It is that time of year when, in our family, we debate whether a full traditional Sunday roast is appropriate fare. Doubts about what we should be having are started by a spell of two or three consecutive days of warm, summer-dreaming weather, when sitting out and feeling the warmth of Spring sun on the bones gives a sense of well-being; for us, somehow tucking into thick, garlic-laden gravy with roast potatoes and veg doesn’t quite seem to chime with these climactic conditions. Being a relatively food obsessed family (perhaps that’s just me on reflection…), we have a range of strategies/dishes that respond appropriately to this set of circumstances. We used to look forward to the first big bowl of avocado, bacon and egg salad, served with a range of dressed leaves and tomatoes – light, refreshing, filling.

As time has moved on and dietary habits have changed, this no longer ticks the boxes for all but two of us – a new approach has been required. And it has largely been met by having a sharing meal, consisting of lots of different plates – mezze, tapas, dim sum, smörgâsbord, thali – call it what you will, but the prevalence of this type of cuisine around the world, in different cultures, speaks not only to the joy that sharing food has but also to the important role it plays in nurturing family and social interaction. It also has the obvious and added bonus that a range plates can meet the needs of vegans, vegetarians, pescatarians, flexitarians and carnivores.

So, inspired mainly by my love of most things Ottolenghi, the following is the collection of dishes that we recently had, although only one is in fact an Ottolenghi recipe. I was only catering for vegetarians, so this is not a very inclusive set! The plates I chose were not necessarily designed to go together – I opted rather for what I wanted to have a go at, with some elements being pre-preparable, as often this type of cooking is much more hassle than just producing one main element. I wanted bulk, warmth and greenery…and to sustain what we all value about our Sunday lunch.

Eating: First picture above is Burnt aubergine with feta and harissa oil. And yes, recipe from Ottolenghi! Immediately above, Za’atar flatbreads, recipe from Plant based magazine 08/19. Yeast-free, they do not need time to proof, so are ideal for this type of occasion. Immediately below, Israeli couscous with za’atar roasted carrots, recipe also from Plant based magazine. (I used ordinary couscous as I had plenty!)Bottom picture is Burmese butterbean mash, recipe from The Guardian 01/13, Felicity Cloake’s adaptation of recipe by Mimi Aye. We also had a fattoush salad with heirloom tomatoes, but I was too busy eating to take a photo!

Drinking: On a separate, socially-distanced occasion, we were out in friends’ garden for an early evening event which consisted of a range of wines served with cheese. Amongst the expected Sauternes and port, we had a Lustau East India Solera Sherry and a madeira, but the star of the show was this sweet German wine, sourced from Lidl – apologies for the poor quality photo, explained perhaps by the list of bottles tasted… it went beautifully with the cheeses we had but especially the blue…

Listening to:The album Play by Moby – an old favourite, I had forgotten how good some of the tracks are, until prompted to play it by Spotify… re-loving Why does my heart feel so bad?, Run on and Honey.

After what can best be described as a ‘turbulent’ few weeks, my mother has just returned to her home and was in need of some short term care, whilst we worked out what her longer term needs might be. All well and good and I was lucky that the writer her indoors was willing and able to be with me to help out. Luckily, since coming out of hospital, my mother has made (and continues to make) good progress, but, still relatively immobile, one of our major ‘tasks’ was to keep a regular supply of food (and drinks) going her way. And whilst cooking for three is easy, choosing a range of meals that she would like, whilst bearing in mind our eating habits, posed a few problems. In essence, two of the three of us love fish – I am a little jury’s out about it, in that I eat it happily when given it, but would very rarely choose it an an option. The writer her indoors is pescatarian, so we tend to be pretty vegetarian when we are at home. The mother her on a crutch didn’t want, and I quote directly, ‘any of that vegetarian rubbish’. She is also fairly averse to spicy food and is not a fan of chillies. So what did we eat? How to cope with the above restrictions, whilst preparing meals in a kitchen with an old cooker and limited ‘equipment’?

One of the easiest ‘fixes’ was lunch. Seven plus weeks of hospital food meant that fresh, green salad was top of the daily wishlist. Luckily, she has a fantastic greengrocer’s nearby, so crispy, tasty fresh red pepper added a different texture to a range of leaves, cucumber and tomatoes. I made an onion tart one week and an asparagus tart the next (both from Felicity Cloake’s ‘how to make the perfect…’ series in the Guardian to accompany the salad. Somehow, ‘vegetarian rubbish’ was less of an issue at lunchtime! Suffice it to say that it didn’t take too long, however, before the request came in for fried bacon, eggs and fried bread….

