Feast.  To me that word is redolent of picnicking Pickwickians, the overflowing hampers and larders of Ratty and Mole, and Hobbits (classic British authors have a way of describing food with a most wonderfully sympathetic, gleeful greediness).  One of the favorite meals in our house is something we call Feast.  Feast has many forms around a basic formula.  Meat, cheese, fruit, vegetables, bread and/or crackers.  Nuts, chocolate, and jams, pastes and pickles are optional.  It is roughly akin to the classic cheese board, but so much better!  Feast is the base for the perfect, quick picnic, an elegant,yet casual dinner with friends or a cozy tête-à-tête with the one you love.

After a solid week and a half of eating out here in Canberra, we were ready for a quiet meal at home (don’t get me wrong, the food here in Canberra has been outstanding, but it is nice to have a break from going out).  One of Jason’s co-workers was flying in Sunday and we found a wonderful market during the week, so out we ran to get feast for three.

Our Basic Feast

Herbes de Provence Roasted chicken

fresh goat cheese

sharp cheddar

apple slices (tart in our house)

“carrots in sauce”  that is a Jason term for carrots and other crudite style vegetables tossed with a champagne vinegarette

Wasa crackers and brown rice crackers

Amazing Additions/Substitutions

smoked salmon

deli meats (ham, turkey, etc)

hard salami

boiled eggs

any and all of the vast world of cheeses (though we have yet to find a place for blue cheese in Feast. . .or much of anything)

grapes

grapefruit

mango

any fruit!

crudité style veggies

cornichons

quince paste

honey

nuts

dark chocolate

whole grain mustard

Have a feast of your own?  Write or send pictures and share!