Hah! Wonderful! So glad it worked!

That's great! You are fortunate to have such an interested and engaged team!

Maybe we all should do a "virtual happy hour" together sometime???!!!?!

Awesome, Funky! So glad it went well! You just taught me something new, too, about chickpeas. :D

I’m still baffled. Did each person make a dish and then eat his/her own dish? Or were recipes exchanged beforehand? Am I just being dense?

Regardless of the details, I’m so happy for you that it was a sucess! You must be a terrific team leader, emphasis on leader!

wonderful

This is a cool idea. I have a group of friends from forever and the four of us zoom once a week or close to that. We talk about all kinds of things but usually food comes up, a new fave recipe, etc. We describe it and often share recipes but there are generally no visuals. This would be a fun thing to do.

Yay! So glad it worked out well. A happy team is so important.

Maybe we all should do a "virtual happy hour" together sometime

We actually did that at work for a while during covid. Every Friday night around 5pm. Different people showed up each week. Different levels of cocktails. We didn't talk about the cocktails. Just talked like we would if at an actual bar. It did fizzle out after a while, but it was fun.

Got it! Sometimes being literal is such a drag! It sounds like a great idea that worked very well for your group. What an interesting way to get insight about your team members - and also pick up a couple of new, interesting recipes!

Bunny, that is so wonderful that you and your long-time friends manage to get together every week or so.

So glad your team enjoyed the pot luck and want to do it again. I'm sure that has a lot to do with your approach and leadership. Any unusual dishes?

I’m glad it went well!

bbstx, one of the best things to come out of the pandemic was reestablishing a long ago connection with three friends (Kindergarten, and 6th grade origins). We had kept in touch over the years but it was infrequent. Now Wednesday morning at 11:00 we all gather for my unpaid Zoom's free 40-minute chat. There's no longer, what did you do this past year, etc. Now it's what are you reading, cooking, how did your doc appointment go? I always zoom from my kitchen table so that's the vibe. One of them was recently in Buenos Aires but managed to figure out the time difference and joined us.

Virtual potluck, cocktail hour, great ideas! and Bunny, I like how you describe your weekly Zoom.

Glad it went well and all enjoyed. I didn't even know there were black chickpeas, adn I consider myself pretty well versed in the kitchen -- but never too old to learn. Cool.

Lasscatx, I first saw black chickpeas at Rancho Gordo a number of years ago but I didnt pay much attention because I usually just use canned chickpeas.

Maire-cate, there wasnt anything "unusual" this time. It was a busy week for all of us but I think it was more that this was the first one. Some of the dishes were falafal, Irish stew, pierogies, channa masala, lemon rices, biryani, pulao, and a thali platter. A few of the indian dishes were duplicated but even without tasting you could tell they cam from a different recipe and/or region. I just wish I could TASTE the dishes LOL.

I expect that in the future, folks will branch out more-- there was a lot of talk of other recipes and dishes.

That was an interesting collection of recipes and I had to look up 2 of them. I have heard of biryani and pulao but I wasn't positive exactly what they were.

ah yes ... we have an international team. All live in the US but we have team members from Iran, India and Ecuador. :)

@Funkyart, what was your dish? 🤔

I made mushroom & wild rice soup. Didnt take on anything grand -- and didnt cook until 5am Friday morning 😂

However, when one of the team was saying that while making pierogies is time consuming, he finds it very relaxing -- thows on good music and just gets into a rhythm,. I said I think the exact same re: making baklava. Oh my gosh -- you'd have thought I said I could spin straw into gold! Everyone was exclaiming about baklava .. and how hard it must be. "I love it-- but i buy it!". It really IS easy to make -- just requires patience, a delicate touch and good music.

Anyhow, there was so much excitement for it that I am contemplating making a couple of batches and sending it to each of them for our next meeting. It is a lot to take on before Christmas (now that my dad isnt with us, there arent many fans in my own family) but maybe I will do it while at SOs house. HE is a big fan ..

I love all of those — baklava, pierogies, and mushroom and wild rice soup. I’ve never tried making the first two, they do intimidate me.

“Anyhow, there was so much excitement for it that I am contemplating making a couple of batches and sending it to each of them for our next meeting.”

You’re such a sweetie! Lucky them and SO! :)

That's great. Oh yeah when I worked as a postdoctoral researcher, we had an international group of grad and undergrad students and we would have the best potlucks.

We also had the whole Thanksgiving week off but since most people didn't travel to their hometown/ home country until Christmas if they did travel, we'd all get together and cook TG dinner and bring our favorite things.

That sounds fabulous, Funky!

Interesting to read about your wild rice soup, Funky. I just bought a bag at Trader Joes, I haven't had it in decades and haven't seen it in years until now. Any chance you could share your recipe or provide a link? What a clever person you are to come up with such an unusual, cool team-building activity!

Funky, now that you mention it, I think I do remember seeing black chickpeas at Rancho Gordo but mostly ignored them. I have a problem ordering more beans than I can cook when I go there, so I've been staying away until I use up more of what I have. Making progress.

Glad it turned out so well. Who knew?! LOL Interesting dishes and conversation, and sounds like it will be a repeated activity.

As far as I’m concerned, baklava from scratch is the equivalent of spinning gold from straw! I’m so impressed at you skill!

I think it worked because almost everyone in the group has an interest in food and/or cooking. The one who has the least interest is one who really feeds off the social interaction.

A number of the team members are from india and don't eat beef -- so they asked if they could make the irish stew with chicken... as we discussed it we all decided lamb would be a better option. In another time, with another group, they might have just not paid attention to the team member sharing his beef dish. I didnt have to prod the conversation. It all came about naturally.

Bbstx .. I promise you. you could absolutely make baklava. There are a lot of steps but they are simple and repetitive. It requires time but I find it relaxing.

IndigoRose.. sure I make the recipe below but I do not add the milk. It uses a wild rice blend. I will also share a recipe for a salad Mtn shared from the LA Times a long time ago .. it is behind a pay wall so I found one similar.

• Creamy Wild Rice Mushroom Soup - Hearty + Meatless
• Wild Rice Salad - The Harvest Kitchen

And a few others I have saved but havent made:

• Wild Rice Salad With Sun-Dried Cherries Recipe
• Skillet Wild Rice, Walnut and Broccoli Salad Recipe
• Wild Rice And Mushroom Soup Recipe

Glad it went so well. It actually sounds like a fun way to enhance team building and you have successfully built your team to do and enjoy this type of thing.