This must be the longest spell of good weather I have experienced since I moved to the UK in 2003. If this is global warming, bring it on.
We have a swimming pool in in our garden. I'm not sure why but I always feel that I have to justify myself when I say this. We don't live in a mansion with acres of grounds, a tennis court, stables and pool. We just happen to have a pool in our garden. It is a pain in the arse 99 out of every 100 days. But for the last few it has been marvellous. The boys have swum everyday and have had friends over to splash around with them. We are the envy of all.
Yesterday we had a friend over and the mum coolly whipped off all (I mean all) of her clothes in the garden without batting an eyelid before slipping into a bikini. Yes, she has a child and wears a bikini. And she looks like super model in it. I wanted to weep into my iced elderflower cordial. I decided that I really did need to give myself a good talking to and stop eating so much, not to mention cutting back on the gallons and gallons of wine I've been consuming of late.
But what's the point of al fresco dining if not to dine? Admittedly, summer foods can be a lot lighter than stodgy stews and steamed puddings, but we've BBQd so much that I'm starting to resemble a sausage. And although I've eaten my body weight in salad, I've washed it down with good helpings of creamy potato bakes. Then there are the lazy smorgasboard dinners outside in the sun, cold meat platters, cheese boards, grilled asparagus - just lovely summery food - but lots and lots of it.
And today, given the magnificence of the weather, I felt it was my patriotic duty to create a summer dessert that celebrates the infamous British strawberry. After reading a recipe in the Sunday Times magazine this weekend, I made sure the Ocado man delivered all the necessary ingredients so that I could create a dessert masterpiece, something I've not done for a while (well since deciding to sail across an ocean).
So I made this:
It was dead simple, dead gorgeous and dead tasty. It would also quite possibly result in dead me had I attempted to eat all of it, such is its richness.
So you see, this is why I can't wear a bikini. Summer food is just too good to ignore. It's a tricky choice: summer food or summer body? I know which one is winning around here.
Sod it, there's always winter to slim down.
7 comments:
OMG that's the story of my life all year round! I too cannot wear a bikini, but sod it, this year I will and I will not care!
It definitely looks dead gorgeous and tasty :)
That looks absolutely gorgeous. I'd take that over a bikini body any day.
That's why they invented tankinis.
The pie looks goooorgeous. The epitome of summer and let's face it, it doesn't hang around for long so make the most of it!
PHM - you're a braver woman than I but wear that bikini with pride
Bevchen - thanks. Am pasting the recipe below should anyone want it because it is so simple
Tara - tankinis for me mean a jelly roll of flab sticking out between the bottom of the top and the top of the bottom.
The Recipe for Strawberry Lemon Curd Tart:
Crush 250g of digestive biscuits (blitz or smash with a rolling pin). Mix with 110g of melted butter then tip into a 23cm pie tin with a loose bottom. Push down hard and put in fridge to set for about 40 mins. Mix 175g of lemon curd with 250g of mascarpone till smooth. Then put filling in tart case. Smooth out to cover base. Hull and halve/slice 500g strawberries and tumble on top (or arrange if you’re feeling fancy). Either leave like that or add a glaze by melting 1tbsp of redcurrant jelly with a squeeze of lemon juice. Brush on top of strawberries. Put in fridge until ready to serve.
I absolutely cannot wear a bikini. I look like a badly tied sack of potatoes. But it is a fair trade to eat things such as you describe. I am so envious of that tart I cannot even begin to put it into words.
Why not make your favorite summer food during winter and spring, and then come summer time, you concentrate on getting that most wanted body of the season? You don't have to give up anything that you like! You just have to assign your goals correctly throughout the year. I hope I helped! :)
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