Long Weekend

Who doesn't love a long weekend? We spent most of ours helping my mother in law G move into her gorgeous new store. This involved lots of packing up the old one, moving furniture, cleaning, and also a day of me running a clearance sale at the old shop.

G is a florist but also has a huge range of French giftware, homeware, and furniture, plus the entire Crabtree & Evelyn product range. It is a beautiful shop and I will include some pictures of the new store when it is unpacked and set up.

For the moment though, here are some of the items I scored...

Tea cups:

Outdoor candle basket:

This is apparently a bath salt shaker but I like it as an ornament:

Cake stand (not that I bake many cakes but I want it to display things on):

Another new lamp with a stunning silver thread shade and glass bubble base:

Etched glass jar:

Glass biscuit jar which I plan to use for bath products, instead of biscuits:

I am a very lucky daughter in law!

For dinner on Saturday I cooked Ainsley Harriott's "Prawn and Peanut Panfried Udon" for the in-laws. I excelled, if I do say so myself and they all loved it. It is a favourite recipe of mine, as it is so easy but so tasty and impressive. Here is the recipe for those interested:

Serving size: Serves 4
Cooking time: Less than 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

300g dried udon noodles, or 500g fresh vegetable oil
4 shallots, very finely sliced
2 large red chillies, seeded and thinly sliced
2 teaspoons sesame oil
300g large cooked prawns, peeled
200g fresh bean sprouts
½ cup coriander leaves
2 fresh limes, cut into wedges, for serving

PEANUT SAUCE
200g salted roasted peanuts
2 garlic cloves, peeled
2.5cm ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
200 mls coconut cream
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon hot chilli sauce

METHOD

Plunge the noodles into a large pan of boiling water. Bring back to the boil, simmer for 1 minute until tender, then drain well. Cool under cold water. PEANUT SAUCE: Place the peanuts, garlic and ginger in a food processor and whiz until finely chopped. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the coconut cream. Add the soy and chilli sauces to taste. Heat 1 cm of vegetable oil in a wok or large frying-pan. When the oil is very hot, add the shallots and chillies and cook for 3 - 4 minutes until crisp and golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper. Pour most of the oil out of the wok, leaving just a thin coating , then add the sesame oil. Cook the noodles for 1 - 2 minutes, then stir in the prawns and peanut sauce. Stir through enough water (200 - 300 mls) to make a thick, glossy sauce and cook for 3 - 4 minutes until piping hot. Stir in the bean sprouts and coriander. Divide between plates and scatter over the crispy shallot mixture. Serve with wedges of lime for squeezing over.

Just a note - it definitely needs the lime, they really bring out the flavours of the dish.

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