Fandom High Welcome Picnic, Front Lawn of the School, All Day: Part II

[bigdamnprincipal]

Throughout the lawn, tables and chairs had been set up and scattered, some out in the bright, sunny center of everything, and some in the darker, more remote areas.

Eat up, folks! Don't let that food go to waste!

[OCD up! This is the picnic post for general mingling. Roommates, fake siblings and teachers are all here. Since it's outside, the picnic is open to all students, teachers, and townies!]

Comments

Re: General Mingling [Summer 2014]

[kenselvren.livejournal.com]

"I'm Jalian," she answered. This girl seemed friendly, if young for her age. "I don't know most of this food," she confessed. "Except for some of the fruits and grains. And I don't eat flesh."

Re: General Mingling [Summer 2014]

[spin_kick_snap]

"Oh, a vegetarian?" Kathy asked. "Or a vegan?"

And then she thought about how Jalian had just said she didn't recognize most of the food--which was pretty standard American fare--and figured she might not understand those terms, either.

"Vegans--if you don't know--eat nothing that comes from an animal, which means no butter, cheese, eggs, or honey." That was the really quick and dirty explanation, but it covered most of what they might find at the picnic. "There's plenty to eat no matter what your dietary restrictions, but I don't want to point you to something that contains ingredients you shouldn't eat."

She might find out if Jalian was a pesca- or pollo-tarian later, but for right now, she'd just skip over anything that contained meat. Seemed easier.

Re: General Mingling [Summer 2014]

[kenselvren.livejournal.com]

"I will eat those things," Jalian answered. "Only no dead animals." Don't worry, Kathy, she was used to the questions. Ever since ghess'Rith had taught her why eating flesh was wrong, her clan had been asking them.

Re: General Mingling [Summer 2014]

[spin_kick_snap]

Because meat was tasty, Jalian! You've never lived until you've enjoyed Korean barbeque!

"A bunch of vegetarian options coming up!" Kathy said. She skipped over the platters of fruits, vegetables, and cheeses, figuring Jalian could probably recognize those on her own.

"Let's see, the potato salad and the coleslaw are both safe to eat," she said, pointing to two large bowls. "The potato salad is kinda relish-heavy, if that matters. And those over there are tofu dogs and veggie-burgers. They were even cooked on a different grill, so they didn't come in contact with meat at all. Then we have a variety of chips and stuff, which are sliced and fried potatoes with a different seasonings. Those are all vegetarian-friendly, too. Ooh! And fried spring rolls! These are delicious!"

She plucked a few for her own plate, then offered another to Jalian. "Wanna try one?"

Re: General Mingling [Summer 2014]

[kenselvren.livejournal.com]

Jalian took in the whirlwind introduction of food and then took a moment longer to parse the rapid speech. "Thank you." She took the...spring roll and eyed it curiously, breaking it to see the vegetables inside.

She nibbled on one side, then smiled in relief. "We have something like this at home!" It wasn't exactly the same; the dough she was familiar with was heavier and most of the greens were different, but it wasn't far enough off to be distasteful. "What are the others?"

Re: General Mingling [Summer 2014]

[spin_kick_snap]

"Umm, so the easiest thing to explain would be the chips," Kathy said, grabbing a handful and putting them on her plate. "Feel free to take one if you like. They're pretty salty, we consider them more a snack than part of a real meal."

Since she was no stranger to tofu or black beans, Kathy added one of each a burger and a dog to her plate. "Tofu is bean curd, mashed into different shapes. Firm tofu is sometimes used to mimic meat while being completely vegetarian. This one pretends to be a, uhh, frankfurter--" nope, she was not getting into the terminology of a 'hot dog' "--which is a tradition outdoor grilling staple. You can put it in between some bread, then add things to flavor it, like onions, mustard, or ketchup which is made from tomatoes and vinegar. This burger is made from seasoned black beans, made to look like another kind of grilling staple, the hamburger. It's a lot like the tofu dog, just a different shape. See?"

She held up both of her creations. The tofu dog had ketchup, mustard, onions, relish, and saurkraut on it. The burger had pickles instead of relish and cheese rather than saurkraut.

Re: General Mingling [Summer 2014]

[kenselvren.livejournal.com]

Jalian looked more than a little doubtful at...well, all of it. Most of what Kathy had said made no sense to her, and it didn't look terribly appetizing, either. Seasoned black beans seemed the least odd, so she took one of the "burgers". And cheese was fine, so she added that.

She took one bite of the "bread" and made a face. It didn't taste much like bread to her! It was all...squishy. The burger and cheese, though. "This isn't bad."

Re: General Mingling [Summer 2014]

[spin_kick_snap]

Well, it was white bread. She'd be able to find better, more flavorful breads elsewhere. But they were far too healthy to be found at a cookout. "You can try other condiments on it. Get a taste of what you might like."

Or not! Kathy wasn't going to force it on her. But options! Everyone liked options!

"Do you want to try some of the salads? There are the regular salads, just a mix of greend and vegetables, and the kind of salads I mentioned before. Those are thicker, made with mayonnaise--an emulsion of eggs and oil."

And lemon, but Kathy'd forgotten that bit. Hopefully Jalian wasn't going to try to make any herself.

Re: General Mingling [Summer 2014]

[kenselvren.livejournal.com]

Jalian wasn't really much of a cook. "Just the greens, I think." She'd seen those earlier. The mayonnaise sounded rather revolting. "You have these types of food often?"

Re: General Mingling [Summer 2014]

[spin_kick_snap]

Oh, honey. You thought mayo was gross? You haven't seen anything at all yet.

"They're traditional cookout foods, so you'll see them pretty much anyone has a big outdoor party," Kathy explained. "They're more summertime foods. But around here, you can pretty much find anything to eat."

Re: General Mingling [Summer 2014]

[kenselvren.livejournal.com]

"This is summer?" It seemed cool for that, not nearly so hot as Ken Selvren's summers.