Week 26- P..p..pack up a picnic

Picnic time!

I confess, I do keep lots of plastic containers.
Not in a Channel 4-documentary-freaky-hoarder sort of way of course. More of an eco-friendly-frugal-recycling sort of way.

I keep everything from tiny little jam jars (great for vinaigrette in a lunch box) to big ice cream containers (for storing leftover salad, pasta, potatoes etc)- and all shapes and sizes in between.

And they really come into their own in the summer- especially a nice warm summer like this one- when everyone is going to go on at least one picnic.

My plastic container 'installation'

Packing up your picnic thoughtfully can make all the difference between a squishy, unappetizing, soggy mess and a portable feast fit for a king.

So today's menu is all about picnic foods-what's good and how to get them from A to B.

Strictly speaking, the best food shouldn't really require cutlery- sandwiches, sausage rolls, pasties, nibbles and crisps, samosas etc but it can also be fun to make a picnic more special by having plates, forks and glasses.

In my picnic basket today I have a spinach and bacon quiche with individual salad pots, a selection of sandwiches and a tart rhubarb and berry summer pudding.

Over the weeks and months, I've made a lot of quiches and featured them on the blog- chick pea quiche, tarte au camembert, chicken curry tart, aubergine tartlets, salmon and watercress, quiche lorraine etc. The principle is always the same - a nice crisp 20cm pastry case (bought or baked blind in advance), a choice of filling, 3 eggs beaten with a cup of milk and plenty of seasoning.

Chicken curry tart

Tarte au camembert

Aubergine tartlets

Quiche Lorraine

The filling for this picnic pie requires smoked bacon lardons, fried off and drained and a bag of spinach, washed and cooked for 2-3 minutes until wilted. Let the spinach cool and then squeeze it hard in clean hands until no more moisture can be extracted. Scatter the lardons over the pastry base, tear the spinach up and distribute it over the bacon. Pour on the egg and milk mixture, sprinkle on a little grated cheddar cheese and bake in a moderate oven 175 degrees for 20 minutes or so until risen and golden. (I like my quiches firm and golden - not wobbly and pale, but if you prefer yours that way, just cook at a slightly lower temperature and take out to rest when it is just set.)

Spinach and Bacon Quiche

To pack this up for a picnic, slice it into 1/8ths and layer in a plastic container with some baking paper between each layer.

For easy-eating salad, make individual pots with a fork tied on with string or a rubber band. I've used mustard glasses with lids which I hoard after French holidays.- but you could use any jar with a screw top lid. You can either put some dressing in the bottom of the glass before adding the salad or carry some separately for adding later in a little jar (hotel breakfast jam pots are excellent for this.)

Picnic salad jars

I like either a potato salad (leftover new potatoes mixed with plain yoghurt and chives) with mixed leaves

Potato salad

or a mixed tomato salad ( lots of unusual shapes and colours at my greengrocers- mix and match for an attractive effect.)

Mixed tomato salad

Everybody has their own tastes in sandwiches and spreads. I like dainty sandwiches for an afternoon tea but hearty ones for a main meal. Here are two of my favourites- roast beef with horseradish

Roast beef with horseradish sandwiches

and fish finger with tartare sauce. Pack them up in plastic containers but serve them on a plate with garnishes.

Fish finger sandwiches with tartare sauce

For pudding I have made a summer pudding in a pot.

Cut the crusts from 4 slices of white bread ( save these for croutons to have with soup) and line a pudding basin (one which has a lid for later) with three of them cut to fit. Stew some rhubarb and summer berries with a tablespoon of sugar (more if you have a sweet tooth) and 1/2 cup of water until the rhubarb is tender. Pour the mixture, including all the juice into the bread mould. Take the last slice of bread and push it down over the top to make a seal. Place a saucer over the top and a heavy can to weight it down. Leave to cool and set overnight in the fridge.

Summer Pudding in a Pot

Snap on the lid and take it to the picnic. You can then either serve it straight from the pot or turn it out on a plate. I like to serve it with mascapone- which comes in its own handy pot. Great for the picnic - and ready to be added to my plastic container collection afterwards!

Summer Pudding Revealed!

Wherever you are and wherever you're going, long may the picnic weather continue!

