By Sarah Zubiate
Founder and Farmer at ZUBI’s
Did I really say hosting? What about COVID? Yes, I said it!
I’m the kind of woman — cue my feisty, Latin blood, and personality — who loves to host family and friends. I truly get energized by planning parties whether it’s for my or my hubby’s business, a holiday event for family and friends, or even a “just because” party! I thoroughly enjoy being with the ones that I love.
Dreaming up a Party
Even with the nature of our “new, not-so normal,” I have given myself an arbitrary date around Halloween to host family and friends for an enjoyable night of cocktails and hors d’oeuvres at our Highland Park home.
While our home renovations aren’t complete, my backyard is quite lovely and spacious enough for social distancing. This beautiful outdoor space is my little piece of heaven; a place for meditation, a place to play with the kiddos, and a place to have family and friends gather together.
While my little get together may not come through, especially with life’s uncertainties outside my control, a gal can dream, right?
Food Brings People Together
Perhaps my passion for bringing people together stems from my maiden name Zubiate, meaning “to bridge together.” From my upbringing, I have strongly believed in the power of food, not only as a way to fuel our bodies but also as a way to bring people together. Even my company, ZUBI’S, revolves around this motto.
In fact, our mission is “ZUBI’S is for Everyone,” in that, we bring people, no matter their dietary lifestyle or preference, together through delicious, nutritious food (All of our dips and salsa are free from common allergens, toxins, and preservatives). When hosting friends and family, I always strive to provide wonderful food options that everyone can enjoy.
As my last blog mentioned, I am all about physically fueling my body, as well as my kids, hubby, and all those that I love and host. Amazing, flavorful food could truly be one of my “love languages.”
Whether it’s my company or feeding friends and family, I am passionate about providing healthy, delicious food — such as dairy-free options for my hubby and others who suffer from dairy allergies, or even alternatives for those like myself who have various food sensitivities. I truly believe food is a connector and I love bringing people together around scrumptious food!
Simple, Sweet, Seasonal
I like to keep things simple and sweet, all while having a focus on seasonal produce and a beautiful presentation. To prepare for all meals and lunches, whether for hosting or just for my family, I visit seasonal cornucopia to search and learn about the freshest, seasonal fruits, and vegetables available at local grocery stores.
In preparing the seasonal dishes for my Halloween Hors d’oeuvres get-together, I am so pumped about my cranberry persimmon fall recipe, utilizing harvested persimmons from our East Texas ranch’s farm. The persimmons have been my inspiration for a potential new twist on ZUBI’S salsa. Look at this beautiful persimmon tree on our property as a potential idea for you to plant:
Experimenting with fresh produce and ingredients gets me so excited! What else is on the menu? Well, I’m planning to serve fig-brushed, caramelized brussel sprouts, as well as a pie crust-wrapped squash finished off with my ZUBI’S plant-based queso. I seriously can’t wait to share this year’s farm harvest, along with the recipes and finished dishes, to all of our family and friends!
Holiday Decor is a Must!
Fabulous, seasonally-inspired food — check! Only thing left … the serving dishes to complete the presentation.
I absolutely love decorating for any holiday and my MacKenzie-Childs pumpkins always give our home the perfect Fall feel. These, paired with my long-awaited, casual Noble Plateware, will be the perfect accompaniment with the planned menu. Yet, due to our delay in home renovations and a lack of a primary point of inspiration, I have yet to order any serveware, so who knows what I find before the party date.
I have found myself gravitating to brass or copper-laced items, as they offer such versatile serving options that transition from kitchen to table comfortably and stylishly, something like Michael Aram’s Anemone Assortment may make our serveware complete. My wedding bouquet (created by Giselle Ruggeberg) was adorned with the beautiful anemone flower so it certainly seems entirely fitting for our happy home.
Oh the joys and details of delicious food, party planning, and decorating! It truly gives me life, especially in the times we are living in. We should all seek out and find the things that get us excited about life!
We all have one life to live, let’s live it!
