Summer Lovin and it tastes so good...



I have been remiss on my Summer Sunday posts.
It is all that summer lovin...things slip by.....

We had guests for dinner last night.
The menu was easy and it tasted so good.

A summer's day
A summer's menu

It all starts with the apron.
It must be a summer apron :)



and then....

A little something to get started:
Sliced carrots and hummus (easy!)
Kalamata Olives and Picholine Olives (easy!)

Fire up the Grill:
 Lamb and Mint Skewers
Chicken and Garlic Skewers
Wild Boar Sausage
English Sausage
Chicken Sausage
BBQ Pork Ribs 
(a la the local Butcher)

 Salads:
Couscous and Chickpea Salad with Orange Balsamic Dressing 
(recipe below)
Tomato, Basil and Olive Salad 
(recipe below)
Grilled Asparagus, Yellow Pepper and Red Onion
(recipe below)

All made with beautiful, fresh vegetables...











Followed by
A Little Sweetness:
A choice of-
Lemon Tart
Treacle Tart
Cambridge Burnt Cream
(a la the local market)

with choice of:
Alphonso Mango Sorbet
White Chocolate Ice Cream
Assorted Berries




and the final touches...
a few flowers from the garden
and my favourite summertime candle







I had a surprise visitor too...
who decided to make a crash landing 
into our kitchen window



and then decided to stay awhile 
to check out the view



so beautiful.....



There you have it...
a summer menu
a summer day
a summer friend 

and a few recipes..
one from Australia
one from New Zealand
and one from me :)

Tomato, Basil and Olive Salad
Serves 4
4 thick slices bread (I used ciabatta)
olive oil
80g (2 1/2 oz) rocket (arugula) leaves
5 tomatoes, thickly sliced
5 bocconcini cheese, torn (I used Buffalo Mozzarella, yum!)
2 tablespoons finely chopped black olives or tapenade
2 tablespoons basil leaves
2 tablespoons olive oil, extra
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Preheat the oven to 200 C (390F). Roughly tear the bread and toss with some olive oil. Place on a baking tray lined with baking paper and cook for 10 minutes or until crisp and golden to make croutons. Place the rocket on serving plates and top with tomatoes, cheese, olives, basil and croutons.
Spoon over the combined olive oil and vinegar to serve. 

Couscous and Chickpea Salad with Orange Balsamic Dressing
Serves 2-3 large servings
1 cup couscous
1/4 cup currants (raisins)
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups boiling water
300 g can chickpeas
1 red pepper (capsicum)
2 spring onions (green onions)
1/2 cup Kalamata olives
2-3 tablespoons fresh mint
 Dressing:
1/4 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped

Measure the couscous, currants and salt into a large bowl. Add the bowling water, then cover and leave to stand for about 5 minutes. Open and rinse, then drain the chickpeas. Cut the pepper into cubes about the same size as the chickpeas. Thinly slice the spring onions. Fluff the soaked couscous with a fork, then add the chickpeas, diced pepper, spring onions, olives and most of the chopped mint to the bowl. Prepare the dressing by combining all the ingredients into a screw-top jar, then shaking to combine. Pour the dressing and toss salad to combine, then garnish with the remaining chopped mint.
Note: If you are not a purist, you can use pitted Kalamata olives. Pour about 3/4 dressing on first and taste. Add more if needed.

Grilled Asparagus, Yellow Capsicum and Red Onion
(a la Jeanne)

Select vegetables and quantity needed. Snip the bottom of the asparagus, cut capsicum into strips 
and slice the red onion. Pop into a large ziploc food bag.
Add sliced 2-3 pieces of sliced lemon and give a gentle squeeze with one.
Drizzle your favourite olive oil into the bag along with a little shake of sea salt.
Zip, shake, marinate for a bit and toss onto the grill or frying pan.
I serve at room temperature.
Good for leftovers with a bit of hummus too.

Bon Appetit 
and 
Best Wishes for a Wonderful Day!