Evening meals required a little more thought and planning. Given that there is also an excellent fishmonger nearby, I often prepared dishes that were easy with both fish and meat. One night, traybakes – a bed of asparagus, red onion, tomato and red pepper with salmon for the fish lovers and pork chop for me. Another night a chicken and mushroom stew for the meat-eaters and a sweet potato and mushroom stew for the vegetarian – dishes that required the same basic starting point and were easy to produce together. Probably the most successful meal was the Ottolenghi whole roast celeriac, served with pork for my mother, who loved the cafe de Paris sauce.

Eating: Sea bass baked with a lemon garlic butter, new potatoes, green beans and a caper/herb dressing. The dressing went down well with my mum, who tends not to use capers. I used herbs from the garden, so mint, chives and parsley, mixed with olive oil, lemon juice and the capers. I had the same meal, but with steak…

Drinking: The above, passed to me by a friend, went down well with my mother, who didn’t fancy a glass of anything too heavy and complemented the strong flavours of the fish and went well with my steak too.

Listening to: London Grammar. Cooking in an unfamiliar kitchen, I wanted something comforting and familiar. The band were in my mind as we have just booked tickets to see them in November (fingers crossed). I still love the first album, If you wait, favourite songs being Strong and Shyer, but am looking forward to the imminent release of their third album.

Considered by many to be a quintessential part of British cuisine, the Sunday roast is integral to the lives and routines of many families. The constant search for ‘the best roast’ served by pubs/restaurants contrasts with the ‘homely’ nature of it as a meal, the weekly traditional family gathering. Perhaps because of this, people have very individual preferences when it comes to Sunday roasts, especially when it comes to roast potatoes – how often have you heard someone say: ‘My mum’s roast potatoes are the best!’? There are literally hundreds of results to the ‘best roast potatoes’ Google search, many of which are from renowned chefs opining on the matter… I wish not to address this particular issue, but rather one which is being forced upon increasing numbers of families – how to produce a roast that keeps the vegetarians, vegans and carnivores all happy.

The nut roast has long been disparaged by many. There are, however, some fabulous recipes out there. The ones I have tried and found to work well have been: Cranks (good for a no nonsense, quick and easy dish), a Lentil and cashew nut roast of which there are many versions -I have tended to use allrecipes.co.uk and Jamie Oliver‘s Nut roast with salsa rossa. However, none of these seem to go particularly well with the full range of traditional roast ‘accompaniments’ and gravy. Below I outline how I make this work…

And it is simple really… For the vegetarian(s), I slice up vegetarian haggis – I use McSweeny’s – drizzle with garlic oil and red wine and roast with some mushrooms and red onion. The issue is always just to bring it all together at the right time and the vegetarian haggis works well in terms of timings, just going in for 40 mins before you want to serve….I prepare the meat I will be roasting in my usual manner and get it in the oven first, as it will need time to sit and rest post cooking. I then start the gravy (see below). If I’m doing an onion sauce, which I always do for pork I then sweat the onions off with butter and wine prior to making the roux, adding mustard and finishing off. Potatoes are par-boiled, shaken in a colander, covered in semolina (thanks Nigella), then added to a pre-heated roasting tin with hot oil. I have taken to doing star anise glazed carrots (in the recipe section of the blog), as these go well and can be done on the hob, thus saving shelf space in the oven. I’m a big fan of fennel, so tend to roast some as well (seasoned, drizzled with oil and then cooked with lemon wedges). If not cooking pork, I tend to do cauliflower cheese, roasting the cauli first in truffle oil, so that there is some additional, complementary sauce on the plate.

The final element is gravy and I tend to cheat here. I put garlic cloves in cold water and let them cook slowly in a covered pan whilst everything else is being prepared and is cooking. I put some dried porcini mushrooms in a bowl and cover with boiling water. I then divide the water into 2 pans, one for vegetarian and one for non-veggie gravy. I add red wine, mustard and lemon wedges to both pans, put 2/3s of the porcini bowl into one pan and the remaining 1/3 into the other, to which I also add meat juices. A vegetarian stock cube for the veggies and the appropriate meat stock cube for the other pan. To thicken, I lazily add ready made gravy granules, whisk together and boil, adding more wine/water/mustard etc to taste… Et voilà!

