Easter Dinner

This year again I hosted Easter dinner at my house. Guests were my sister and her husband and two college-aged kids, my son and daughter-in-law, and my 7-month-old grandson, and my DiL's parents. As was the case last year it was a bit tricky trying to plan the menu. That's because I knew I would have leftovers, and I no longer want to serve any food or drink that I would not eat myself. My eating plan is not *that* restricted. I'm not a raw vegan or something totally out in left field. But I have a few "don'ts" - all of which are heavily infused into the Standard American Diet. My don'ts?

- No gluten grains, especially no wheat in any way, shape or form

- No sugars, or at least very very minimal sugars

- No highly-polyunsaturated vegetable oils

I also sing alto in the choir at the Glen Ridge Congregational Church so would be there most of the morning, so I needed food that I could prepare ahead of time, or that would be easily cooked between the time I got home and the time my guests were due to arrive at 1:30 PM.

This is finally the menu I came up with:

Easter Menu

Starters:

Brie cheese with sesame/flax crackers

Shrimp with garlic tahini sauce

Roasted peanuts

Main Course:

Orange-teriyaki chicken, with mushrooms

Garlic roasted pork loin

Asparagus with Hollandaise sauce

Artichoke-spinach casserole

Sweet potato casserole

Sliced tomatoes

Coconut blueberry muffins

Butter/salt/pepper

Beverages:

Iced tea/water/hot tea/decaf/coffee/wine

Dessert:

Rhubarb compote with whipped cream

Lemon meringue pie

Okay, I was not going to eat the tomatoes since they are a nightshade, but I had bought some vine-ripened tomatoes before deciding to try a nightshade-free diet, so figured I might was well use them up on my guests. The peanuts were a birthday gift from my other sister in North Carolina.

The biggest issue is dessert. I could have served just fresh berries with whipped cream. That was what I did last year. But when I was shopping at the supermarket I found fresh rhubarb in the produce department and I adore rhubarb! But it can't be eaten raw, and is way too sour without some sort of sweetening.

For sweeteners I used stevia and erythritol which, arguably, are at least as "natural" as table sugar (meaning not very, but I don't feel they are any worse, and they don't affect my blood sugars as table sugar does).

My sister brought the lemon meringue pie and I believe she used Splenda as the sweetener.

I had never made Hollandaise sauce before. It was easy and delicious! Essentially mayo made with melted butter rather than olive oil. I'll have to make it again. :-)

That was probably my last holiday in my house. I'm sad to be leaving it after 30 years, but with my job going to India, and May 31 being my last day at work, I need to find somewhere cheaper to live. The hardest part of the process is going through 30 years worth of clutter! I confess I'm a major pack rat and bookaholic.