Thankfulness and hosting an Erntedank Dinner Party

Over the last years my love for the table has grown immensely. And when I talk about the table I don't mean tablescapes. I don't mean candles and cutlery and plates and serveware. Although they are important they are merely a framework for the shared community, the conversations, the encouragement, the life and the friendship which happens when people gather around a table.
If you have been a long time reader of this blog you know this and you might have seen the previous years of hosting my Erntedank Dinner Party (German Thanksgiving) here, here and here. This year was special though because for the first time I was actually able to comfortably seat everybody at one big table. When I set the table I just stood there and looked at it thinking to myself how very blessed I am with this table, this apartment, this life and mostly these friends. I put a lot of effort and work into this dinner party as for me it is saying thank you to my friends. In a world where studies show that less and less people care and spend less and less time with each other because everybody is getting more self absorbed. In a world where we are so concerned with Facebook Friends and Instagram likes gathering people around a table just for the sake of community is not only completely counter cultural it is also in my opinion a necessity. And as it says in John 13 we should love one another and people will see Jesus by seeing our love. So I am making it my duty to gather people, to do what Jesus did, to love one another and make a difference.

Recently I was thinking about friendship and the question for me was who do I want to be sitting at my table. For you it might be something else, but for me it was the people with who I can just be myself with. I don't spend a whole lot of time with each of them and yet I call them my closest friends because I can be myself. I know when we do spend time it is always precious and always fruitful and life giving and I still feel like we are ever going deeper in our friendship. So can I just say thank you? Thank you for being the people you are. Thank you for being yourself with me and allowing me to be me. Thank you for the many years of friendship and learning to accept each other as we are. Thank you for the ups and downs, the tears and laughter. It is in an honor for me to share life with you and make a difference in this world together.

Although the tablescapes, music and food are the framework to what is actually happening at the table they are still very important to me because when throwing a dinner party to bless people there should be a certain degree of excellence and effort.
So I do want to break it down for you and make it applicable to your situation if you are planning a dinner party There are 3 things which in my opinion are important for a successful dinner party:
1. Food
The food you make should kind of be the center of attention as the title dinner party already suggests. I will share my menu with you at the end of this post, but I don't believe you have to be a star cook to throw a great dinner party (I'm certainly not one). What is something you are really good at making? Is it spaghetti, is it a casserole? Make that and make it great. Serve it in your nicest bowls, make a simple salad with it and you're good to go. I personally believe in the importance of appetizers because it gives your guests something to eat and do while they all arrive and makes everybody feel a little bit more comfortable. Keep it simple by serving some roasted nuts in a bowl or set out some charcuterie.
2. Timing
I personally cannot stand last minute running around trying to fix things or getting ready in a hurry. I rather plan ahead and take my time, bust some dance moves in the kitchen, sit down in between, study the recipe again, etc... plus I'm a total planner and that might not be your personality. Yet I still urge you to make a timeline of things you want to finish and a timeline of your food. Believe me when I say you will be much more relaxed and able to actually sit at the table with your friends and that's the whole point, right?
3. Atmosphere
Ok, so this point is very important to me and includes, lighting, music, scent and decorations so basically all your other senses. I am a very strong believer that the way a room is set up changes the atmosphere which has a huge influence on how comfortable people will feel. Like with everything else it needn't be the prettiest flower or the most extravagant thing in the world. I hosted this dinner party for years in our tiny apartment with little room to host the guest and it was always cozy and nice. The key is lighting some candles, turning off some bright lights and putting on some music. This year for example I simply foraged some flowers from the fields I pass by everyday and added some eucalyptus.

Ultimately it is all about you gathering some friends. Let the food nourish the bodies and the conversations nourish the soul and spirit.

xoxo

Ramona

PS: I will be sharing a playlist with you soon with some great tunes for cooking.

