A Spring Lunch to Benefit Our Local Dog Shelter

As I’m getting older, I finding myself appreciating smaller spaces. We recently sold our home and downsized to a small house, with a kitchen 1/4 of the size I used to have. I love it. Small spaces mean streamlining, and even though I have a limited amount of cookware, I manage just fine. More surprising, is that it hasn’t stopped me from cooking and inviting guests over. Give me a stove and a pot – and I’m good to go.

Recently I organized a buffet lunch for 20 people to help my friend Azi launch her new jewelry creations. The extra added bonus was that a portion of the proceeds was being donated to “Wags and Walks”-a local dog rescue. You’ll find both of their links at the bottom of this post. For a fleeting moment, I thought “how am I going to pull this off with such a small kitchen?” However, I already committed and would not let myself go down that road. Ever hear that quote by Shakespeare about “Cakes and Ale?” Seriously, just bring out some good spirits and delicious food (homemade or delivered)— and everyone is happy!

Below you’ll find pictures of how I adorned my table. Sadly, my roses were not yet in bloom – despite my daily pleading with them. Being the optimist, I waited until the last minute to accept the fact that they were not going to open. Therefore, I didn’t have time to get flowers and honestly it was too stressful to think about. As you can see, I simply cut branches off my olive tree out front and put them in old mustard pots and medicine jars I had collected. It actually looked perfect! I hope you agree. Keeping the table simple and the color palate neutral makes the food stand out.

I’ll be posting the recipes from this lunch throughout this month, but will start off with the Roasted Broccoli Salad, which you can find in my In the Kitchen section.

www.azirasson.com
www.wagsandwalks.org