those with spring onion and those without. (Then I realised that it made no sense that the round one is labelled 'with garlic' because there isn't any LOL. So I cancelled 'garlic' away.)

I made 11 square ones (out of 250g tempeh) and about 24 round ones (out of 400-500g tempeh). 

So here's the recipe:

Thai-style Tempeh Cakes with Chili-lime Dressing

Tempeh Cakes

• 1 bunch spring onion (if omitting, add more parsley/ lime juice)
• 1 bunch parsley
• 2 red chilies, de-seeded
• 1 inch piece ginger
• 2-3 tbsp fresh calamansi lime juice (about 4-7 limes)
• 1 tsp coconut sugar (regular sugar is fine too)
• 1 tbsp peanut flour (or replace with ground peanuts, oat flour or regular flour)
• 1-2 tsp nutritional yeast (optional)
• 2 tsp Bragg's liquid aminos/soy sauce

• about 250g fresh tempeh, rinsed
• about 1/4 cup water
• black pepper and salt to taste (I added a whole lot of cracked black pepper and 4 cracks of black sea salt)
• oil-spray/oil

Chili-lime Dressing

• juice of 2-3 calamansi limes
• 3 tbsp lemon-grass infused water (chopped lemongrass + boiling water)
• 1 tbsp coconut vinegar (or rice vinegar)
• 1-2 tsp coconut sugar
• 1 tsp Bragg's liquid aminos
• chili & lemongrass slices

1. Add the first 9 ingredients to a food processor (a blender might work too) and process until ingredients are finely chopped. Add in 50g tempeh if your processor is too big for such a small amount of ingredients.
2. Roughly break up remaining tempeh pieces and add to the food processor. Process until almost your desired consistency. Add water, 1 tbsp at a time, if required. 
3. Taste the batter (you won't die). Add pepper and salt if required and pulse a few times to mix.
4. Spray a non-stick pan generously with oil spray, or use your regular cooking oil. Turn on the fire. Shape the batter into rounds or squares and place it onto the pan. Leave about a 1 inch space between the pieces for easier flipping.
5. Filp it over when one side is done. (I have no idea how many minutes per side because I just kept on flipping them haha!) It should be firmer and brown but not too charred.
6. Remove from heat and cool. The tempeh cakes will become more yellow and dark coloured, and slightly drier.
7. For the chili-lime dressing, mix all ingredients together. Dip tempeh cakes into dressing and enjoy!

(Vegan) Potluck Tips

Some random potluck tips I've learnt! ^^ Haha these are my personal opinion only, and I've not held a potluck before so these are just from a potlucker's (?) point of view:

1. If you're using a new recipe, it's best to try it out at least once before the potluck - sometimes winging it just doesn't work!!
2. You'll still probably take longer than you'd expected to cook and get ready. So start early!
3. Label your food so that people know what they're piling onto their plate! If it comes with a dip, make sure it's noticeable.
4. If you can't cook, fruit skewers, cut fruits or fruit/veggie juices are great options. I always end up feeling super thirsty after a potluck, and juicy fruits and drinks provide a much welcomed respite. (wow using more chiem phrases) 
5. If you're horrible with directions and map reading, and going alone, make sure your phone is charged so you can Google Maps yourself there. Such a lifesaver.
6. Bring a camera! Instagram your food and make non-vegans wish they were there. LOL
7. Make lotsa friends! Vegan friends are hard to find T.T
8. Check with other potluck-goers about what food they're bringing so you don't clash.
9. Also, check if any potluck-goers have allergies or don't eat onion/garlic.
10. Eat a lot, talk a lot (not doing the latter very well hahaha) and have lotsa fun!!

♡♡♡

On Sunday (30th November - the last day of World Vegan Month), I went for a potluck organised by Nisha, Jeremy and Michael! Thanks Nisha and Jeremy for having us! ^^

It's the first potluck I've been to this year - wow how time flies. 

