Entertain without fear

A week never passes when we do not have folks over for a meal. We have been doing this for fifty years. I am amazed that so many people we know, old and young, rarely invite people to share a meal at home with them. They are scared! The food will not be great, the house will not be clean, somehow they will be found wanting. Not true.

First off, nothing can beat an invitation to a friend's home for a meal. This is the most intimate thing friends can do for each other. No one actually looks at the cleanliness of a home they are visiting (unless there is a severe hoarding issue). All you need to do is stash the pile of newspapers and have the bathroom sink mostly clean. Put out a roll of paper towels and you're good. Forget the dog hair on the couch.

Think low lighting. (You are not interrogating terrorists!) Turn off that ceiling light over the dining table. Light a candle. Set the table with your best feng shey. No matter if things match.

But the food? (you whine). O.K. Do something you know how to do, something easy. Take into account whether you are entertaining vegetarians or omnivores, or a mix. The thing is, the people you are entertaining for dinner really want to be here in your home to see YOU. They are not after the perfect gourmet latest thing. They would be perfectly satisfied with grilled cheese sandwiches and a cup of soup!

If you want to do more, think of a stew type of thing you can make ahead, add a salad and some bread and fresh fruit for dessert.

The worst mistake you can make is to have a dinner so complicated and requiring so much time that you are in the kitchen while your guests languish in the living room (with the dog hair!) wondering where you are. Believe me, your guests would rather have you there with them. Your guests would love to share some take-out from a Chinese restaurant - way better than waiting for the frantic hosts in the kitchen who are braising the perfect asparagus.

When you invite your guests, please don't make them wait interminably for the meal to begin. Tons of cheese and snacks before the dinner depresses the appetite and expands the waistline. If you have to attend to the last preparations of the dinner, have your guests be in the kitchen with you. And have a bunch of raw carrots and pepper slices on hand.

Have courage! Invite friends to a meal! Remember that this is not a job interview and you are not applying to college. Relax. Sharing a meal is the best!

Monday dinner for four

We cook for the love of friends and family. Grandpa Andy cooks and I am the great booster and the one who runs out to the garden for the vegetables. I am the washer of the greens and the after dinner kitchen cleaner - and who could mind this chore, considering?

For family tonight we had baked salmon, brown rice, quick cooked kale, and a salad of yellow peppers, avocado and cucumbers in a vinagret dressing. For dessert tonight, though we normally don't have it, we had a lemon pudding with local strawberries.

The only thing about this meal that couldn't be done in a standing start in less than 45 minutes was the pudding. Andy had made it earlier in the afternoon.

To begin, we had four small salmon fillets, about 1 and1/3 pounds in all. He baked them in a 350 degree oven on an oiled cookie sheet for 15 minutes. Before he put the salmon on to bake he cooked the brown rice for 35 minutes or so, according to the directions on the package. While that was cooking, and before the fish had to go in, he chopped the cukes, orange peppers, scallions and avacado slices and dressed this with a dash of rice wine vinegar, a splash of olive oil, minced garlic, salt and pepper and let this salad meld. Then he chopped the fresh kale and put it into a pan with a bit of water, popped the top on and put the fish into the oven. By the time we'd had half a glass of some great New Zealand wine (and I had knitted another three rows of the baby blanket I am making), it was time to light the candles and sit down to dinner.

With a dinner like this, talk flows. Then, we serve the lemon pudding and strawberries. This lemon pudding is a recipe we got from a dinner guest several weeks ago, who brought it! Once in a while you get a recipe from friends that is so amazing, it immediately goes into one's lexicon of great food. And so it is with Vivian's lemon pudding.( I will share this recipe with you when I get security clearance from Vivian.)

Our dinners are pretty easy to make, not time consuming, and rarely involve recipes. They are about good whole food, and good whole love too.

The first thing about great home cooking is the desire to cook for the ones you love. The next thing is to use wonderful fresh ingredients, and the best thing is to enjoy these meals with congenial people.

Food is life!