Gathering & Abundance
May Sovereign Table
Gathering & Abundance
Dear friends,
I have been thinking lately about how differently I understand abundance than I once did.
When I was younger, I probably associated abundance with more. More accomplishment. More beauty. More certainty. More arriving. More, More, More!
Gatherings have also changed the way I move through my ordinary days. They remind me to notice what is already here instead of always thinking about what is missing or what comes next.
Increasingly, I find myself paying attention to small things that once felt forgettable — opening the windows in the morning, preparing dinner instead of rushing through it, fresh flowers on the counter, calling a friend back instead of waiting for the “right time.”
Some days it is as simple as lighting a candle before dinner, sitting outside for a few quiet minutes at the end of the day, or thanking God for one good thing before falling asleep. Small practices, really. But they have a way of returning me to myself again.
Maybe abundance begins there. Enoughness.
I notice the same thing during these evenings. At first everyone arrives carrying the outside world with them a little. Then gradually the room changes. Wine is poured. Someone reaches for another slice of tart. Paint begins to spread across the paper. Conversation deepens without trying to.
By the time we begin watercolor, people are no longer thinking so much about whether they are doing it correctly, they play with movement of water and how quickly something comes alive once it is no longer forced, the feeling of content.
I have learned that gratitude grows through attention. Through noticing. Through pausing long enough to recognize that much of life is already happening around us while we are busy waiting for something bigger. I explain in my art classes that you will start to notice tiny things like the shadows you didn’t see before at first it becomes distracting, then it becomes part of your everyday abundant beauty, just generous and glorious.
xo
Kim
For this gathering, I wanted the meal to feel seasonal, unfussy, and generous in the quiet ways that matter most.
Heirloom tomatoes with burrata
Shaved fennel and apple salad
Simple lemon herb chicken
Lemon olive oil cake with berries to finish
Shaved fennel and apple salad
Shaved fennel and crisp apple make a strikingly beautiful pairing, their delicate anise and bright sweetness balanced by a simple lemon and olive oil dressing. Topped with shaved Parmesan. it's an effortlessly elegant salad that comes together in minutes.
Ingredients
- • 2 fennel bulbs, fronds reserved
- • 2 crisp apples (Honeycrisp or Granny Smith)
- • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- • 1 teaspoons honey
- • 0.5 teaspoons flaky sea salt
- • 0.3 teaspoons black pepper, freshly cracked
- • 2 ounces Parmesan Shaved
- STEPS
Instructions
- Make the dressing: Whisk together 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, and 1 teaspoons honey in a small bowl. Season with 0.5 teaspoons flaky sea salt and 0.3 teaspoons black pepper, freshly cracked. Taste and adjust as needed.
- Shave the fennel and apple: Using a mandoline or a sharp knife, shave 2 fennel bulbs, fronds reserved as thinly as possible, discarding the tough core. Core 2 crisp apples (Honeycrisp or Granny Smith) and slice equally thin. Place both in a large bowl and toss immediately with the dressing to prevent the apple from browning.
- Assemble and serve: Arrange the dressed fennel and apple on a platter or individual plates. Scatter 2 ounces Parmesan shaved over the top, Finish with an extra pinch of flaky salt and serve immediately.
- NOTES
- Use a mandoline for the thinnest, most elegant slices — it makes a real difference in texture. Granny Smith apples give a tarter result; Honeycrisp is sweeter and juicier. The salad is best eaten right away, as the apple will soften over time. For a heartier version, toss through some peppery arugula.
Simple Lemon Herbed Chicken
Bright lemon zest, fragrant garlic, and a generous handful of fresh herbs perfume every bite, while a hot oven does all the heavy lifting. It's the dish that fills your kitchen with the most incredible smell and lands on the table looking like you've been cooking all day — even though you barely have.
Ingredients
- 4 (5 ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
- 1 medium lemon, juiced, divided
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pinch dried oregano
- 2 sprigs fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Place chicken in a bowl; pour 1/2 of the lemon juice over chicken and season with salt and herbs.
- Place chicken on a baking sheet pour olive oil randomly over chicken- throw a few fresh herbs and lemon slices scattered about the pan. Cook until inner temperature reaches 165 degrees- Immediately remove from oven and cover with foil until ready to serve.
- Garnish chicken with parsley to serve.
- If your chicken breasts are very thick, slice horizontally through the middle to create two thinner cutlets so they cook evenly and quickly.vEditor's Note:
Lemon olive oil cake with berries to finish
Fragrant with fresh lemon and rich with good olive oil, this cake is tender, moist, and just the right kind of simple — topped with jewel-bright berries that make it look as stunning as it tastes.
Ingredients
- ½cup/105 grams extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing the pan
- 4 ounces/115 grams white chocolate, chopped or broken into small pieces
- 5 large eggs
- 1 cup/190 grams granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup/145 grams full-fat plain yogurt (not Greek; see Tip)
- Zest of 2 medium lemons, preferably organic
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from one of the zested lemons)
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup/100 grams almond flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Pinch ground nutmeg
- 1 cup/140 grams all-purpose flour
- Powdered sugar, for dusting (optional)/ or to make Icing
Instructions
- Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Lightly grease a 9-inch round metal cake pan with olive oil and line the bottom with a round of parchment paper.
- Add the white chocolate to a large, oven-safe mixing bowl (or metal stand-mixer bowl, if you’ll use a stand mixer), place it in the oven and set the oven to 325 degrees (the gradually warming oven will gently melt the chocolate). Check on the white chocolate every 1 to 2 minutes, prodding it with a whisk to determine whether it has melted; it should take 3 to 5 minutes in total. (Alternatively, microwave the white chocolate in a large microwave-safe bowl at 50 percent power, stirring at 15-second intervals, until melted. Heat the oven to 325 degrees for use in Step 6.)
- As soon as the chocolate is completely melted, remove it from the oven (the bowl will be hot!) and whisk it gently to make sure it’s perfectly smooth (If it’s not, let the residual heat of the melted chocolate melt any tiny solid bits, or briefly return the bowl to the oven to finish the job).
- Let the bowl cool until just warm. Add the olive oil to the white chocolate and whisk until well combined. (An electric hand mixer or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment will also work.) Add the eggs and mix well. Whisk in the sugar, yogurt, lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla until well combined. Add the almond flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg to the bowl. Give it a good whisking to make it very smooth.
- Finally, add the all-purpose flour and gently whisk just until the batter is evenly mixed with no lumps remaining. Use a flexible spatula to give it a final gentle mix, making sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl. Tap the bowl a few times on the countertop to eliminate large air bubbles.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan and tap the pan on the countertop to force out more air bubbles. Bake until golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean, 60 to 65 minutes.
- Let the pan cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then run a table knife around the edge of the cake pan to loosen the cake. Invert the cake onto a large plate, remove the pan and invert the bare cake back onto the cooling rack to cool at least 30 minutes more. When ready to serve, use a sieve to dust it lightly with powdered sugar, if you wish. Serve warm or at room temperature. When completely cooled, store the cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
- TIPIf you already have Greek yogurt, combine ½ cup (115 grams) of it with 2 tablespoons of water in place of the unstrained yogurt.