Heat, Glorious Heat
0 comment Tuesday, June 17, 2014 |
No pics again because I am lazing about and recharging batteries by doing absolutely sod-all.
Not true, actually; I did some garden potter today, even during mid-day, which (with all the 'health warnings' being distributed right now about having an actual summer in England) most people thought me mad. However, we've had overcast skies and so the worst of the heat has actually given us a miss and I find it quite pleasant.
The first order of the day was something I really, desperately needed; a nap! A good hour snooze after doing not much of anything this morning was very much required. Any chance of going to market today was right out, but I felt like I could actually manage to get up and do something once I'd had my powerkip. I managed the poo-patrol, the weeding, even decided where to plot out some more plants, fertilised the toms with some nettle tea to try and get the ripening to hurry up a bit, harvested onions and my first ancho pepper for my barbecue.
I had a barbecue of one today - sprog is off with his father and I decided to fire up the grill and put on as much food as I possibly could so I won't have to cook for a few days. I split a chicken (spatch cock) with a sauce I whipped up from whatever I could find in the pantry and from the garden; I put on some ribs, and some chicken wings too. I'm sure the neighbours wondered if I was going to eat it all myself; but I now have food for a salad and a wrap tomorrow, probably enough for Monday, the bones will get boiled for stock as I've got a bunch of beans that need cooking up, and the chicken bones will go into the garden. Bonus! I harvested swiss chard, more onions, plenty of herbs and mixed up even more sauce, some of which is now in the freezer for later use.
Just to leave nothing out, I made myself a massive Pimms cocktail and used a bit of for a vinagrette marinade, made even more delish by adding pureed loganberries and mint from the garden. Some of this soaked some halved nectarines and plums - the rest on the salad. Then to up the decadence level, I put the fruit on the grill. Try it, seriously, it's brilliant, just let them cook till they just start to go brownish and caramelise....om nom nom!
I've spent nearly the whole day outside, which was glorious, and I even think I'll light up a few lanterns and sit outside for a while tonight, too, maybe with some flambee'd fruit over homemade ice cream. But now, believe it or not, I'm going to have another nap.
There are worse ways to spend a Saturday.

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