It was a pretty grey and cool start to the day today which was a bit of a shame as we were having Mum and her friend Lilian for lunch today and we had planned to eat outside. As the morning progressed the sun did burn off the cloud but it remained windy for most of the day.
We got the house tidied up and the table laid under the gazebo - remembering to make sure that Mum sat the opposite side to the vine as she got bitten on the ear last week and she reacts badly to bites. Everything was looking good and we were looking forward to our guests arrival. Mum wasn't going to the cemetery today as she didn't think it would be much fun for Lilian so we will go tomorrow and do the watering.
We were having a 'light' lunch today and even though I had done three courses I reckoned we could have a good break between each one. Our starter was a simple halloumi and orange salad with the addition of some balsamic vinegar pearls for a pop of flavour. I have one jar left - I haven't seen them over here. I remember the first time we ever had these - we were out for a meal with Mum and Dad at Gabors and Dad thought they might have been some oversized cavair type things. He was a great one for trying food so gave it a whirl and absolutely loved it.
Our main course was a marinated chicken dish with kumquats and sesame seed which I served with jeweled rice. This is not my photograph - if I had looked at it sooner I would have realised that we ate our main course before I realised that my beautifully toasted sesame seeds were still in the kitchen. Lilian had kindly given me a load of kumquats earlier in the year and I wanted to find a recipe where I could use them. It was very nice - and light. The chicken was marinaded overnight in soy sauce so it took on a nice colour and flavour.
Pud was a dairy-free mango fool which was made with mango, coconut milk and a little gelatine to stiffen it up and it was light and tart so a good end to the meal.
Lilian is great company and she is a good friend to Mum. She has kindly asked us to go to her place for lunch in a few weeks' time and that will be lovely although initially we settled to go on 19th July before I realised it was John and my wedding anniversary and he generally organises something a little romantic for us on that day!!! It will be our 29th and if he hasn't organised anything maybe this post will jog his memory!!!
The wind was whipping through where we sat and ate so in between courses we moved ourselves to the garden seating area at the back of the kitchen where we were sheltered. In fact as it was sheltered it got a bit too hot there at times - we were up to three brollies at one point and it highlighted the fact that we really do need to organise some sort of permanent shade for that area - it is on our list but isn't straightforward but then what job is?
All in all a very nice day together and the meal seemed to go down well so that is always good - I do like to cook and have empty plates!!!
Mum and Lilian got back safely and John and I had a quiet evening. Footie starts again on Wednesday and there are also games on Sunday so I suppose things will be different at the weekends from now on as we will be supporting the Mighty Blades!!!
We got the house tidied up and the table laid under the gazebo - remembering to make sure that Mum sat the opposite side to the vine as she got bitten on the ear last week and she reacts badly to bites. Everything was looking good and we were looking forward to our guests arrival. Mum wasn't going to the cemetery today as she didn't think it would be much fun for Lilian so we will go tomorrow and do the watering.
We were having a 'light' lunch today and even though I had done three courses I reckoned we could have a good break between each one. Our starter was a simple halloumi and orange salad with the addition of some balsamic vinegar pearls for a pop of flavour. I have one jar left - I haven't seen them over here. I remember the first time we ever had these - we were out for a meal with Mum and Dad at Gabors and Dad thought they might have been some oversized cavair type things. He was a great one for trying food so gave it a whirl and absolutely loved it.
Our main course was a marinated chicken dish with kumquats and sesame seed which I served with jeweled rice. This is not my photograph - if I had looked at it sooner I would have realised that we ate our main course before I realised that my beautifully toasted sesame seeds were still in the kitchen. Lilian had kindly given me a load of kumquats earlier in the year and I wanted to find a recipe where I could use them. It was very nice - and light. The chicken was marinaded overnight in soy sauce so it took on a nice colour and flavour.
Pud was a dairy-free mango fool which was made with mango, coconut milk and a little gelatine to stiffen it up and it was light and tart so a good end to the meal.Lilian is great company and she is a good friend to Mum. She has kindly asked us to go to her place for lunch in a few weeks' time and that will be lovely although initially we settled to go on 19th July before I realised it was John and my wedding anniversary and he generally organises something a little romantic for us on that day!!! It will be our 29th and if he hasn't organised anything maybe this post will jog his memory!!!
The wind was whipping through where we sat and ate so in between courses we moved ourselves to the garden seating area at the back of the kitchen where we were sheltered. In fact as it was sheltered it got a bit too hot there at times - we were up to three brollies at one point and it highlighted the fact that we really do need to organise some sort of permanent shade for that area - it is on our list but isn't straightforward but then what job is?
All in all a very nice day together and the meal seemed to go down well so that is always good - I do like to cook and have empty plates!!!
Mum and Lilian got back safely and John and I had a quiet evening. Footie starts again on Wednesday and there are also games on Sunday so I suppose things will be different at the weekends from now on as we will be supporting the Mighty Blades!!!
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