A Wilderness Adventure, River-side Picnic and a Gorgeous Tart

What an adventure! We took the bus out to Dalkeith Country Estate this weekend and spent a good chunk of time wandering (sometimes aimlessly) around the trails and through the forest and fields and along the riverbank.  We managed to take a wrong turn at some point...and there was a moment where I was like...ok just keep following the river...we'll be ok...and then...the next trail marker appeared out of nowhere! Phew!

We made the wrong turn after we had stopped for our picnic lunch on the banks of the river.  I'd like to think that the reason for the wrong turn was because we were still talking about how great our picnic was...but it probably was because we had been turned around and weren't really paying attention.

Picnic Grub: Toast with butter, picante sardines, lemon sardines and rice salad...and raspberries picked from the hedgerows along the path!

Returning home exhausted, hot, sweaty and a little bit grubby neither of us felt much like eating.  I had planned to make a quiche and salad for supper (to last us two nights) so I went ahead and made it thinking that if we didn't eat any it was no big deal...

Needless to say by 7:15 we were both more than happy to sit down and stuff our faces!! This quiche is made with ricotta cheese, it is light and fluffy and creamy.  The pastry is smeared with dijon mustard (mummy's trick),topped with chopped cooked spinach, the ricotta mixture (3 eggs, 250g ricotta, 1tbsp chopped basil and 100ml milk) and then finished with halved cherry tomatoes.

For two people who weren't hungry...we still managed to eat half of it!

Working up an Appetite!

Sunday was by far the most glorious day we have had in a few weeks.  I mean, it has been sunny and warm and all that jazz for the last week or so...but on Sunday I had David all to myself...finally!! No work, no family, no friends...just us us us!!  We went out early, picked up a couple of lattes for fuel and then trudged along the river for a FOUR MILE WALK!...just exploring the River Chelmer, the wildlife and the wilderness. 

I was so surprised to find a series of locks and a whole bunch of narrowboats just on my doorstep! Seriously, it was such a wonderful adventurous walk along the river, exploring our community...and I can't wait to venture a little bit further next time! The whole river walk is 12 miles ONE WAY from Chelmsford to Heybridge (on the sea!!)..so I doubt we will be able to do a there and back walk...but I would LOVE to make it out there sometime in the future!! We can totally rely on public transportation to get us back home, right???  The only down side to the walk was that the river totally runs through the middle of nowhere!! It doesn't run through the centre of any little town...so...no pubs to stop off at for refreshments/relief!!!

We totally worked up an appetite, which was all the better since I had planned on making a slow roast pork belly for Sunday Dinner.  I have been itching to try Jamie Oliver's Slow Roast Pork Belly with Fennel recipe from Cook with Jamie...and finally I got around to buying a piece of pork belly during the week.  Originally I had thought that I would be able to just pop it in the oven before we set out on our adventure...but it is actually a recipe that requires attention every hour (BAHHHH)...anyway...we had planned on being home with enough time to slow cook the pork in time for dinner, so I just had to wait until we returned from the walk to pop it in the oven.  The pork belly is rubbed with crushed fennel seeds and then slow roasted ONTOP of fennel bulbs with white wine....it smelt amazing...it tasted amazing...

Pork Belly has a surprisingly rich taste.  Cooked this way the meat is tender and juicy and the fat is crispy and made me feel so greedy and gluttonous...but oh so heavenly!!!  Needless to say...we waited a good 3 hours before serving up dessert. 

Now that I have tried to make my own pastry (and had a positive expereince) I have totally felt my confindence grow and so when I was home alone Saturday night I made this simple and totally tasty French Apple Tart from Raymond Blanc's latest tv series. He calls it Tart Maman Blanc because it is the tart his maman used to make for them.  It was simple, and best of all...the pastry doesn't have to be blind baked!!!  I am a total sucker for french flans...fruit and custard baked in a tart shell...and this did not disappoint!  

But the nicest thing...my mum made it too! In Toronto!  But she changed it up a bit!

Perfection

After a  long walk through the fields

What could be better than this?

French Onion Soup