Vegemite Comes to Long Island

So this past weekend the amazing Craig, of Puntabulous fame, held a pool party at his house in Long Island for all of us dancing monkeys loyal blog followers. We got together and laughed and talked and drank and ate and ate and ate some more. So I thought, what could I, a long-time follower of Puntabulous, contribute to the party that be unique and fun for the whole gang? I know! I'll take that Vegemite in the cupboard that the adorable Kris sent me and let everyone taste that delicious delicacy from the land down under. Who could resist that at the party? Heh. So after several blueberry gin lemonades (Vuboq is my hero) and some beer and enough food to feed a small Asian family for a week, I pulled out the Vegemite for a little tasting.

So how does one serve Vegemite at a pool party? No, not on toast with a layer of melted butter, but on a lovely ripple potato chip (or crisp depending on where you live). Yeah, yeah, I know, sacrilege, but it was the best we could do without putting any effort into it.

Vuboq, of the blueberry gin fame, started by being totally brave and licking it straight off his finger and yes, the "brown stuff on your finger" jokes ensued, but he kind of liked it. Wacky guy. His enthusiastic response to the culinary delight inspired others to take the plunge.

Nathan had already had the Vegemite on toast experience at my house, where admittedly he used the "two bite rule" on himself, and then wisely tossed the rest in the trash. However, following Vuboq's lead he used the finger application directly to the taste buds method and declared it " not bad." Of course now the other guests were clamouring for a taste.

Adam was next. Ummm. Okay, no erotically charged licking of the finger this time around. He did manage to swallow though. Go Adam.

Despite Adam's response, Polt willingly stepped up to the plate to give it a try. Being told the best way is to put the chip Vegemite side down on your tongue he took the plunge and ... well, he too managed to swallow. Gotta love the manly men who can keep Vegemite down. However experience at swallowing probably helps. *badum ching*

Not to be outdone in the manly department, our amazing host took a turn. Ummm. He let me stay at the party despite this. Now you know why I love him.

Still, despite the response of our able host, Mikey was not about to let the others get the better of him and manned up to have a taste. Oh boy. He was still trying to claw the taste off his tongue a few beers later. Way to take one for the team Hon. You did good.Chris was next and to be honest, I'm not sure if he really liked it or is trying not to hurl in this picture. I'm thinking the latter.
Justin volunteered next, claiming to have eaten Marmite, hence Vegemite was no big deal. Never letting go if his camera which was glued to his hand with a constant clicking motion of the finger for 8 hours, he declared it quite unlike Marmite but could not proclaim a clear winner in that contest.
After all of that FDot still gave it a shot and as you can see, survived the event with nary a scar. But then he's from a town in NY that is nearly impossible for Canadians to pronounce so it's understandable.

So there you have it. Vegemite was definitely an experience that contributed to the party atmosphere. I may have missed a few people here who also tried it, the kidlet was madly snapping pictures while we laughed, winced, groaned and stared in wonder at the many who chose to walk on the Aussie wild side Saturday afternoon.

Besides Vegemite the party was a blast and hopefully tomorrow or Wednesday I'll get some more pics up. We're in Brooklyn tonight, and we got together with Diane of Good Reads and she showed us around and we went for Turkish food and had a great time. The next couple of days we'll spend in the city. Prepare for whining of sore feet on my behalf. :-)