Mid-August is an evocative time here in Southern England and after a sociable and luxuriously fed weekend there was nothing quite like rounding it off quietly in my small courtyard garden with a simple supper under the fading blue skies as the colours linger and fade on the roses and clematis blooms.
What to have though when you have been well-fed for two days but just fancy something to mark the event of a warm August night?
The tomatoes are well into their harvest and they are succulently tasty this year and they are just enough, after the strawberries and raspberries, to make this little garden feel fruitful.
So no problem there
Some sliced tomatoes and, yes, maybe some cheese:
French and ripe on a hand-painted plate from Provence; add some black French grapes:
and all anyone needs to make the perfect supper al fresco is that long stemmed glass of rich burgundy wine:
Did I enjoy it? You bet.
Thanks tomatoes, it was all your idea.
question for you – name 3 foods you love and would eat if they were all you had to eat, nutritional requirements are not an issue…
that glass of wine looks uncharacteristicaly underfilled Mr WOlfie!
mercredi….well spotted! It did get a minor embellishment you are eagle eyed I fear.
Decker….I am hopeless at this kind of thing…I am much to self indulgent to even begin to decide on shortlists for any of my pleasures.
Yesterday I was able to have beans grown on my balcony. It feels like a real luxury, and there is something satisfying about knowing that you have grown your own food – even if it is just a portion of beans.
Mine is one of the few flats where people are growing stuff like mad – most have only loungers. They don't know what they are missing!
Brilliant Claudio, I agree totally. I have only got the little courtyard garden here but I am really enjoying the harvest even if it is only small.
I am planning to have small vegetable patch next year with even a miniature rotation of crops. The inspiration is the same as yours – the satisfaction of growing your own even if it is only enough for one meal.