The weather was beautiful all of last week in England and I seized the opportunity for some outdoor eating. It’s not often it’s warm enough (or not raining!). I had a group of uni friends around to celebrate the summer with vegan food and Pimm’s.
I don’t know how well-known Pimm’s is outside of the UK since it really is the quintessential English summer drink. I’m not a big drinker at all but I would never turn down a glass of Pimm’s.
It’s a gin-based liqueur which is mixed with lemonade, fresh fruit and mint. You can add whatever you like but I’m partial to strawberries, oranges, apples + cucumber.
Along with several jugs of Pimm’s throughout the afternoon there was plenty to eat. It was fun introducing my friends to the delights of animal-free food, since none of them are even vegetarians. We were having too much fun so I forgot to take pictures of the spread but did snap a couple- here’s my first plate of food 
And here’s the menu:
Chickpea Flour Veggie Quiche (Soy-free)
Rosemary Focaccia (Veganomicon)
Falafel (Vegan with a Vengeance) + Mediterranean Cashew Cucumber Dip (Veganomicon)
Crudités + Homemade Hummus
Green Salad
Chickpea, Tomato + Basil Salad (See below)
New Potato Salad with Mustard Dill Dressing [unpictured]
Here’s my lovely focaccia- I was really pleased with how well it turned out- great flavour and texture.
Oh…and there was dessert of course- Strawberries, Vanilla Ice Cream + Chocolate Brownies! (I would have loved to have made raw brownies but wanted to keep everything fairly simple and familiar for the omnivores)
The Chickpea, Tomato, Basil Salad was so simple but incredibly delicious and something I’ll definitely make throughout the summer when the tomatoes and basil in the garden get going properly.
Chickpea Tomato Basil Salad:
3 C Cooked Chickpeas (or 2 cans)
4 C Cherry Tomatoes, halved
3 Cloves Garlic
2T Apple Cider Vinegar
2 T Red Wine Vinegar
1T Maple Syrup or Agave Nectar
1T Olive Oil
As much Basil as you like, julienned
Good pinch Sea salt + Plenty of Black Pepper
Have you been dining al fresco at all this year? Any good picnic recipes to share?
That looks like my ideal meal, both for the actual edibles and the picnic setting! So happy to see that quiche getting some love- It looks perfect, just as I remembered it.
I never considered it as picnic fodder before, so you’ve just opened up my eyes to a whole new world of possibilities…
I’ve actually made your lovely quiche a couple of times before so I knew it was scrummy
This time there was a crack in my pastry so I lost some of the filling and it turned out a little thinner than usual. It’s good warm or cold so perfect picnic food- thanks so much for the recipe!
I really had no idea what Pimms was, even though I saw it on the internet before. I love to learn about new liqueurs and spirits! And how I wish I could have joined you for your outdoor eating. All the ood looks great.
that looks like a lot of fun! picnics are the best, just so mellow and relaxed. eating in the sunshine always makes a meal a bit more special and especially if that meal is shared with friends. I’ve heard about pimms but never tried it before, but it looks really good in your picture. I wouldn’t say no