Yeah, I've heard the cooking of Scandanavia is pretty good. I did some investigating two years ago when I got invited to a scandanavian pot luck! I brought blue cheese spread on rye krisp, and potato-beet salad, yum! Those nectarines sound divine. My mom used to make us grilled peaches for dessert when I was a kid, sounds similar. I could even add a sprinkle of cardamom, which I love. Or make this recipe for cardamom cookies that I have and have never tried. Grilled nectarines in a little glass dish with a cardamom cookie on the side, sounds very elegant. I was toying with making the peach-raspberry pie that I love, but that seemed too rich. I love to make it though, I throw together a bag of frozen raspberries, a bag of frozen peaches, a glop of brown sugar, a dash of cinnamon, dot with butter and then use a pre-made crust. "Homeade pie" that always gets me raves at potlucks, all in about 10 min. to prepare. Those mushrooms sound awesome Lars, thanks! It will give me a chance to use up some of the basil I froze last summer.

I have been chicken to try some of the colors as well... I got really brave with Dinner Party. My daughter has painted with "Wenge" and "Terra Bella" and both are beautiful. Surprisingly they look very natural. I'm about to use AF-90 "Harmony" in a bathroom with Travertine tile. Will post picture when complete! I have painted with Aura as well in Ben Moore Revere Pewter, Boothbay Gray, November Rain, Lenox Tan, and Oregano and they have all turned out beautiful. All are "Matte" finishes. I sure wish others would post pictures with paint colors! I'm always trying to find pictures on line but can find very few. It really helps to see it in the room!

I'm still laughing! Well, the dinner party went just fine. Thanks to all of you, I was able to relax and enjoy it all. There was no talk about dieting or that he was on a diet. I couldn't wait to tell you about what happened with the food, though. You know what's coming, don't you? Of course you do. Before dinner, I really didn't pay attention to whether "Cuthbert" ate the blintzes or not or if he ate nuts (I decided against serving the salmon spread), and I did overhear him choosing vodka rocks (as lindac predicted). At dinner, I decided just to serve him the same peanut soup as everyone else. He ate it (admirably slowly), although I noticed when I cleared the bowls that he left the coconut/scallion garnish. He was seated at the other end of the table from me, so I don't know whether he took any vegetables. I put that chicken breast on the table near his end of the table, without any comment. Someone else asked about it, and I just said something like, "Oh, that's just if someone wants something plainer." I served that chicken/pastry/mushroom/artichoke/rice dish individually, and Cuthbert did take a piece. Not only did he eat every bite, he later asked if there was enough chicken left for him to have another helping. He finished that one, too. No dessert for him, not even the meringues. My only comment when I served dessert was in answer to "What are those?": "These are sugarless cinnamon meringues; they're an Atkins recipe." "Mrs. Cuthbert" ate those and no pie. She was seated right next to me, so I couldn't help but notice that, and also that she ate all the chicken dish EXCEPT the chicken. Maybe she has become a vegetarian? I did not ask or comment, of course. The dog and cat were delighted, though! So look at all I learned. I worried about entirely the wrong things. Mrs. C had said, "He finds the diet much easier if he just never deviates. But evidently, he was ready to take a night off. I only hope he didn't think *I* was trying to get him to stick to his diet or commenting on his weight! Thank you all again from the bottom of my heart. You were great. I really wasn't as spazzed out as I seemed -- but I still really, really appreciated your support, sympathy, and suggestions. Oh, and by the way, the youth group didn't end up congregating here anyway; their program was cancelled due to the weather, even though it wasn't bad enough to delay our guests. To thank you all, I want to share that peanut soup recipe with you. It is SO delicious, and really easy and fast -- and always gets "Wow, this is amazing!" from guests. I cut it out of the newspaper 2 years ago; it's by J.M. Hirsch, who writes a vegetarian cooking column. (He and his mom have a cookbook out; I've loved his recipes from the paper so much that I plan to buy it.) I hope you all enjoy it, too. I always double this recipe, which serves only about 4-5. Polynesian Peanut Soup 1/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut (I had shredded, so I used that) 1 T canola oil 1 c finely chopped onion 1/4 c finely chopped fresh ginger 4 garlic cloves, minced 1 14-oz. can light coconut milk 3/4 c vegetable stock 3/4 c smooth natural peanut butter 1/4 c mango chutney 1 T minced fresh jalapeno chili, or to taste salt to taste 1/4 c finely chopped green onions 2 T minced fresh cilantro [I omit this, as we are "tasters"] sesame oil, for garnish In a small dry skillet, toast the coconut over medium heat, stirring constantly, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes (took less for me). Transfer to a plate and cool. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat.* Add the onion, ginger, and garlic . Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion and ginger are very tender, about 10 minutes. Transfer the onion mixture to a blender or food processor. Add the coconut milk, vegetable stock, peanut butter, chutney, and jalapeno [I chopped the jalapeno in there first and then added the rest]. Puree until smooth (anticipate a little leakage if you're doubling the recipe!). If the peanut butter is too thick, it might be necessary to add more stock (I like it thick, though). Transfer the soup to the Dutch oven and cook over medium heat until heated through. Season with salt to taste. Meanwhile, toss the coconut with the green onions and cilantro, if using. To serve, drizzle each bowl with some sesame oil and top with a mound of the coconut mixture. *I found that the onions stuck too much, even though I stirred almost constantly, so I ended up using another pot after pureeing. Next time, I will use a nonstick pan first to toast the coconut, then use the same one to cook the onions, ginger, and garlic, and not use the soup pot (Dutch oven) until after pureeing. Still a total of 2 pans to wash.

Thank-you for posting this! I'm saving the recipe for the tail end of the holidays. :) After the hard part is over.