Something Out of Nothing

     Many years ago a friend stayed with me for a couple of weeks while I recuperated from some major surgery.  She walked the dog, fixed my meals, and ran my errands.  One night she whipped up dessert - vanilla yogurt with sliced, seedless white grapes.  It was simple and delightful.  The smooth, creamy yogurt had little pops of flavor.
     "How did you come up with that?" I asked.
     "I get it from my mother.  She was always able to turn nothing into something at a moment's notice.  If someone dropped by, she could pull odds and ends out of the refrigerator and turn them into something special," she answered.
     I've often thought about this experience.  So much about being "the hostess with the mostess" rests not in serving the fanciest or most expensive recipe, but in adding some creative details.  My forte will never be cooking, but I'm pretty quick with the ideas and quirky twists.  Here are some of the things I have done to make guests feel special while they snack on a bag of Pepperidge Farm cookies:
   
     Set a pretty (or an interesting) table.  Use a table cloth and some real cloth napkins.  There are dozens of ways to fold napkins.  Maybe you could personalize the napkin folding to fit the guest.  I recently folded napkins to look like jet planes for my brother-in-law, an Air Force retiree.

Here are a couple of great websites :
http://www.napkinfoldingguide.com/
                                       
http://www.marthastewart.com/276337/napkin-folding-ideas/@center/276958/holiday-entertaining

     Honor the guest's food preference.  If your best friend from college adopted veganism a few years back, get a can of vegetable broth and a bag of quinoa from Wegman's and keep it on stand-by in the pantry.  Here's an easy recipe:

     3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
     1.5 cups vegetable broth
     An assortment of vegetables.  This is a good combination: eggplant (sliced thin, peeled, and sprinkled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar), thinly sliced green and red pepper, sliced zucchini, chopped onion
     3-4 cloves garlic, depending on taste and the size of the cloves
     A small can of fancy diced tomatoes with herbs added

     Preheat the oven to 375.
     Prepare the quinoa - Rinse the quinoa three times with cold water.  Bring the broth and one garlic clove to a boil.  Add the quinoa and simmer for 15 minutes.
     Layer the quinoa and veggies in a casserole dish.  Pour the tomatoes over the top.  Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the veggies are soft.

     Put the dog away.  Not everyone loves Mardi the way I love Mardi.  Some people are allergic to dogs.  Unless your guest likes being covered in sloppy dog kisses, put the dog behind a gate.

     Display something the guest has given you.  One of my friends gave me some cupcake Christmas ornaments.  When she visited long after Christmas, I hung those ornaments from the dining room light fixture and served cupcakes.

     Here's the most important thing: Wear a smile.  It doesn't matter if you only have a glass of water to offer.  People come to see you because they like you.  You smile.  They smile. Everybody's smiling, and everybody is having a good time.