16 Jun, 2011
I’ve been on the road. There’s nothing quite so exciting as a voyage is there? That’s how I feel – and especially so of travel to a place I’ve never seen before. So with much delight we set off to Greece, via Athens to the startlingly beautiful island of Kefalonia. I have long dreamt of visiting Greece, and with this trip we had a very special reason to make our journey: the wedding of our dear friend Hector (also our son’s godfather) and his beautiful Sonia. Despite pictures and books, you never truly know what a place will be like until you are actually there do you? The light, the mood, the breeze, the colours? And the food! For me this is very important – the markets, cafes and restaurants, food shops and supermarkets, the fruit growing on the trees. Like this lemon I just picked.
A lovely lunch of prawns and garlic, and a “village salad” of soft fresh cheese, herbs and olives.
I have never seen water so clear as this Ionian sea – and look at the colours. Perfect for a little swim before lunch.
The wildflowers are sprinkled alongside the roads and over the hills like fluttering jewels and the wild herbs fill the breeze with scent. The land is rich with olive trees. Beautiful olive trees.
A bounty of land and sea. And bread, honey and nuts.
So a wonderful few days of exploring and eating, drinks and chats in the town square cafes, the children climbing the big tree in the middle of the square, laughing, and learning a little Greek. What could be better? Well a big fabulous Greek wedding, of course!
This wedding was magnificent and so different from any I’ve been to before. The ceremony took place outside as the sun was going down, beside a beautiful family chapel. The guests all stood, walked around, chatted a bit, while the priests conducted the marriage ceremony. Some sang, we all pelted the couple and priests with rice. The children ran around and giggled, flinging handfuls of rose petals. Later the children helped to give out sugared almonds and little almond cakes. And then off we all went, to a glorious seaside taverna, to dance and feast and toast the happy couple.
Some sweets from Kefalonia. Such a beautiful place – I can’t wait to visit again one day.
Thanks for visiting. More very soon, with some recipes inspired by the sun!
in Almonds, Beach, Celebration, Greece, Kefalonia, Lemons, Olives, Wedding | Comments (25)
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11 Feb, 2011
Colour. Sometimes a flash of vibrant colour inspires a wonderful creative moment, a mood, a story. At least it does for me – how about you? Colour and light, both so influential. There’s no getting away from it, England in February is not bathed in either glorious warm light nor rich bright colour. And I love both. But there are compensations – it’s taken me a little time to appreciate it but I do now see a quiet beauty in the subdued mood of a dull grey day. And actually, this light intensifies the vibrancy of colours – which can be all washed out under a bright sunlit sky.
So after a walk through a lonely feeling landscape, I met a glorious heap of rich red rhubarb at the farm shop. It brightened my whole day, my whole week. What a revelation. I’ve always quite liked rhubarb – without much passion – but this week, as my little boy like to say, like has turned to love.
Returning with a lovely brimming basket of produce, I set about photographing and baking. Two pleasures! How to do justice to this lovely rhubarb? I settled upon a tart of crisp puff pastry, filled with aromatic sweet almond cream and topped with rhubarb and muscovado sugar. I could hardly photograph the finished tart, so eager I was to share it and enjoy eating it! If you have a chance, do try making this – I think you’ll be very pleased.
A most delicious Rhubarb and Almond Tart
Rhubarb and Muscavado Sugar Compote
5-6 stalks of rhubarb. I’ve used the gorgeous, bright red forced rhubarb that’s currently in season. Wash and chop into 1 inch bits.
a scant cup of light brown muscovado sugar (This depends a bit on how tart the rhubarb is and how sweet you like things. Add a bit, and add more to suit.)
In a heavy pan, warm the sugar with a spoon or so of water and allow to melt into a syrup. Add the rhubarb and simmer over medium heat until it softens. Don’t overdo it, let it keep a little shape. Set aside to cool while you prepare the rest of the tart. Or just eat – it’s lovely with ice cream or custard. ( I ate the first batch this way!)
Frangipane – Almond Cream
100g butter, 100g sugar (caster or fine), 100g ground almonds, 25g plain flour, 2 eggs,1 teaspoon of vanilla. (Or a few drops of almond essence if you like an extra almond boost.)
In a bowl, mix well together the butter, well softened, with the sugar and almonds. Stir in the flour and then mix in the eggs and vanilla.
Puff Pastry and a small handful of flaked almonds
500g of puff pastry. I use a good, all butter pastry from the shop.
Heat oven to 200 degrees centigrade. Line a baking sheet (about 24-30 cms) with baking paper. Roll the pastry out to fit the size of the baking pan. Lay the pastry in the pan and brush the edges with a little beaten egg, and roll over slightly to make a border all around. Spoon the frangipane (almond cream) all over the pastry base and smooth out to an even layer. Then gently spoon the rhubarb compote over. Leave a few spaces in between the spoonfuls as the frangipane puffs up and browns around it nicely. Sprinkle with some flaked almonds. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the pasty is lovely and golden. Wait a few minutes for it to cool before enjoying it.
Can you give a bunch of rhubarb for Valentines Day? I, for one, would be happy to receive such a gift.
Happy Valentine’s day all. Thanks for stopping by and please do drop me a line/comment if you wish.
Pascale
in Almonds, Baking, Colours, Pastry, Photography, Rhubarb, Tart | Comments (12)
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