Not bad for 7:45 AM photo-session.
Sunday Shout-Out: Camp Blogaway
So this Sunday shout-out goes to fearless leader Patti from Worth the Whisk for rounding up the troops and leading another informative food blogging event.
Yep, the RGB went to Camp Blogaway’s Day Camp over the weekend. For homework, our fearless leader asked us all to prepare a rapid-fire elevator speech. Because in the event you’re in an elevator with Donald Trump and he asks you “what your blog is about,” you need to be prepared, yes? YES! Of course, in the frenzy that was Saturday morning, I left mine on the printer at home and had to scramble at the table to think of what I’d written.
When it was my turn, I drew a blank. So I oversimplified by saying that the RGB was about gardening, harvesting and cooking with our ingredients. Technically, that’s true, but the RGB to me is really more than that. I tried to get Patti to bring up the latest blog post on the overhead screen since to me, it was THE quintessential RGB post: harvesting our garden eggplants, and making a ratatouille out of them (and other garden ingredients). Unfortunately, that didn’t happen in the 30 second allotment, so I’m not sure I accurately summed up what we do here.
So dear friends, let’s try again:
The RGB is all about making real, fresh, pure and seasonal food. To do that, we garden and harvest many of our ingredients. We buy from folks we know and people we respect. Then we rely on a community we’re constantly building to make something remarkable. Behind the scenes, we’re building a Bistro. So follow along, help us get there, and we’ll save you a seat!
I really wish I had said all that.
In an effort to go green! and conserve internet space (yeah, I’m funny), I won’t go into what Camp Blogaway covered. The folks below have done a great job summarizing the event, and since I won’t be able to say it better than they have, I’ll just rely on their accounts. Let me just add my quick testimonial: for me, Camp Blogaway was a two-fold value: 1) I learned a lot, learned a lot, learned a lot, and 2) it was really nice to reconnect with folks I met at the last camp, put faces to other bloggers I hadn’t yet met but were familiar with, and generally, participate in the synergy that’s created when a room full of creative minds get together in real life. So in alphabetical order, here we go:
Nancy | A Communal Table
Louise | Art of Cuisine
Priscilla | She’s Cookin’
(Please let me know if I need to add another summary to this list; I’ll try to refresh it every day for the next week or so – thanks!)
And now, a discussion about my edible contribution to Camp Blogaway.
For registrants of Camp Blogaway, a bonus competition was offered: bring a small bite to snack on mid-afternoon. Winner gets something uber-cool from Viking.
I wanted to make something that was relevant to the RGB: real, fresh, pure and seasonal. And it needed an Asian twist… because Mrs. RGBistro is… Asian.
Because there were tomatoes and basil in the garden, the plan was to make a bruschetta with an Asian twist. Sub baguette toast for fried wonton cone, stuffed with the tomato mixture (including yuzu juice and soy), and topped with a little burrata, then stuck into a bed of split peas for presentation.
I knew I had a busy week, so I didn’t actually commit until 9:45 PM on Friday night, when I made Mr. RGBistro come with me to Whole Foods to pick up additional heirloom tomatoes (because we didn’t have enough garden tomatoes). The tomatoes were marinated overnight. Wontons were fried at 6:00 AM on Saturday morning. And they were all put together at 2:00 PM for the 2:30 PM snack-time.
A few notes on why I think this recipe failed:
- Wontons can’t be fried into cone shapes. They “poof” too much. So at 6:15 AM, I started experimenting with flat squares. What I learned: If you’ve never fried a wonton in your life, the morning “of” the event is not a good time to experiment.
- So I tried making squares. Every batch had a few that puffed liked pillows, not flat like Cheez-Its. What I learned: Wontons get poofy. No good for topping with oozy tomato mixture.
- So I started separating the poofy ones from the Cheez-It ones. With the poofy ones, I smacked one side of the poof to make a bowl. What I learned: A bowl, I can stuff.
- Fast-forward to 2:00 PM. I’m stuffing burrata cheese and tomatoes into the poofs. They’re starting to leak juice. It’s making wontons soft and squishy. What I learned: This is NOT a good make-ahead dish. And, wontons are gross when they’re squishy.
- The original plan was to stake the wonton “cones” into a basket of green and yellow split peas. The idea was to be colorful and playful. In reality, the oozy tomato dripped onto the peas… and the peas stuck to the bottom of the wontons. What I learned: raw peas are not fun to eat with an oozy wonton. They get stuck in your teeth. Then you get kinda pissed that you ate it. Because now you have to stick your finger in your mouth to coax the pea out.
- What else I learned: It’s probably not a good idea to serve a savory “appetizer” when snack is being offered after lunch. It contrasts HORRIBLY to other offerings of pumpkin cookies or fig tarts. Next time, these wonton babies are going to be piped with cinnamon, brown sugar and cream cheese.
