Tangy & Healthy



The pleasure of entertaining
Entertaining is having anyone other than your immediate family share food and drinks with you. The pleasure lies in the anticipation of sharing, and of actually having your friends around you and enjoying every moment of it. One should get great pleasure in the anticipation of entertaining right from the beginning planning, who to invite and what food and drinks to serve them. Entertaining is more of an art than just another job. It is a creative social pursuit bringing together friends and family which should bring a measure of joy and happiness to all, hosts and guests alike. Positive thinking will make everything easy and enjoyable. For new house-makers, I hope the following series of articles in which I will deal with the process of planning and organising parties will be of some use. And to my party-experienced readers, I hope you will enjoy the recipes and overlook my party advice.

Types of parties
There are many different reasons for entertaining, ranging from informal dinners, afternoon teas and lunches to very formal affairs. Some common family parties are birthdays, wedding anniversaries/other wedding related functions, Iftar and Eid parties.

Preparing for the party
To make your party most enjoyable and successful, sufficient preparation is required. Whatever the reason for the party, it is important for the host or hostess to be able to enjoy it as well. So plan ahead and make a list of what needs to be done to make your party successful. Preparation involves thinking about:

The reason for the party e.g. any special occasion.

The space where you will hold your party should be tidy and large enough to accommodate all your guests comfortably.

You should have enough chairs for your guests to sit on and space for them to move about.

You need to make a guest-list keeping track of the acceptances or regrets as they come in.

Planning the menu while keeping in mind the number of guests, and giving thought to the balance, health aspect, presentation etc.

Drinks.
Creating a party atmosphere.
Organisation on the day of the party.

Don't forget to tell your building's doorman/caretaker that you are expecting guests and ensure that adequate parking space is available.

As soon as you send out the invitations, chalk out the menu and prepare a shopping list of the food and drinks you will need and all the other items.

Keep a list of all the other important things you need to do, for example, check that fresh soap (use a dispenser) and hand towels are put in the bathrooms. Keep crossing out and adding as you go along.

To welcome guests, I am giving recipes of a most healthy thirst-quenching drink and a dip/finger food.

Fruit Punch
3 oz ginger (chopped)
Sugar substitute according to taste
1 cup lemon juice (fresh)
1 ½ cup orange juice (fresh)
1 cup water
2 cups club soda
Ice cubes as needed

Boil ginger in 1 cup of water in low heat for about 15 minutes. Strain and let it cool. Add lemon and orange juice and also sugar substitute, refrigerate until needed. Just before serving, add cold soda and ice cubes.

Waldorf Dip
1 red apple (roughly chopped)
A handful of coriander & mint leaves roughly chopped
¼ cup walnut pieces
½ lemon juice (use half a lemon)
White pepper, salt & nutmeg
1 cup low fat soft cheese

(If low fat cheese is not available, hang 1 ½ cup home made yoghurt made from fat free or low fat milk in a cloth for about 5 to 6 hours).

Place the chopped apple, coriander and mint in a blender with the walnuts, lemon juice and a good pinch of pepper and salt. Blend quickly so that the vegetables are not pureed but remain in very small pieces. The red apple peel should give a fleck of colour here and there.

Grate nutmeg to taste into the mixture.

With a wooden spoon, work the mixture into the cheese. If the consistency is too stiff for dipping, add a little apple juice. If it is too thin, add 1 to 2 tsp oats and leave for 30 minutes or more.

Serve with slices of carrot and cucumber, cut vertically to give a long 'plank' shape; sticks of celery that are the same size as the carrots; triangles of sweet red or green pepper; thin slices of apple dipped in lemon juice to prevent from browning.

You can also serve the dip with whole-wheat toast fingers, pita bread or chapattis cut into thin slices.

Calories- About 75 to 110 a serving
Suitable for diabetics
Low fibre
Very low salt (using homemade cheese and omitting salt)

J'aime la Kenzo Amour

It's a journey
a journey of love…
I slumber, nestled against your skin. I slumber, cradled in a swirl of travelling sensations,
lulled by smiles, rocked by life,
a journey of love…

The slow, sensuous journey of a couple in Asia,
punctuated by encounters, bursts of laughter and smiles,
soft sensations, pictures and perfumes brimming with life.

That is the poetic beauty with which Kenzo launched its new perfume Kenzo Amour. Inspired by the shapes and colours of India, Indonesia, Japan, Burma, Thailand and China, perfumer Daphne Bugey created this new fragrance which is an infusion of frangipani blossoms, from Bali or Borobudur, cherry blossoms from Japan, thanaka wood, used in Burma by women and children to decorate themselves, white tea from China, incense, vanilla, and rice.

Everything about Amour is reminiscent of what inspired its creation. The bottle is an abstract bird. The colours are rich and vibrant like the explosion of colours in Asia: white, orange and fuchsia. Three bottles in three colours: 30 ml in fuchsia, the 50 ml a soft white and the 100 ml in orange. Even the box is not overlooked where the radiantly vibrant Kenzo bird flies from side to side.

With such minute attention paid to detail, it is only natural that the launch of Kenzo Amour would be equally befitting. The company to launch it? Prestige Bengal. The location? Westin Hotel. Prestige Bengal made it a point to create a launch that echoed everything Kenzo Amour. From the décor, to the drinks, to dessert, everything was matched to Amour's three signature colours.

The perfume was officially made available to customers on August 01, 2007 at Etc. Dhanmondi, Etc. Uttara and Rainbow, Pink City. People who bought the perfume during the first week of its launch were also given gifts to accompany their purchase. The three bottles are priced at Taka 2900, Taka 4000 and Taka 5000 in the order of their sizes.

A beautiful range of bottles. A sense-assailing fragrance. In a place where people simply refuse to experiment with their fragrances, Prestige Bengal's uniquely innovative approach to launching Kenzo Amour will surely not go unnoticed.

By Tahiat-e-Mahboob
Photo: Sazzad Ibne Sayed