Our Veggie Kitchen

My wife turned 40 this weekend. We had a party and guests from all over converged on our home. Two of her friends were in charge of guests and decorations, I was in charge of food. It turned out to be an afternoon of good munchies, a long awaited meal, an amazing birthday cake and, of coarse, plenty of friends to share the day.

She asked for an Indian feast, so I was on the hook for a 20 person meal. I had spend the previous weekend making food for the freezer, then took Friday off from work to finish everything I could concievably prepare a head of time. In then end, I spent two hours out of the day getting everything hot and ready. I made:

• Zucchini Masala
• Potato Mustard Korma
• Temeph Kofta
• Cabbage Sabzi
• Saag
• Pakoras
• Tomato Chutney
• Mango Chutney
• Fresh Parathas
• Grammy Louise's Spaghetti (for the kids)

And here's the snack table, that included some ranch dressing, salsa, cheese sauce and loads of chips and veggies. The dunce cap in the back featured an autographed photo of my wife's favorite Bollywood Star, Shah Rukh Kahn.



This is the cake. Produced from Sweet Life, in Eugene. It was gigantic, vegan and amazingly delicious.



A balloon monster barfed in the living room:



And, the Pakoras. It's impossible to make enough pakoras for 20 people. I don't do much deep frying, so they are always a treat and, no matter how many I make, they're gone within minutes. I was in heaven, with tomato chutney spooned over the top.