The House Dressing Company

On a warm summers eve there is no better way to savour the season than to dine outside in your own yard right on the grass!

Lingering at the table while enjoying a delicious meal with friends outside is, to me, one of the best ways to entertain.

However if you are faced with the dilemma of wanting to dine outside but don’t have the outdoor furniture don’t fret!  Take inventory of what you do have inside that you can set up outside.  As daunting as it may seem it was a piece of cake for the guys to lift the table outside and we all grabbed a chair and voila!  Set amongst the lush green and floral of the garden the furnishings look soooooo much richer than typical garden furniture.  (Tip: To be sure that you protect your pieces just place a weee square of plastic under the chair feet and beneath the table legs, secured with elastic).

I don’t know about you but what I get the most excited about when I am having guests for dinner is setting the table!  I could spend countless hours fussing over which table cloth or runner, which dishes and then arranging flowers til my hearts content!  Sometimes I even choose to set the table the night before (an indoor gathering of course) when my family is snug in bed so that I can play all by myself, creating just the right setting.

For this first setting I used tomato plants that I tucked into tin cans that make great take home gifts for your guests.  I also used fern fronds to accent each dinner place setting- the green is so fresh- I luv this!

In the 2nd setting, would you believe, that I created these lovely bouquets almost completely from botanicals that I found on the side of the road- I call it “roadsideeah”!  It seems my biggest hobby is scouring the roadside while driving (I have scissors in my car at all times:) for interesting flora and fauna and then turning it into a creative bouquet. This is especially more necessary for setting a table when you can’t find what you are looking for at the market or the florist!!  And the honest truth is that you end up being more creative when you have to be innovative with found floral!  The black berry bushes were blooming with the lovely soft pink blossoms, kinda fragile, but I had to have them! and the grasses were fab too!

In this 3rd setting the colours are soooo vivid!  Maxwell & Williams Mix & Max Dishes add to the  vivid summery pallet.

You can see here with all these shots that I really got to play a little outside and I created a few looks that were used for a segment on Shaw TV.  I will be able to share the footage when I receive a dub of the shoot that aired in June and you’ll see Karen Elgersma and I in action!  But it wasn’t just for TV or just for this blog- we really did dine and was it such a treat!  I prepared one of my favourite summer meals that incorporates the bounty of the season.  The recipe is below so you too can enjoy after salivating over my yummy photos!

I hope I’ve inspired you to enjoy some of your meals outdoors especially with all this fantastic summer weather.  I don’t know about you but all the shots of the veggies make me want to head straight for a summer market!  What’s your favourite summer market?  I’d love to hear since I’m a market fanatic and maybe there’s a good one that I’ve missed!

Roasted Vegetable Pesto Pasta

serves a crowd of 8-10 (along side a big green salad)

Get ready for a yummy meal!  I usually prep the raw veggies first, turn the BBQ on to heat up, then make the pesto and set aside.  Then I put the water on to boil with the salt for the pasta and start grilling the veggies, meanwhile popping the pasta in the pot for approx 15 mins after which the veggies should be near done.  If not toss the pesto with the pasta and let cool and finish off the veggies.  I have made this soooo many times to feed a crowd with rave reviews!

Pesto

1 cup of basil leaves
1/4 c pine nuts and or raw walnuts, or raw cashews
1/4c olive oil and bit for consistency
1 clove garlic crushed
pinch sea salt

Method-blend well in blender or food processor. (I sometimes double this and freeze half for a quick supper next time around)

Pasta

1 pkg brown rice penne noodles,
1 tsp sea salt

Method-boil pasta for approx 15 mins and toss with pesto to your desired consistency.

Veggies

veggies prepared- large bowl of a variety of fresh organic veggies chopped roughly – I use 4-5 sweet peppers, 2 onions, 3 sm zucchini, 4 carrots, 1-2 sm        eggplant, 1 bunch asparagus- what ever suits your fancy!

approx 3tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp sea salt
cherry tomatoes-optional (added at the end for just a few minutes)

Method-toss veggies with olive oil and sea salt then pour into bbq grill pan, grill veggies till they are slightly tender and a tad charred.

Finally-toss roasted veggies with the pesto pasta.  Season with sea salt to taste and serve with a big green salad.  This is yummy even at room temperature so can be made a wee bit a head of time.  Enjoy leftovers the next day- that is if there are any! (Tip: this is one of those meals you could make earlier in the day and then transport to the beach for dinner with simple greens tossed with a light dressing.)  Enjoy!