African Vanielje on Aug 29 2007 at 10:16 pm | Filed under: Uncategorized
The one week of summer weather allocated to England this year has been and gone. The evenings are a little nippier, and sunset is a little earlier, sunrise a little later, thank goodness. No more being awakened by the dawn chorus at not quite 4.00am. No more bellowing at daybreak by the dopey cow who has managed to get stuck in the ha-ha, again.
Strangely it seems to have given everyone silent permission to relax a little. I always have this very pressured feeling in summer (especially in the UK) to soak up every drop of sunshine, breath in every blue-sky day and whip off my clothes at the first sign of the barometer going above 20*C, to reveal, of course, a perfectly toned and tanned bikini body, ready and willing to ‘do the summer thang’. Have I mentioned I don’t do well under pressure? Luckily for my neighbours (and the general public), there’ll be no disrobing of any sort, not unless the temps reach a nice respectable 30*C. Anything less still feels like winter to my african veins.
As I said, silent permission to relax (a little). My neighbour had the right of it this evening, when she was taking her turn to dole out ‘tea’ to all the kids (7 – including mine and hers). They tucked in voraciously to a ham, barley and broad bean soup in a light chicken broth, followed by smoked mackerel pate on homemade wholemeal bread. A week ago they would have refused this, merely on the grounds of it not being barbecue, ice cream or fresh fruit. You know, typical summer holiday food. Tonight, they still ate al fresco, but the temperature had dropped a little, and plates were carried around to the last patch of sunshine, rather than into some welcome shade. They followed several helpings with an apple,pear and blackberry crumble (all from the garden). Unfortunately they finished it all.
And I know how they felt. I need something a bit more than a tossed salad for my supper tonight. That’s okay, adapt and improvise, that’s my motto. I have a couple of Portabello mushrooms that were destined for wraps, ooh, and some ricotta which I was going to make spinach gnocchi with. Fridge staples like parmiggiano and organic plain yoghurt fill out my ingredient list. A pinch of thyme from my windowsill pot. Luckily I’ve remembered to water it this week. Some wet garlic from the garden, a slug of last night’s wine. Isn’t that just gorgeous!
I can throw this dish together in my sleep, and while it bakes in the oven I pour myself some wine and eat half a baguette. Oh well, who wants a bikini body anyway. Not me, certainly not at the expense of this in between dish. Not quite summer, not quite autumn. Not quite an appetizer, not quite an entree. But served with a salad and some crusty bread to mop up the sauce, just perfect for something in between…
These look fabulous, and I love your description…not quite an appetizer, not quite an entree. Those tend to be my favorite kind of recipes–eat a little, eat a lot, it’s up to you! Yeah!
I’m happy you found me (thanks for your sweet comment), and now I think I’ll get lost over here for a while
Thanks sognatrice, what a lovely name. You’re welcome to stay as long as you wish.
I agree with you and Sognatrice – these are my favorite kind of dishes too. Something you can eat with a salad and bread and call it a meal – but yet it is oh-so flavorful and satisfying. I will be making this dish for sure. OH, and I am with you – bring on the baguette and wine and forget the bikini figure! How many bikini figures do you know that have as much passion as we do?
Hah! I knew I liked you!