This Little Party.....

Friends, this is so cool.  I prepared food for a delightful party last week with an eye towards health and variety.  The hostess was awesome.  She wanted to make sure everyone had enough to eat and was happy, but essentially left it up to me to plan the menu. 

Portions were planned and the desserts were bite-size.  Everyone loved that!  No one felt guilty about eating too much and the variety of food offered made sure that there was something for everyone. 

We offered three protein-based items (pulled pork sandwiches with angel slaw on small rolls, grilled prawns, and Dungeness crab salad on endive), vegetable platters with an assortment of hummus, artisanal cheese platters with dried fruits, walnuts and my homemade figgy jam, spiced nuts, pineapple skewers, and the desserts. 

A sister of the hostess flew in from South Carolina and told me about the disparity in portion sizes between California and her home.  She discussed how, in the south, everything is really, really big.  Instead of bite-size sweets, her parties include huge portions of cake or pies for dessert. Large platefuls of food are the norm. And then, after the party, everyone exercises and starves for a week or more after to atone for overindulgence.  That doesn't sound very fun to me.  I personally hate that sick stuffed feeling from overeating. 

She loved our small portions.  The sandwiches were three or four-biters.  Each endive leaf contained a generous 2 tablespoons of crab salad and was a two-bite item.  The pineapple skewers acted as an alternate dessert as well as a palate cleanser and paired well with the sandwiches.  Treats were mini-sized carrot cupcakes and one-bite cheese cakes topped with lemon curd and homemade raspberry jam.  Except for the grilled prawns and spiced nuts, every course contained some type of produce.

California cuisine is conscientious, but we still have a long way to go to make this the norm for the rest of the United States.  As we look forward, think about how you can bring more fresh fruits and veggies into your meal plan and for entertaining. And... PORTIONS!  Serve smaller portions to start.  If someone is still hungry, they can go back for another nibble.  The trouble is if you start by eating too much, you have gone beyond comfortable.   That is a buzz kill!

Experiment and enjoy.

- Kim Fielding

Friendships and Food - First Friday

There is something special about getting together with friends and having supper. Thanksgiving, Easter, and other holidays usually involve planning meals, figuring out where the guests will sit, how they will be entertained, or whatever.   True friendships have been decided and divided over meals.  Mostly though, a good meal draws people together.

We are a rather large group so if someone has a smaller house,

 they typically choose a summer month so we can eat outside. 

We don't have a big house, but our month was January so we

just piled people into our living room with borrowed chairs and tables.

Once a month, for the last several years, a group of us get together on the"First Friday" of every month.   The brainchild of one of the "FFers", it came about because we all have sons who have grown up together and the parents all really like each other. In fact, over the years, we have come to rely on each other and always know we have each other's backs.

This month's host (me) made pasta Bolognese.  The other members provided

two amazing green salads, an antipasta platter, fruit platter, grilled vegetables,

marinated mushrooms, fresh bread, and an assortment of cookies.

Host for the month decides on a main dish that they will provide. Everything else is potluck and the other First Friday gang members decide on something to compliment the food theme.  Sometimes people are out of town and we miss them, but can always catch up the following month.  No one has dropped out of the group after all this time and as we go on, we realize the importance of seeing each other. It has been proven that smiles among friends go a long way towards healing in so many ways.

Dive in!

We worry and discuss issues, share secrets, drink and eat yummy stuff, laugh A LOT, sometimes cry, and more importantly, use the event of breaking bread together as the reason we all support and love each other. These people have become so important in our lives and it would not have happened without the commitment and organization of all of the First Friday participants.

Look at all of the beautiful salads and fruit.  A perfect compliment to

a pasta main dish.

One thing we all share is an interest in health.  Friends help friends be healthy.  Physically and emotionally.  The food offerings have become leaner over time and it is fun to plan a monthly meal with a group.  Not everyone is a chef but that doesn't deter people from trying, or, from finding something already made that fits the bill.

Try this and Enjoy!

- Kim Fielding