This week I have been mostly eating: easy summer dinners

This last week before we head off on our long-awaited cruise has been a bit strange. We’ve barely seen the boys as they’ve been spending time making the most of their last few days of freedom before education beckons again, and I feel a bit like I’m in limbo: like I know that this really is the last of our English summer and that when I come home it will properly be autumn. Already, as we’re walking the dog, the blackberries are ripe and ready to pick, and even on a really hot day, there’s that little nip in the air when the sun goes in. I’m still loving quick, healthy eating and we’ve been packing away easy summer dinners of warm salads, fish and stir fries.

Last night, we had a simple plaice fillet (above) grilled with butter and pepper, and served with some easy mushroom rice (plain, boiled basmati, stirred through with some sliced mushrooms that have been pan fried in more butter and pepper!), and a lovely, easy salsa of a few flat peaches that were past their best, some chopped, ripe tomatoes, red onion, red chilli and a handful of whatever herbs are still surviving in the garden.

I seem to have been cooking quite a few variations on the theme of vegetable rice. This one was stir fried courgettes, red onion, red pepper and tomato, plus a tablespoon of red pepper pesto. Bung in your boiled rice, stir around and it’s done. SO easy. A lovely friend sent me some jerk chicken seasoning, which I sprinkled over some chicken breasts with a drizzle of oil before baking. Served with a tablespoon of spicy chutney. Yum. Rubbish photo, delicious dinner (and my table needs a wipe, by the look of it too):

Easy summer dinners: jerk chicken with vegetable rice

Salsa is a recurring theme as well at the moment. This one, served with leftover shredded roast lamb, stuffed into tortillas, was beetroot, tomato, sweetcorn, red onion, dried chilli flakes and coriander, if my memory serves me correctly (toss the red onion in a little lime juice while you’re chopping the other ingredients - it takes the raw edge off it):

Easy summer dinners: beetroot and sweetcorn salsa

Another ingredient I love to keep in the freezer are those packs of frozen prawns. This pack were stir fried straight from frozen in butter with garlic and parsley, then I added cooked potatoes and broccoli and piled on top of salad. Delicious, and so summery!

Easy summer dinners: potato and prawn salad

Last but not least I went out for a lovely, sunny lunch with my Mum to our new favourite restaurant, The Highwayman in Berkhamsted. Check out our Piedmontese chicken salads. Like caesar salads but even better, with the addition of black olives and sharp little capers. Yum.

Easy summer dinners: Piedmontese salad at the Highwayman

Next week, hopefully I’ll be bringing you delicious dishes from restaurants on board Celebrity Eclipse. SQUEE! Until then, have you eaten/cooked anything yummy you want to share? x