The Garden Wedding Company
The Garden Wedding Company
The Garden Wedding Company
The Garden Wedding Company

Cancer-Fighting Spicy Pumpkin Soup by Dr. Oz

SPICY PUMPKIN SOUP

The secret ingredient in this soup is antioxidant-rich pumpkin. The beta-carotene it contains can block the growth of cancerous cells. Easy to make, this curried soup will keep you warm through the winter months.

Ingredients

4 shallots, minced

2 tsp unsalted butter

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp ginger, minced

2 tbsp curry spice

2 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp chili sauce

2 (15-oz) cans pumpkin

3 1/2 cups water

2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 can unsweetened coconut milk (not low-fat)

Directions

Sauté shallots in butter until they are softened. Add garlic cloves, ginger and curry spice. Stir in the kosher salt, water, pumpkin, broth and coconut milk. Simmer uncovered over low heat for 30 minutes.

Chef Marilyn Notes: I added a chiffinode of Organic Kale (2 cups), doubled the recipe (at least) and added ground cumin (favorite spice de jour).  I like to make lots so I can eat it all week! (yes I eat like a dog, same thing every day).   With the pumpkin, I stocked up with Choices organic canned pumpkin/yams & carrot along with the organic low sodium chicken stock in tetra pack.  Choices also has the coconut milk in 1/4 cup cans….no more using 2 tablespoons and throwing away a big can!   Oh ya, and of course I threw some organic Quinoa….but you knew that already, ha ha…..enjoy and be healthy!!  Chef Marilyn

http://www.doctoroz.com

KALE HEALTH BENEFITS

Antioxidant-Related Health Benefits

Like most of its fellow cruciferous vegetables, kale has been studied more extensively in relationship to cancer than any other health condition. This research focus makes perfect sense. Kale’s nutrient richness stands out in three particular areas: (1) antioxidant nutrients, (2) anti-inflammatory nutrients, and (3) anti-cancer nutrients in the form of glucosinolates. Without sufficient intake of antioxidants, our oxygen metabolism can become compromised, and we can experience a metabolic problem called “oxidative stress.”

http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?dbid=38&tname=foodspice#healthbenefits

Posted in Recipes

Cuisine and Company says Thank you with a donation

Here at Cuisine and Company, we are most grateful and humbled by your continued support.  Our values are to give back to the community where we can, here and abroad.  Locally some of the societies we support are the White Rock and Surrey Food Banks, The homeless and Housing Society.  Abroad Cuisine and Company continues to support overseas children since the company began and will continue to do so.

This year we start the year off with a thank you to you, by donating money for birth certificates to overseas children, who without one have no identity.  The basic things we take for granted, like our identity is not a ‘given’ for some, in other countries.

For more information and to donate please see below.

Wishing you all God’s Blessings for the year ahead!  From The Cuisine and Company Team

…….” when we invest in someone elses life, we invest in our own”  Marilyn Pearson

GIFTS OF HOPE ,note from Plan Canada below….

It’s more than just a piece of paper. It’s legal armour: proof of existence, and protection against child trafficking, exploitation and abuse. A birth certificate also opens the door to social, educational and political rights. It’s a simple document we take for granted in Canada, but for the 48 million children who are not registered at birth each year, it’s a head start to a better life.

https://plancanada.ca/Giftsofhope/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=33&cat=Gifts+that+are+matched

Your $25 gift is matched for a $100 value!

Posted in Food

Here at Cuisine and Company, we are most grateful and humbled by your continued support.  Our values are to give back to the community where we can, here and abroad.  Locally some of the societies we support are the White Rock and Surrey Food Banks, The homeless and Housing Society.  Abroad Cuisine and Company continues to support overseas children since the company began and will continue to do so.

This year we start the year off with a thank you to you, by donating money for birth certificates to overseas children, who without one have no identity.  The basic things we take for granted, like our identity is not a ‘given’ for some, in other countries.

For more information and to donate please see below.

Wishing you all God’s Blessings for the year ahead!  From The Cuisine and Company Team

…….” when we invest in someone elses life, we invest in our own”  Marilyn Pearson

GIFTS OF HOPE ,note from Plan Canada below….

It’s more than just a piece of paper. It’s legal armour: proof of existence, and protection against child trafficking, exploitation and abuse. A birth certificate also opens the door to social, educational and political rights. It’s a simple document we take for granted in Canada, but for the 48 million children who are not registered at birth each year, it’s a head start to a better life.

https://plancanada.ca/Giftsofhope/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=33&cat=Gifts+that+are+matched

Your $25 gift is matched for a $100 value!

Posted in Chef at Large

WEDDING ETIQUETTE

Inviting Plus Ones

If your relatives or friends are engaged to be married, their fiances (or fiancees) must be invited; their live-in romantic partners must be as well. However, if they are only dating, you need not invite their boyfriend or girlfriend. Should you decide to include some dates and not others, draw your cut-off line at a clearly identifiable place and communicate it to everyone who is not allowed to invite someone to accompany them.

