It’s almost time for another HomeEc!

Not sure what that means?  WellPreserved hosts a monthly gathering (usually a potluck) where a bunch of strangers gather together, share food and friendship.  Dana and I host the Toronto event (at The Handlebar in Kensington Market) and Kate and Rachel host their version in Columbus, Ohio.

The Columbus location has changed – Kate will be sharing the details this morning on her blog Kate, on the Way.

Each event has a different theme – this month’s theme is:

What the heck is picnic?  Show up with something to share that’s inspired by the idea of having a picnic.  We’re not too serious about rules and we have all levels of cooks so don’t be shy!

If you’ve never been to a HomeEc, we really hope you’ll come out.  There’s a friendly stable of regulars and several new people too.  We’ll be the best hosts we can be and make sure that you get to meet some fun people and interact with a community of fun people who love food.  If you’re really nervous about making something (and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches definitely count!) just show up to your first event and check it out.

The event is next Monday (June 24th) and starts at 8:00PM.

Ahhh, this was a bittersweet evening.  It was our final Home Ec at The Avro.  It was also our 15th event there (two HomeEc events were moved over the last 18 months and our first preserve swap, which predated HomeEc, was hosted there).

We had a great night.  I am always thrilled to see a great mix of regular attendees alongside newcomers.

Pat and Jesse brought these awesome single-serve Shepherd’s Pies:

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HomeEc #15 was bittersweet: bitter because it fell on the day that The Avro announced it was closing its doors forever and sweet because the theme was Maple.

The Avro have been amazing hosts to our Toronto version of HomeEc and have given us countless memories.  We’ll be sad to see them go and want to send them off in style – so we’ve moved the date of the next Home Ec to April 15th so we can send her off in style (the new date also applies to our partners in Columbus who will be hosting the event at The Rehab Tavern as always!).

To commemorate her passing, we changed our originally planned theme for the month:

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It’s already time for another HomeEc event!

If you’re new to HomeEc, think of it as a potluck with a monthly theme/ challenge that happens in 3 locations:

• Toronto, Ontario (at The Avro)
• Columbus, Ohio (At The Rehab Tavern)
• Anywhere else in the world you want, including your kitchen (just share on Twitter, our Facebook page or Instagram with the hashtag WPHomeEc)

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Last Monday evening was HomeEc #14.  HomeEc is our monthly potluck/ pop-up gathering.  For now it happens in one of three locations: The Avro (a small bar in the east end of Toronto where Dana and I host), The Rehab Tavern (in Columbus, Ohio where Rachel and Kate host) and virtually where anyone can participate in the monthly theme and play-along.  We publish our theme two weeks before the event and participants make something to share and show up!  It’s generally hosted on the last Monday of the month.

This month was all about the roots.  When I first discussed the idea with Dana she thought it was awesome and we agreed on the theme.  The next day I explained to a friend that we were doing an event based on root vegetables and Dana nearly choked on her coffee.  “I THOUGHT YOU MEANT ROOTS – LIKE CULTURE.”  We laughed a lot and bounced the two ideas back and forth before settling on root vegetables and decided to sit on the culture idea for now.

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We’re less than a week away from HomeEc #14: Got Roots (it’s a potluck event with drop-ins in Columbus, Toronto and a virtual part you can play at home; the full details are here).

We thought we’d share a quick round-up of some of our past posts which included root vegetables.  Even if you’re not participating, here’s a list of seasonal recipes that all include root vegetables: [Read more...]

It’s time for another HomeEc night!  If you’re new to the concept, it’s a monthly food challenge that you can play at home or you can come to one of two public events (one’s in Columbus, Ohio and the other is in Toronto, Ontario) on the last Monday of the month and share your spoils.

The next HomeEc is Monday, February 25th at 8:00PM.

This months theme is:

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Another Year, another series of HomeEc events!

January was the kickoff to our monthly HomeEc event in Toronto as well as host to our first ever “Off Campus” event (Columbus, Ohio is joining us every month in 2013!) as well as our first ‘play at home’ version!  The theme for January was “Resolutions”; participants had to make something to share that either helped them ‘keep’ or ‘break’ a resolution.

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