luluIf you really want to make a friend, go to someone’s house and eat with him. The people who give you their food give you their heart.
Cesar Chavez
How grateful I am to have friends who enjoy planning, preparing and gathering for a once a month dinner where a lot of heart is given. All of us contribute to the meal, which is always wonderful, and the hostesses do a bang up job of preparing the table.
The most recent dinner was a visual treat. The delicately designed dishes are quite old, a memory of the hostess’s mother.
Without question, they made a lovely setting when combined with silver and glass.
Playing off the pale green in the pattern, the hostess found the perfect linen tablecloth and napkins. All together the look was quite elegant at the same time warm and friendly.
A few days before our gathering a storm blew through that flattened many of the small blooming things. The hostess was clever enough to see that her damaged flowers perfectly matched the colors in the china, so, voila, a just right centerpiece made in a silver bowl.
So there would not be question about where each person sat, there were name tags directing us to our place. That is always a thoughtful gesture.
The first course, a zucchini mold, happened to be my assignment. It was something with which none of us were familiar, so we all experienced a new taste treat. Not only was it tasty, it was easy to prepare which makes it worthy of making again as it gives a whole new way of presenting zucchini.
Zucchini Mold
1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
2 lbs. zucchini, finely diced
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 eggs
1 c. grated Parmesan
1 T. chopped Italian parsley
1 T. unsalted butter
1/4 c. fine dried bread crumbs
Preheat an oven to 350. Grease a 9″ ring mold or individual molds with butter and coats the bottom and sides with the bread crumbs. Warm the oil in a skillet. Add zucchini, onion and garlic and cook until tender.Add a little water, if needed, to keep the mixture moist. Remove from heat and let cool. Transfer the zucchini mix to a bowl and add eggs, cheese and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Mix well and spoon into prepared mold(s). Bake about 20 minutes or until firm. Invert onto serving dishes and serve immediately. (6 servings)
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Though I walk for exercise, my eyes are always open for what is blooming in fields adjacent to the path. There’s Queen Ann’s lace, goldenrod, interesting grasses, cattails, lupine pods and things I can’t even name. Often I come home with a handful that combined become part of lovely arrangements for the table.
My favorite way to arrange flowers is to put them in a variety of vessels. It is simple and the containers can be placed randomly to create an easy centerpiece.
The cloth that is background for the flowers is folded on the diagonal leaving part of the table bare. When it’s time to eat, a couple of placemats fill and protect the bare space as well as reflect the quiet background of the cloth.
Playing off the cranberry color of the small vases and the flowers in the textile, these dishes are perfect. They are long discontinued from the 40’s and 50’s and were a purchase from an antique show some years ago.
Their appeal is not only the color but the unusual shape.
Adding the thumbprint glasses continues the color scheme and finishes the table.
Tonight the family will gather around what we call the big house meaning it’s a step up from the breakfast room. Having teenage girls get involved in the table preparation is a great way for them to recognize that setting an attractive table can be very uncomplicated. Sometimes a pretty table is also a gentle reminder to use good table manners!
So, how does one make table setting a creative process? For me, it begins with there always being something on the table from which to draw inspiration. Does that say something about my not liking bare surfaces? Here, it was nothing more than flowers arranged simply on a runner.
Now, I have to confess to being a dishaholic. The beauty is that it creates a variety of options when it comes to selecting. With the colors of the flowers and the runner as influences, I picked these dishes for our evening meal, but the selection could just as easily have been a solid color that works well with a variety of accents. By the way, places like TJ Maxx, Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, Goodwill are great resources for items that are both inexpensive and add flair to your table.
You will notice that the table is prepared for two, the hubby and me. Whether it’s the two or us or company coming, the table will add to the experience of eating. That is a gift I give to others as well as myself. 
Luckily, my dining table is rarely undressed which made getting it ready quick and easy. The new favorite table runner from India, decorative gourds from San Miguel and trivets were in place.