Join in on more Summer Sundays 











images~ me

Comments

  1. Dear jeanne, Bon Appetit! I will certainly try some off your recipes. Enjoy your weekend and the festive meal, Sandra.

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  2. Looks scrumptious! I wish I could have been there. Just back from vacation and catching up. How are you? I've missed you!

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  3. Well now you are just teasing me!!! what time's dinner? I'll hop a plane!

    Love the dragonfly!! How fantastic to have him visit... he must have loved the menu also!!!

    Have a great weekend Jeanne.. xxx Julie

    PS thanks for all your lovely comments!!

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  4. What time is dinner?
    Yum those recipes look amazing.

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  5. This sounds more like a feast than a little dinner with friends! Lucky friends.

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  6. Oh Jeanne you have me craving for tomato and basil now. I am mightily sick of slow cooked winter meals...and longing for something light and summery, and the weather to go with it!

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  7. Mmmm. Sounds delish! Hope you are well and having a great summer. I've not only been remiss on Sundays but every day!

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  8. Yum, what a great menu. First BBQ of Summer I am putting those recipes to the test.

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  9. Thanks all for your comments! I admit we do have a tendency to go overboard. Mr. H has a sweet tooth and can never decide which one so he buys them all! He loves to do the food shopping and he loves meat so we cook it all up and work on left overs...we have it down to a science.

    Entertaining is a great way to get the house back into order. If only it would stay that way :)

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  10. Your menu looks amazing...especially tempted by the sweetness part :-)

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  11. I loved the colours in this post: Vibrant and infectious.

    The activities and recipes look quite engaging and wonderful.

    Hope you had a great time :)

    Joy always,
    Susan

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  12. The salads all sound so delicious, I don't know which one to try first. Pretty pictures, too!

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  13. Looks absolutely perfect Jeanne and thank you for the recipes too! Great photographs as ever. x

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  14. Sounds like a great dinner, beautiful photos!

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  15. What a wonderful menu! The food looks fantastic. I also love the photo of your visitor!
    Sherry

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  16. Lucky guests, sounds like a great dinner. One day we'll have to organise a bloggers dinner - we'd have so much to chat about over the meal!

    Sharon

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  17. Sharon...a blogger's dinner!
    How wonderful does that sound!

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  18. wow jeanne, what a stunning post! from the mouth watering images to all of these great recipes. man i cant wait for summer!!

    i've been taking carrot and hummus to work for lunch to try and remid me of how good summer is! jxx

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  19. wow! sounds like one amazing party! love all your photos! susan

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  20. Yummmm! Looks so fresh! My favorite of the summer are peaches,...so good! The other pics are great of summer as well, and the recipes will be fun to try...good post!!

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  21. Everything looks so pretty and the salads look delicious. I would love to get my hand on that mango sorbet...Christine

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  22. What a great menu!!! I've never heard of wild boar sausage, but I sure would like to try it. and the desserts sound so unusual. Your salads sound terrific. I love your mix of homemade and store bought. The perfect balance so the hostess gets to enjoy the party too.

    Thanks so much for being a part of Seasonal Sundays.

    - The Tablescaper

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  23. Yum Jeanne... makes me want to get on the next flight just to have dinner with you! Hope the little dragonfly was able to get outside (I'm a bit of a bug saver!) Happy Sunday to you!

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  24. Happy to report
    that the dragonfly
    was gently set free
    and when last seen
    was flitting it's way
    into the sunset :)

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  25. So many good things to savor. I needed the apron tonight. It would have been a perfect complement for the lobster we had.

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  26. Scrumptious! Just stumbled upon your blog - I adore summer! Your food and fruits pictures look invitingly toothsome.

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  27. Hi Jeanne! I am Jeanne too! I popped over from Mary's Blog...Home is Where the Boat is...you have a beautiful blog here!!! I love it! Have a fabulous Monday!!
    Jeanne of bichonpawz

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  28. Hay I not looked at your blog for a while now I really like it.

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Can I just say....that I so enjoy what YOU have to say. If you would like to write to me directly, I would love to hear from you... jeannecollageoflife@gmail.com

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