Goat cheese Rolls and Avocado Dressing

"I can't risk this hat going through the roses." 

Such is the nature of roses.  They are so intoxicating, you want to lean in and take in their delicious scent.  But they are also grabby and if you are wearing a special, big hat...well you see what I mean.  In the movie "The Winslow Boy", Mrs. Winslow would rather leave by her front door and face the reporters there than risk her hat by going out through the rose garden in the back. 

I just heard someone say, "There will always be roses and England."  I love England.  We have visited there for three weeks, the last two Octobers.  Two weeks each time was spent on the south coast in a little Victorian seaside village.  Our house is on a cliff overlooking the sea with access to the beach.  We got to know the village and some of the people in it by the end of the second visit.  And where to find the butcher, fish-monger and fresh herbs.  


We ate a number of times at a French style bistro and became friends with the owners, Terry and Margaret.  Terry made delicious food.  The last night we were there we had them up to our house for wine and small plates of food.  I wanted to give them a taste of my food in California.  That had to include two things, goat cheese and avocado.

Goat Cheese Rolls

3 medium zucchini, sliced lengthwise in long strips, 1/4" thick, use a mandolin if you have one. 
4 oz. fresh goat cheese
1 tsp. grated lemon zest
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tsp. chopped thyme
1 tbs. chopped parsley
1 tbs. olive oil
big pinch of sea salt
olive oil to fry the zucchini strips
balsamic vinegar for drizzling 

Heat a thin layer of olive oil in a heavy bottomed skillet.  Fry the zucchini strips until golden on each side.  Remove to a plate to cool.  Mix the goat cheese with all the other ingredients to make a filling.  Place a tablespoon of the filling at the end of a zucchini strip and roll it up. Place seam side down on a serving platter.  Before serving drizzle with a little balsamic vinegar.

Avocado Dressing  


I wanted a little salad to finish our bites before dessert or pudding as the English would say.  I had an avocado ripening for over a week. We weren't in California where I can always find a ripe avocado.  For the dressing, smash up the avocado with lemon juice, salt and a little olive oil and cream together.  Add a little water to thin.  Toss with bite size pieces of Little Gem lettuce and sprinkle with sun-flower seeds. 

Margaret hugged me after she ate her salad, and later as they were leaving the last thing Terry said to me was, "I like your food."  Two of my nicest compliments.

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