Elderflower, Strawberry and Mint

Inspired by the excellent Beach Hut Cook www.beachhutcook.com/ and motivated by a proliferation of produce so much earlier in the year than usual I set to work on making a range of drinks including elderflower gin, raspberry and strawberry vodka and mint cordial.

I have to say I am really not too sure about my version of elderflower gin, it looked delicate and fragrant on day one, brown and unpleasant on day two and after decanting the colour of something you really don't want to drink.  I am sure lashing of sparkling wine will improve things though.

The raspberries have been amazing we pick a kilo every couple of days so there are plenty for freezing, ice cream, and sharing with friends. Steeped in vodka with a little sugar this looks good enough to consume straight away.

Strawberries in vodka are an experiment, great appearance and wonderful fragrance this will make the perfect base for those "Cocktails at Christmas"(see blog of 5 January this year) if it lasts that long of course.

The mint is succulent and plentiful and combined with lime has made a refreshing non alcoholic cordial. A few drops of natural "moss green" food colouring from the favourite Lakeland lifted the colour.

Caprese, Capri and Street Corners

I recently put together the most delicious Insalata Caprese. This is a salad from Capri traditionally comprising fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper. It was first made to resemble the colours of the Italian flag.

The recipe I adapted was from the inspirational book Fast Fresh and Simple by New Zealander Donna Hay which is full of recipes to remind you of summer.

The secret of this dish is the quality of the cheese. Mine was soft, creamy and quivered like jelly. It was purchased from the enticing delicatessen in Deal High Street oddly called "No Name Shop" which stocks a marvellous array of French produce nonameshop.co.uk

Of course caprese originates in Italy and making it got me thinking about a wonderful trip to Naples some years ago which included a ferry crossing to the Isle of Capri.

No visit to this region of Campania is complete without seeing the life and times of Pompeii the ancient Roman city at the foot of Mount Vesuvius.

What particularly sticks in my mind were the similarities to our life today "a takeaway on every corner" said our guide - picture the pitchers of wine on the counter and whole chickens hanging from the wall and there really was one of these on every street corner.

We made the most of exploring the steep, narrow streets of Naples finding local produce, market stalls and shops built into the wall selling religious artefacts and fragrant lemony limoncello. The food was exceptional with seafood and melt in the mouth pasta being especially memorable.