Angel Blogger here - I hope everyone is nicely gearing up for the weekend, Friday has a special energy no matter where you are in the world. My son Gareth & 9 friends arrived late last night, they are currently sunbathing around the pool deciding what to have for lunch, no decisions made so another cold beer seems to be the answer. My neighbour has an organic goat farm & makes the most amazing cheese. She has just arrived with a small selection of what she produces. Now we have some crusty bread, ripe tomatoes & fresh goats cheeses, that's lunch sorted. Enjoy the weekend.

Filo & feta tart

Angel Blogger here.

I made one of my favourite lunchtime dishes today. I find that Filo pastry is much easier to digest & not as heavy as shortcrust pastry. My clients love it, we have a corporate group this week from Danone, Evian & Badoit. They have travelled from all over the world to be here & I am so glad that they have found our little heaven on earth. So if you fancy a little heavenly tart try this one out.

Line a flan tin with greaseproof paper then take a sheet of filo pastry brush with olive oil & cayenne powder, repeat with another 3 sheets placing on a different angle. Then in a large bowl crack 4/5 eggs depends how big the tin is! whisk add a block of feta cheese crumbled, a handful of grated cheddar or any hard cheese, a handful of cooked frozen spinach (defrosted) a dollop of creme fraiche, a small handful of pine nuts or sunflower seed. salt & pepper, finally a glug of olive oil. Go back to the pastry & smear over some pesto pour over the egg mix - gentle roll over the overlapping edges of filo to make a pretty edge. Place in a very hot oven 220 degrees for 10 minutes, then reduce to 175 degrees for about 20 minutes. the tart should looked firm & cooked. Rest for a few minutes before serving. Tastes great cold too.

Angel Blogger here!

Been another really busy day, but as promised I am Blogging a recipe I prepared today. I made a Onion & Garlic Soup this is everyone's favourite Amuse bouche which we serve at the start of dinner. Its incredibly tasty for such a simple recipe & it has very few ingredients.

Serves 20 as a demi coffee cup portion:

75g butter

2 large onion sliced

5 (yes 5) garlic finely chopped

1 Litre stock Vegetable or Chicken

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Grating of nutmeg

2 Tbsp sherry

Melt butter in a medium saucepan, add onions & garlic, sauté till golden but not brown. Then add all the other ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce & simmer for 15 minutes. Cool & liquidise. Then either freeze (improves flavour) or pop in the fridge till ready. Reheat add a dash of cream if you wish. Serve in Amuse Bouche tureens or small coffee cups, add a crouton - use teaspoons to eat. This recipe of course can be doubled or trebled to make a proper soup bowl portion. I really recommend this soup. Bon appetite!

Angel Blogger here.

Very busy couple of days. My sister in law & her partner left on Wednesday & its been a mad scramble to get everything in place for our Corporate retreat. Danone & Evian are coming to brainstorm, they are travelling from all over the world, this is quite a feather in our cap & really looking forward to the challenge. I hope to have the time to show you some of the yummy dishes we are serving during their stay. No time to cook today my lovely hubby made a lovely Cheddar & tomato sandwich on wholemeal. I was so hungry I ate it before I thought to take a photo! Sorry!

Tomorrow I promise to have a lovely picture & a recipe. Sweet dreams to all my FB friends.

Yesterday we had an amazing day with some members of our family.

We started with a trip to Duras for Cafe cremes & pastries in Regine's. Then a wander through the market tasting lovely cheeses & sauccisons.

Then we drove to Chateau de Sanse for a beautiful 3 course lunch, regardez the pictures! A leisurely 3 hour lunch, love the civilised way the French take an age to eat their food.

So what to do after a lovely lunch. Ah some shopping, groans from the men but we women won. Off to St Emilion a beautiful medieval town, they say its the most famous wine region in the world. So a bit of wine tasting with our friend Benoit, he has this private wine tasting room & because we have known him for 5 years he always spoils us with his kindness & generosity.

My sister in law & I bought some beautiful jewellery ( Girls this really was a great day). After a steep walk to the top of the Town, then of course its all downhill. At the bottom is the lovely restaurant The Medieval, we had chilled beers in the late afternoon sunshine.

Then home to open a Double Magnum bottle of red wine on the front terrace watching the sunset. Just a great day, good food, good wine, good company, what else could we wish for?