Menu

Amuse:

Bacon Wrapped Dates with Blue Cheese
Amuse-Gueule de Roquefort
To pass:
Salad with apples, goat cheese and walnuts
Buttermilk honey bread served with sage butter and homemade butter
To share
Caramelized beetroot tarte tatin with Crème Fraiche
From field and garden:
Roast beef and red wine gravy with potatoes and haricot beans
Sweets:
Gingerbread sorghum cake and cream cheese mascarpone frosting
All natural red velvet cake with goat cheese thyme icing

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The Nature of Rest

Running, working, doing, producing, smiling, more make-up, more deadlines, more planning, less sleep, more coffee. That is how November felt like. Trapped in time, chased by time and with no means to stop it. I stood like a stoic warrior. Enduring, pushing through, not complaining, taking on everything put in my heads, steadfast. Not giving up, not giving in.
Still, in the midst of all of it I was inspired. I had ideas and I stayed creative and found moments of rest.

"Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in every way and [that your body] may keep well, even as [I know] your soul keeps well and prospers." (1 John 1:2, AMP) This verse has been with me over the last couple of weeks as time seemed short. It was a constant reminder that I need to rest in God, that my soul needs to prosper and rest in Him.

For me preparing a meal and gathering people around a table is breaking out of my time and space framework. It is in those moments that time stands still. It is then where I become creative with many ideas. The steady kneading of a dough of dinner rolls or the circular motion of preparing mashed potatoes which involve a multitude of cheese or the simple beauty of meringue. It is the process of waiting which slows me down. I cannot make it happen faster. Homemade food takes time and patience.
As the different fragrances mingle and fill my apartment I light candles and set the table. I gather my friends around a table and serve them with food. We eat. We drink. We laugh, we dream and and share life. We are thankful and full of hope.
As our bodies are nourished our souls and spirits are nourished. We gather and break bread. We practice community like Jesus did. 

That is how my annual German Thanksgiving was: A moment of real rest and nourishment of friends and food and breaking bread and having real fellowship.

The menu for the night was:

Amuse

Bacon Wrapped Dates with blue cheese
***

To warm up

Roasted Butternut Squash and Apple Soup
***

Something light
Green Salad with  apples, walnuts and goat cheese 
Goat cheese biscuits
***

Field - Roast Duck with Apples 
Garden - Purée Aligot

***

Sweet

Chocolate Meringue
"Autumn" 

xoxo

Ramona

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A thankful heart

Fall always means change for me. I mean it's natural. When you go to school or university it all starts new but even now in my work life. Fall always means things are picking up, at church, at work and we quickly slide into the Holiday season with parties happening all over the place (which I love).
The last couple of years Fall really brought either the knowledge of change or complete change in every area of my life. But this fall around is different. Yes, things have picked up more after a season of rest and all but I don't go through a drastic change myself. I have been over the last couple of months but I am finding myself at a beautiful rest and ease on the inside. The kind of rest I haven't felt in years. And with that there is new passion and strength and stamina. There are new dreams and ideas and inspiration.
So October has been such a month of thankfulness.  It all started with my Erntedankparty and continued far into October. I am just truly thankful for my life, for my family, my church, my friends, for this opportunity given to make a difference in this day and age.
I thought I'd just share a few pictures with you of what happened in October and what I'm thankful for. So here we go:

1. For sharing life and art and inspiration with this great friend 2. For friends around the table 3. leaves turning, bike rides and seeing nature bring out all their beautiful colors 3. for autumn hikes and nature  4. for making a difference, bringing up the next generation and doing that with friends

