Summer Food

My thoughts turn to heavy food in the winter - soups and roasts, potatoes and root vegetables - and to the Mediterranean in the summer.  So the smell of basil made me think of pesto and tomatoes; when a friend came for a meal the other night I made a pesto-and-tomato salad to go with the creamy, cheesy tomato pasta, and a garlic bread; sticky with butter and oil, my hands smelled of garlic and basil and tomato juice.  We ripped the bread apart and made mouthfuls of pasta and sauce and bread.  And Alan brought a sack of Ludlow Gold, the local real ale, a light, powerful summer brew.  Golden ale, the association of summer.  

But for once, perhaps bowing to the formality of a guest for a meal, we ate it inside; as much as possible we are eating outside at the moment, enjoying the warm days and sunshine.  We have had temperatures of 31 degrees C, which is really warm for us.  It means endless watering but breakfasts outside.  Summer eating!