Hello India and Home subscribers! Today was 23 degees in Dublin and we had our first outdoor meal of the year in our pulled together outdoor kitchen. During lockdown the legs of our our old Weber BBQ were falling off so hubby made a sort of frame for it in a stainless steel square / butchers block. It sits flush at the end of our 10 year old Panama table from BnQ. His other lockdown project was to fashion a sort of upside down hammock made of rope over the table to train the wisteria ( I was busy working online while he wasn’t able to work at the time) . We also have a two burner gas hob which brings it all together nicely. A few old wicket chairs and an old wooden bench and we’re all set up. The outdoor kitchen/ garden is my favourite place to sit / read / drink coffee/ entertain our family and friends and host all our children ( now adults) for birthdays or any occasion! I absolutely love your writing and save it up for when I’m alone and with a coffee/ tea / wine to indulge and enjoy. Keep bringing us the joy!
Trish, I'm so sorry, I've only just seen this message. I can't understand why my notifications didn't alert me to it on May 10. I love the sound of your BBQ nest and this very ingenious-sounding hammock-like contraption. The outdoor kitchen/garden is my favourite place too. Thank you so much for your vv kind words and again, sorry for the ridiculously late reply. I'm off to fiddle with notification settings!
I am condident that your home and garden scream "cosy, come, sit, eat, enjoy' vibes. I love this post and feel inspired to set up something similar in my garden when I'm entertaining, so much easier than scuttling back to the kitchen every few minutes. In my next lifetime, I want to come back as one of your pals so I get to experience first hand some of the lovely things you write about LOL!
Balcony: long chats with a sensible person who has a camper van for escapes - he is a fan of a Lotus Grill (it has a handy bag to hang it up when not in use .... apparently this is a key feature (!)). If I wasn't heading right now for work, I'd find out how to insert links. I hope everyone, rain or not, thinks outside the house today ....
Sun very much not out in Keswick 😡. Not raining either though, so bonus. I’m going to try this outdoor cooking malarkey. I’m slightly embarrassed to say I just usually take my plate outside having cooked in the kitchen.
Ha ha! We used to do the same, but the good bit is being able to enjoy proper BBQ'd steak inside when its not nice enough to eat outside (year round)...and without all the smoke etc. that often goes with it inside too. Sun very much NOT out in north Northumberland either 😬
As the sun does seem to have disappeared again here, I would very much love to be sitting on the balmy shores of Lago Maggiore, but I’d settle for the image of your outdoor kitchen India. What’s not to love? Sausages sizzling in the pan with a backdrop of silvery-lilac Echinops! Btw - Just bought a portable induction hob the other day - fabulous!
Sorry for your weather. It's glorious today but rainy tomorrow, apparently. Thanks re sossers etc. Portable hobs are a revelation, aren't they? SO useful.
What a great post India, and despite the sun not shining here atm it's got me longing for all the outdoor cooking and eating to come... Genius idea re the cooking station (hunts around for old table in shed), I just know it would/will inspire me to cook outside more.
On that note I picked up a brilliant BBQ tip from @karancooks (he of Sri Lankan Hoppers restaurant fame) on Instagram. If you're cooking say, just 2 - 3 steaks/ 2-4 chops, cook them on a grid (I use a slatted stainless steel roasting grid rack) placed over a BBQ starter chimney, which saves firing up the whole BBQ, and waiting for it to get up to heat...and ta da! We now do it all year round - brilliant!
Thank you very much re the new book. I'm so pleased you like what you see! 🥰
Very happy that this is the first thing I read this morning and will make this a habit. Always so many inspiring ideas. Thank you. And hooray! The sun is out! ☀️
This is the real way to cook and eat outside - I see so many charmless outdoor kitchens and I always try to persuade clients to go for something that’s ’real’ and on a human scale. If a garden area feels nice, you’ll definitely be drawn to it and then it’ll become a habitual destination -if it feels lacking in character, the chances are you won’t! So I’m all for your suggestions .
