There’s nothing better than coming home, right? Well, maybe there’s one thing better than coming home. Coming home and having your sister and her husband come home at the same time! Especially if your sister is a domestic goddess, full up on stories of her travels through Nepal, India and Sri Lanka and wants to get her cook on. Okay, we’ll let you…

We have been hearing all about their adventures over delicious vegetarian food and bottles of Swedish cider; as you do. The weather has been perfect and even B2 seems to have decided to give up on the all night screaming. Phew. I used to be vegetarian, until my husband tempted me with a lamb chop while we were living in China. Vegetarian for eight years in fact. My sister has to be going on at least eight years “vege-oh” and her husband is of the same inclination so when they are around we get to eat like (herbivorous) kings.

Here’s a trio of our latest feasting: Spiced Chickpeas and haloumi (yet another Annabel Langbein recipe, photo above), Broccoli, pea, mint and feta salad and throw-everything-on-it pizza. The “everything pizza” was a fun experiment because my sister discovered a website which has recipes with only two ingredients. Two! The pizza base was merely greek yoghurt and self-raising flour. Quite bready and needing to be pre-cooked, but fresh and good all the same. I know how you like your pizza…

My favourite of all was the humble broccoli, pea, mint and feta salad. Mum got the recipe from who-knows-where, wrote it on a bit of note paper and forgot about it for years. Until this week. What a little treasure.

Here’s how to make it for yourself:

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Broccoli, Pea, Mint & Feta Salad (dressing):

1/2 cup light sour cream, 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 3/4 cup mint leaves, 2 T lemon juice, 1 T water, 1 crushed garlic clove, salt and pepper.

Whizz it in a blender and pour over peas, broccoli and feta. Like, you know, enough to fill a 4-6 people salad bowl.

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As you can probably tell I’m a very big fan of easy cooking, easy company and easy conversation. To me, nothing says summer better than a huge salad and a cold drink of something or other so this kind of food makes me smile. It’s been so nice to enjoy warm nights with family and good food. Where I am the pohutakawa is covered in red flower, the air smells salty and the sun has a sting in its tail. Sigh.

What is it like where you are? What is the food of the season you just can’t stop eating?

HUGS, Hannah x