Summer Salad - The definition of salad …

… “a cold dish of vegetables or herbs ... with a dressing … sometimes including egg, meat, fish etc.” … a diverse or confused mixture.

I'm old enough to remember the nightmare of salad in the 1960s – usually served Saturday or Sunday teatime. A limp lettuce leaf, a slice of cucumber and tomato, a spring onion and a slice of hard boiled egg. Is this description ringing any bells?!

My take on a “salad” is really easy - serve what you know your family and friends love. I'm also stretching a point in that my version includes both hot and cold dishes – as I've said often, rules are meant to be broken. I think it's good to serve a mixture of hot and cold – let's face it the weather isn't exactly summery at the moment in the UK – more like autumn, so I don't think this menu is out of place at all!

This is where it gets tricky however – two fish and shellfish lovers (and meat too), one meat lover and one vegetarian!

My salad is designed to be served all at the same time so no starter or canapé, what I call a “creaking table”.

My mission is to make life as easy as I can for myself – prep ahead, leaving as little as possible to do on the day - which in this case is Saturday – evening.

Are you with me so far?!

Lemon Meringue Fudge – the photo guide

I used lemon extract paste and mini lemon meringues – see below :

Here's the fudge :

There's a residue of tiny lemon crystals in the bottom of the meringue packet – use them to sprinkle over the top of your fudge before it's fridged :

Crush your meringues in a food bag, clipped and then sprinkle away :

Here's the finished fudge :

Freeze in boxes of a size that will suit so you don't waste any – very funny!

Lemon Meringue Fudge

Hmm – not everyone likes plain chocolate so, here's the result of my latest “messing about in the kitchen” - another fudge but made with milk chocolate - probably more appealing to kids because milk chocolate is sweeter – it's purely a matter of personal taste.

Lemon Meringue Fudge

400g milk chocolate broken into small

even sized pieces

25g butter

397 can condensed milk

100 icing sugar

2 tsps of lemon extract or 1 tsp of lemon extract paste

50g lemon meringues, crushed

6 meringue kisses crushed, for decoration

Line a 20cm square tin with baking parchment.

Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie. In a non-stick saucepan, melt the butter and gently warm the condensed milk. Add the melted chocolate and mix well until smooth. Beat in the icing sugar until blended and smooth. Fold in the crushed meringues.

Put the mixture into the prepared tin, spread evenly into the corners, smooth over the top and decorate with the crushed meringue kisses. Place in the fridge to set for at least an hour. Remove, cut into small squares, then box and fridge or freeze.

The same hints and tips apply as with the plain chocolate fudge :

Milk chocolate bars will be fine since they are in squares of the same size and will met evenly. Check out the cheaper supermarkets for good deals.

Don't forget to use unsalted butter and sift the icing sugar!

As with the plain chocolate fudge, I boxed the fudge and froze for a week – it was as good as it was when made so ideal if you want to make ahead or stash it so it doesn't disappear when you're not looking. Fridge it straight from the freezer – it's really good cold.

Using milk chocolate gives a softer, squidgier consistency. You should get 80 pieces of fudge if you cut 2cm squares.

Don't eat them all at once!

Fudge – for thought

So far for our store cupboard summer treat we've covered the chocolate fudge, the seasonal fresh fruits and the berry coulis. I also mentioned in “Two down, seven to go” the warming/melting of the fudge to use with ice cream – for those who love warm over cold to encourage the melting it's the ultimate indulgence.

If you are a regular follower of the blog you'll know about the no-churn vanilla ice cream recipe I use all the time and the modifications, like adding sticky toffee sauce.

Here's another variation.

Instead of using the berry coulis to drizzle over ice cream, melted fudge and fresh fruits, add the coulis to the basic vanilla ice cream recipe :

1 x 397g tin sweetened condensed milk

1 x 600ml double cream

2 tsp vanilla bean paste

Put the condensed milk, cream and vanilla into a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric hand whisk until it is thick and stiff – like pipeable whipped cream. Spoon the mixture in a lidded freezer-proof container and freeze for at least 6-8 hours or until firm.

The only change to the coulis recipe is don't add a splash of water to loosen. Fold the coulis into the ice cream – using the hand mixer blades will give you a ripple effect and then freeze as per the recipe.

Take a scoop of ice cream – vanilla or the ripple version, add melted chocolate fudge, top with fresh strawberries or raspberries – or both - add a final flourish with a drizzle of coulis.

Coulis note – even if you're making a ripple version of the ice cream you could set some aside for extra drizzling.

