Party and food.

Whenever we have parties, we try to do something creative and innovative for the family members and guests who will be attending the shindig. Being interracial, I will have to admit, it's hard to 'plan' the menu because growing up Pinay, I tend to go with the mainstays as pancit or pasta and have difficulty doing 'sides'. I go with what is easiest to prepare yet try to 'match' the food so that it has a balance (not all starchy or fatty or heavy).

In the 5 years that I have been here, I find that many people just bring out a box of crackers and dip or cheese or chips and salsa or have sausage platters as a standby appetizer. I am ok with that but if that's all you can expect everytime, I do feel bored and slightly betrayed (for lack of a better term). I had this conversation with one of my co-workers (her roots are Jamaican but she's as Canadian as she can get) and she shared the same sentiment I have too. So where am I going with this? My point is that, when we invite people in our home for a get-together, we do make an actual plan or a menu of some sort and we do try to make it a full course meal - even if the occasion is simply backyard BBQ or birthdays or Thanksgiving/Christmas, etc.

For hubby's last birthday, he insisted on eating something that is easy for us to do. So, essentially, a lot of make-ahead meals or less fussy ones. Therefore, out with the beef stuff (as people have different preferences on the done-ness; we're medium well people but we know some friends who like blue (like super rare, you can hear the cow moo! lol). Thankfully, mom is here in Canada and mom likes cooking in my kitchen because she knows that I have all the gadgets and my pantry is well-stocked. ;) So, we got her help and the little treat for her is that, we'll use ingredients from the Farmers' Market. We went to Sweetgrass Market and the Farmers market at Currie Barracks and she, like us, was very delighted to have a sense of being back home with 'marketing' sans the smell. ;)

Everything was fresh and organic and boy, you can actually tell the difference. I have been, for the longest time, been cynical with the 'hype' with organic eating but not since two weeks ago. It DOES taste like the real thing, it stays fresher, it's brighter in colour and it just tastes better - like you can actually savour the celery taste or the brocolli is crunchier and greener and the lean ground beef just tastes better - not fatty. We are sold. And, yes it may be a bit expensive but you know what, when you eat fresh corn like how it should be like, sweet and crunchy and vibrant yellow - you just feel good and healthier.

So, for my hubby who just turned a year older, here are some of the goodies we did. Appetizer staple in our household is the chicken pinwheels. Usually, we use red peppers but we have extra green ones so the pinwheels look more green. ;)

The next dishes are the 'creative' or new menu we tried. Again, Trish Magwood's DISH Entertains is my bestfriend when it comes to these types of stuff. So, if you, like us were fans of Fig Newtons - you will like the next two dishes here.

The first one is the prosciutto (Italian ham) wrapped Black Mission figs with arugula and mascarpone. I love figs (especially this variety) because I find that they stay fresher longer than the green type. It glides smoothly on the palate and the combination of salty, sweet and bitter (ham, mascarpone/fig, arugula) makes for a very intricate taste. People actually loved it! :)

Using the same black mission figs, I tried a different cheese to go with it - bleu cheese and slivered almonds with a few splashes of honey. This is another hit! ;) The bite of the bleu cheese lends very well with the hint of sweetness of the fig and the crunch brought by the almonds make it a very interesting appetizer.

Now for the actual staples, we have our trusty rice vermicelli noodles (pancit guisado) that my mom cooked. Look at the lovely veggies - they just are brighter and tastier!

Then, we have the beef curry. Everything here is organic EXCEPT for the coconut milk and the curry spice. lol

Then, the Simple Simon Pie from the Farmers Market for dessert. My mom, who detests anything sweet - was raving on this pie. The saskatoons were a combination of tart and sweet; the strawberry pie is great (b's choice), the mango (yellow) are mom's choice and the coconut pecan are great too!

We also had the cooked ham (this is Superstore bought) and the vegetable dish was chop seuy - all organic (including the lean ground beef)! :) The pears on the background are soooooooo good!!!

So, there you go on our first attempt to do organic food. Bon appetito! :)