Prawn and lentils for a block party

I was really looking forward to our block party in September. I had a bottle of Pimms in my possession, carefully stashed away with the intention of no imbibing until the big party, some neighbours had Grand Marnier, both left over from our own little shindig. I had visions of a leisurely afternoon event, casually grazing on pot luck and drinking slowly into the evening hours, maybe meeting some new neighbours from the adjoining houses and watching Lilac play with new little friends. Then, I found out that, firstly, it was to be on a Sunday and secondly, it was from 11.30am to 2.30pm. Being from the UK, I somewhat naively assumed that anything with the word party in it was an actual party. OK, no booze, I understood the sentiment but was still disappointed. The time seemed a little restrictive, "back home please everyone, it's over now". 

The woman can do no wrong..

Who could possibly make me want to eat lentils, (except Nigel, of course), other than Gwyneth Paltrow. Ordinarily the woman's ability to accomplish anything she tries would make me sick with envy, but there are so many things to like about her. She has a Welsh name, she's married to a Brit, her hair looks really dry on the cover of her book....(maybe she's normal after all).... but seriously, the truth is her two cookbooks are really good. Possibly the recipes are not all entirely hers, but she certainly knows her way around a kitchen and as far as celebrity forays into other areas go, she succeeds. But please Gwyneth, don't let them pressure you into endorsing a fragrance entitled 'New York English Rose'.

A salmon on the Wild side

There's nothing more satisfying than having someone else cook dinner for you. This rings especially true when the initial plan was made in a drunken haze and subsequently forgotten. Marcus called at 3.45pm, just as I was thinking about popping over to the local supermarket to buy some ingredients. Chinese food was featuring in my mind but Marcus offered salmon wrapped in Prosciutto with lentils, spinach and yogurt. Yes please. This meal is somewhat of a magnum opus for Marcus. He has the recipe printed onto a piece of paper yellowing at the edges and splattered with oil stains, (as all good recipes should) and has made it for us at least once before. The idea came from a Jamie Oliver recipe I once copied for him but now long lost.