AUGUST NEWSLETTER
100% recipes. Bank Holiday entertaining. Spoiling menus for one. Picnic ideas that aren't sandwiches. Ways with runner beans. And a courgette loaf that will reframe your courgette stress.
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Hello you lovely lot
After last month’s first birthday celebrations and exciting book news*, things have settled into that lazy, hazy, lolling peacefulness I so enjoy in August. The hard work in the veg patch is mostly done and now the only job is harvesting the bounty of beans, courgettes, beetroot, spinach, herbs, carrots, kohlrabi….
So let’s keep things laid back this month with a selection of effortless recipes for the Bank Holiday and beyond.
It’s time to sit in the garden, listen to the mice nibbling the sweetcorn, and ponder what’s for lunch…
*Rough Patch is out in Feb 2025, but pre-orders make a disproportionate amount of difference to how a book is received by retailers (more on why here). If you’d like to pre-order, I’d be so grateful I might just give you Humphrey…
(TECHNICAL NOTE: There are a LOT of recipes here and they might not all fit in your email. If so, just hit VIEW ENTIRE MESSAGE at the end of the email, or head to the app or online version.)
An easy menu for summer entertaining
We’ve a bank holiday coming up in the UK, so here’s a 3-course menu for effortless entertaining:
Picnic ideas that aren’t sandwiches
If three courses isn’t your style, pack a few tuppawares with these goodies and head out for a picnic. All very EM Forster. Wheat field optional.
And there’s a courgette loaf below that is the absolute business on a picnic too…
‘Please yourself’ menu for one
in the August edition of The Simple Things magazine, you’ll find my summery menu for one. All the recipes are simple assembly jobs but offer a moment to spoil yourself with something just a little special. You’ll find a tarragon gimlet, pan con tomate, aubergine saltimbocca and buttered cherries with chocolate, all shot as beautifully as ever by
.Summer veg heroes
My latest feature for Fortnum & Mason focuses on runner beans, courgettes and gooseberries, all of which are growing abundantly (perhaps a bit too abundantly) in the garden this month, and suggests ways to cook them and classic pairings. There’s also this recipe for courgette loaf with gooseberry fridge jam:
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