Three for Lunch

 Two dear friends from the little town 20 miles East

joined me for lunch last week

As has been my custom of late,

luncheon was served in the dining room

With the noon day sun filling the room with light

A hand embroidered square cloth that I bought in the Azores served as the cloth

Wedgwood Cuckoo plates

Grandmother's silver

White cloth napkins in silver rings

Hyacinths in forcing vases

And the wee iron birds were the centerpiece

For a pretty "almost spring" table

Dessert service awaited on the sideboard

(which is why you don't clutter the sideboard with too much "stuff")

A simple menu

Tomato soup from the tomatoes I canned last summer

With a few garlic cheese croutons for "crunch"

A wonderful lemon basil chicken pasta dish

Alas, the basil not from the garden or windowsill

but rather from the market

With a salad of mixed baby greens

And herbal biscuits

And the dessert?

A cherry almond tart

With the Morello cherries I bought at Trader Joe's

ringed with sliced almonds

Arranged over a filling of marscapone cheese

It's an updated version of the old classic

"cherry cheese pie"

And with a cup of coffee

A slice made a fitting end to a lovely meal.

But we lingered,

over coffee

before they bid their goodbyes\

It's Thursday and I'm sharing my table with Susan at Between Naps on the Porch and Cuisine Kathleen for Let's Dish