Treats for the Committee Meeting

I belong to several committees -- most of which are hosted in homes -- and so I take my turn.     I make sure the house is tidy, the floors vacuumed and the furniture dusted.      And even though our purpose is a meeting, having a little nibble is always appropriate.

And it is easy to set up for this committee -- a big pitcher of icy minted tea and some glasses for if anyone imbibes, they bring their own and all your provide is the glasses!!!!

My nibbles of choice:

Betsy's Roasted Corn and Black Bean Dip which I've had for a long time.    Betsy is a friend and poster on a food board -- actually the first internet board I ever found -- and this was a very very popular recipe -- so popular in fact that it has six pages of comments (all great) about the recipe!

And bruschetta with fresh Farmer's Market tomatoes, garlic and my garden basil.     Summer doesn't get any better than this!

And when we went to the city the day before, I brought home these:

From Tuesday Morning.    I have a sandwich plate (which the bruschetta is on) and a round plate as well.    All came from Tuesday Morning.     They're French, very expensive and they've been at Tuesday Morning for years!    For $20 cake plates don't sell all that well at Tuesday Morning!

They're blue and white which I adore . . . and in the middle are blackberries and . . . cherries and . . .

kiwi . . . . and

lemon!

On the back of each plate beside the $20 Tuesday Morning regular price sticker were sale stickers . . . after sale stickers . . . after sale stickers!!!!      And I paid $4 each for them.

But there is more to the story . . .

A couple of years ago Tuesday Morning had a 50% sale off clearance and when I was down in Joplin, I bought the big round plate and the sandwich plate.

At other Tuesday's I had seen both dinner plates and these cake plates.

And then I was at a Tuesday Morning who was still having the 50% off clearance sale items and they had eight of the cake plates.  (reduced at that time to $8)   I bought them . . . . but then in a moment of sanity (or insanity) decided that I didn't need them and so on the way to Texas for a cruise I took them back!!!!!


A decision I always regretted after I returned home.

But, alas, there were no more of the plates left -- I looked -- 50% clearance made them a good buy and they flew off the shelves.

But on the Monday before the committee meeting, we went to a Tuesday Morning (for at that time I was on a mission to find a tablecloth and napkins which I had seen on Nancy's Daily Dish blog HERE) -- in fact, that day we went to almost every Tuesday Morning (I have a patient husband when I'm on a mission!) and there on the clearance rack were those plates!!!

Of course, I snatched them up!!!    I have four blackberry, four cherry and one each of the lemon and kiwi.    Ten in all and if I ever see any more, I wouldn't mind getting a few extra.     I really like them for I do adore blue and white and they work so well with my transferware!!!

I'll share Betsy's recipe and my changes for instead of roasting the corn as her recipe instructs -- I found fire roasted corn at Trader Joe's -- opening a package is a lot easier than roasting corn!!!!

The dip was a huge success for three members left with the recipe.     And there was very little left when everyone was gone!

BETSY'S ROASTED CORN AND BLACK BEAN DIP

1 pound package frozen niblet corn, thawed

3 T. oil (olive or canola)

1 T. salt

3/4 t. cumin

6 T. fresh lime juice

5 T. oil

2 T. cider vinegar

1 cup chopped cilantro

1/2 c. chopped red onion

3 plum tomatoes

2 jalapeno peppers, chopped

1 red pepper chopped

2 t. minced garlic

2 (15 oz) cans black beans, drained and rinsed

2 large avocados, chopped

Preheat oven to 450.   Toss corn with 3 T. oil on baking sheet.    Bake for 18 - 22 minutes until golden brown, stirring frequently.

Combine salt, cumin, lime juice, oil and vinegar.     Shake well in a jar.

In a large bowl, combine rest of chopped ingredients.    Add beans and corn.    Add avocado and dressing last and toss gently.    Refrigerate up to six hours.    Serve same day you make it.

NOTE:   I used Trader Joe's Fire Roasted frozen corn and omitted the first step.    I also tossed my avocado in the dressing before I poured the dressing on the vegetables.

I made a half recipe which was plenty for that group -- in fact a half makes a lot!!!!

It's Foodie Friday and I'm joining Michael at Designs by Gollum.      Visit her and see what tasty treats there are for this Friday!