I think it is Friday…

A recent round of socialising has meant some fabulous meals with friends and family, all properly socially distanced and carefully managed. This does cause difficulties, as the urge/habit to hug is still strong, innate really, and it does require a discipline not to default into learned behaviours. I read recently that it takes a month to re-learn new routines and behaviours – it seems to have taken me longer! One other noticeable difference during lockdown has been the enforced lack of spontaneous socialising, of going out to a pub or restaurant. I recently rang our ‘local’ to book a meal there and asked about how it worked just to go and have a drink. The owner said that booking was required, but that they actually had space now… the writer her indoors and I threw on some shoes and walked up to the pub for our first spontaneous drink out in months with glee and a sense almost of doing something ‘naughty’ – how times have changed…

For one of our ‘dos’, the weather was good enough for a barbecue, so we decided to have two salads – tuna niçoise and beef satay for mains. These both require a certain amount of preparation but can be finished quickly with the last ingredients barbecued, cut and thrown on top of the salad bases prior to dressing – ideal food when socialising! For the niçoise, I used the Felicity Cloake article about ‘how to make the perfect salad niçoise’ in Feast in the Guardian as my starting point. For my pescatarian guests, I have found that plenty of tuna is welcomed, though I do use some anchovy too. The dressing she suggests is absolutely delicious, and I tend to make too much and serve extra on the side. The beef satay salad is an old favourite and is taken from a Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall recipe in the Guardian in July 2010. Again, the dressing is fabulous and a real crowd pleaser. As with the niçoise, I tend to increase the amount of the ‘star’ ingredient. In both cases, barbecuing adds a depth of flavour and a smokiness that works really well, quite apart from the smells which come from the barbecue as the tuna and beef cook.

With friends and family not yet all back to work, or working odd, part-time hours, much of our socialising has taken place on Tuesdays, Thursdays, so rather discombobulating for working out which day of the week it is after a run of social events…

Eating: Pictured above, the beef satay salad – lots of lime and cucumber under the beef and satay dressing, topped off with coriander. The beef needs to be charred and pink!

Drinking: Not the best picture, sorry, but the above, sourced from Paul Roberts wines punches well above its weight for what it costs and works well with strong tasting foods.

Listening to: Very retro Glenn Miller… tunes liked not only by guests for the above barbecue but also by children #2 and 3. Favourites being Tuxedo Junction, At last and how can you not like In the Mood?

Reading: Still on Emma. I had a false start, with the film still too fresh in my mind, but am now enjoying…