bread and wine

After a long work and school induced entertaining absence, I was craving a winter evening dinner party.    I shopped on Wednesday and prepped the food on Thursday.  I did a little extra cleaning every night so by Friday the house was company clean.  By the time I got home from work, it was just the fun bits of hosting left to do - assemble the food, set the table, and light candles.

We invited some of our favorite people - The Blehm family drove up from Georgia for the weekend.  And the almost neighbors Peters, who became a family of four in November.  Six adults and seven kids ranging from 13 to newborn.  Five vegans, two gluten-frees, two picky kids (mine), and several people who will eat anything.  The challenge was to make a simple, inclusive meal that was so warm and delicious no one would miss any ingredients.

I made a cashew cream corn chowder from the Conscious Cook.  My mom's version of it was fantastic, so I (uncharacteristically) followed the directions exactly.  It was perfect! Creamy and flavorful.  A new favorite.

I bought regular and gluten free baguettes and sliced them on a plate with cheddar cheese, dill havarti, red onions, avocado slices, tomato slices, and baby romaine lettuce.  The kids could make little grilled cheese sandwiches, and everyone else could create their own.  We had grape juice, because that is our traditional, Friday-night-bringing-the-Sabbath-in drink.

Even after a day of traveling, Angela made a beautiful fruit salad in a white pedestal bowl, and yummy cookies.

Jenn made a great vege salad and then wowed us with a warm Apple and Pear Crisp and coconut milk ice cream.

The dinner was delicious but the company was even better.   The kids headed out to play in the cold night air, coming in occasionally for more sweatshirts or gloves.  This lowered the indoor noise to a delightful, conversational level.  We passed around baby Samuel, taking turns smelling his newborn head, kissing his little cheeks and getting him to smile big, toothless grins.  At one point, I stood in the kitchen and watched my candle-lit friends and family laughing and talking.   I felt so contented.  So blessed to be a part of the comradery and joy of the evening.  

This week Shauna Niequist's third book comes out.  Bread and Wine, finding community and life around the table.  I was lucky enough to get an advanced copy, and I devoured it.  I love, love, loved it.  Shauna's engaging and transparent essays are interwoven with fun recipes and reminders that we are hungry for more than just food.  Bread and Wine reminds me that life is about people not perfection.  It is both comforting and inspiring.  Order it today!  Order extras because this book makes a wonderful present.   Be prepared...this book will send you to your kitchen.  And make you eager to fill the chairs around your table with people you love.

     I want you to gobble life up in huge bites, tasting everything, trying every new flavor, remembering every smell and texture like it's the best thing you've ever had.  I want you to live with wild and gorgeous abandon, throwing yourself into each day, telling the truth about who you are and who you are not, writing a love song to the world itself and to the God who made every inch of it.
     I want you to invest yourself wholly and deeply in friendship, God's greatest evidence of Himself here on earth.  More than anything, I want you to come to the table.  In all sorts of ways, both literally and metaphorically, come to the table.  
   Shauna Niequist Bread and Wine.