Dreaming of summer...

Sunshine in a glass...

What a stunning morning it is!  Cold but sunny with blue skies - just perfect for walking the dog.  Before I went out, we had a lovely breakfast smoothie I whipped up for us in the blender - banana, mango, pineapple (frozen leftovers), plain yogurt, milk, a dash of apple juice and topped off with some cinnamon.  De-li-cious!  I didn't fancy a "proper" breakfast first thing but knew I needed something before the walk, so this was perfect.  I often freeze leftover fruit in small batches to use up in smoothies - it also means I don't have to add any ice to the drink which is great, especially in summer.

Lamb & Feta Burgers...

Last night I tried out another new recipe I had found: lamb & feta burgers.  Oh, they were good!  I changed the original recipe a little and we had them with homemade potato wedges on a little piece of focaccia bread.  I can definitely recommend these as a nice change from beef burgers (although I dare say these would work equally well with minced beef, poultry and possibly even with vegetarian mince, although I have not tried this).  On the BBQ these should be lovely.

Do you get the feeling I am ready for summer? :-)

Home, sweet home

Foccacia sandwich...

It was a beautiful sunny day yesterday, so I went for a walk by the seafront - it was lovely!  I decided to treat myself to lunch in a little cafe/restaurant - I had eaten there before with a friend and loved it, so I was really looking forward to returning.  Well, what a disappointment!  Now, don't get me wrong - I feel incredibly lucky that I can just go and buy myself some food and I really appreciate that.  What was disappointing was how bland the food was - I went for a veggie quinoa burger with fried potatoes and salad.  It sounded really promising from the description on the menu but wasn't tasty at all, not even after adding extra seasoning.  The only good thing was that I was full afterwards :-(
So this lunchtime I made my own lunch - homemade foccacia spread with pesto (also homemade) and topped with lettuce, feta cheese and figs...yummy!  Simple but tasty! :-)

I also harvested the first of our baby peppers :-)  Lovely taste if a little small but hey, they are mini peppers!  I might roast the next lot whole and either preserve them in oil or chuck them into a pasta dish or similar!

Homegrown mini peppers...

More bread!

I have just realised that it has been far too long since I posted something food-related :-)  I have been trying new recipes and last night made focaccia, recipe courtesy of the River Cottage Handbook "Bread".  Now, I have always thought that this type of bread would be incredibly hard to make (not sure why) but in fact it was really easy and the result very tasty!  

I'd probably adjust the recipe slightly (e.g. adding a bit more salt to the dough) but otherwise this is definitely a winner.  I am particularly pleased that I was able to use some of the rosemary from the garden to sprinkle on top, so it feels even more homemade (if that makes sense).  I have put a few pieces in the freezer and will report back on how that worked but I have left a couple of pieces out for lunch today - I reckon toasted focaccia with pesto, feta cheese and lettuce should go down a treat! :-)



One of my next missions in the kitchen is to make strawberry jam and also some sort of chutney.  I've been looking at a number of recipes and as soon as I have made up my mind, I will get started.  There is just something about filling jars and bottles with tasty things to be enjoyed later in the year - it is almost like bottling summer for the colder months!  :-)