🌞Summer holiday cooking + it’s time for tea with Ms Marmite Lover 🧁

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We’re all going on a summer holiday

It’s that time of year, kids are off school, grownups are stocking up on sunscreen, and if you are lucky you might be packing a suitcase to head off for an adventure or two. But whether you are taking up residence in an Italian villa for a month, or revelling in a fuss-free staycation, holiday cooking will set the mood.

The holiday can only be enhanced by Flavors of the Mediterranean—think Shakshuka with Garlicky Wilted Spinach, a herb-rich Tabbouleh Salad, the classic Greek dish Spanakopita, or this Pugliese Fish Stew.

Relaxed summer eating means casual flexible food that suits a range of plans and easy dining, think Not Solely Spanish Tapas.

Try Avocado-Sardine Toasts, Arancini di Riso, or these smoked paprika spiced Spanish Prawns.

If the holidays find you at home, with more kitchen time than usual, why not take the opportunity to Preserve the Summer Harvest and keep some of those sunshine tastes for the coming months.

Try Making Herb-Flavored Vinegar, or turn that glut of tomatoes into some Red Tomato Jam with Fresh Ginger.

Sail around our Mediterranean bookshelf

Pictured above: Grilled Summer Vegetables with Crispy Fried Feta & Honey from Love Vegetables by Anna Shepherd

Your invitation to a secret tea party

‘Tea can be as simple as a drink and a biscuit, but afternoon tea is at its most glorious, and most British, when it becomes a small feast, with good baking, hot drinks and a little tipple or two.(..) You don’t have to be hungry to enjoy an afternoon tea. Real life is on hold. Food as fuel is notionally cast away. It can be playful; even as an adult you can revert to the simple childhood pleasure of jam sandwiches.’ Kerstin Rodgers

Kerstin Rodgers—aka Ms Marmite Lover after her award-winning blog of the same name—is the creator of ground-breaking supper clubs and pop-ups, including The Underground Restaurant held in her home in Northwest London, and gardening and cooking supper club The Secret Garden Club. Her celebration of the delights of afternoon tea Ms Marmite Lover’s Secret Tea Party: Exquisite Recipes for the Ultimate Afternoon Teas is newly added to ckbk.

The book has a section to help you set the scene, followed by recipes divided into the sweet and the savory, ideas for themed teas, and a section on the tea itself and other drinks. With 128 recipes there is plenty to choose from. Find Teacakes, and a Giant Custard Cream Jammie Dodger. Savory dishes include this showstopping, jumbo-sized Sandwich That Looks Like a Cake!

Find all 128 recipes from Secret Tea Party

Tech tip: add your own private notes to recipes

It’s so satisfying when you perfect a recipe, perhaps customising it to better suit your own taste or equipment. Did you try something new with a recipe which worked really well? Perhaps you discovered a great ingredient substitution, or made a cooking time adjustment to suit your own oven. One good option is to share your experiences in a recipe review, but did you know that you can also add a private note, for future reference?

It's the third tab appearing at the bottom of each recipe, alongside Reviews and Q&A. Just a quick note to yourself can help you customise your favorite recipes on ckbk so they work best for you.

Ingredient focus: fennel

Fennel is a member of the parsley family, and has been used in Europe since the classical era. Different varieties are used in different ways, for their seed or their fluffy-leaved herbal fronds, but the Florence Fennel, or Finocchio is used as a vegetable. What is eaten is the swollen base of the stems that form a tight ‘bulb’. This has a crisp texture when eaten raw, and raw or cooked retains a fresh, sweet, mild anise flavor.

Finely sliced fennel makes a great salad, combining well with sharp and salted flavors, such as fresh orange or feta cheese—try this Crisp Fennel & Orange Broccoli Salad or this Fresh Apple, Fennel & Feta Salad.

Both the texture and taste of fennel survive braising, roasting, or a flash on the barbecue, becoming mellow and sweeter. These Seared Fennel Wedges make a great summer side dish. For more fabulous fennel recipes take a look at these 12 Ways with Fennel.

6 of the best summer salads

For when salad vegetables and leaves are at their tasty peak, and you want something fresh, tasty and light to eat, here are six perfect summer salads.