The sun is OUT here and I’m going to be gardening all day - the first proper gardening time this year!
Completely agree (obviously). Those huge outdoor kitchens always sit oddly in the landscape. Also they look quite corporate I think. Also it's the UK - I'd understand better if e.g. California. AND if they're too big they're just another room to clean. The sun is out here too! I'm so happy.
Wonderful. When the bloody rain stops I am going to make all of these. Plus a sheet up in the garden and project old Ealing comedies to watch under the stars. X
Hello India and Home subscribers! Today was 23 degees in Dublin and we had our first outdoor meal of the year in our pulled together outdoor kitchen. During lockdown the legs of our our old Weber BBQ were falling off so hubby made a sort of frame for it in a stainless steel square / butchers block. It sits flush at the end of our 10 year old Panama table from BnQ. His other lockdown project was to fashion a sort of upside down hammock made of rope over the table to train the wisteria ( I was busy working online while he wasn’t able to work at the time) . We also have a two burner gas hob which brings it all together nicely. A few old wicket chairs and an old wooden bench and we’re all set up. The outdoor kitchen/ garden is my favourite place to sit / read / drink coffee/ entertain our family and friends and host all our children ( now adults) for birthdays or any occasion! I absolutely love your writing and save it up for when I’m alone and with a coffee/ tea / wine to indulge and enjoy. Keep bringing us the joy!
Trish, I'm so sorry, I've only just seen this message. I can't understand why my notifications didn't alert me to it on May 10. I love the sound of your BBQ nest and this very ingenious-sounding hammock-like contraption. The outdoor kitchen/garden is my favourite place too. Thank you so much for your vv kind words and again, sorry for the ridiculously late reply. I'm off to fiddle with notification settings!
chipping campden is wonderful. I have a very dear friend who lives there. The Indian takeaway/restaurant is wonderful, try the prawn and spinach curry
thank you - I know it well!
I am condident that your home and garden scream "cosy, come, sit, eat, enjoy' vibes. I love this post and feel inspired to set up something similar in my garden when I'm entertaining, so much easier than scuttling back to the kitchen every few minutes. In my next lifetime, I want to come back as one of your pals so I get to experience first hand some of the lovely things you write about LOL!
Thank you for your confidence! And yes exactly, saves constantly scuttling back and forth.
Balcony: long chats with a sensible person who has a camper van for escapes - he is a fan of a Lotus Grill (it has a handy bag to hang it up when not in use .... apparently this is a key feature (!)). If I wasn't heading right now for work, I'd find out how to insert links. I hope everyone, rain or not, thinks outside the house today ....
Just looked it up - v attractive. Link here for anyone wondering - https://www.johnlewis.com/lotusgrill-standard-portable-smokeless-charcoal-barbecue-32cm/anthracite/p5877620?s_ppc=2dx_mixed_home_BAU&tmad=c&tmcampid=2&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw3NyxBhBmEiwAyofDYY34C_u2OJxapPg3QA497RjRBcWjB3NAvTJE3c_ihawVsK6BC12PKxoCipoQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
Though you could also go mini Weber. No handy bag though. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Weber-Charcoal-Barbeque-Freestanding-Porcelain-Enamelled/dp/B00026CU00/ref=asc_df_B00026CU00/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=218656675628&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=11885919108109622379&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9045071&hvtargid=pla-464756556442&mcid=1ba0905e5e5f356b9e0fbe8f042c05fd&th=1
You'd think these links would self-shorten somehow.
You really would think that, but no. I thought it must be wrong so didn’t put it in. Hey ho. Raining again!
Brilliant post, love your substack. Just reading The Second Sleep - so good.
Must recommend this for lunch outside: Peter Gordon’s Burrata & Tomato salad with mango dressing:
https://foodism.co.uk/recipes/peter-gordon-burrata-tomato-salad-with-mango-dressing/
I microplane the ginger, IoW tomatoes, Alphonso mango or sim, not supermarket ‘perfectly ripe’-always a lie! Totally delicious.
