Every year for my Birthday, I come up with a different theme.
Some of the themes I've had are (click on the images to take you to the post/article) -
For this year, I decided to have a Fairy Garden themed party. I dressed up as a Sunshine fairy and coincidentally matched my yellow roses in my garden. My friend Diana pointed it out an snapped some of these pics!
Check out more photos we took from the party -
THE MENU
I finally had time to post recipes for this one! I always match the food and go according to theme. It's a fun way for me to incorporate everything to the party and make it a truly wonderful experience.
Check below for all the recipes for all the food I made for the party.
Mushroom and Cheese Quiche
Very easy to make and one of the best make-ahead meals. But I do prefer it served fresh from the oven because I love warm, melted cheese.
Mushroom filling:
1 tbsp butter or olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 onion, diced
2 chopped green onions
1 lbs mushrooms of your choice, chopped (I used mini bellas)
2 cups whipping cream
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs of thyme
garlic salt and/or chicken bouillon to taste
white pepper powder to taste
Egg mixture:
3 dozen eggs
2 cups of whipping cream
2 cups of cheese of your choice. I used mozzarella for the mushrooms and mild cheddar for the cheese
I used pansy flowers from my garden to garnish the cheese quiche
These made 4 dozen muffin sized quiches
For the mushroom quiche - saute the first 5 ingredients until the mushrooms are tender and slightly browned. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer in low heat. Cool mixture once all flavors are incorporated with the cream.
Basil Lemonade, with Lemon Balm and Mint
I call this one our official summer drink! It's the freshest, herbal tasting drink we've ever had. Definitely tastes like summer! I have been propagating more and more mint, basil and lemon balm in my garden just so we can have this drink all season long. So definitely save those stems and propagate them to make more plants to harvest from.
2 to 3 cups fresh basil
1/2 cup fresh mint
1/2 cup lemon balm
Juice of 4 to 6 lemons
4 to to cups boiling water
1 cup of honey or simple syrup/ any sweetener to taste
Harvest the herbs just when the morning dew has just evaporated, but before the sunlight hits it. Very theatrical, but definitely worth it. Separate the leaves from the stems. Set stems aside and put it in to a bottle with water to propagate and make more herbs in the future! Slice the leaves thinly and set aside. Peel some lemon rind and set aside, then cut the lemons and juice them into the container you're using. Once the water starts boiling, add your chopped herbs and lemon rinds. Let it steep until it cools off. While still a bit warm or at room temperature, strain the tea and mix in your honey or sweetener of choice. Then pour into the main container once cooled. Add some ice. I added home made lavender syrup to mine because I like extra sweet iced tea. Enjoy.
Crab Meat Fairy-Sized Rice Bowl
This one was the party favorite! and quite easy to make.
1 cup of sliced and shredded imitation crab meat
3 tbsp of Kewpie mayo (trust me, it tastes better!)
1/2 tsp of Dashi, or add to taste (substitute - soy sauce)
1/2 tsp of white pepper powder, or add to taste
4 cups of cooked white rice
3 tbsp of brown rice vinegar
Sprinkle of Furikake for garnish
Sliced Cucumbers
You can also add fish roe/eggs on top and some slices of avocado and tamago (egg)
Cook the white rice. Once done and still warm - drizzle the brown rice vinegar and mix the rice carefully. Make sure to pour the vinegar in batches to evenly season the rice.
In a large bowl, combine the mayo, white pepper, and dashi. Chop up the imitation crab meat and mix. Set aside in the fridge until it's time to assemble. Slice up cucumbers as thin as you can. You can also add thinly sliced avocado and sliced egg.
Once rice has cooled, scoop them into individual "cups" and flatten them up a bit to make sure they cover 3/4 of the container you're using. Place sliced cucumbers, avocado and egg, then top with the crab mixture. Sprinkle furikake and top with fish roe. Enjoy!
Check out this absolutely gorgeous and delicious cake created by my friend, Katy.
It is a 2 layered and flavored cake - red velvet on top of chocolate and chocolate ganache with pastry creme filling and chocolate icing. She also created custom cotton candy flavored meringue.
Absolutely amazing and well done, my friend!
The Decor
Who knew that a $10 roll of painters paper can make an organic and very natural looking table cloth. My husband bought me these wooden trays at Aldi and I picked these flowers from my garden - red roses, bells of Ireland and some amaranth and zinnia. I also found some gnome doors that was just absolutely perfect for the theme. I bought a false turf runner from Amazon, that turned out a lot shorter than I wanted and stuck some ceramic toadstool mushrooms as an added touch.
I wasn't able to invite everyone due to several individuals and myself being immunocompromised so I kept my party small this year. Here's hoping that next year, I can invite more folks and I can get more time to prep for the party.
I hope you enjoyed everything and the recipes! I really love throwing parties, decorating and cooking so please let me know if you tried these out and what you think.
Until next time! Say safe, everyone.