First, we watched Cowspiracy, which is a documentary about the environmental impact of animal agriculture. I've read about some of the facts before (eg. it takes 1000 gallons of water to produce 1 gallon of milk; the water needed to make one hamburger is enough to shower for 2 months!) but what I found so shocking was that 1000+ individuals were actually murdered because they tried to protect the Amazon rainforest from being destroyed for animal agriculture?! Like a nun was shot in the head?!?! Plus apparently 4,600 (if I remember correctly) people were killed/harmed because they went against the meat/dairy/egg industry?!?! No wonder people are so skeptical about veganism. The animal agriculture industry buys out recognized animal/wildlife/ environment 'protection' establishments and uses them to brainwash people.

Cowspiracy is just the second vegan documentary I've watched (the first being Earthlings), but I'd definitely recommend it! Especially if you're non-vegan and yet call yourself an environmentalist. Or if you have a conscience.

Okay now for the food! As always, it was GOOD. Are vegans all wonderful cooks or what?!

Mushroom pasta by Alicia and Cheryl. ^^ The cashew cream sauce was great!

Yummy carrot cake by Zhi Wei and Gretchen!!

Truffle mac 'n' cheese with dill by Nisha and Jeremy! Wow I'd like to learn how to make my pastas as good as these two pasta dishes here!

And grapes-on-sticks plus assemble-it-yourself jelly & chia dessert at the back.

Pav bhaji ('Pav' means bread, and 'bhaji' refers to a thick potato-based curry, according to Wiki); bhaji by Sridevi and LOVEinBread baguette/rolls brought by Rebecca. They went great together! ^^

'Speshio fly lice' (haha!) by Stone.

Chili con Carne by Howard. Too bad I didn't see the vegan sour cream (I think?) at the side!

Garlic, roasted beet and jalapeno hummus by Michael. The colour of the roasted beet hummus is so gorgeous!!

My Thai-style tempeh cakes with chili-lime dressing. I'll post the recipe soon ^^

Super colourful superfood tabouleh. Refreshing!

Fried kway teow by Pauline. Springy and not too salty/oily!

There was more food than this!

Savoury sourdough mustard bread by Qing Hui. It's steamed, how interesting!

We climbed up some stairs and THE VIEW WAS WOW

Though after a while I really couldn't see what I was eating haha

Oh and we brought along our own plates and cutlery to reduce waste. ^^

Massaman curry by Sonal. Rich and fragrant from 2 cans of coconut milk lol! :)

Cute little chilled cakes by Nisha. I had the peanut butter chocolate one and it was creamy on top and crumbly & Oreo-ish on the bottom yum! The other one is pumpkin & cream cheese (I think)

Shepherd's pie by Esha. I was super full by then but this was too good to not eat! 

I did my best to match food to person (..to FB profile) heh. If I got anything wrong or missed anyone out please tell me. ^^;

The three dogs were super cute too! Photo from FB by Jeremy because I couldn't get any of them to sit still for the camera haha.

This potluck wasn't with the #sgvegan Instagrammy people that I'm more familiar with, but I still had fun! Thanks to Jeremy, Nisha and Michael for hosting and organising again! And thanks everyone for the yummy food :)

If you'd like to read about other potlucks:

Vegan Potluck Dinner (June 2013)

Sgvegan's World Vegan Day Potluck (Nov 2013)

Vegan Christmas Potluck Picnic (Dec 2013)

I went for a Vegan Potluck Picnic earlier today (for lunch), which was hosted by Yishuai (@morethanveggies), Ting Ting (@vegting) and Sheryl (@shihngin).

(I probably remember people's Instagram names better than their real names.)

It was super duper sunny and hot, but thankfully it didn't rain like the weather forecast said it would! I believe that I've got enough Vitamin D for a few weeks lols. 

I met many familiar faces whom I know from the previous two potlucks (click here & here to read more!)(am I the only one who's been to all 3?) but the real difference is that I CAME WITH A FRIEND. Like omg I've been waiting for this day for ages! :') So I brought my friend Ya Fan, who's been vegetarian for over a month and has transitioned to veganism. Nothing to do with me at all though (lols she admitted that she used to make fun of me), but I'm so very very glad for her!!!!!! :') :')

 Pumpkin, Lentil & Carrot Stew and Curry-Seaweed Puff Pastry Twists. I brought these for yesterday's Vegan Potluck!

Initially I wanted to make filo puff pastry cups and fill them with something pumpkin-y. But instead of filo pastry, I bought puff pastry by mistake. It's like when you (okay, I) find that something's vegan, you overlook everything else. Yup.