I love to picnic year round.  I always keep one of many picnic baskets in my car trunk at all times, yes I collect them.  Then no matter where where are, whether I have cooked everything we plan to eat or we grab take out from a wonderful gourmet shop or local patisserie we can picnic in style.  I love our red tin picnic baskets, they are filled with robin egg blue dishes, silverware, embroidered linens, a removable wicker basket, adorable red thermos and salt and pepper shakers.  We get them in England and have 2 left in our boutique., one with robin egg blue dishes the other with creamy white dishes. The delicious raspberry tarts look delightful on top of these charming dishes. Our silhouette bags can found here, no plastic please.

Miss Dahl’s cookbook is filled with great fresh recipes. The flowers are from our garden, if you don’t have a garden you can pick up huge bouquets of fresh flowers at your Farmers Market.   A walk in the park, 2 of my sons, Teddy and Oliver watching the tadpole’s swimming by.  That is Ruffus one of our 5 dogs!

I also enjoy visiting our local fishmonger in Denville for great inspiration in the kitchen.  I love cooking with the freshest seafood I can find, it makes such a difference. While enjoying lunch in the park and my crab soup, I was inspired to break out that seafood chowder recipe that I brought back from Bermuda.  I add whichever jewels from the sea that I can get my hands on.

Not the greatest picture but I love this quick easy dessert that I created on a trip to the condo in Delray a couple years ago.

( the following is an article I wrote a year or so ago for an online cooking network, it is about getting inspired at the Farmer’s Market, The Berry crepe recipe follows, You can find the Terroirs d’Antan crepes from Bretagne on line)

Intuitive Cooking From The Farmer’s Market

During one of our getaways we vacationed in sunny Palm Beach Florida where there is an abundance of fresh produce, delicious berries and other fruits and wonderful seafood. We have a great farmer’s market close to our condo in Delray Beach that is filled with more than just delectable produce. You can go there without a menu planned for your evening meal and no grocery list in hand and leave ready and able to create a delicious dinner. I love to go out to dinner with my husband and three sons when we travel because that is where I get the vast majority of my inspiration for new recipes. However, there are times when we don’t feel like it after a long day on the beach in the hot sun. On those days, we would rather eat out on our balcony.
On those days, we head off to the aforementioned farmer’s market, where I let the fresh ingredients inspire my cooking for the evening. We stroll around with our shopping cart, seeing what looks good and tasty. Fresh tuna and green beans? That’s a tuna nicoise salad!
We use the same method to find dessert foods as well. On this recent trip, I passed by strawberries that were just picked next door. I did a double take — not because of the visual but because of the heavenly sweet fragrance that wafted from the stand. There was no way I was leaving there without those berries and the juicy, fat blackberries sitting next to them.
Now for me I could be a very happy lady just eating those berries after dinner, but I wanted to make a quick dessert that would dazzle my husband. Well, in life some things are just meant to be, and that was so that day when I spied packets of pre-cooked crepes from France. Crafted by Terroirs d’Antan and imported from Bretagne, the package cost $5.99 for 12 preservative-free crepes. Prior to that, I’d never purchased pre-cooked crepes since I enjoy making them at home. However, I decided to give those a try. After all, they are from France, how bad could they be? So with berries and crepes in hand, I searched for some mascarpone cheese to turn the ingredients into a gourmet dessert.
Shopping at a well-appointed farmer’s market can really be this simple. Look for the freshest ingredients, let your mind wander to combinations and possibilities and then make it happen at home. Dinners and desserts with fresh ingredients needn’t be complicated or time consuming.
On the evening in question, I did make a quick tuna salad nicoise that I served with a delicious dressing and some crusty bread. For dessert, it was crepes au fruits avec fromage. My husband declared it a perfect ten. The crepes were very good and this only took minutes. The next evening I used more of the crepes to make crepes bananas in a butter rum sugar sauce that was also very good.

Crepes au Fruits avec Fromage
1 cup of Mascapone cheese1/4 cup sugar plus a pinch, divided1 teaspoon vanilla2 tablespoons Cassis liquors1/2 cup good quality jam (I used black currant preserves)Strawberries and blackberries, I used 1 cup of eachcrepes
Whip together the mascarpone cheese, sugar and vanilla. Set aside.
Combine preserves, Cassis liquors and a pinch of sugar in a pan and cook until combined. Add a handful of strawberries and blackberries (depending on how many crepes your are serving, you may want to add more or less berries). Stir over heat until the berries burst, releasing their juices. Let cool.
Spread a generous amount of the mascarpone cheese mixture on top of each crepe. Then spoon cooled (or warm, however you like it) berry mixture on top and fold crepe over. If desired, dust with powdered sugar and garnish with a sprig of mint. Serve immediately.

I hope you are inspired to get outdoors and picnic.  Visit your local Farmer’s Markets, Gourmet Shop,Patisserie and Fish Monger/Seafood shop  for great inspiration and ingredients to cook with.

Please pop over and visit Gollum at Foodie Friday, The Tablescaper always you will find the most delicious recipes and creative ideas around.

Oh Oh Oh, I almost forgot, the delightful Heavenly Housewife was the winner of our Striptease Cocktail Glasses, they are happily on their way to England.  I am also Guest Blogging here, pop by for great ideas and tips on Entertaining and Travel based on my “The World Is My Playground” Workshops.  I also received a wonderful award from Jacqueline at Purplechocolatehome. I will be posting more on this soon.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 19th, 2010.
Posted in La Cuisine, La Cuisine - Appetizers, La Cuisine - Desserts, La Cuisine - Entrees, La Cuisine - Soups