We’re approaching longest day territory here in the UK right now. The maximum hours of daylight in the year reaches 16 hours and 41 minutes in a matter of a few (long) days, meaning our evenings stretch gloriously out in front of us throughout the summer months (the depths of winter, where we barely get eight hours of light, is another matter)…

We’re onto our second heatwave of the summer here in the UK. Gardens and parks are turning a delightful shade of brown, hosepipe bans are looming, and frankly, no one’s in the mood for cooking much right now (myself included)…

Summer is almost upon us here in the northern hemisphere, and the promise of lazy meals and BBQs outside is tantalisingly close. Here in the UK we’ve been given an extra bank holiday this year to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, so many of us will be kicking back and, weather permitting, enjoying some tasty food and drink outside with friends!

Oven chips are a good first foray into “cooking from scratch” if you’re not super confident in the kitchen. There are very few ingredients required, no fancy equipment, and they take about 45 minutes from start to finish (depending on how quickly your oven heats up!)…

We’re continuing the brassica theme today with a hearty cauliflower cheese. Cauliflowers are grown year round here in the UK, with May being the end of the winter season, and even though the weather is slowly warming up there are still a few lingering chilly days where something more warming and substantial is required at dinner time.

I’d like to think that nowadays I’m quite an adventurous eater; as long as there’s no meat in it (maybe no liquorice or coffee either) I’ll give it a try. As a child, however, I was very fussy. Eggs, cheese, tomatoes, even broccoli - seen as one of the more “child friendly” vegetables - I did not want to eat any of it.

My fiancé is a great lover of lemons. His mother reliably informs us that he only started speaking as a child to ask for “some lemon dosh” (dosh = squash), and even now he will happy munch on a leftover lemon slice when one is available to him. Me, I’m more ambivalent about lemons, particularly in their application in sweet recipes.