My Seussical Life for 2005 June 4

Last night was the Annual Merc Member Picnic. Of course, it rained all day long up until an hour before the picnic was to begin. That means there were lots of puddles for boys to splash in. I look forward to this event every summer. The food is fabulous, and it is The Merc's gift to members, so it is also free. This is the occasion for announcing the board election results and reporting on the co-ops progress over the year. BTW, both individuals I voted for were elected. Yay!

I always look forward to mingling with other members. Merc lovers are pretty eccentric, and some of them are just plain iconoclastic. I am not of the latter camp, obviously, but I do feel like I stick out among my peer LDS crowd when it comes to food. Sometimes I don't mind being considered quirky, but other times it makes me uneasy.

Last week, at a Memorial Day picnic with a handful of church friends, we brought a Mediterranean-like lentil salad with feta, herbs, tomatoes, green peppers and olives, lemon juice, olive oil, yada yada. It was hardly touched by the crowd of 15 or so couples with some children. Granted, food at a potluck is always a different situation when one can't guess who-brung-it. But then we had our emu hotdogs, which caused quite a stir. I can say now that we've officially dispelled the common belief that the Matkins are vegetarians (because we love tofu--why else would anyone eat tofu, if not because of vegetarianism??). What a way to break the news.

Anywho, the fare last night was bar-b-qued free range chicken from Good Natured Family Farms (out of Bronson, KS), tofu from Central Soy Foods (out of Lawrence), honey wheat buns from Great Harvest Bread Co.(Lawrence), and the delicious salads were made from locally grown produce. The bar-b-que rub on the chicken and tofu was delish; I'll have to beg the deli for the recipe. Dessert was strawberry shortcake (which we found out was for the fast eaters, because it ran out pretty quickly), and a dense, moist chocolate cake.

When the Merc does food, they go all the way. Anyone want so sign up for next year??