Beware, many unmarried people find it tremendously upsetting to not be allowed to bring a date. Prepare them for the idea and pay careful attention to where the singletons sit during dinner.

As for your attendants — letting them bring an escort would be a considerate gesture. It’s not required, but they’ve done a lot for you.

Rules for Inviting Cousins

Though most etiquette advisors will say that inviting one of your first cousins means you should invite them all, this rule does not mean you must treat both sides of the aisle the same.

Elizabeth Howell of the Emily Post institute confirms: It’s best to treat each family according to the closeness (and the reality) of that family’s ties. Your family won’t be as aware of the family-tree breakdown on his side; but should they discover that his first cousins were included while yours were not, there’s a simple reply: “His family is much closer than ours is.”

Who to Invite from Work

“It all depends on the size and location of the wedding and the size of your department,” says Elise Mac Adam, author of “Something New: Wedding Etiquette for Rule Breakers, Traditionalists, and Everyone in Between” (Simon Spotlight Entertainment; 2008). If you’re throwing an intimate destination wedding, it’s unlikely that your boss would be insulted to be left off the guest list. But if you’re throwing a rather large affair and work at a small organization, it’s polite — not to mention smart politics — to invite the head honcho. “A courtesy invitation can’t hurt,” explains Mac Adam. “And your boss will be happy to have been thought of.” Finally, don’t worry that it will be seen as a ploy to score a present; most managers, regardless of whether they’ve been invited, give wedding gifts to their employees who marry.

You Don’t Want Children at the Wedding

Let your invitation do the talking, says Anna Post, author of “Emily Post’s Wedding Parties” (Collins; 2007). Let’s say you’ve chosen not to include kids younger than 5, and your friends have an 11-year-old and a 4-year-old. You’d write the friends’ names and the older child’s name on the inner envelope, indicating that the youngest isn’t invited. If you’re worried guests won’t get the message, call beforehand. Says Post, “You can say, ‘We just sent the invitations and we’re excited to have you join us, but we’ve decided not to include young children. I wanted to give you advance notice so you have time to find a sitter. I hope you can make it!’ ” Don’t grant any exceptions; that would be rude to guests who’ve abided by your wishes.

To Invite Teenagers or Not

It’s very common nowadays for brides and grooms not to invite children. Increased competition for wedding venues has pushed prices for sit-down dinners way up. But what about teenagers? There’s no clear guideline from etiquette — you could use the “old enough to receive their own invitation” rule (which is 18, per Crane’s, and 16 per other sources; but we’ve also seen 12 given as that age). If you set the cut-off at 18, however, you may really hurt the feelings of any younger teens. Teenagers especially hate being treated like children, so they may resent it even more.

Do You Have to Invite Them if They Invited You

Etiquette’s rule of reciprocal entertaining is pretty strong. If your friends’ wedding was recent, and you are still close — and if your wedding is on a similar scale as theirs, or is larger — they should already be on your guest list. But if your friendship has faded some since their nuptials, or if your wedding is of a smaller size, it is completely appropriate to leave them off your guest list.

Exercise some caution if you have mutual friends who are invited; alert those people to the restriction in your guest list, so that they won’t gush on and on about your wedding in front of those not invited, and create an awkward moment for everyone.

You Have Relatives Who Are Known for Misbehaving

Well, it wouldn’t be a wedding without at least one loose cannon — the uncle who drinks too much, the overemotional mother, the cousin who needs to be the center of attention. You can’t control other people’s behavior, but if you’re worried, enlist a trusted friend to keep an eye on the troublemaker and nip any developing scenes with a well-timed, “How about a dance?” Then, focus instead on celebrating your new union.

You Received a Present from Someone You Weren’t Going to Invite

Do you need to invite them? The short answer is no. Simply think of this gift as a message to you and your groom that you are important to this person.

If you’re worried that she’s expecting an invitation, review the situation with whoever is closer to them (if it’s a friend of your mother’s, ask her). She will know what sort of information has gone out to her friends about the guest list — in fact, that information has likely come from her — so she’ll be your best guide to what her friends’ reaction is likely to be. She’ll also tell you if inviting her friend will open a can of worms (for example, will your mother then have to invite her entire yoga class?).

If you do decided to add this person to the list, make sure her invitation goes out right away if they’ve already been mailed.

You Won’t Be Serving Alcohol

Even though your choice of what to serve really doesn’t require an explanation, it’s not a bad idea to give your guests a heads up about alcohol, says Post. The best way is by word of mouth, she says; ask your family and your wedding party to pass along the information as they would any other details about the wedding and reception. You could also casually mention it to guests with a simple “By the way, there won’t be any alcohol served at the reception.”

If your guest list is large or you prefer to let people know in writing, add a discrete note on the reception page of your wedding website: “Please know that alcohol will not be served.” The same wording could also unobtrusively appear on any insert you include with your reception invitation, such as directions to the venue or other logistics, but Post says this should be a last resort. Never include it on the wedding invitation itself.

