A Spring Gardening Luncheon

"The Lord shall guide thee continually...and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not."  ~ Isaiah 58:11

The girls and I invited ladies from our church to come visit and have lunch with us today, and we decided on a gardening theme using as our focus the verse in Isaiah 58 about the Lord making us like a well-watered garden. We have a long table that seats eight, so with the five ladies who were able to attend and the three of us, it was perfect! Here's a picture of the table and an up-close picture below of the centerpieces we used.

The ceramic birdhouse with bees flying around it was a recent yard sale purchase. I included a "Bird Watcher" little plaque that usually hangs from my bakers' rack of plants in our nook window. The middle section of seven flower pots was a hastily-put-together display last night of clay pots from Michael's for 25 cents each. I filled them with petunias, salvia, and vinca and secured green polka-dot ribbon around each pot. They made a neat display, and each guest picked their favorite to take home with them.

The right section of the centerpiece was one of my Wolff pots I wrote about recently. Hannah filled it with shredded paper grass, and Sarah placed inside a hoe, trowel, and spade set purchased at a yard sale last year. Another plaque that said "Garden Tours" was on one side of the pot while a cute green frog (a gift from Elizabeth, my future daughter-in-law) was on the other.

Hannah also made place tags from a watering can die-cut and wrote the names in brush lettering up the spout. The colorful plates and cups were from Costco.

Whenever we have guests, we usually have a buffet set up on the kitchen counter. Today we decorated the end of the counter (shown to the right) with our highlighted verse sitting in a glass goblet filled with empty packets of flower seeds. Hannah picked fresh flowers from the yard (bachelors' buttons, yellow rose of Texas, and bleeding heart) and displayed them in a miniature mason jar. A whimsical little gardening bluebird holding a spade and a basket of tools (a gift from my sis) was also part of the counter decorations.

Everyone seemed to have a great time talking and getting to know each other better. Here's a picture of our group of ladies.

And the food was pretty good, too! :)  Our menu included: Almond Chicken Salad,* French bread, Orange Cream Fruit Medley,* Mint Tea, and for dessert Angel Food Cake with Lime Custard Sauce* and a scoop of Lime Sherbet topped with a kiwi. Are you hungry yet?  Recipes are listed on the continuation page.

We all had a fun, fun time! Tomorrow is good ol' Friday--I think I'm declaring it Relaxation Day!

~Deb

Almond Chicken Salad  (Recipe posted previously; see link.)

Orange Cream Fruit Medley

• 20 ounce can pineapple tidbits, drained
• 16 ounce can sliced peaches, drained and chopped
• 11 ounce can mandarin oranges, drained
• 2 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled and chopped
• 3 medium sliced bananas (add last before serving)
• 1 small package instant vanilla pudding
• 1 1/2 cup milk
• 1/3 cup frozen OJ concentrate (thawed slightly)
• 1/4 cup sour cream

Combine fruit. Combine pudding, milk, and orange juice. Beat 1 - 2 minutes. Beat in sour cream. Fold into fruit, cover and chill.

Angel Cakes' Lime Custard

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 TBSP cornstarch
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 3 TBSP lime juice
• 1 TBSP butter
• 1 drop green food color
• 2/3 cup plain yogurt

In small pan combine sugar and cornstarch. Stir in milk. Cook and stir mix over medium heat until thick and bubbly. Reduce heat. Cook and stir milk mixture for 2 minutes more.

In small mixing bowl, beat egg and yolk. Gradually stir 1/2 cup of hot milk mixture into beaten egg mixture. Return mixture to saucepan. Cook and stir until nearly bubbly. Do not boil. Cook and stir 2 minutes more. Remove from heat.

Stir in lime juice, butter, and food color. Cover surface of custard with plastic wrap. Cool completely. Fold custard into yogurt. Cover and chill 3 hours. Makes 8+ servings. Spoon onto angel food cake. Top with kiwi and lime sherbet.

(Sorry, all the kiwi was eaten by the time I was ready to take this picture tonight!)

188 calories, 4 fat, 2 fiber

Comments

[Bet]

Yummmmmmmmmmmmy! Food looks good, and the table is gorgeous. My favorite thing is Hannah's lettered verse. Great job, Hannah!

[Susan]

How fun! I love tea parties and luncheons :). I loved the pictures and the details of the luncheon. It sounds like a wonderful time.

[Susan]

Oh, it looks like so much fun! Thanks for sharing your luncheon with us (I really loved getting to see inside your house!). I think I'm going to try that fruit salad - looks delicious!

[Chris]

Beautiful! Just BEAUTIFUL!! Like always there is beauty flowing from the Girotti household! I could see little touches that said "Hannah did this" or "Sarah did that" :) The food sounds so delicious and I'll just have to try that lime pound cake idea. I'm sure each lady that came was blessed beyond measure. The theme and coordinating decorations were lovely. Thanks for sharing with all of us!!!

[Tammy]

This tops any luncheon set up that is shown in Ladies Home Journal.Nice job.

[lisa]

Everything looks so beautiful. I was trying to remember when the luncheon was. I was getting my coffee yesterday in one of my garden angel cups (I bought from goodwill) and thought of you. The ladies look like they're having a really good time. I'm definitely going to try that orange cream fruit medley. The ladies at Presbyterian Women always make salads like that and I just love them. Hey, did you notice that your wreath, too, has a birdhouse? :) Your home is beautiful!

[Dorothy]

Looks like a lovely afternoon! Thanks for the pictures...they are always fun to see. Enjoy your rest day today! Happy Mother's Day, Deb!

[Deb]

Thank you all for the sweet compliments!! I wish you each could come one day, and we'd do it all over again!! :)

Lisa, I had forgotten about that birdhouse in the wreath. I saw it when I clicked on the picture to see it up close! :)

[Sherrin]

It was lovely to see this! Thanks for posting it. I love to see others' hospitality ideas/experiences.