Party Food

The point of these ad hoc healthy food creations was not so much making food to provide to partygoers, but rather to find something to fortify myself as I hopped from party to party yesterday. The family and I attended three parties and finished the evening hosting 3 girls and 1 boy to sleep over with our kids in our home. Today we are up for round two, but only have one pool party to attend. In planning for the first party yesterday and short on time, I ran out and bought a dip to contribute. Then I came home and put on my glasses and discovered the Baba Ghanoosh I had bought was made with eggs and mayonnaise. (I've got to start bringing my glasses to the store with me -- now that I am middle aged I cannot see well enough to read food labels!) Already late for the first party, I had to come up with something for me to eat. I knew the hosts were providing pulled pork barbeque and I was providing a non-vegan dip, I had to make something else up in a hurry! So I created a chickpea salad.  Here it is:

Improvised Chickpea Salad
Ingredients:
1 can of chickpeas
2 sundried tomatoes in olive oil, sliced thinly
2 Tbsp. olive tapenade, or olives, chopped roughly
1 stalk celery, small dice
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp. vegannaise
Salt and pepper


Combine all ingredients.
Serves one person (me) twice


Yep, that's right, I am the only one who ate this, at and between the parties. Someone at the first party said it looked pretty though.

As I have said, the first party, college football, featured pork. The second party, more college football, featured buffalo chicken dip and pretzels (I did enjoy one of those). The third party featured Boston butt and ribs (pork and pork). In between I fortified myself with my chickpeas until they were gone.  We have an amazing neighborhood, and I had a lot of fun with all my friends and kids. This morning my husband felt very bloated, filled as he was with pork. I felt fine, but hungry! So here's what I made for myself this morning. It is based on something Alicia Silverstone's husband, Chris, made which she mentioned on The Kind Life, but I added a few more things.

Nourishing Cabbage and Beans
Ingredients:
half a head of cabbage, sliced thinly 
2 leeks, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 can canellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
juice from half a lemon
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper


in a tablespoon of oil, at medium high heat, saute cabbage, leeks and garlic until wilted but still bright in color. Stir often. add the vinegar, lemon and remaining oil, and season with salt and pepper.  Stir and cook another minute. Remove from heat and stir in the beans, then cover and let stand for a minute or so as the beans are warmed.
Serves 4.


This dish turned out to be just what my body wanted this morning after going all day yesterday with not too much sustenance. This veggie and bean combo was indeed wonderfully nourishing and reminded me of something available in a cafe in Italy. This rustic, simple dish turned out to be a little elegant.

On to the next party!