Yesterday was the opening, or technically reopening, of Folkestone’s Harbour Arm. As part of the harbour regeneration, the harbour arm has been brought back to life after more than a decade of disuse. The arm itself has been lovingly restored to reflect the important role it played during World War I.
So this salad is just, like, incredible. Believe me, I needed convincing too because melon is at the top of my ‘don’t like’ list. Melon and cucumber are the two foods that I have not grown to like as I’ve reached adulthood. But somehow, in some magical, mysterious way, the honey dew in this recipe works. Maybe it’s the punchy cilantro or the fiery kick of jalapeño drawing the attention away from the paltry, watery sweetness of the melon. Or maybe it’s the tartness of the unripe green tomatoes that just seems to create such a harmonious bowl of food.
If you’re like me, you look at every opportunity to cook for other people as an opportunity to create, experiment and just generally flex your culinary muscles. Not necessarily to show off, although I will admit to the odd twinge of pride when things work out how I hoped, but just because the thrill of creating – and then devouring – something new is almost as exciting as getting to share it with people you love. Knowing me as he does, my husband usually prefaces announcements of expected guests with, ‘Just keep it casual. Make something simple. Don’t go overboard.’. But sometimes keeping it simple is exactly what you need to do to create a masterpiece.
There is something summery about squid, even in a stew. It conjures up memories of crispy calamari, sunshine and cold beer. So the mixture of bright but chilly spring days and this subtly summery stew just seems to make sense.
You may have noticed that all of my recent recipes have been an attempt to keep the summer alive and, as we’re predicted to have a really warm September, I guess I better keep them coming! This one is fantastic – low calorie, high in vitamins and protein and bursting with flavor.
Those of you who are regular readers might see a pattern with the most recent series of Meatless Monday recipes. I will admit that I love soup and when you’re not a vegetarian, but you’re cooking vegetarian, it seems to reoccur as the easiest way to make something satisfying without relying on our feathered or furred friends.
What better to do when you have a surplus of summer veg than make soup au pistou? Freshness is the key here. In fact, there isn’t even any chicken stock in this recipe, just water added to bring out every last drop of the vegetables’ summer essence.
This dish is sort of baffling. It’s filling and satisfying, but not heavy. It uses dried lentils which have probably been sitting in the cupboard since winter, yet it has a summery freshness. It’s healthy, but feels extremely indulgent. I think we can agree that all those things are very, very good.
So apparently, the difference between gammon and ham is that gammon is cured as part of a side of bacon (and then smoked or not) and ham is removed from the carcass and smoked or dried. I have never heard the term ‘gammon’ in the US, but I guess it must exist. Here in the UK we quite often buy small gammon joints and roast them in the oven, covered at first and then uncovered to brown the fat. It’s pretty standard fare, but it’s always tasty. This ham was different. I wanted to cook it differently, flavor it differently, do something so that it would be a bit more special. A bit of a treat. Enter the barbecue.
Well, if you can believe it, we’ve had four straight days of sunshine. And those four days are enough to have put me off soup at least until September. Even if the weather were to take a turn for the British, I am vowing not to make another pot of hot soup for a couple of months and, as I’m not a huge fan of cold soup, that may mean no soup period. What will we eat now, you may ask? Probably much of the same things I would’ve put in a soup, but I’ll keep them raw and put them in a salad instead!