This Weekend

We just had Alex and Harry over for lunch. It was so good to see them, and I just wanted to share a little of today's sunshine:

As it was hot, I made a Summer Tart and some salads, then finished up with Apple Cake.

This is the tart: courgette (zucchini), red onion and goats cheese:

If you fancy making one, they're the easiest thing in the world, and you can do just about any filling; another favourite of mine is tomato layered with blue cheese. I also had a great one at my parents a couple of weeks ago, tomato and mozzarella (although my Mum makes hers slightly differently to mine).

Summer Tart

Ingredients

500g puff pastry

3 courgettes, sliced into discs

1 large red onion, sliced

2 roundels of goats cheese

Fresh thyme (lemon thyme is particularly nice)

A little olive oil

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F, 200 degrees C (180 degrees C Fan Assisted).

Roll out the pastry to fit a largeish oven tray (approx. 12 x 15"). Bake the pastry blind for 18-20 minutes until pale golden.

In the meantime grill or fry the courgettes until cooked through. Do the same with the red onion. Arrange the courgette in three layers, with all the discs overlapping each other (think french patisseries, or scratch that and throw on haphazardly!). Season. Cover with the red onion, then crumble over the goats cheese minus the rind, and sprinkle liberally with thyme.

Put back in the oven for 15 minutes to heat through. Serve and enjoy.

(The photo was taken before I'd heated it through).

By the way, I've been looking for the pattern for this Cabled Mock Capelet from Vogue Knitting Fall 2008:

If anyone has it and doesn't have any need for it, would you mind cutting it out and sending it to me? Alternatively, I can swap you this. Interweave Knits Summer 2008:

Let me know.

By the way, are you getting The Knitter magazine? I subscribed to it when it first came out and am loving it. Saying that, I am yet to find a pattern I would actually knit, but I'm being patient. It's just that I love to read about what's going on in the yarn and knitting community.

In the meantime I've knitted DH a tie, exactly the same size as his purchased ones, at his request. Yes, I know they're not everyone's cup of tea, but my hubby happens to love them, and I think he really suits them. Anyway, it's currently blocking, but I'll be able to show it to you tomorrow or the day after.

I'm just about to cast on for another Big Bad Baby Blanket for a friend, but this time, instead of the Koigu I used before, I'll be using a lovely Shilasdair worsted weight in lambswool. Hopefully the tension will work out ok, but it doesn't really matter as it's essentially a square.