Eating: The aforementioned roasts!

Drinking: This very good value red, sourced from NDJohn Wine merchants in Swansea. Light, but with enough heft to complement the strong flavours from the roast.

Listening to: More chilled jazz, as we try to get to the end of lockdown – Art Tatum specifically: Night and Day, Tiger Rag and Tea for Two, but I love lots more too!

I’ve never been particularly tempted by dry January and in fact, given the way that family birthdays fall, it has never really been an option, with a plethora to celebrate, so parties galore – but not this year obviously! As we come to the end of this January, we have just completed the full cycle of family birthdays since lockdown(s) began last March. As I’m sure for most families, any random year contains some milestone birthdays and others that we can sweep under the carpet and from which we can just move on. And this year has been no different for us in that respect. The challenge we faced, along with everyone else, was to make them ‘special’ despite the constraints of lockdowns.

Child #3’s 21st in June was made special by a treasure hunt organised by friends in the village. It was a steaming hot day, so we were able to eat in the garden and sit out till late under the stars. In lockdown#1, the whole family was here. Main course, at the request of birthday child (not really a child anymore!), was linguine with prawn, chilli, feta and thai basil. We had ordered in some English sparkling from Furleigh Estate in Dorset, so were able to champagne the day and night away – not the 21st we would have had in normal circumstances, but memorable nonetheless.

I was lucky enough to be able to get out for my birthday and the writer her indoors took me to the fabulous Hive Beach Café (www.hivebeachcafe.co.uk), where we were able to eat fresh seafood and fish, with sand beneath our toes – always makes me think of the great Cherry Ghost song Thirst for Romance – the smell of the sea in our nostrils, the sound of waves crashing on the beach in front of us and a great view of the Jurassic coast…

Birthdays in November and early January saw us manage to drink more champagne and eat involtini, from Nigella, as well as a tapas-style birthday dinner for the 25 year old, the highlights of which were mushrooms with garlic, sherry and pine nuts and broad beans with red pepper and lardons. Mid January saw the ‘significant’ birthday of the writer her indoors, and again friends and villagers alike took up the baton with a pre-recorded set of birthday wishes, a constant stream of deliveries from the local florist, presents galore and a fishy tasting menu, with ingredients ordered in from Darts Farm in Topsham, Devon. Mussels, crab and sea bass were consumed with gusto, along with, you’ve guessed it, copious amounts of champagne!

Only time will tell whether we managed to create special, long-lasting memories of these birthdays during this most memorable (should that be forgettable) of years…

Eating: Stir-fried noodles with sambal and crab. Recipe from Yotam Ottolenghi The Guardian 28/11/20. One of those recipes that you look at and store away to use at the right time, and the aforementioned birthday of the writer her indoors was just the occasion – went down a storm!

Drinking: Gautret VSOP Cognac, which is made in the classic Charentais style. Having ordered in 2 bottles of the above to help ‘manage’ the Christmas period, we had some left and it has been a pleasure to sip this in front of a fire on cold nights, or to add to a hot chocolate in the early evening after a late walk with the pampered pooch.

Listening to: Echo & the Bunnymen. As a student in Paris in the early 80s, Ocean Rain had just been released and I think this is still my favourite Bunnymen album. It contains the fabulous The Killing Moon. However favourite track has to be All my colours from Heaven up Here.

So, after two months or so, welcome back! It wasn’t a conscious decision to take a break from blogging or from posting on other social media platforms; it sort of just happened. Many of us spend quite a lot of time accessing these sites- my phone helpfully gives me weekly updates as to time spent, how I’ve spent it and whether my %s have increased or decreased since last time- and lockdown probably hasn’t meant less time, let’s be honest.

It is very easy to be drawn into following certain events online which can quickly become quite an obsession. The writer her indoors was glued to a variety of screens/platforms when waiting for the final confirmation of Biden’s victory, a ‘moment’ that was a long time coming post close of voting. I know of people who were effectively stalking some news reporters’ tweets over Brexit, following every minor development, comment and analysis with eager anticipation. It can all be very wearing, creeping up on you as a habit, a pattern of behaviour that, on refection, can feel unhealthy.

As ever for me, the kitchen provides a safe haven for me from concerns about the state of the world as well as Insta, FB, Twitter et al. In the last few weeks highlights from the cocoon of the kitchen have included eating home-grown sprouts on Christmas Day (simply sautéed with butter and a little water and seasoned with salt and pepper and then sprinkled with pomegranate seeds), preparing a tapas-style dinner for Child #2’s lockdown birthday and just trialling some different recipes in the Aga. At a time when we are not going out, what better than to eat tasty, wholesome and hearty food during these cold and damp winter lockdown months?