PS. I'm halfway through my blog challenge this week. Phew!

I hope you think it's worth carrying on.

Week 19- Afternoon Tea for Two

Afternoon tea for two

Around here, June is the month for garden parties, church flower festivals, weddings and village fetes. The bunting is out, the bands are playing and the flower arrangers,  jam makers and cake bakers are working flat out. What better time to think about sitting down to a civilized afternoon tea for two?

This week's blog looks at the traditional tiffin- three dainty courses, but served elegantly on the lawn or in the parlour.




A traditional afternoon tea has three elements: the savoury course (made up of dainty sandwiches and small savoury treats), the sweet course ( tiny cakes and meringues) and the cream tea (scones, with cream, and jam or fruit and a pot of tea.)

My version features smoked salmon sandwiches along with cucumber and dill squares and cakes aux olives for the savoury course. Followed by a trio of fairy cakes - a mini Victoria sponge, a butterfly cake and an iced fairy cake- along with meringues with fruit and cream. Plus of course the scones!

Sandwiches, cakes and meringues

The sandwiches should have the crusts removed and the bread cut into shapes (triangles and squares for example). The cucumber and dill filling is delightful- spread the bread with herby cream cheese into which you have mixed some chopped dill, then add layers of peeled and finely sliced cucumber.

Don't waste those crusts though- I cut mine into cubes and froze them in a container to use as croutons in salads and soups.

Future croutons!

The olive cakes have featured before on the blog- but it is my most popular recipe -so no apologies for featuring it again.

Ingredients- 160g of olives, 100g of self raising flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 3 eggs, 1 pot natural yoghurt or 100 ml of skimmed milk, 80 ml of olive oil and 100g of grated cheese.

Roughly chop the olives, beat the eggs into the milk and then combine all the ingredients in a large mixing jug. Pour into silicone muffin moulds and bake at 200 degrees for 15-20 minutes until firm and golden.

Cakes aux olives

For the fairy cakes- make up a plain cake batter using 125g of self raising flour, 125g of butter and 125g of caster sugar, 1 tsp of vanilla essence and 2 beaten eggs.Pour into paper cases and bake at 200 degrees for 15 minutes until lightly golden.

When cool, split some of the cakes in two and spread with jam and cream, sandwich back together and sprinkle with icing sugar ( to make mini Victoria sponges ), slice the tops off others, fill with cream and then replace the top cut into two 'wings' to make butterfly cakes. Ice the remainder with toppings of your choice- cream and fruit, icing and sprinkles, buttercream icing etc

The meringues are simplicity itself (if you buy shop meringue nests). Just top with creme fraiche and berries.

Scones are next. I always follow a recipe from my mum's old school cookery book circa 1946!

The ratio of ingredients should be 1/8 fat to flour, 1/8 sugar, 1/8 other ingredient eg. fruit

So for 250g of  flour and 2 tsp of baking powder, rub in 60-70g of margarine, add same quantity of fruit and sugar and mix to a stiff dough with approximately 100 ml of milk.
Turn out onto a floured board and shape into a round about 4cm thick.
Use cutters to shape your scones or cut into triangles (for savoury scones).
Place them on a greased baking tray, brush with milk and place in a hot oven (210 degrees) for 4 minutes and then reduce the heat to 190 degrees and cook for a further 10-15 minutes until golden.

Scones can be varied endlessly- why not try mixing in fresh fruit such as rhubarb :

Rhubarb scones

Or cheese, olives, pepper or spring onion for savoury scones:

Cheese scones

But what of the leftovers? Well, cucumber is very good cooked. I made a cucumber and scallion soup- which was tasty warm (but would do nicely chilled in shot glasses as part of a buffet). Just peel and slice the remaining cucumber,slice some spring onions and add them all to some vegetable stock. simmer for 20 minutes or so, then blitz with a little skimmed milk. Season to taste and decorate with chopped herbs.

Olive cakes freeze really well, and I often have one or two with a salad as part of my packed lunch.

So there you have it: afternoon tea for two and a few extra meals besides.

I will leave you with some images of the church
fete so you can conjure up the right ambiance!

A quintessentially British summer event! (With tea and cakes.)