Serve in a tall glass with a chocolate wafer roll – summer sundae anyone?

The Fudge follow on …

… remember the chocolate fudge

It occurs that it can be the beginning of a great store cupboard/fridge/freezer summer treat. If you need a reminder of the recipe then check out “Two down, seven to go” for chapter and verse and for the hints and tips too.

Moving swiftly on - use seasonal fruits – strawberries or raspberries, to compliment and serve with the melted fudge and make a coulis – whilst the raspberry season isn't as long as the strawberry you can buy frozen if all else fails.

Both fruits are a perfect marriage with chocolate.

Berry Coulis

200g strawberries, hulled and halved

200g raspberries

75g icing sugar, sifted

Heat the fruit in a large pan for 4-5 minutes or until the fruit starts to break down. Add the icing sugar and continue to cook for a further 2-3 minutes or until the sugar has dissolved.

Transfer the mixture to a food processor and blend until smooth, add a splash of water if necessary to loosen. Strain the coulis through a sieve and set aside to cool. Chill in the fridge until needed.

If you feel the need to ease your chocolate conscience, using seasonal fresh fruits will do the trick – all you need now is ice cream!

The Whitby Chronicles – Thursday

I jest not – it's still raining. Being of northern stock I like to think I'm used to rain … how wrong can a girl be!

I don't think any of us have changed plans so frequently as we have in the last couple of days – originally our stay was until Saturday, leaving at 10am. Since the forecast isn't looking much better we've changed our dinner reservation at Sarah's from tomorrow evening to tonight and we've decided to head home tomorrow.

We are going to make the most of our last day and have decided to visit Robin Hood's Bay (RHB) and Scarborough.

On arrival at RHB, as is the norm, park at the top and a steep walk down to the bay. Just in case you think I'm being a drama queen about the weather - here's a photo I took at the top – I had thought that the lamp post had been hit by a vehicle - now I think it leans because it's weather beaten by the wind and rain! You can see it's a tad inclement.

RBH is charming, despite the rugged North Sea at its best.

It's very pretty, all sorts of nooks and crannies, like these steps to the Museum of Local History – as you can see, it's always a climb.

Back to the top and we are in need of sustenance so, spotting The Victoria Hotel opposite the car park and advertising a Tea Room we decided to pop in and ask if they welcomed dogs. Absolutely – what would have been a “snug” back in the day at the front of the hotel is now a Tea Room with comfy sofas and chairs. We were all very damp but it made no difference to the hospitality - revived with coffee, cake and scones we set off for Scarborough.

Thank you The Victoria Hotel, Station Road, Robin Hood's Bay, YO22 4RL.

Scarborough was worth the visit although it had to be a drive through – could be on the list for a future longer visit.

Back home to start packing and then a farewell visit to Sarah's this evening – another crème brulée – oh joy!

We still had heaps of stuff on our list, for example, we wanted to take a train ride from Whitby to Pickering but it would have been pointless since it's difficult to see anything through wet windows.

It's a pity about the weather, nevertheless Whitby is still a great place to visit and we've all had the best time.

Holiday Notes :

If you're contemplating a holiday in this neck of the woods – and not already gathered - almost all of the places we've visited have parking at the top of places of interest so you have to walk down very steep hills to the places below and then back up again. You'll need change for pay and display parking too.

Leave your Louboutin heels and Gucci loafers at home – neither are designed for cobbles and steep hills.

If, like me you have hair that has a tendency to frizz in damp weather – good luck – take a large can of hair spray – you'll need it!

Happy Holidays,

Soggy by the sea xx

The Whitby Chronicles – Wednesday

Welcome to wet Wednesday and sadly they got the forecast absolutely right – hatches definitely battened down and I couldn't have chosen a more appropriate idiom.

Not wishing to flout tradition, on holiday as a kid when it rained we wrote our postcards – here's one from Rose to her doggy friends :

“Dear Ella, Bos, Ollie, Wilby and Harry,

I'm having the best time – my favourite outing so far was to the beach and the sea. I don't know what all the fuss is about just because it's raining – I couldn't care less!

I love this holiday stuff – pampered and spoilt.

Here are three of my holiday snaps I thought you'd like :

Interrupting Shirl who was knitting – now tickling my tummy.

Just thought I'd check that all is well – great view of any comings and goings.

My personal favourite – I've had a very busy day.

Wish you were here!

Love Rose xxxxx

It's still raining and tomorrow's forecast isn't looking much better.