Here KC and her folks are enjoying our first night by the pool. Dinner included red wine, steaks and light Caesar salad. Oh, and rum. Something called a Dark and Stormy. Later, we discovered Pain Killers - basically a Pina Colada without the blender

Without the flash, things looked a little different.

But the view was nice. The lights in the background are the homes on the hill overlooking the bay.

As I mentioned, we’re throwing a Middle Eastern Vegan Dinner Party for some of our vegan and vegetarian friends. Since KC and I are going on vacation and they’re taking care of the house – we thought we’d return the favour.

As an appetizer we’re serving Kousa Mabshoura – Zucchini with Onions Garlic and Mint.

This recipe serves 6-8 (if you don’t have me eating with you).

BTW, to give credit where it’s due, we got the recipe out of this book.

You need

• 2 pounds zucchini, cut into large pieces
• 3 1/2 cups chicken stock (uh, hmmm)
• 2 onions, chopped
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons chopped mint leaves
• salt/pepper
• 1 lemon cut into wedges

Boil the zucchini in the stock for about 15 minutes, or until soft. Drain mash and chop them into a colander to get rid of excess liquid.

In a large frying pan fry the onions in 2 tablespoons of the oil until golden brown. Add the garlic and stir until it just begins to color. Add the zucchini, mint, salt, and pepper and coo, stirring and mixing well for about 5 minutes.

Stir in the remaining oil and serve hot or cold with lemon wedges.

Whew! Sounds good, but I’m going to have to check on that chicken stock thing. That just can’t be right.

Of course, there will be shots with Citron, but check it out – I’m using these freaking cool ice shot glasses. They don’t produce the flattest bases, and you’ve got to pour, toast, and drink fast, but they’re fun.

There’s always the lemon drop which requires

• granulated sugar
• 2 fl oz citrus vodka
• 1 tablespoon triple sec

Coat the rim with sugar. Chill the glass. Pour into a shaker 2/3 full of ice. Shake well (or stir). Strain.

Uh, not too “Middle Eastern”, as far as dinner party ideas go, but neither is this

Here’s what’s on the list so far -

• Middle Eastern Diced Salad
• Syrup Cake
• Curried Chickpeas
• Navy Bean and Roasted Garlic Dip
• Classic Casablancan Couscous
• Rice
• Honey Ice Cream ( for the Vegetarians)

And I’ve been signed up for a “lemon based cocktail.” Not sure what that is yet.

Actually picking up ideas at Amazon.

If you can’t escape local and sustainable ideas with our dinner parties, Greenling Organic Delivery delivers organic food in Austin, Texas.

I’ve hear that they’re expanding into Houston and San Antonio over the next year or two. Check out the video on their site.

Why not let the seasons determine your dinner party ideas?

But right now I’ll settle for one of these – White Trash Pot Luck!

And omg why not a little Frankie Goes To Hollywood

His site is phenomenal for a number of reasons – first of which is his crazy cool firepits.

The second is that your dinner party would go great with stuff like this. I know that ours would.

But I eat meat. In fact, I eat honey.

Kerryl just laid it on me that we’re throwing a shindig this Friday and guess what – dessert’s going to be the hardest thing to come up with.

Why?

Because Vegan’s don’t eat any animal products. Not even honey.

So I’m on it. I found these folks in Austin who seem to have a good idea for some vegan ideas.

We’ve found this book to be pretty good.

KC’s already found something, but we’ll keep these folks in mind.

All vegan, all vegetarian.

I love my vegan friends.

I hope they drink beer.

Perhaps they like pineapples.

It’s just a part of the process – ” The key here is to be practical. Don’t seat two people who notoriously get into vicious arguments next to each other just to fit a boy-girl, boy-girl seating arrangement.”

Do you want yours to go like this?

When you’re setting this up think about how you can create something that your guests will take with them. A video? But of course, be careful, be sure to get their authorization before you load it up to the net!