Eating: Mushrooms with roasted chickpea sauce – recipe from Nik Sharma in The Guardian. This is a great starter; simple and tasty, low FODMAP and can also easily be dairy free. With greater care, you could also use the recipe as hors d’ouevres at a party (remember them?).

Drinking: The above red is versatile, great with both lighter dishes and those with more ‘heft’. This came as part of the Naked Wines Christmas box and is surprisingly still going strong!

Listening to: The family can always tell when I am reading Murakami, as I suddenly become obsessed with (mainly jazz) music that I have never listened to before… Early evening, glass of wine, preparing dinner in the kitchen, warmth from the Aga meaning no jumper required and Lester Young blaring out from the sound system – fabulous! I can’t get started, Back home in Indiana and S.M. Blues are the current favourites.

Life: We are all familiar with the trope about parents needing their kids to assist with all/most/any IT or modern technology issues. A member of the older generation involved says something about bluetooth and wifi that induces the eye-rolling of the younger person: the parent asks a question about how to move apps on their phone screen which results in an exasperated sigh from the youngster. In my experience, these situations end one of two ways…either the younger person takes the device in question away and returns soon after with the ‘issue’ resolved, or the older person continues to demonstrate a lack of understanding, palpably ignores the advice offered and the youngster cuts their losses and runs. I describe these familiar scenes because, after many years of badgering, my mother has at last bitten the bullet and is online. Such a reluctant newbie has needed handling with kid gloves, but, after several days ‘training’ from both the cook and the writer her indoors, she is now competent with emailing and Skyping and beginning to think about ordering online. I promise that no eyes were rolled in the process, no swift exits engineered from rooms….and that much alcohol was consumed by all at the end of each day’s training!

Food: A change of season always brings a slew of season-based recipes and autumn is no different. The weekend broadsheets are full of tempting delights and words like ‘hearty’ and ‘warming’ re-enter the vocabulary alongside ‘slow-cooked’. Ingredients such as squashes, apples, beetroot and figs are de rigueur – we move away from salads and start thinking about food that will keep us warm and full as the nights close in and the temperatures drop.

My first port of call at this time of the year has always been soup and many of the ingredients listed above lend themselves really well to soups. Yes, in the summer a beautiful chilled gazpacho is perfect, or an ajo blanco, (and I enjoyed a strawberry and basil soup during the heat of lockdown) but autumn is the time that I think soup shines. There is nothing better than a bowl of warm soup, served with fresh bread on the side, either to dip or to use to ‘clean’ the bowl. Alongside the well-worn path of French onion, cullen skink, minestrone and the all-time classic ‘tomato’, sit laksa, mulligatawny and borscht. I also love tastes such as sweet potato, chilli and coconut, or spicy carrot and chickpea, and can you beat a good pea and ham soup? Of late, though, my favourite soups have been a Mexican black bean soup I found in Plant based magazine (Oct 19) or Nigel Slater’s cheddar and cider soup, the latter of which certainly resonates in the South West, given the range of excellent local ciders and cheddars.

Life and food: Stressful mornings reminding my mother to caress rather than poke the screen and that there is a back button ‘if in doubt’, followed by ‘a light lunch’ of roast squash soup with a fresh poppy seed loaf, then ‘time out’ to walk the pampered pooch down to the harbour before further practice and the ‘reward’ of seeing and chatting to a grandchild on Skype (for free, don’t forget!) – surfing and soup… time to roll my eyes, go to the kitchen and pour a stiff drink!

Eating: Roasted butternut squash soup with fresh, warm white poppy seed loaf, homemade in my bread machine. The recipe for the soup was adapted from Sara Ward in Country Living and has a really good kick to it. She uses pumpkin, but it behaves in a very similar way!

Drinking: You will probably be aware that I am forever on the hunt for a nice Viognier and this one, from Waitrose (and recently on offer) is certainly hitting the mark.

Listening to: A little bit of Franz Liszt! To be specific: Ballade No 1 in D flat major; Ballade No 2 in B minor; Hungarian Rhapsody No 8; Funérailles (from Harmonies Poétiques et Religieuses; Liebesträume No 3; Hungarian Rhapsody No 12, all played by Sergio Fiorentino. Calming, relaxing and a great way to unwind after a stressful day (see above!).