With this beautiful runner, I like to keep the table simple and chose to use clear glass dinnerware on a subtle placemat. 
I had no solid napkins so the next best thing was to use ones with essentially the same colors as the runner.
They are bound with flexible holders that were a gift from a friend who knows how I like setting tables. That’s the kind of friend to have!
As I was putting wine stems out, my eye was drawn to the orange in the runner, so I put the etched glass ones away and opted for the orange stems that usually come out only at Thanksgiving.
All done but for the flatware. I know Carson of Downton Abbey wouldn’t approve, but I do like to lay it in different ways to add an unexpected touch.
So, in a matter of minutes, the table is set. I’ve also thought of simple fixings for dinner: pasta mixed with tomatoes, basil and olive oil 
and one of my favorite go to 
This is one of my favorite table runners made by the hands of a Vietnamese person with disabilities working in a state run workshop. Funny how it has been used dozens of times and I’ve never paid much attention to the red. Usually, it is the blue and orange tones that dominate my thinking.
Not today! Red has totally grabbed my eye which was reason enough to pull out the crocheted placemats made by my mother-in-law. I smile as I think of her trying to teach me how to crochet. My hands were so awkward with a crochet hook, and I didn’t get much farther than casting on with a chain stitch. 
Red is not a color I use much on a table, and I’m not sure why because it is one of my favorites.
Maybe it was the flowers on the runner that drew my eye and made the red seem more important. Whatever the influence, it made for a very happy table.
There was no need to add more color, so white dishes provided the finishing touch.
Later, when chili was dished up, I had to laugh when even it had traces of red. On this day, red was meant to be.
You never know what is going to inspire a tablescape. This one started with orchids which were thoughtful gifts deserving special attention. 
Orchids made me think of Thailand where the markets literally had bags stuffed full with purple, pink and white blooms. That thought led me to choose this beautiful handwoven silk table runner that was made in Bangkok. Thanks to Jim Thompson, the weaving as a cottage industry is alive and well there.
The runner paired nicely with placemats purchased from a street vendor in that same city. I love finding things for the table that are light and take little suitcase space when I travel.
Because it is spring, a season of gardens bursting with color, these dishes that once belonged to my mother-in-law seemed a nice complement all the pink tones. According to the writing on the back, they were handpainted by a woman named Ernestine in Salerno, Italy. I believe they were sent home by a soldier husband during World War II. I would love to know the whole story.
OK, Thailand and Italy are covered, so let’s go with napkins from a Saigon market. Each little flower is hand embroidered. In addition to this table showcasing pieces gathered from my travels, it also confirms my attraction to all things hand done.
All that is left to complete the table is glasses, and they, too, have a story. I don’t know where they are from, but they belonged to a special friend’s grandmother. My friend thought I would use them more than she and gave them to me. She was not wrong, and the glasses with their wonderful texture are much used.
So many of my tables are filled with special memories of people and places. This one, with its international flair, is especially so as with each piece my mind wandered to another place and the experiences had there. 
There was never a doubt that this beautiful meticulously handwoven runner from India would be the inspiration for a tablescape and dinner for our gourmet group when it next met at our house.
I wanted nothing to take away from the beauty of the fabric so glass candle holders and vases as a centerpiece allowed the colors and pattern to show through.
Gold chargers did survive the cut and became the backdrop for varied colored plates that not only played off the thread colors but were more subtle and took nothing away from the beauty of the runner.
With napkins of gold and burgundy and etched stems with different patterns, the table was simple with touches of elegance that fit my comfort zone.
To this point the only thing missing was the flowers. Choosing roses was a no brainer as in India we were showered with rose petals upon arriving at every hotel. As luck would have it, Trader Joe’s had the perfect colors, and the tea roses nestled beautifully in their globes.
With memories of India swimming in my head, there was never a doubt that the food would also be inspired by that adventure. I opted for chicken tikka masala seasoned with spices gotten in Dehli, and to my delight the hubby found Kingfisher ale at Total Wines.