Food from Friends...

On Sunday...which was a beautiful day...my parents came for lunch. We normally all meet at their beautiful farm, so this was a rare occurrence! I decided to cook two recipes that friends had given me. I don't usually do this for some reason...I trawl through my hundreds of cookbooks until I find the perfect dish for the occasion. But I really wanted to use these ideas, as I knew that my Dad in particular would love them. He has a very dear aunt (now in her 90's but spry and active as a little bird) who is Portuguese...and he cherishes the memories of the meals she has cooked for him. So when my lovely friend Rosinda - who is also Portuguese - posted the recipe for Caldeirada (Fish Stew) on her beautiful blog With Love from the Kitchen XO I knew that it had to be cooked for him!

Rosinda has posted the full recipe...so I won't do that here. But it's a very simple yet delicious meal...layers of red pepper, onion, garlic, tomato, paprika...

potatoes...

white wine, fresh coriander, olive oil..

and finally fish (I used haddock as it was fresh and good from the market) Rosinda also adds seafood..and Dad would have loved that too, but unfortunately Mum doesn't really like it, so I stuck to the white fish. It looked absolutely delicious...and Dad posed for this quick picture before he couldn't resist tucking in!

I didn't know what to serve with it...I'd made some bread in the morning (warm spelt & white rolls) but wanted an interesting salad. And then a gorgeous one that my other darling friend, Susan Branch, had posted a few days ago on her blog (isn't the internet wonderful??) popped into my head. Her original was a White Bean Salad...but as I had some dried chickpeas that were nearing the end of their shelf life, I soaked and used them instead!

Red onion, sage, tiny cauliflower florets (blanched), garlic, flat parsley,...I added fragrant tomatoes too. It was the perfect side dish.

Gooseberry & Greengage Crumble with creme fraiche followed, before we all went into the garden to soak up the last of the sun and chat...a wonderful Sunday afternoon!

Also baked during the last week for The Coffee Tree...

Fresh Raspberry & Redcurrant Bars...

Yum!

Carrot Cake...this was on a chilly day, one when I wanted to give them something spiced and warming...

Bluberry Almond Cake...

I love the way blueberries burst when baked...spilling their beautiful purple juice into the cake...

This was originally a bundt cake...but the Coffee Tree customers seem to prefer a 'whole' slice! So it's Vanilla Cake with a maple walnut streusel filling baked through the middle and a maple glaze...mmmm
and finally, on Saturday morning, some 'healthy' muffins! there wasn't actually much sugar in these...the sweetness came from the earl grey tea-soaked prunes, which went beautifully with the rye flakes, the pumpkin seeds, the orange zest...

I kept one back...and I can report that it was perfect with a cup of steaming black coffee and the Saturday papers!
I hope your week has been good so far...I'm just home from the Farmer's Market again...time for a rest and a drink of something lovely!
xoxo