Organizing Escort Cards for Guests with Different Last Names

The easiest solution is to provide a card for each guest. That would certainly eliminate any difficult decisions. However, this would mean you’d need almost twice the display space, which could pose a problem if your list is large.

A more space-saving option: use a single seating card for each twosome and follow the format you used when addressing your invitations. If the couple live together or are married, put the woman’s name before the man’s (and be sure to alphabetize by her last name). If an established couple does not share an address, however, each should get an individual card, just as they received their own invitation. If you sent an invitation with an “and Guest” notation, simply ask for the name of the person your friend is inviting before the wedding and make sure the date gets a separate seating card.

Assigning Seats and Tables

Open seating may seem as if it would be fun and spontaneous, but guests shouldn’t have to feel like they’re the new kid in the school cafeteria. You don’t want them to be stranded, without somewhere welcoming to sit, or rushed into claiming territory.

That said, you needn’t micromanage — only the most formal receptions require place cards at each setting, says Joyce Westin Dunne, a Chicago wedding planner. Assigning only tables and letting guests choose their chairs is perfectly acceptable.

Should you decide to forgo table assignments, remember that your guests will take longer to seat themselves. And you’ll need to account for more settings than number of guests, since it’s inevitable that there will be incomplete tables (for example, six guests seated at a table of eight).

An Estrangement After the Save-the-Dates Have Been Sent

If you send a save-the-date to someone, but then you have a falling out, are you still obligated to invite them to the wedding? It’s a pretty big no-no to tell someone about a party and then not invite them. It’s right up there in the top etiquette violations. The question you need to ask yourself is “how serious is this falling out?” To not invite them would be a signal that you didn’t want them in your life at all anymore. To invite them after all would be an olive branch — a sign that you consider the estrangement to be temporary. So before you renege on the invitation decide which message you want to send?

You’re Having a Cocktail Only Reception

Regardless of how formally you are constructing your invitations, adding the word “cocktail” before “reception” is the most straightforward way to let your guests know that dinner will not be served. Traditional wording might read something like: “A cocktail reception will follow the ceremony” or, more casually, “and afterward for cocktails and hors d’oeuvres.”

The start time for your reception will also help clue in guests. “Set the event during cocktail hours — that can be 4 to 6 p.m. or 5 to 7 p.m. — and anticipate that it’s going to be a shorter reception than usual,” says Mac Adam. Whatever time you choose, wrap things up, including the cake cutting, no later than 8 p.m. so people will still have time for dinner.

The Centerpieces are Wrong

Unfortunately, this isn’t a rare occurrence, which is why it’s important that your contract have all the details in writing. Even better, have a picture taken of the final chosen design, suggests Karen Bussen, author of “Simple Stunning Wedding Etiquette” (Stewart, Tabori & Chang; 2008). “On the wedding day, if the issue can’t be corrected on-site, ask your photographer to be sure to document the centerpieces,” she says. “Then let it go, and enjoy the happiest day of your life!” You wouldn’t want an argument to cast a pall on the rest of the occasion. You can lodge your complaint and attempt to get a refund — once you’ve returned from your honeymoon and have your photo evidence in hand.

You’re Vegetarians, Your Family is Not

Whether you avoid animal products, alcohol, carbs, or anything else, “your wedding is not the time to try to convert people to your way of living,” says Mac Adam. The trick is to be true to your beliefs without making guests feel deprived. For example, rather than serving seitan, tofu, or other unfamiliar foods, consider a non-meat pasta. Or offer a choice of vegetarian and non-vegetarian entrees.

Mac Adam recalls one bride whose parents wanted to serve a kosher meal, although only a handful of guests required it. The bride hired a second, kosher caterer to prepare that food. “There is usually some sort of middle ground,” Mac Adam says.

FOR MORE INFO…www.marthastewart.com

Posted in Food

WRAP THE PERFECT GIFT

Once you master the basics, wrapping a package is really quite simple; the secret is in its neatly folded ends. Before you cut the paper, wrap it around the gift. The paper should be wide enough to overlap slightly when wrapped around the box; at the ends, the paper should be trimmed so that when folded over the sides of the box, it reaches a bit more than halfway down.

1. Place the box or gift upside down on the wrapping paper so the seam will end up on the bottom.

2. Bring the paper around the box, and pull taut; the two sides of the paper should overlap slightly. Fold under a bit of the edge of the top layer. Secure with a small piece of tape.

3. Fold in the sides, creasing around the box’s edges. Sharply crease the diagonal edges formed on the top and bottom flaps.

4. Fold down the top flap, creasing around the top edge; bring up the bottom flap, creasing around the bottom edge.

5. Fold under a small bit of the bottom flap. This will give the end a smooth line. Repeat on other end of package.

6. Seal ends with tape.

FIND MORE AT MARTHA STEWART the perfect package

Posted in Food

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