May Garden Party in the Diabetic Forum!

[Mia in Germany]

This May we decided to follow old traditions of my home country Germany and celebrate a May Party!

Celebrating Walpurgis Night, the night from April 30 to May 1st is an ancient European tradition. In Germany, this tradition is still alive. There are many May parties all over the country, in cities as well as in rural areas. Mostly the celebrations are called "Dance into May". Only in rural areas, such as in the Harz mountains or in the Black Forest, traditional May bonfires are lit, while maypoles are wrapped in cities as well as in small villages.



In my home region, the Black Forest, it's a tradition that in this night young folks play tricks on the people in the small villages, funny tricks like wrapping cars in toilet paper or stealing all the small wooden garden gates and piling them on the market place so that the next morning people have to go and get them back.
Lovers place maypoles on the roof of her maiden's house, and the maiden place roses or rice in the shape of a heart at the house of their beloved one, either sticking it to a window or placing it in front of the doormat.



One of the most important ingredients of a May party is the Maibowle (May wine). This is made with sweet woodruff which has to be collected before it's blossoming - otherwise it will contain too much cumarin, which causes unpleasant headaches! The woodruff is best collected the evening before the wine is made. For best flavour, it is left wilting overnight, and the next day one hangs the slightly wilted bunch into a punch bowl and adds chilled white wine - Mosel wine or Rhine wine. The cut ends of the bunch must not be covered with wine. After about 20 minutes, the bunch of sweet woodruff gets removed, and champaign is added. Very often the wine is made with fresh strawberries, too.



May Parties are not only celebrated on May 1st, though, but throughout the whole month of May. Besides the May wine, the most common party foods in May are foods containing strawberries, rhubarb and asparagus, and also lots of fresh herbs.
These are some of the dishes which can be found at a garden party in May:
May wine
Pasta salad with asparagus
smoked trout
potato salad
strawberry tart
deviled bread
deviled tomatoes
rhubarb iced tea
sweet woodruff jelly with strawberries
rhubarb mousse
For the dacoration, you'll often find Lily of the Valley, which in German is called May bell.


According to the fresh food available now, party food for a May party tends to be healthier than for other parties.
Come share with us your favourite garden party food with lots od asparagus, herbs, salad, strawberries, rhubarb, and diabetes friendly wine punch (originally, it's not sweetened!).
Or if you prefer iced tea or iced coffee, just grab one and join the fun!

[pammyowl]

Lovely pictures Mia, I'm in!

[Mia in Germany]

Yay
Welcome!

[pammyowl]

Asparagus Fried Rice

[pammyowl]

I haven't tried this yet, but I am sure it is excellent!

Couscous With Asparagus, Chervil + White Wine

[Mia in Germany]

pammyowl wrote:


Asparagus Fried Rice

This looks and sounds lovely!! I'm so looking forward to having asparagus. Right now it seems to be sold it's weight in gold - two pounds for 17 $

[Mia in Germany]

pammyowl wrote:
I haven't tried this yet, but I am sure it is excellent!

Couscous With Asparagus, Chervil + White Wine

Sounds good, too! Now I just have to find out what chervil is

[pammyowl]

It is just a version of parsley, I'd use that!

Wow! Now, that is way too much to pay for asparagus, utterly ridiculous. Here it is 1.99 a bunch. Not organic though

[Mia in Germany]

I looked it up, it's kerbel in German - I have it in the garden
There is asparagus for 2.99 Euro a bunch, too, but it's from Spain, and I know too much about what Spanish farmers do to the vegetables which they export
Organic asparagus is around 20 $ two pounds right now. It's because it was too cold in March and April, everything is behind.
At the opening event of the Praliné manufacture and café which we attended today I saw their menu for May, and there was "salad of wild herbs with asparagus and strawberries". I think I have to go back there next week and have that salad

[pammyowl]

When you do take pictures of that salad to share with us, it sounds interesting.

[PaulaG]

pammyowl wrote:
Lovely pictures Mia, I'm in!

I should say! I love this site because I learn from the customs and traditions of others.

[PaulaG]

pammyowl wrote:


Asparagus Fried Rice

I have asparagus and I have rice. That sounds very delicious. May just have to give that a try this week.

[pammyowl]

Oh, good! Another player


Hi PaulaG!

[PaulaG]

Howmare you doing? Dinner is in the oven and I'm relaxing for a bit.

[pammyowl]

Well, it is still snowing here, believe it or not! Yesterday a city near us got 16 inches but we didn't get anywhere near that much. Rain tomorrow. I am telling you 7 months now of winter, and I am sick of it!