Roast pepper salad

Enjoying a great weekend with some family from the UK. We have really enjoyed a chilax Sunday lots of catch up chatter, lovely nibbles, icy beers, buffet style dinner which we are slowly wadding our way through. The popular dish tonight is definitely my Italian grandmother's roast pepper dish. The flavours are so much more intense in summer when the peppers have been kissed by the sun. This dish ideally needs to be prepared in the morning & left to marinate for 5 - 6 hours. You need lots of lovely crusty bread to soak up the amazing juices. Enjoy.

Serves 6

4 medium peppers red & green, cut in half length wise, remove seeds. Place on a roasting tray sprinkle over some olive oil. Roast in a very hot oven for about 30 minutes till blistered & charred. Take out immediately & place in a big bowl & cling film immediately. After 20 minutes peel off the skin, cut in long slithers Add 2 chopped garlic cloves, salt pepper & olive oil. cover & chill till your ready. Love Angel Blogger x

Spaghetti Puttanesca

Angel Blogger here.

Tonight I have some friends coming over to take part in our first Reiki share. They were attuned to Reiki 1 just over a month ago, it will be lovely to see them all again & share their thoughts on how the first month has gone. Today was going to be busy so I decided to simplify what we would have to eat. I always look to make things tasty, if possible look nice, & when busy take as little time as possible to prepare. I love pasta dishes, my mother is from Italian extract & my life has revolved around Italian & Mediterranean food. When we moved to France it was a very easy progression to incorporate French food along with my Italian. The dish I decided to cook was Spaghetti Puttanesca, a family favourite. We were lucky enough to live in Italy for 9 months & travelling around the different regions was amazing. This pasta dish is supposed to be from Naples & translates as "Whore pasta or prostitute pasta", the reason being its quick & easy to prepare between clients!

In a medium size saucepan pour in a good glug of olive oil, add 2 chopped garlic a chopped chilli red or green, some fresh basil, cook for 5 minutes. Add 5-10 anchovy fillets, 12 black olives stoned, 2 teaspoons capers, watch the anchovies simply melt away & make the sauce lovely & salty but not fishy. Add 5 medium chopped tomatoes or a tin of tomatoes. 1 tablespoon tomato purée. Simmer for 40 minutes allowing the flavours to penetrate each other. Cook some thin pasta in salty water. When its ready drain reserving a ladle of the starchy water, add to the sauce to thin it a little. Grate over some fresh parmesan cheese & there you have a very tasty but quick meal. Its even nicer the next day.

Le Petit dejeuner

Breakfast in France is usually a small affair but as always tasty. The love affair with croissants, delicious puff pastry crescents rich in butter is a relatively new thing. It is thought to have originated in Egypt or Turkey. It’s portable & is delicious dipped in coffee. The choice is either a croissant, pain au raisin, or a pain au chocolate. Our local town Duras although small has 3 Boulangerie. Our favourite is the Pains des Ducs, we take our pastries to Regine’s at the Café Paix where we order Grande café crèmes I love the fact that you bring your own food into the cafes & quite openly eat them along of course with a hot or cold drink purchased from the establishment, all very civilized.

Croissants are very versatile & are equally tasty as a savoury brunch or light snack. Sliced & filled with a thin slice of smoked ham & cheese, or sun dried tomatoes with aubergine slices, or Artichoke slices which have been marinated in oil, along with garlic mushrooms, in fact anything your heart desires, be imaginative, sprinkle some cheese on top & pop into the oven or under the grill for a few moments, the filling melts a touch & the pastry puffs.

Asparagus & Avocado salad

We went to market today & I saw this amazing asparagus stall. This vegetable is so delicate & beautiful it deserves to be handled with care & eaten tout suite!

acts about Asparagus Asparagus is a nutrient-dense food which in high in Folic Acid and is a good source of potassium, fiber, vitamin B6, vitamins A and C, and thiamin. Asparagus has No Fat, contains No Cholesterol and is low in Sodium.

Ingredients:

1 large bunch of asparagus, thick ends removed, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 medium avocados, peeled, pitted, and diced
1 lemon, zested and juiced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
½ tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add asparagus and cook until bright green, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove, rinse under cold water, and drain.

2. Combine asparagus, avocados, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a large bowl; toss gently to coat.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together oil, parsley, coriander, mint, vinegars, sugar, salt, and pepper. Pour over asparagus mixture and toss gently to coat. Serve immediately or chill for 2 hours. OR simply pour over melted butter or olive oil, enjoy!