EDITOR’S NOTE: Paid content provided by West Village Market.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — I love variety. And I love options … within reason, West Village Market owner Rosanne Kiely said. One reason I own a relatively small natural food store is that I can’t handle the over-the-top number of choices in every aisle of a super-large grocery store. Overwhelm and confusion abound. I’d rather have a well-curated selection of quality options to choose from, in any and every category. It’s manageable! Particularly at this time of year, which comes with built-in demands and stressors, manageability is key!

Consider gift-giving. How do I begin to choose a gift for someone? I will say that, for me, gift-giving is not “what do you want for … (particular holiday)?” That’s no fun at all and steals half the intention away from gift-giving. When I thoughtfully choose a gift for someone, there’s a lovely heart exchange. I try to be careful though, not to pick something I like, but something they would like. Sometimes that can be difficult because I want to give something that I would love… but that isn’t necessarily going to make their heart sing. So when I see something that I think I’d like to give someone, first, I try to jump into their shoes, visualize their life, consider conversations we’ve had with various sentiments expressed; then decide- would they love this, or do I love this?

Now let’s take that thought into the food world. Going to a party; or perhaps having a party? Many people to consider, different likes and dislikes. The perfect solution?! Punch and 7-layer dip. Both extremely versatile and a multiplicity of flavors … rarely a complete turn-off to someone but often a celebrated offering! The melding of flavors tones down any particular ingredient that would ordinarily not be a go-to for someone, but rather, a unique flavor experience/explosion happens when all these flavors and textures mix it up together.

It’s kind of like our world! If we could just not focus on the cilantro in that dip and enjoy the full ensemble of flavors, we would enjoy the party a whole lot more

Here are a couple of recipes to PLAY with. Far be it from me to stick to them as written! I may have something I want to use because I think it will add a special quality. For instance, for our staff party, I made a 7-layer dip. I happened to have a partial bag of Rancho Gordo black beans in my pantry*. I soaked them for a few hours, rather spontaneously I might add, let them simmer along while I was doing other things, and they were the perfect addition, adding texture AND the deep rich flavor of really good black beans! For the cheese spread, I used Primal Kitchen Queso (we have it in the Market in both mild and spicy). I also added Rio Luna canned diced green chilis to my pico, which was ever so simple- tomatoes, onion, a little Spice Witch chili oil (omg … another not-to-be-missed item on our shelves – locally made by Samantha the witch . It has tremendous flavor, not just heat. I use it on all kinds of things!! But I digress …).

So, have fun playing with this Versatile 7-layer dip!

And then there’s punch! I offer this recipe simply as a springboard to your own creativity. Having made a punch every year for our party for 15 years, I have found that it’s hard to go wrong. One year though I didn’t do my diligence in terms of taking time to THINK about it and just grabbed this and that … it was a no-go. Kind of like how we were talking about gift-giving earlier. Random this and thats just don’t do the trick. You have to think about how the flavors may meld … consider what you’ve seen paired up together out there in the world, or, heaven forbid, just look at recipes! Ok, THEN mix it up! It’s so fun! So here you go …

Winter Party Punch (Spiked or not)

This recipe is NA, but add prosecco, red wine or chianti, rum or vodka if you like.

This is so easy that I threw it together after the party started … got some help from Kat on scooping out the pomegranate seeds! I grew up in New York, so what do I know about pomegranates? Nothing!

OK … Make sure all the ingredients are cold. Depending upon the size of your punch bowl, measurements will vary. So here are the ingredients with ratios rather than amounts. Feel free to adjust according to your taste or desired outcome! The more juice, the “heavier” or more hearty it will be. The more bubbly, the lighter it will be … and more attractive to kids.

Equal amounts of:

  • Cranberry juice – I started with a quart jar and used about ¾ because of the size of my punch bowl
  • Pomegranate juice-same
  • Orange juice – I used about 16 oz with the amounts of juice mentioned above
  • 8 oz of lime Nixie sparkling water
  • 8 oz of lemon Nixie sparkling water

Other ingredients:

  • Seed from 2 pomegranates!
  • A cup or so of fresh cranberries
  • 1 orange, wedged and seeded
  • A little addition of mine was Cadia (only to be found at West Village Market!) Italian blood orange soda and Cadia Italian Pomegranate soda! About ½ bottle each. I do believe this made it extra special.
  • Garnish with a couple of sprigs of fresh rosemary, if you have it (I had it, straight out of my garden! Truth be told, I forgot to put them on top?! But it was still beautiful! )

Taste it and adjust quantities as you’d like …a little more of this or that!

Have so much fun!!

*If you don’t know about Rancho Gordo PLEASE follow the link because they are awesome! You will find MANY fun & interesting food ideas there from this heirloom bean provider (I am a member of the cult…I guarantee you will succumb).