Potlucks blend the best of edible activism strategies: building community and connections, one casserole at a time. Add in that potlucks enable you to entertain without breaking the budget as everyone contributes to the meal, and you’ll see why some date the word "potluck" concept way back to the 16th century in England, where it was originally described as a meal "taking the luck of the days’ pot," offering guests whatever food happened to be available.

While potlucks are inherently a simple concept, in our ten years of hosting such gatherings on our Wisconsin farm, we’ve realized that a dash of thoughtful planning can green the event and make it educational fun through food for everyone. Here are some thought-starters:

• Create a seasonal food theme. Give guests a general menu theme like "savoring the local flavors of the season." With food on average racking 1,500 frequent flyer miles from growing field to our plate, eating local and seasonal saves fossil fuel. If you have culinary friends up for a challenge, host a seasonal theme in the dead of winter and get creative with root crops such as rutabaga, turnips and potatoes.
• Ditch the disposables. Environmental issues aside, who wants to eat a plate of delicious food off a floppy disposable plate? Don’t have enough serving ware? One trip to your local Goodwill store will garner a load of inexpensive plates, silverware and cups for years of gatherings to come. The more mismatched the set, the more character.
• Diversify the guest list. Don’t rely on food alone to spice up the gathering. Invite some new faces and perspectives to liven up and challenge conversations. With potlucks being such an inherently informal affair, they serve up easy events to include people you may not know well but would like to extend an invitation to. Think about people in your neighborhood you casually say "Hi" to while passing but never had a real conversation with.

Take on the fall seasonal flavor of turnips at your next potluck gathering with this Turnip Puff recipe from our cookbook, Edible Earth: Savoring the Good Life with Vegetarian Recipes from Inn Serendipity. This casserole-type dish transports easily.

Turnip Puff

Ingredients:
2 c. cooked, mashed turnips, cooled
1 c. bread crumbs
½ c. butter (1 stick), melted
1 t. sugar
½ t. salt
2 eggs, separated

Directions:

• Combine turnips, bread crumbs, butter, sugar salt and beaten egg yolks.
• Beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold into turnip mixture.
• Spoon turnip mixture into a buttered 1-quart casserole dish.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.