Also really good mail order pitta bread from here: https://mamooshbakery.co.uk/collections/national-delivery
Found during lockdown, along with IoW toms - perfect combo. Freeze brilliantly.
Have a great weekend!
Oh I love the sound of the mango dressing and pitta tip!! Thanks for sharing 👌🏼
Thank you so much and also those are two brilliant tips - am ordering that pita bread right this second!
Sun very much not out in Keswick 😡. Not raining either though, so bonus. I’m going to try this outdoor cooking malarkey. I’m slightly embarrassed to say I just usually take my plate outside having cooked in the kitchen.
Hahaha, that works too!
Ha ha! We used to do the same, but the good bit is being able to enjoy proper BBQ'd steak inside when its not nice enough to eat outside (year round)...and without all the smoke etc. that often goes with it inside too. Sun very much NOT out in north Northumberland either 😬
...nor me. It's ingenious
And just seen first swift over my house in Oxford - joy unconfined.
Absolutely joy unconfined - no trace here in Wiltshire yet - but soon I hope.
Oh how wonderful - still none here but it only a matter of days (I hope).
As the sun does seem to have disappeared again here, I would very much love to be sitting on the balmy shores of Lago Maggiore, but I’d settle for the image of your outdoor kitchen India. What’s not to love? Sausages sizzling in the pan with a backdrop of silvery-lilac Echinops! Btw - Just bought a portable induction hob the other day - fabulous!
Sorry for your weather. It's glorious today but rainy tomorrow, apparently. Thanks re sossers etc. Portable hobs are a revelation, aren't they? SO useful.
I’ve been reliably informed by ‘The Schaf’ on BBC that it will return just in time for afternoon tea, or perhaps Pimms.
What a great post India, and despite the sun not shining here atm it's got me longing for all the outdoor cooking and eating to come... Genius idea re the cooking station (hunts around for old table in shed), I just know it would/will inspire me to cook outside more.
On that note I picked up a brilliant BBQ tip from @karancooks (he of Sri Lankan Hoppers restaurant fame) on Instagram. If you're cooking say, just 2 - 3 steaks/ 2-4 chops, cook them on a grid (I use a slatted stainless steel roasting grid rack) placed over a BBQ starter chimney, which saves firing up the whole BBQ, and waiting for it to get up to heat...and ta da! We now do it all year round - brilliant!
Thank you very much re the new book. I'm so pleased you like what you see! 🥰
That is phenomenally clever!
You're here! Now please make a newsletter. That is REALLY clever re using the chimney - wouldn't have occurred to me in a million years.
Been wondering about an portable induction hob for an age. Going to make the kachumber today! Xx
They are really useful, I use mine all the time. Kachumber - make sure your tomatoes are ripe.
Very happy that this is the first thing I read this morning and will make this a habit. Always so many inspiring ideas. Thank you. And hooray! The sun is out! ☀️
Thank you dear Bumble. Isn't the sun bliss?
This is the real way to cook and eat outside - I see so many charmless outdoor kitchens and I always try to persuade clients to go for something that’s ’real’ and on a human scale. If a garden area feels nice, you’ll definitely be drawn to it and then it’ll become a habitual destination -if it feels lacking in character, the chances are you won’t! So I’m all for your suggestions .
The sun is OUT here and I’m going to be gardening all day - the first proper gardening time this year!
Completely agree (obviously). Those huge outdoor kitchens always sit oddly in the landscape. Also they look quite corporate I think. Also it's the UK - I'd understand better if e.g. California. AND if they're too big they're just another room to clean. The sun is out here too! I'm so happy.
A joyful read on a sunny morning!
Was just thinking about getting organised to eat outside. Perfect timing - thanks!
Oh good and you're very welcome!
Wonderful. When the bloody rain stops I am going to make all of these. Plus a sheet up in the garden and project old Ealing comedies to watch under the stars. X
How lovely! The sheet, not the rain. Ours has finally stopped.
For now.