A Mid-Week Beach BBQ

Last week we went for an impromptu supper on Bantham beach.  We did very little apart from paddle, watch the sunset and eat, which was soo lovely in the middle of the week!

Black Pudding and Fresh Pea Salad

A satisfyingly filling salad, with delicious combinations of sweet, salty and sharp flavours; perfect to shove in a tupperware for lunch or a picnic, or to serve elegantly piled onto plates in the garden.

You will need: (quantities are flexible, this makes enough for two)

A large handful of new potatoes

1 large black pudding

1tsp mustard

2tsp mayonnaise or sour cream

1tbsp cider vinegar

1.5tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper

2 handfuls of freshly shelled peas

1 crisp sharp apple, cut into small chunks

8-10 mint leaves, finely chopped

3 or 4 large lettuce leaves, roughly chopped

Cut the potatoes into small cubes and boil in salted water.

Slice the black pudding and fry in a splash of oil.

Meanwhile, put the mustard, mayonnaise, vinegar, oil and salt and pepper in a bowl and mix well.

Add the peas, apple and mint.

When the potatoes are cooked, drain and rinse them in cold water.  Add the lettuce and potatoes to the bowl and mix well.

Pile onto a plate and top with the hot crispy black pudding....delicious!

MTV Crashes Plymouth!

I managed to get in on this at the last minute, as my friend's husband was busy with work and gave me his ticket!

There were just 20,000 tickets and they sold out super quick, so I was very lucky to have the opportunity to go to an amazing evening with live music from Keisza, The 1975, Example and The Kaiser Chiefs.

We arrived slightly late which meant we were able to skip quickly through the ticket bit and wander up towards the stage where the music was in full flow.

The sky did beautiful things.

The atmosphere was brilliant.

The music was amazing!

We bounced and sang and shouted our way through the evening;  an excellent way to spend a Tuesday night!

Berry Nice Ice Cream

This is so healthy you could eat it for breakfast!  Just the thing for a decadent start to a summer's day.

You will need:

Bananas

Frozen berries/chopped fruit

Yogurt or milk

Cut the bananas in half and then slice each in half lengthways (into about 3 slices).  Place these on a flat tray or plate and freeze for at least 8 hours. (You can then transfer them to a tub or freezer bag for longer term storage).

When you are ready to eat your ice cream, place 4 slices of banana and a handful of berries in a blender, add a splash of milk or a spoonful of yogurt and blend until smooth.  You might have to scrape down the sides a couple of times, but if it goes sort of crumbly and wont blend, just add more milk or yogurt until you have a smooth gelato-like consistency.

Eat as is, or top with toasted nuts, seeds or granola.

(For this one I used blueberries and blackberries.)

A strawberry version goes very well with crumbled meringues or some chopped dark chocolate. (Freeze the strawberries cut into quarters.)

This is an excellent pudding for those allergic to dairy as you can make it soya milk or yogurt, or coconut milk.

It is alarmingly good and you can eat it without guilt until the cows come home!

(Since writing this the weather has taken a definite turn for the worse...sorry!  Maybe it's also perfect to eat snuggled on the sofe wearing pyjamas and dreaming of summer?!)

Birthday Celebrations!

Yesterday was my birthday and I found myself suddenly and quite alarmingly an entire year older.

Luckily, I had my fabulous husband and an excellent party to distract me from it all!

After an afternoon in the kitchen on Saturday, Edward eventually managed to drag me away and took me out for supper and a delicious evening walk round Mount Edgcumbe.



It was beautifully calm and gorgeously coloured and just the thing for a romantic wander.



Next morning I had a delicious birthday breakfast and opened my very lovely gifts and cards before starting to get things ready for lunch.

First things first, I had decided last week that of course I needed a new dress to wear for my birthday, so I whipped this little flowery job one afternoon.





We squeezed several tables and nearly all our chairs into the dining room, topped with table cloths and every single piece of cutlery in the house.  I had hoped to be able to picnic in the garden, but the forecast had predicted rain for most of the afternoon and for once it was disappointingly correct, so just as well we stayed in!

As ever, we were all too busy stuffing our faces and talking and laughing and I completely forgot to photograph anything until most of it had disappeared, so you will have to imagine how delicious it all looked!

We started with an aperitif of breadsticks, Fava (a Greek dip made from yellow split peas) and little baguette toasts; some spread with tapenade and some with a fresh pea and broad bean pesto.

Then we all squeezed into the dining room, drinks were re-filled and we settled down to the more serious business of lunch.

We had roast chicken with asparagus, fennel and cherry tomatoes, caramelised onion quiche, courgette and feta baklava, apple and thyme sausage rolls, minty potato salad and beetroot and green salad.

We had to take a short breather before embarking on chocolate praline cake, tarte au citron and nectarine tart.

 

We rolled ourselves into the drawing room for coffee and digesting, absolutely stuffed and feeling suitably celebrated!

When everyone had gone home and we were feeling like we might be able to stand up again, we cycled up to Crownhill fort to burn off some of our indulgences.  Luckily the weather had perked up too and turned into a gorgeous golden evening.

Such a perfect weekend to set me up for all the adventures of my new year!