Epic fail.
Sad face.
On a brighter note, they were pretty to look at.
The no-cheese version sat on a bed of green split peas.
The version without the cheese was laid over some yellow split peas. Also shown: a small autumn bouquet of mums and sage from the RGB garden.
Do you have a rapid-fire elevator speech? Please share it with us, or tell us how we can improve ours, based on what you know about us. We’ll beg our web guy in about a week or so to refresh our side-bar bio with the elevator speech.
[K]
Tomato in Yuzu Soy Vinaigrette over Fried Wontons
~
~ Really? Does anybody want the recipe? I’ll write it up… but if only someone wants it. 
~
I like what you now wrote, but at campblogaway you certainly got your message across and of course I loved your presentation and it tasted delicious (despite your trouble with the wontons) I bake wonton wrappers in mini muffin pans for appetizers if that helps at all
Great to meet and talk with you!
Hey there, I honestly thought you got that across in your 30 seconds of fame. I love the ideas of what you are doing. I just planted a small garden myself and am thrilled watching it grow. I didn’t get a chance to taste any of the food really but I did love your presentation.
~Chef Louise
p.s.- I would love to set aside a time to chat over coffee or visit your garden…
No joke–I caught a rerun (I think) of Guy’s Big Bite and he made Italian “nachos” using fried wontons. And called them “Guy-talian” because wonton skins=pasta. And smothered them with cheese, to the point when he went in for a “taste,” he ended up pulling a huge congealed mess onto a plate.
I’d still much rather eat your slightly soggy buschetta wontons because they look so much nicer, and those tomatoes would make up for everything. And your elevator pitch rocks!
GIRL! You are being way too hard on yourself! First off, your elevator pitch was great (it made me want to join the RGBistro team), and second, your treat was totally not the failure you’re describing it as! I for one was a fan! XOXO
Kim – it was great seeing you again =) Twice is a week – woothoo! I thought the presentation was beautiful and am so impressed that you two grow, harvest and cook with produce from your garden. I have no green thumb – so I’ll need to learn lots from you guys! Take care and I definitely want to check out your rustic garden sometime! xoxo!
Kim, your 30-second rapid-fire elevator speech was really just fine–you’re too hard on yourself! I thought you made your point very well. I, on the other hand, wish I had been more outgoing and let my personality and humor come through in mine. Introverts are always better on paper than on the spot in front of a group! Patti did a fabulous job on the event.
Kim, it was so great seeing you 2X in one week! You are a great chef, blogger and inpspiration. Don’t be so hard on yourself-your wontons were awesome as was your elevator pitch! xo
Hey there! I am sure that everything went very well. We are always harder on ourselves. I like your description of RG Bistro. It sounds like a great pitch to me! To answer your question about coming to the next event…I don’t think so. I got rid of a ticket I had for BHF 10. I really wanted to go to that. I’ll definitely try to do that next year. Otherwise, I think the Bunkycooks will be staying on this side of the country for a bit. I am still nursing this ankle injury (4 months later). Grrr……it won’t get better. So, you need to head our way to have wine and dine with us here!
I agree with the above! You totally got your point across and Patti scrolled through your post – we all saw your beautiful eggplant and ratatouille shots (that you take with a P+S!). I didn’t even mention my garden #fail. When I post about Camp Blogaway, I’ll let you know. Look forward to our next bloggie event
Kim ~ from the looks of the other comments, I’d say you did swimmingly!!! I can’t imagine you NOT doing well! From all the tweets and recaps I’ve read, I’d say that this day of Camp Blogaway was a smashing success!
I blanked out too. I forgot to say how cute I was… We are not always our own best cheerleaders. So, Sup! Sez RAH SIS BOOM RAH! Gimme a K, Gimme an I, Gimme a M! KIM! GREG
Hi, I love your blog. I love how honest you are and that sounds just as fresh as your food! It was so nice meeting you at Blackmarket Bakery. You go girl, your great!
Renee
chef-renee@blogspot.com
It was great to see you at Camp and I thought your presentation for your won tons was awesome. Definitely the winner in that category. I thought your elevator speech was all you. And the photos Patti showed on the screen were wonderful.
You rock, girl!
I’m so sorry that wontons failed and that you have a bit of speech fright. All wonderful learning experiences! If it makes you feel better, I went to IFBC where a number of important people asked me what my blog was about? I’m not sure why I didn’t anticipate the question. Maybe it’s because I still cannot believe anyone would care? I couldn’t come up with a good answer. Ummmmm…..kitchen stories? Food? Ugh! xoxo
Loved reading this post, Kim. Still working on my own elevator speech.
Yep. I couldn’t make it to the Camp Blogaway event and I wish I could have gone to Blog Her. Your site is looking good girl!