It was the morning of Christmas, not a soul stirred in the house. Outside though, is a different story. Family of Guinea Fowl are noisily scavenging the yard for an assortment of farm fresh rusk crumbs, seeds, and live insects. And Ziggy. It is time for Ziggy to make his appearance for his early morning feed. That is not a quiet little mouse….
It has been a while since I shared some base case menus, and spending the holiday on the farm, represents the ideal opportunity to experiment with the menu. Or the venue.
Here is a sample of Al Fresco eating, from my pop-up restaurant dreams.
Breakfast
Breakfast in bed Kisses for me You don't have to say You love me Breakfast in bed Love can make you sing
UB40 sets the tone well.
But, perhaps a bit awkward with your dad, and fellow farmers. Therefore, breakfast on the dune.
Base case: Eggs. We had been increasing our egg stash with shop bought purchases, and farm friendly offerings, and had not made a dent in our stock with our baking prowess.
Base case +1: Its outside, of course it simply must be cowboy food. Add Baked Beans. But first start with our recent onion harvest, and some bacon. Once heated, carefully nestle fresh eggs discretely in carefully crafted wells. Voila!
And the ever-ready sour dough bread of course.
Simple, yet effective.
Dinner
Accompanied by the sounds of Andra, dinner was again outside. This was more a case of the labour of love. Like UB40, this is no song, but an entire album.
Our Christmas eve dinner venue was set up in the wrong place, being the centre of attention of the hot afternoon sun. But it was the perfect place for a beautiful sunset, tinged by a cool breeze as the day unwound.
Base case was pork steak. I chose to keep it simple and savoury and jazzed it up with smoked Paprika and Soya sauce. Supplemented with golden Jewel Sweet Potato (tossed with carraway seeds), carrots (coated in turmeric & cumin), finished off with baked apple (dusted with 5 spice). Accompanied with a herb salad from my veggie-tunnel, dressed with my own pickled ginger (Both of these being base case “on hand” ingredients), and strong cheese.
And champagne, do not forget the chilled ice bucket and cold bubbly!
I opted to continue the healthy menu, with a chocolate cheesecake mouse for dessert.
PS – The dress code was “green accessories”, dressed as you are 🙂
Lunch
First time I tried tongue. Set in Agar Agar. Anyone else find it amusing that I am using vegan gelatine to set a cold meat dish?
Its for lunch later today, so I will post pictures once it is nicely dressed.
Have a merry Christmas. Keep your social distance but do keep in touch. Keep safe but do enjoy what this new way of life can offer.
Feel free to leave a comment.
Love the main photo !