As summer firmly turns to autumn, the days shorten, the winds blow with a little more bite and the mornings feel chilly, we are left to reflect on the symbiosis between the weather and our current ‘situation’. Gone are the heady days of barbecues in hot sunshine with a permitted number of family/friends, socially distancing in the garden, the sounds of a country gradually returning to ‘normal’ in the distance – was that wedding bells I heard? Announced are a raft of re-imposed restrictions and a sense of growing foreboding…

It is in my nature to be positive, I think, and the change of the seasons does at least open up the re-visiting of old rituals and the chance to start new ones. When I was working as a teacher, I would try to be out of the country for as much of the summer as feasibly possible, or at least away from home; one afternoon spent in the house in six weeks was our most successful summer. In lockdown, in the country and at home I was present for what the garden had to offer. This year, the damson tree was heavy with fruit and I thought I should to try to use it. Now stored carefully in a dark cupboard I have damson gin and damson vodka, both of which should be ready for Christmas. Damson jam has been made (and snaffled by children# 2 and 3 to take with them as they return to their lives elsewhere!). The sloes are out and ripe for picking, so the writer her indoors is readying herself for her annual mission to make enough sloe gin that we can put some aside for once. Poo bags – well, what else would you use when out walking pampered pooch? – filled with sloes have already been emptied, re-bagged and frozen in readiness.

Beans have been grown for the first time and are plants that keep on giving, as have both the peppers and the aubergines. I don’t know what happened with the tomatoes – suffice it to say that I won’t even be making green tomato chutney this year! Earlier documented battles with brambles mean that we have far fewer blackberries to pick this year and those branches that are laden with fruit are impossible to reach. The last of the cabbages have been cleared and the lettuce has finished… yes, amongst (and despite) the depressing daily news items, it has been a pleasure to be around this summer – roll on whatever is coming next!

Eating: The aforementioned damson jam, liberally spread on homemade wholemeal bread. The writer her indoors had munched it considerably whilst I was looking for my phone to take a picture. Note to self that I need a thermometer, now, as I was guessing at the temperature of the mixture!

Drinking: I’m not really much of a spirits drinker, but, as the nights close in and winter draws nearer, I am enjoying the above. It is probably really more of a ‘Christmas’ drink, but I prefer to think of it as grown up Cointreau. Seville orange, cardamon and cloves give this an absolutely delightful, end of the evening in front of the fire feel.

Listening to: Peggy Lee. A recent, quiet, low-key, socially distanced ‘drink and nibbles’ evening turned into something else and the song of the night, in my opinion, was Fever, just an absolute classic that I hadn’t heard for some time. I’m also loving the brass arrangement on Ain’t we got fun.

When I was at university studying French, my favourite programme of study was a twentieth century French drama module. It confirmed my love of the works Albert Camus, even though he is better known for his novels. I re-acquainted myself with the works of Samuel Beckett (the only Nobel prize winning author to play first class cricket – great quiz question if you need!) and was introduced to the poeticism of Paul Claudel, in works such as Partage de Midi and to the symbolism of Alfred Jarry’s work in Ubu. I came across Jean Giraudoux’s fantastic ‘La Guerre de Troie n’aura pas lieu’, as well as Jean Anouilh’s politically charged ‘Antigone’. I loved the absurdist work of Eugène Ionesco and the picture above is a simple ‘homage’ to him. However, it was the work of Jean-Paul Sartre that most divided the seminar group. I was always a bit jury’s out (he did, after all, have a massive falling out with Albert Camus and I always sided with Camus) about his development of Kierkegaard’s Existentialism. I was won over by Huis Clos, his brilliant three-hander set in hell, the title of which translates variously as ‘In Camera’ or ‘No Exit’ – perhaps most appropriate for the times in which we have been living.

I reference another of his works above – Les Mouches, The Flies, for no reason other than, at this time of the year, we have been plagued by flies. They were plentiful but manageable last year but for some reason have been intolerable this year. We started our defence early, with the purchase of ‘red tops’, killer bags which will kill hundreds of flies. The bags fill nicely, but too many still make it into the house. We next resorted to fly spray – again effective in the short term, but such an unhealthy odour! An online delivery of a pack of 10 fly swats was the next attempt to stem the tide. Successful in that all the family take great joy in using them, satisfaction gained by the sound of splat followed by a fly (or two if you are lucky) falling to the floor. However, flies are drawn to the pheromones released by some flies as they die, so the fly swats provide a catch 22 situation… Our last strategy is a plant, a pitcher plant, which is carnivorous. It works by luring the flies to it, getting them ‘drunk’, so that they fall down the stems and are unable to get out… I know, sounds ridiculous, but it does work.

