F is for Father's Day 2014

In 10 days time, Father's Day rolls around again and I'll actually be with my father that Sunday!

So am planning a fiesta with a bit of spice i.e. some dishes that my mother doesn't cook to make the day a bit special using the Mexican menu I drafted in my printables post at the end of April.

This menu comes from Real Simple and is very easy although I switch the red rice for wild rice.  The dishes are really colourful and it's quick to make them look appetizing.

But to make it all a bit more special, I drew up some other (free) printables for the occasion to complement the menu.

So I made some place cards to match...

And while these are available in the download, I have left them blank so you can write your own guests' names in.

And some disposable napkin rings which you can cut out and snip as per the dotted lines to slot together to form a ring.

They're just a bit of fun and package a bundle of serviettes which is useful given you need to use your hands for the tacos.

And if you want to go over the top, you can also cut out the confetti to scatter across your table.  Now, to go and buy a piñata...

If you would like the menu or the place cards in the original file formats, please message me.

F is for Fika

This lovely Swedish word is a noun and a verb and communicates laid back snacking in a way that no other word in any language manages.

It really is nothing more than a drink (usually coffee or tea) and a snack (more often than not baked but almost always on a doily) and is enjoyed between neighbours, friends, colleagues and acquaintances, and at any time of the day (or night).

And now I've discovered it's a cookbook..and has been for a while now...

...with the most beautiful layout inside, with each recipe spanning four pages, with ingredients first...

...and instructions second...

Now I just need to work out where I can get my mitts on a copy.

F is for Father's Day

Father's Day is really a 20th century event created to help make sure fathers didn't feel left out following Mothering Sunday.  That has roots going back at least to the 16th Century and encouraged people to go back to their 'mother' church and home.

But if the weather doesn't beckon a BBQ or because you don't want the main man left glued to the griddle, serve up a mix of frankfurter sausages and English sausages as hot dogs in white, long buns on 9 June.

And as usual, I would like some decorations.  Bunting's always a good start and a basic one can be downloaded in a pdf from here, printed onto card, cut out and then strung on string around the place.

 Download complementary signs for the tables...

..and for the sauces and trimmings.

Onions are most easily cooked in the microwave with some butter as you can cook them in the dish in which they'll be served.

For the crispy leeks:

Gather:

• 1 large leek, cleaned, trimmed, and the leaves cut into 3-4" long thin strips
• Slug of light olive oil
• 3 tbspn plain (all-purpose) flour
• 1 teaspn paprika
• S&P

Then...

1. Preheat your oven to 220°C
2. Pat your leek strips dry with some kitchen paper
3. Pop them in a plastic (freezer) bag with the oil
4. Twist the top of the bag together and hold as you toss the leeks in the oil until coated
5. Add in the flour, spices and seasoning
6. Twist and shake again
7. Lay out the coated leek strips in one layer on a baking tray and toast in the oven for 10-12 minutes until golden brown, tossing around half way through cooking

Mushrooms work well (see the Tapas mushrooms up to step 9), with a few sliced cucumber, radish and tomato and small salad leaves for the healthier among us.

On the drinks' station, have white and red wine, some real ales, and traditional soft drinks such as ginger beer and lemonade.

For fun you can hold a crossword or quiz (using this online tool) based on all things fatherly. The person to complete your chosen game quickest wins.

And my eclectic, background soundtrack would include:

• Good Rockin' Daddy, Etta James
• Daddy Daddy, Ruth Brown
• It's a Man's, Man's, Man's World, James Brown
• Daddy's Home, The Delfonics
• Father & Son, Ronan Keating
• Daughters, John Mayer
• Father & Daughter, Paul Simon
• Mama Don't Dance & Your Daddy Don't Rock & Roll, Dr. Hook
• Daddy Cool, Boney M
• I Learned from You, Billy Ray Cyrus & Miley Cyrus 
• Just the Two of Us, Will Smith

Just don't play 'Oh Father' by Madonna!

F is for Festivities Magazine

The summer edition of festivities is out.

If the British weather holds out, stage a tent party such as that featured on the inside cover.

Or if not have a Robin Hood themed party as per page 41, compete with a felt fire.

F is for Flowers

My mother-in-law brought me a branch that had snapped off her magnolia tree in the recent winds.  I really wasn't sure what to do with it until I had an idea using a clear glass bud vase that I slotted into the middle of my Pol Potten's branch candelabra to look like the magnolia was growing through it.

The birds are a motley collection of porcelain ones from eBay following a tradition of porcelain figures decorating the table that dates back to the early 18th Century.

With another bouquet in the hall...

...and some daffs on the kitchen table...

...I feel spring is here,