The sun shone and the new shorts were worn and declared good ( well , O.K. was actually the expression used . They'll only be accepted wholeheartedly when worn to a shred ) . We lounged by the river
and ate an inelegant number of sandwiches and tiny cherry tomatoes . Clouds of Queen Anne's Lace frothed everywhere and distinctly beefy-looking sheep chewed endlessly .
A stork played peek-a-boo , rising up above the trees every time I'd put the camera away .Idyllic .
But Husband declared himself all pic-nicked out after this ... he prefers eating at a table ... so I went out on my own as often as possible while the good weather lasted and packed as much summer as I could into the next few days .
Back up the bike path with the unlikely name ,
past the genuine ramshackle country bits
and the picture-postcard country bits
through yet more Queen Anne's Lace
and horses in buttercup fields .
Past the odd sudden surprise ,
little churchyards and the rather grandly named Leeuwarden Wood , planted twenty years ago and finally looking almost woodlike
And I'm very glad I did . It's raining and early dark again today . Summer 2013 at its best .
Never mind .There's Cumin Crusted Aubergines and apples with cinnamon baking in the oven and another Anne Perry Victorian whodunnit to read ... Who needs a heatwave ?
11 comments:
Your countryside is beautiful and I am glad that you were able to take advantage of the weather. We have had so little sun this summer.
Would you be kind enough to point me in the right direction for the recipe for Cumin Crusted Aubergines? I Googled it but came up with only a calorie count for it.
I haven't a clue whose recipe it is , I'm afraid . It might have been from Cook Yourself Thin ?
Anyway , with apologies to whoever I pinched it from :
Crush 1/2tsp. each of cumin and coriander seeds and mix with a small shallot and a clove of garlic , both chopped fine . Add 1/2tsp. paprika and i tblsp. olive oil . Use this miixtue to coat both halves of an aubergine that has been scored , almost to the skin with criss-cross cuts .The recipe then recommends baking in a 200 Centigrade oven for 30 minutes .
I found that actually it all works better if
a) you brush the cut sides first with a little oil and bake them in a 190 degree oven for 15 minutes THEN
b) coat them with the cumin mixtue and bake for another forty minutes , otherwise the spices burn before the aubergine is ready .
They were nice with big dollops of Kwark and some grilled chicken .
Thanks for the tour! Lovely countryside.......Be glad. You'll get more. You wouldn't want the soul sapping unremitting heat of summer here!
That was a restorative outing. Thank you.
How beautiful! My girls won't eat outside, even for BBQs. Maybe it stems back to an experience on Cyprus at a restaurant in a vineyard in the middle of nowhere.
We sat on a terrace with vines overhead- you could pick the sourish grapes to eat if you wanted-the food was beautiful. But...to say there were a lot of massive ants is an understatement. Didn't bother me but the girls were slightly hysterical at being walked all over during a meal!!
No heatwave required, thank you, just a bit of sun and a few dry days.
I’m not into picnics either, unless they’re in the garden, but I’ll gladly take a bottle and a glass outside.
Happy summer.
Looks lovely. I am the picnic fan in our house so we'll have to set a date and meet for a picnic somewhere!
Looks perfect. I love a picnic, however simple. They always remind me of childhood summers though to be truly authentic you do need a bit of sand in your sarnies.
No heatwave needed here, ta very much, but a bit less sog would be appreciated.
It looks absolutely lovely, so green and so...flat. Perfect for biking.
You know who should live on that street? Benedict Cumberbatch. No, only kidding... he should live on MY street! 8-)
I'm glad you packed in summer. It's the only way. Seize it while you can. But I still hope we get a few more warm days. I've only eaten one meal outside this year,
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