Whole Earth Festival BBQ and Mother’s Day

Every year, Mother’s Day weekend also marks another significant event: The Whole Earth Festival. This festival, held by UC Davis, falls on Mother’s Day every year. Maybe it’s intentionally planned that way so we can all spend an obscene amount of money at the festival feeling guilt-free since we’re buying presents? I’m not sure. This festival brings out the inner-hippie in all the attendees. As students and families dig out their tie-dye, long dresses and ceramic peace sign necklaces they picked up from the festival a year earlier, the UC Davis quad is filled with booths ranging from vegetarian food, clothes, sustainability displays, jewelry, hand-made trinkets, woodwork and many other items. There’s also live music playing throughout the day and fire dancers at night. I look forward to this event every year simply because it’s very refreshing to walk around on a sunny day, sit on the warm grass for some lunch, and peruse the isles looking at all the interesting hand-made goods.

Veggies being prepped for the grill

And another wonderful aspect of Whole Earth Festival is a great potluck with friends. Potlucks are just so much fun! Grilled vegetables (pictured above), 7 layer dip, hummus, and so many other dishes were brought and shared. This year, the anticipation was even greater because of a previous potluck we had. Our friend makes the most delicious and savory ribs I have ever eaten. The meat is so tender that it just falls right off the bone, and the homemade barbeque sauces (made by another talented friend) is the perfect addition to an already perfect dish. They started baking the ribs around 9am and then made two sauces to coat them with–one BBQ sauce had peach in it which gave it a sweet and tangy kick, and the other one was a more original BBQ sauce flavor. They should seriously put the recipes for the ribs and sauces in a locked safe because I see myself hunting them down for for the recipe in the future (you’ve been warned!).Yum!!!

The ribs I look forward to every year!

And among the other delicious dishes that everyone brought, one had me running back for a fourth serving! Abalone ceviche.  Who brings abalone ceviche to a post-college potluck?! People I have the greatest honor of calling my friends, that’s who. Not only did my friend make the ceviche himself–with mango, avocado, onion, cilantro, and lime juice–but he actually dove and caught the abalone as well. So talented! It’s safe to say that my stomach was completely satisfied after this gathering. I am disappointed though that in between all this excitement, catching up with the huge group of amazing friends, and the abundance of food surrounding me, I forgot to take a picture of the ceviche. It was beautifully presented and dangerously delicious though, and that’s a fact. We also had a wonderful assortment of side dishes. The tabouleh salad and quinoa salad were a major hit as well. The quinoa salad (pictured below) consisted of quinoa, toasted pine nuts, cucumber, parsley, dried cranberries, feta cheese and some lemon juice. The two salads were such a light and delicious accommodation to the grilled meats and veggies.

Quinoa Salad

My contribution to the potluck was dessert. I made a strawberry cake with whipped cream. It was a white cake with a middle layer of red velvet. There was also strawberries and whipped cream between the layers of cake, and shaved dark chocolate on top as a garnish. The cake was a light finish to an unforgettable variety of lovely food that we were all lucky enough to share.

The BBQ went into the night and ended with a group walking back to campus to check out the fire dancers performing at the festival. It was a long and amazing day filled with lots of walking, great people, and tasty food!

And today, as I sit in front of my computer reflecting on the weekend and contemplating the long week ahead of me, I am also taking a moment to recognize Mother’s Day. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see my mom today, but I was able to have a wonderful conversation with her on the phone. She has so much love for me, and I can tell every time I speak with her. Although I would have preferred to spend some quality time with her today in person, I am satisfied and smiling just knowing how lucky I am to have such a great woman as a mother. (I love you, Mom!!)

I hope everyone is having a delightful Sunday, and Happy Mother’s Day to all the wonderful mothers out there!