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August 10, 2005
Party Report
I wonder if the birthday/housewarming/fundraising party was the first social occasion ever in which calorie counts for all items served were written on little pieces of paper in front of the dishes. No doubt it's all been done before, but it sure was fun.
MR made a batch of brownies and a batch of megamuffins that he cut into fourths for nice cupcake sized pieces. I made:
gazpachzo -- 26 cals per half cup
kale stems and other cut veggies with artichoke hazelnut dip and salsas
black bean burritos on Trader Joe's low carb whole wheat tortillas, 50 calories each. Homemade guacamole on the side, first batch my recipe, second batch my friend Myrna Perez' homestyle recipe. Yum, and good fats!
cottage cheese
Seems like there was more but I can't think what. The buffet table was stacked, between the giant vat of gazpachzo, all the vegetable trays, and the two baskets of baby muffins and brownies. My mom also got tons of fruit, including whole pineapples and mangoes, that were enjoyed by all.
Everyone loved meeting Aubrey de Grey, who held court from a pink arm chair in the corner. MR drifted in and out of the kitchen in his apron. Lots of beer and wine were consumed, and we also served iced green tea.
Notable CR attendeed were Mary and her husband. They brought me some much needed red wine glasses and cute little wine charms. You can see some pictures of the party on Mary's blog. Also coming in from a great distance were Saul, who flew in from Rochester, NY, and Bob, who drove nine hours each way from North Carolina! Now that's dedication!
It was a fun mixture of science people, CR folks, life-extensionists, and my local friends. Kieffer the cat was a major attraction, as he sat sleeping and showing off his thumbs throughout most of the day.
By far, the favorite food (besides the megamuffins and brownies, which everyone was surprised they loved!) was the artichoke hazelnut dip. It's the world's easiest dip to make, so I'll write the recipe and you can try it today!
Take 2 cans of canned artichoke hearts, packed in water. In a food processor, blend them with a couple handfulls of hazelnuts (measure to get your right calorie amount... this is not a low cal recipe, but rather a way to get your good fats in a delicious package!). Add olive oil, 1 tablespoon, and the juice of one lemon, freshly squeezed. If needed, throw in a dash of half salt. Serve cold or at room temperature. Enjoy!
Things are finally getting back to "normal" after our hectic weekend. I was so exhausted after the party preparation that I fell asleep as soon as the last guest departed and didn't wake up till midnight! Meanwhile, MR did almost all the dishes! Our house is finally almost back in it's pre-party condition, and we've recycled all those beer and wine bottles. Who says that CR folks don't know how to have a good time?
Posted by april at August 10, 2005 7:23 AM