A quiet kitchen

I haven't been cooking much lately - or at least very little of any interest. The main reason for this is that I've been busy preparing for a big job interview (and then celebrating getting that job!) but it's also been really hot here the past few days (I say really hot - what I mean is about 25 degrees which I'm aware is not at all 'really hot', but rather is a pleasant summer climate, but it is quite literally the hottest weather we've experienced since moving to the UK nearly 2 years ago. As a result, we've been wilting as our poor bodies have readjust to the sight and feel of sun!). I just don't fancy spending a lot of time in the kitchen when it's 'really' hot - and I'm fairly sure that if I lived in a genuinely hot climate I'd die of starvation because of my reluctance to get near the oven!

I made my Thai beef salad last night and it really did hit the spot - especially when eaten on the balcony, basking in the late evening sun and washed down with a nice cold lager. Bliss.

I've also started packing my kitchen. Almost everything in terms of pots and pans etc has been packed into boxes, with just my wok-style frypan and my largest pot remaining (and the dishes to eat from, obviously). This is going to pose some interesting culinary challenges over the coming few days, so there might yet be something interesting and kitchen-related to write about. I'll keep you posted.

And finally, my garden is quite literally growing before my eyes now that the sun has decided to show its face. It's really rather exciting and I can't wait to get down south and plant some beans in the ground!! My friend who is coming to visit this weekend is also bringing me another tomato seedling, a yellow courgette seedling and a pumpkin seedling (grown from seeds she rather deviously smuggled into the UK when she returned from her latest trip to NZ! Hurrah - proper pumpkins on the horizon perhaps?!). I'm also fairly sure that in a few weeks we will have our first harvest of potatoes. I've never seen something grow so quickly and they are starting to bud into flowers so expect to read about my first ever home-grown potato and herb salad soon! Yum yum yum.

And that, I'm afraid, is all I have today. I will willingly take your best recipe offerings for summer fare, as I am eternally optimistic that this year will be Britain's hottest summer on record (and I have no intention of starving when that happens!). Anything that doesn't involve shrimps/prawns/shellfish is welcomed....