I know I have friends who even in adulthood will touch eat anything green, ‘Yes you know who you are!’, well things are about to change with children arriving on the scene he cannot no longer be seen not to eat his greens when he’s telling the little one too, now can he?

One vegetable that people always seem to shy away from and yet has a enormous following in europe especially in french cuisine is well, ’round, knobbly, crusty and looks like it has been hanging around in the vegetable box far to long is…’, the answer is Celeriac.

Celeriac is making abit of a comeback and is regularly seen upon bistro menu’s in the form of mash served with red meats or game. This vegetable has a delicate sweet celery flavour with a aniseed twist to it and even works well grated raw into salads, made into chips or even crisps (if you make your own vegetable crisps). Can be mashed with potato and made into soups too being a very versatile vegetable.

You can find these both in supermarkets and farmers markets and green grocers looking very ugly in the corner, you should try some you will be surprised. 

For a great recipe for egg & lemon sauce celeriac you will need:

3 celeriacs, trimmed and peeled, (For a great peeler this judge ss julienne peeler is brilliant, can be used by left and right handed cooks, makes easy work out of peeling espically for people whose hands have athritus for example and makes light work out of julienne the hardest or vegetables and fruits. So a real aid in todays kitchen) 120 ml dry white wine, 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, 2 large egg yolks, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tbsp finely chopped chives and sea salt.
Cut your celeriac into julienne strips and place in a large saucepan. Reserving 3 tblsp of the wine pour the rest of the wine and oil into the saucepan with the celeriac. Now add salt to taste, cover and cook over a low heat for 20 minutes until the celeriac is soft. Beat the egg yolks with the remaining wine and lemon juice, add the chives and pour on to the celeriac.
Toss gently, arrange on a plate or dish to serve. Great with red meats and game of your choice.

Have you tried Celeriac? Does a vegetables look put you off trying it? What vegetable do not like for its looks?

See my previous blog Salad in a hurry for julienne salad ideas and gadget, my previous blog on the side also show another brilliant julienne slicer gadget with a recipe for you to try and there are many more blogs packed with ideas, kitchen gadgets and recipes for you to look through.

Fruit and Cheese together can make a fantastic mix, one favourite that sort of came together with my love of feta cheese and my man’s love for pears, (I bet I hear you say!)

Well, this warm salad is quick, simply and delicious and once made you will be making this over and over again as I do! Ideal for a light lunch, supper or even a starter for your dinner party.

I use small, sweet and versatile Rocha pears which have a russeted skin, and you can enjoy this variety when firm and crunchy, or soft and juicy, either way they are delicious.

For my ‘warm Feta Cheese and Pear salad’, you are going to need: 6 slices of pancetta, 2 tblsp honey, 4 tblsp olive oil, 2 tblsp white wine vinegar, 1 tsp chilli flakes, 4 pears ( I like rocha), 850g watercress, 120g greek feta.

Preheat a frying pan and dry fry the slices of pancetta until crispy and golden. Transfer onto kitchen paper and allow to cool. Once cool slightly crumble into pieces and set aside. To make your dressing, mix together the honey, olive oil, vinegar and chilli flakes in a bowl. Core your pears & cut into wedges, add these to the dressing bowl and toss in the dressing. Reserving the dressing, transfer the pears to a hot griddle pan and cook for around 5 minutes, turning them occassionally until they are golden. In a salad bowl, toss the pears together with the watercress and crumbled pancetta, scatter with cubed feta and drizzle the remaining dressing before serving immediately with warm homemade crusty bread.

Tip - You can use cheese of your choice this is nice with a herb cheese or shilton even, try to your own taste as that is what true cooking is all about. I have added garlic croutons to this recipe and on other occassions I have added herbs and nuts such as walnuts too, which were all delicious as well.  So you can vary this recipe, so have a play and let me know what you come up with?

Check out my blog easy recipe for a Italian supper in minutes for a great frying pan and my previous blog regarding griddles too. Find some quick picnic recipes in my previous blog royal ascot food frollicks and lots more ideas within my blogs too.

Great picnics start here, I have had (and aim to have many more too!) some fabulous times over the years attending Royal Ascot week. Let me tell you if you have never been the atmosphere is electric. Its one of those calendar events many of us wait for. Some of us spend months planning our outfits espically if your attending on Ladies Day which can be a right eye opener let me tell you. Everyone gets into the spirit with all the guys in full morning dress and every lady with her best hat addorned, its a day when fashion has no boundaries and that includes the picnic.

This picnic has a silk tablecloth and table, candles, even full barbecues, waiters and enough bubbly to sink the titanic. But it dosen’t stop with the highlights of the days horse racing and meeting the celebraties and royal family in the flesh as afterwards the picnics start, the music turned up and the partying truely begins.

I remember one year when we had been having alot of rain and the buses park a distance from the race course, they placed straw down for all of us to walk on and provided shoe cleaners to clean our shoes when we arrived at the race track, how funny to see people tottering around in shoes worth more than a family holiday in mud, dolled up to the eye balls, not forgetting the hat. The things we do hey!!

Tell me about your trips to ascot and the food you enjoyed, we took everything. Bubbly, crab, salmon, trifles no luxury was spared.  Check out my previous picnic blogs like greatfood, great style and don’t forget the wine Take a look at the great picnic items available including blankets and hampers, I love this Spey De Luxe Hamper it has everything ready for you to go just grab this and your bubbly and food and your away. This spacious and quality hamper (shown right) for four. With plates, cutlery, condiment set and wine glasses and integral bottle compartment for three bottles. The ‘wash’ willow hamper has twin opening flaps cream tones for cutlery, plate and wine glass straps and clasp and hinges to add to the style presentation. Also included is a cream tablecloth and matching cream napkins for the perfect picnic!

Some great pinic ideas include:

Salmon - Mix Salmon (fresh or tinned) with cannellini beans, chopped tomato, diced shallot, chopped black or green olives, chopped parsley and basil. Dress with olive oil and lemon juice; season with salt and pepper. Serve with bread or salad of your choice.

Trout - Combine a bunch of watercress or rocket with thinly sliced radishes and red onion; add flaked smoked trout. Dress at the last minute with olive oil, sherry vinegar, Dijon mustard, salt and pepper (which you pop in your picnic hamper!)

Local Lamb - One of my favourite is Local Lamb thinly sliced, then toss with cherry tomatoes, olive oil, mint, feta and chopped red onion, serve with a rustic bread and a beautiful  rich red wine (Yummy!)

Come on ladies whats your picnic going to have, tell me all about it!!

If you feel that a dish needs a side salad but you do not have any salad leaves to hand, then green vegetables like beans, courgettes and peas can make a great substitute. Just cook the choosen vegetables briefly so they remain crunchy and refresh them under cold running water, then serve with mayonnaise or salad dressing with a sprinkling of fresh herbs.

You could also make a salad from raw root vegetables like carrots, turnips and white & red cabbages shredded finely and tossed in a flavoured dressing.

As in my previous blog a great gadget to use for these types of things if you do not have a food processor with the necessary blades is a Julienne Vegetable slicer like this one!

Alternatively if you have only a few salad leaves why not shred them and add to other store cupboard ingredients like crumbled cheese, chopped egg or even canned beans.

Do you have a favourite salad recipe or ingredient? Perhaps you have a tip for our avid readers too then don’t be shy join the rest of us foodies and send me your comments!