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The pot of gold at the end of this weekend's culinary rainbow was this gorgeous celebration. Guests gathered in the garden (avoiding the showers) and partied in the kitchen (always the heart of the best parties) and were warmed up with our delicious taster portions of bowl food, an unusual alternative to a buffet. We were delighted to be part of it. Happy birthday Gail.

Slowly braised Asian beef with hot and sour salad.

Courgette and rice filo pastries with green salad.

 Chicken Mughlai with buttered naan.

Chef at work.

Individual Eton Mess.

Baking with a toddler or two...

Today's #bakingwithatoddler was especially significant as it turned out to be A's baking debut and we were baking in memory of my Granny, E's (middle) namesake, on the date she passed away, three years ago. Rock buns were an obvious choice. 

E was excited and confident. A was determined to chat to her toys in her cot,  defying sleep and so I gave in, brought her through to the kitchen and she rocked her adorable apron for the first time. It was an everyday special moment and way more manageable than I imagined having two perched on chairs,  in the way that often with two little people, the thought of something can be worse than the reality.  E showed A what to do and what not to do (of course), they shared spoons and mixture and then E snuck away to smugly lick both her and A's spoon! A sweetly unaware of the pleasure she was missing. They were equally thrilled at washing their hands simultaneously in the big sink and it was a real joy to see. I'd like to think my Gran saw it too.

This recipe is straightforward, needs no complex ingredients or preparation and features sultanas which seem to be a winner with (my) toddlers. They also got to mix and mash the whole thing by hand which really occupied and intrigued them. The result, three happy girls and a batch of tasty, sort of uneven scones; perfectly imperfect.

A Late Summer Lunch

Last weekend was filled with nervous excitement for our return to catering for more than just our family and friends with a fabulous Christening party. 

One of the major things we have learned to date is not to make a menu or logistics unnecessarily complicated and to let premium quality ingredients and our personalitites shine through. With this in mind and working with like-minded parents (their beautiful daughter is just weeks older than our new addition) we offered a selection beautiful oak boards filled with delicious meat, fish and cheese all served up with jars of flavoursome hummous, pates, our classic chutneys, crunchy green salad and Herbies baguettes. For pudding, we made vast meringues and smashed them together with sweet Fife strawberries and cream individual Eton or "Martha's Mess" as we renamed it in honour of the little lady's special day.

 Rosemary hummus in the making.

 Ready to go.

 Strathdon blue mousse.

 Mackerel soon to be pated.

 Spiced and roasted root vegetables for the ultimate cous cous.

 

The Ultimate cous cous.

 Roasted vegetables.

 Prawn, feta cucumber and mint skewers.

 

Labels.

 Jars of Martha's Mess.

 

The boards taking shape.

 Blue skies and balloons.

Waiting for guests.

 For carnivores.

 For vegetarians.

 Sweetcorn pickle hiding behind a stack of roasted vegetables.

 Sun dried tomatoes, grissini, roasted veg, rosemary and Moroccan spiced hummus.

Hot smoked salmon with dill.

 Super smoked salmon pate and rye bread.

 Cold smoked salmon with fennel and smoked mackerel pate.

 Baguettes.