December 16, 2007
Kathryn
One Door Closes and Another Opens
Last night there was a going away party for Dana. She is moving to Italy to follow her heart, learn new things and see where life takes her. She is our one member that kept one foot outside the group, like she was poised to flee, for a very long time.
"No, no... it's your group! I'm just a groupie. I'm no cook. I'm just so happy to join in."
In reality, Dana made sense from the moment we met. She was a cook... a darn good one. And she fit.
Dana makes friends at the drop of a hat, which was evident at her party... a pastiche of interesting, interested people from different areas of her life... nursing, cooking, body work, spiritual endeavors... And they all felt like friends. A tribute to Dana's way with people. She is our people whisperer.
The party was at her house, where we had our chocolate party last year. The house is built for celebrations, featuring a large open kitchen area with an island and room to move, that segues to a livingroom of comfy chairs, and an easy meander to the library where beverages are set up. The house is all windows and light... kind of like Dana.
Anyway, it was a food fest as one would expect. Min brought sushi. Donna and Tinamarie made fried tilapia and homemade cornbread. Lesu brought a pesto dip. Renee brought a homemade fresh fruit and alcohol mixer that was a brilliant, festive pink. I made chicken satay with peanut sauce and roasted coconut cashew nuts. Charles and Lisette made a rice salad with raisins. Dana made an ayurvedic chick pea casserole. Someone made caviar with an egg/scallion topper... There was so much food that it was hard to keep track of who brought what.
The cashews were pretty popular, so by popular demand, I am posting the recipe here. (I doubled the recipe, be warned.)
1 tablespoon peanut oil
2 tablespoons clear honey (I used acacia honey)
2 cups cashews
1 1/3 cups dried coconut flakes (unsweetened)
2 small fresh red chilies, seeded and finely chopped (if you cannot find fresh
red chilies, you can use dried though you may want to use more than two)
salt and ground black pepper to taste
Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan and stir in the honey. After a few
seconds, add the nuts and coconut and stir fry until both are golden brown.
(Be careful not to scorch.)
Add the chilies, with salt and pepper to taste. Toss all ingredients until well
mixed. Serve warm or cooled in paper cones or saucers. Listen to the ooohs
and aaahs.
Min helped make parchment cones so we could present the cashews in a finger friendly format. They looked quite nice, propped up in paper cups waiting for people to grab and go.
A little hint about working with chilies... you might consider wearing latex gloves to protect yourself from the peppers. I was tearing for hours from touching my face after chopping chilies.)
So... Dana will be leaving the US and beginning her grand adventure. We won't say goodbye, because we know we will see her again -- here and across the pond. But we will miss her presence in our everyday lives. Hopefully, we've made some new friends in her friends. And (ma certo) we will see her in Italy.
And at the very end, she did say that she felt a part of the group... her group.
Buon viaggo, cara... e buona fortuna.
