Summer heatwave

It's been hot lately .... and dry, so dry.

It seems like ages since we had any rain, though maybe it's only a week or two - the memory is fickle sometimes!

On the lottie, the fine, dry soil billows up in clouds and blows away on a gust of wind.

We have been watering almost every day. Mr Digandweed has taken to running down to the plot in the early morning and giving everything a good soaking before the sun has a chance climb high in the sky and dry everything to a crisp.

This strategy is working well. The grass paths are like straw, but the fruit and veggies are green and lush.

I picked the first of the peas the yesterday. A variety called petit pois Waverex which I bought as seedlings from the local nursery earlier in the year.

The pods are a beautiful chalky green colour (- a favourite colour of mine. I can imagine a Farrow and Ball paint called Pea Pod Green ) and inside are some of the tiniest, sweetest peas you can imagine.

I grew peas a few years ago on the lottie but was disappointed when almost every pod contained a grub of some sort and so I gave up, but these delicious little peas have restored my faith.

They deserved, it seemed, to be more than just an accompaniment, relegated to the side of the plate and I had elaborate plans for them, but in the end the heat and time got the better of me. Instead, I lightly crushed them, mixed in some soft goats' cheese and chopped mint and piled the mixture onto toasted sourdough.

I did, however, find time to transform some of the strawberry harvest into a delicious granita.
Mouth numbingly cold, but so refreshing in this heat.
Recipe from Queen Delia.

Hope all is well in your corner of the world.

Speak soon.

Annie
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