May 26th: Asparagus and goat cheese quiche

Recipe source/notes: none, really. I saw a "goat's cheese and courgette tart", which looked good, but I didn't want courgettes to be the main ingredient in something twice in a week and anyway, it's asparagus season, so we take advantage of it while it lasts, so I just pinched the idea of using goat's cheese, which worked brilliantly. Essentially, it's a pie crust, four eggs, about 300ml whipping cream, asparagus and some soft goat cheese. Not quite a low fat meal, but we had it with lots of salad, which makes it all better, right?

Claremont Landscape Gardens, Esher

A gorgeous, sunny day, on a weekend must needs mean a day out - or part of a day. We had to pop down to Garson's Farm in Esher anyway, because we needed some asparagus and the picking season is short, but as Claremont Gardens is across the road from Garson's  - almost literally - and as we are National Trust Members this year, so it's "free" (i.e. we have already paid!) we couldn't resist.

Azaleas were in bloom.

Moorhens were displaying their chicks.

Children were climbing trees (the other child isn't beyond tree-climbing, but she didn't come with us).

Views were viewed.

More azaleas were blooming.

Trees were standing tall and proud in the blazing (yes, I do still live in England - it's odd, I know) sunshine.

(Here's the opposing view to the previous one.)

And of course, the most onerous part of being a National Trust Member - all those teashops to be visited and cakes to be quality-controlled...

May 25th: Salad Selection

notes: There were three salads for tonight's dinner, plus the leftover potato and green bean salad from yesterday. The new ones were a butternut squash salad with soy balsamic dressing, a spicy cucumber salad and a Greek salad (essentially cucumber, tomato, feta, olives). The squash salad I've made before; it's incredibly yummy. The cucumber one is new, but tasty.  Also, you can see some homemade (bread machine) bread. A nice supper on a warm summerish day!

Recipe sources: both from Good Food.

May 24th: Stuffed Courgettes; New potato and green bean salad

Recipe sources:  The potato salad is from Good Food. Not sure about the courgettes

notes:  We've had the courgettes before; I always add capers.  I couldn't find yellow beans (not surprising perhaps, but seems to be a theme in my week, though they were two different kinds of yellow beans I couldn't find...) so I used green, and runner.  We really loved this salad; we'll be seeing it again this summer for sure.  Used green olives instead of black, as that's what I had.

May 23rd: Stir-fried Cauliflower with Ginger and Garlic

Recipe Source: The Great Vegetarian Cookbook, Rosamund Richardson

notes:  No yellow bean sauce in Waitrose this week, so did it with black bean sauce and some additional black beans, chopped up. Added some mushrooms I had which wanted using.  We've had this before in various combinations and always enjoy it.

May 22nd: Spinach and Nutmeg Soup

Recipe Source: New Covent Garden Soup Book

notes: nice. Tasted like spinach.  Forgot to take a photo in a bowl, as we were in a rush to go out to the theatre (An Inspector Calls) after swimming...

May 20th: Slow braised pork shoulder with cider, creme fraiche and mustard

Recipe source: Olive magazine

notes:  served with mash and freshly picked asparagus (yeah, new asparagus season!) - this was less saucy than we expected, but it tasted lovely. 

Baking day

Olivia and her friend Nina are hosting a session at Guides tomorrow night - they chose the theme Native Americans, and have a number of activities planned, including some food tasting. We can't get completely authentic, but pumpkin pie and cornbread will do, at least enough for guides!

May 18th: Italian bean and parsnip casserole

Recipe source: Good Food magazine, Christmas issue 2007

notes: this is a nice bean stew and we are always happy to eat it. The parsnips, however, are fantastic. Served with a green salad.