What are you thankful for?
xoxo

Ramona

The Art of gathering around a table

It has become a tradition that every year on a Saturday in October I invite some of my friends over for dinner and I don't just mean a potluck, casual kind of thing, but really I go all out with several courses and cook it all from scratch. All in the attempt to bless my friends, to show my gratitude and to just gather them around the table to share a meal.
This is not going to be a typical events post where I tell you about all the details of the planning process and decorations because to be honest it was quite simple: a few white candles, a forest themed (foxes and bears) invitation, a great mix of music and most of all good food!
If you know me well you know without a doubt that I did put a lot of effort into the planning aspect and I did. As a favor I made a mixtape "The Soundtrack of my Life - Herbst 2013 Edition" which I will show you on Thursday.
But let me say this: I believe there is a beauty and a power when friends gather around a table to share food and company.
There was one moment during the night where I just sat there in total bliss. I looked at each one of them and felt like the happiest person on this planet. So blessed with friends.
We are loud and we can go from the deepest of conversations to the funniest. I laughed so much that night.
There was no program, no games, no movies that night. It wasn't neccessary and I believe it is not always neccessary. All you need is a few people. food and conversation. Let the conversations roll out. Let people share their hearts, let emotions come through and hearts to be seen.
Every year I ask what everybody is thankful for and everybody just shares their heart. That was such a beautiful moment because we were all open and honest and got to see a bit of the other person.
It is these moments which energize me, which make me keep going. In these moments I feel extremely loved and cherished. These moments make all the effort worth it, make all the work and planning seem like nothing because you get to experience the beauty of people gathering around a shared table.

So I guess I just want to encourage you to invite your friends over. Create a cozy atmosphere where people feel comfortable and safe. Put some nice music on, light some candles, cook or ask them to bring something. Whatever it is, gather, talk, share your hearts, be real, honest, transparent and authentic. In other words, be you and let your friends see it.

Especially now as the season changes and it gets colder, don't hide in your house or apartment, but use it as a place for people to feel home. And especially during holiday season don't be too stressed out and busy to spend time with your friends. Make an effort and I promise you it will be worth it. Relationships are always worth investing into.

Anyways... if you have any question on how to go about this on where to start,what to cook, how to create such an atmosphere, leave me a comment and I'll try to answer your question.

xoxo

Ramona



* picture taken by my friend Melina

A German Thanksgiving in the Woods

In Germany we do not celebrate such a thing as Thanksgiving. At least nothing comparable to an American or Canadian Thanksgiving. What we do have though is Erntedank. It is always on a Sunday in the Fall and it's where the farmers say thanks and all the churches are decorated with grapes, pumpkins, bread etc.
For 3 years now I have done a somewhat German Thanksgiving where I invite my closest friends for a dinner. And whenever I cook for my friends or invite them I go all out. I want to bless them and give them the best time ever.
This year I figured the group of people might be too big for my rather small living room which is why I came up with another plan and rented a little hut up in the woods nearby. There is no electricity, no light, no water up there. Just a fireplace, an oven, some chairs and a table and it is beautiful and amazing and quiet and perfect for the occasion.

 

I tried to be really simplistic and natural with the decoration. In fact all I bought and brought in were creme-white candles in different sizes. I collected some branches from outside and wrote words like adventure, friendship, vision, dreams, etc. on them so everybody had a different word on their plate. With chalk Melina wrote the menu on the stone wall behind the oven. Everything looked so cozy and warm.

 We enjoyed a beautiful dinner with an apple-walnut Salad, Chicken on the grill, bread, butter, grapes and sage carrots. Every year for dessert I make some apple squares and we cooked Espresso over the fire.
There is little things more beautiful than sitting around a table with your best friends enjoying dinner. It is these moments which feel like vacation. Time disappears, your soul refreshes and life is full of joy. It is these moments where I well up with tears and thank God for amazing friends, for giving me this life and these talents and this season.

And as we sat around that table we talked about our lives and the things we are thankful for. I am extremely thankful to share my life with such amazing friends who I can call family. Friends who I know I can count on. Friends who are always there for me. The last year and a little more have not been easy when it comes to my friendships and things change, seasons change, lives change. And yet, to have it all back. To sit there, to share life with them, to just take it all in filled me with such gladness and joy that I was lost for words. I just soaked it all in. That very moment of friendship. That moment of knowing that our lives will always be intertwined, that our lives will always be shared no matter where we go or if we stay. These are my closest and best friends. And that is reason enough to be thankful.

xoxo

Ramona