Despite the flies, life continues with the new normalities to which we have become accustomed, which, combined with more established patterns of behaviour, still re-inforce the sense of how strange things are. Child #1 has friends down this weekend. They have visited before and always provide great entertainment. We woke up this morning to find the back garden festooned with a flock of pink flamingos, one of which seemed to have made it onto the thatch! Several further surprises are planned, so the writer her indoors has retreated to the study to work and I will shortly be in the kitchen killing flies and cooking!

Eating: As summer draws to a close, it feels good to have a classic ‘warm summer evening’ meal, so salmon with caper, lemon and mint dressing, new potatoes with mint, butter and lemon and ratatouille – ish, with all vegetables from the garden, so extra tasty!

Drinking: This very quaffable white went perfectly with the salmon… easy drinking and undemanding, went down rather too quickly!

Listening to: The soundtrack to the fabulous tv series Mrs America. As with Killing Eve, a wide variety of songs, really well matched to the storyline. Current favourites: A Fifth of Beethoven, Walter Murphy, used as the title sequence music and I know, Bonnie Raitt.

When staff were bemoaning the inadequacies of the management of the school at which I used to work (quite often, as it happens), one particular phrase could be frequently heard: ‘plan early, plan twice.’ Clearly this spoke to management’s propensity to ‘manage’ on the hoof, taking account neither of established procedures nor of published deadlines and calendars, seemingly ignoring staff wishes and basic common sense; just a knee-jerk reaction to a situation or opportunity that had arisen, poorly communicated to all concerned. I say this not to draw parallels with our current situation and as a comment on government response to Covid, though I dare say there may be some who might be thinking that there are similarities, but rather as an observation about the summer holiday period and how it is affecting us. Do we honour long-held bookings? Do we gamble on a recent booking to go abroad to somewhere ‘safe’ three weeks ago? Or do we look for a late-booked break in the UK?

When we moved, I looked forward to welcoming friends for a meal and glass or two as they passed through to, or back from, holiday in the deep south-west. As the summer continues it has been lovely to do just this in a slightly impromptu way over the past couple of weeks, catching up face-to-face, socially distanced for a chat, some food and wine – a chance to re-connect, update on news and remind ourselves of shared memories from summer holidays gone by. One set of friends, at the end of a late-booked week on the Jurassic coast, were about to go to France – brave, we said, but enough time left after their return to self-isolate prior to a return to work, a real example of the new norm. Another family, on their way to their annual pilgrimage to Cornwall, wetsuits at the ready, kids plugged in to devices for the journey – same old same old.

Given the nature of a ‘light lunch’ stop, with driving on the agenda, and with a variety of tastes to cater for, I have defaulted into tarte à l’oignon, with slow roast tomatoes and lardon sprinkles as a starter, followed by two or three large salads: tuna niçoise, beef satay, avocado or roast vegetable and lentil, all served with roast new potatoes. These can be prepared on the morning of any visit, so minimal time away from guests and are flexible enough to deal with traffic delays or early arrivals!

And let’s be honest, what is better in this new norm, staycation summer period, than an old-fashioned, simple, tasty meal enjoyed with friends in the garden over a chilled glass of white, rosé or a cold beer?

Eating: Of the salads mentioned above, top left, the slightly mis-named avocado salad (a great combination of squash roasted with cumin, feta, beans and avocado, served with a honey-soy dressing and nut and seed sprinkle), top right, the tuna niçoise and underneath, the beef satay. The recipe for the fourth salad mentioned above will soon be appearing in the recipe section.

Drinking: In my long quest for ‘different’ whites, Viognier has been one of my preferred grapes and this one, brought down by friends is an absolutely lovely example – totally hit the mark on a hot afternoon.

Listening to: A different social occasion with a widower in the village ended with a long session listening to some of his favourite music and the tracks he played by the Jacques Loussier Trio were a revelation. A jazz take on classical music which works really well. Current favourites are their version of Air on G string and Prelude and Fugue No1 in C Major.

Reading: Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari, lent to me by child #1. Emma wasn’t an unqualified success, so trying a very different tone/tome!

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…