A Botanical Garden Picnic
This Summer season, picnics are a stylish and fun way to entertain. We set up this botanical garden picnic to share with friends, keeping the house clean and enjoying being in nature.
What We Ate
Tomato ad Cheese Scrolls
1 onion diced, 2 cloves garlic finely chopped, 1 sweet potato, 1 stick celery, 1 carrot, 1 tin of tomatoes, Dash of balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp white sugar, Salt and Pepper.
Saute the onion and garlic, Add the sweet potato, carrot and celery diced. Allow it to sweat, stirring regularly. Add the tin tomatoes, tomato puree, and remaining ingredients. Simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the potato is soft. Mash with a potato masher and allow to cool.
Next, take a sheet of prepared puff pastry and lay it flat on a cold baking tray. Spread the sauce over the pastry going right to the edges, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and cheddar cheese and dried mixed herbs. Roll up from the short edge. You will now have a long sausage.
Cut it into 1- 2cm thick scrolls and lay each flat on the baking parchment. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 20 minutes, until the pastry is cooked and golden.
Smoked salmon, dill and cream cheese sandwiches on rye bread, cut into triangles.
Fruity Vegetable Couscous - for full recipe see here Entertaining Ideas for June - Fruity Couscous
Cheese and crackers, grapes and bread
Chocolate Dipped Strawberries
Gooey Double Chocolate Brownie
112g dark chocolate, 112g butter, 2 eggs, 135g caster sugar, 70g plain flour, Sea salt.
Mel the chocolate and butter together in a saucepan. Meanwhile, whisk together the sugar, eggs and flour. Add the melted chocolate and butter mixture and stir well to combine. Sprinkle with sea salt. Pour into a tray lined with baking paper and cook in a preheated oven at 180 degrees C for about 20 - 25 minutes, until cracks appear at the top. Leave to cool in the tray and slice into squares.
For extra richness, you can add milk and white chocolate buttons to the mixture before baking - about 25g of each.
What We Drank
Rosé for the adults, and ginger ale and elderflower lemonade for the younger ones.
What I Wore
This dress is by Gerard Darel and is the most beautiful fabric and cut. It is the Jordan dress, cut just above the knee, and belted at the waist.
How we set the Scene
We threw a large white picnic rug onto the grass. The wicker picnic basket added a picnic touch and contained all the crockery, glassware and tableware. We used the green hued napkins and mixed-and- matched the cushions from the range too. In the trees we hung felt bunting. I never feel like a picnic is complete without music, so we played French café music through Spotify in the background.
What We Played
We have a set of heavy French boules and played Petanque (you can buy a similar set here). It is the most fun game that can be played on any sandy or grassy (must be flat) surface. It is very civilised with a glass of wine in one hand, a sun hat and a quick wit for all the laughs.
