Monday 1 July 2013

The first BBQ of summer.....


It must be summer! This was announced by the sky turning blue, the sun coming out and the smell of bbq drifting across the garden.  Our lovely neighbour knocked on the door and invited us to join their bbq on Saturday. Himself had just returned from the allotment with a tray of new potatoes (first earlies called charlotte) and a few fresh lettuce so I offered to make some salads – and as I had just taken the bread out of the oven I offered a fresh loaf as well. It took very little time to put together a potato salad topped with fresh snipped chives from the herb bed I started in an old tin bath. Often a bbq dinner is meat, meat and then meat – so I quickly threaded a few vegetables onto skewers and marinated them in oil and herbs. Lovely evening, good food and drink – and no cooking or washing up!

I cleared out the fruit bowl yesterday and was amazed to see how many oranges were lurking at the bottom – squeezed them and made one and a half pints of orange juice (with bits!) The fridge provided a couple of eggs left from the week before last so these became a fruit loaf. The minced beef I didn’t use on Saturday made a lovely lasagne and the chicken I was going to roast will keep in the freezer for next Sunday .  

The first of the broad beans have been picked so it will be bean and bacon risotto tonight.  I've made vegetable stock – carrot, onion, leek, potato, celery, mushroom and a fresh bouquet garni, covered in water,  boiled for half an hour and strained. Delicious (and cheap)!

The sunshine has awoken the gardener in me so lots of weeding and tidying up over the weekend. This tidying has spread to other areas of life – I turned out all of my stash (yarn gatherers and knitters amongst you will understand that this is a major task) and have managed to reduce this from four boxes to three. Will I ever want that ball of white and gold fancy yarn bought on impulse about 5 years ago? Kitchen cupboards are next on the list – do I need three white soufflĂ© dishes?

But now there is a mixing bowl full of fresh strawberries waiting for me in the kitchen – scrummy strawberry jam in progress!