Summer dinners ...

Hello :) I have been loving these long summer evenings lately ... they've been falling into a nice routine involving dinner in the garden, tennis watching, and some reading and tea sipping.

My room with a view. 

Of late I have been inspired to be more creative with the dinners I cook. One of the reasons is that I'm mostly on holidays, so there's more time to spend pondering what I shall make for dinner. Another reason is also where I buy my produce from. Buying local and, especially at the markets- where a lot of the people behind the stall have grown the produce themselves - truly does change the way you view your food. It's such an enjoyable way to shop ... filling your basket with vegetables that have literally been harvested the day before. I mean everything tastes just so darn fresh and flavoursome ... and after making that connection I always have more respect and value for the produce. Heidi wrote a brilliant post recently about getting to know your food which I'd encourage you to read as she writes so well on the subject.

My basket of goodies from orange grove markets last week ... organic eggs, sonoma miche (what else?), blueberries, tomatoes, cultured butter (this went in a few days ...) and some more vege.

In saying all this, here are some of my recent dinners. Maybe they'll inspire you to stock up at the markets or your local produce shop this weekend ...

Rice noodle salad. (aka deconstructed rice paper rolls!) This consisted of rice noodles (soaked for a few minutes in boiling water), BBQ chicken, carrots, red cabbage, cucumber, basil & chili jam.

Grass fed lamb steak, coconut curry potatoes and kale/basil pesto.

Flatbread w/ chorizo, broad beans, steam potatoes and roast beetroot/feta dip.

Mozzarella lasagne. There was mince, spinach and mozzarella in the fridge, and so the decision was quite easy !!

Roast tomato/white bean/basil soup with crispy pancetta & haloumi.

Salmon, sugar snaps, soy sauce, sesame seeds & miso.

Lettuce cups with zucchini/red onion/corn & spicy meatballs with chili jam.

Lunch at home ...

I copied a cafe I went to & started popping some cucumber slices in my water. It's super refreshing- try it! Add lemon slices and mint leaves if you wanna be extra fancy ....

Hope you all have a great weekend !! I'm excited about going to Eveleigh markets tomorrow morning. Usually I can't go as I'm working at Orange Grove, but luckily my boss is having an extra long break and I don't start back till February. And on Sunday, after a few months off, I'm back working at Marrickville markets with Little China Teas selling TCM teas/soups. Should be fun!

Hannah x