Easy Summertime Eating
Making the most of everyone's favourite time of year. We share ideas for packing a picnic, carefree summer entertaining, and exploring the great outdoors.
Hello hello,
We hope you had a delicious Christmas and New Year’s and have managed to take some time to reset and catch your breath before the demands and routines of the year ahead unfold.
Annabel has been very happy pottering in her garden and enjoying the full flush of summer produce, while Rose has been traveling in South America and exploring new food cultures. Be sure to follow us on Instagram if you’d like more updates — Annabel is here, and Rose is here.
With summer in full swing in New Zealand, we’re dedicating this newsletter to that easy summer feeling — long days, simple recipes, picnics, barbecues, and entertaining.
For our Northern Hemisphere subscribers, you may want to revisit our Brilliant Budget Dinners newsletter from last year — it’s filled with lots of winter warmers and ideas for saving money in the kitchen.
The Perfect Picnic
In our family, a picnic is the perfect summer activity. Whether it’s for a special occasion or some low-key time outdoors, picnicking is such an easy way to make the most of the warmer weather.
With a hamper full of goodies and plenty of refreshments, you’re all set for a delicious day in nature. When packing a picnic, especially on warmer days, make sure you pack things that aren’t too fragile and transport well.
We will often take slices of Ultimate Glazed Ham to make into buns with Coleslaw and fluffy dinner rolls. On that note, pre-prepared Chicken Mayo Sandwiches are always a crowd-pleaser. Sometimes we take a whole loaf of sliced bread and pack the filling in a container ready to assemble sandwiches fresh once we have arrived at our desired location. Make sure you pack perishables alongside an ice pack (or frozen bottle of water) to keep things cool and food safe (as a general rule of thumb, you don’t want food sitting out at room temperature for more than four hours).
An excellent way to win brownie points (and new friends) is with a pie. Annabel’s famous Bacon & Egg Pie is proposal-worthy and is super satisfying and delicious. Rose also made a veggie variation, this fantastic Picnic Pie that is loaded with greens and goodness. If you’re after something gluten-free, you can’t go wrong with our fab Spanish Tortilla.
Robust salads are always great — you can’t beat this best-loved Cob Salad of Corn, Avocado & Tomato, or our satisfying Herbed Potato & Egg Salad.
Last but not least, something sweet. Our tender, tart, and perfectly sweet Vanilla Plum Cake makes enough for two cakes, so you can feed a crowd or freeze one for another occasion. If you’re after something pre-portioned, these moreish Rhubarb & Raspberry Picnic Muffins are the perfect balance of tart and sweet with a yummy crumble topping, perfect for picnics and adventures. You can also make them with plums, apricots, or any other tangy fruit.
Fabulous Finger Food
Whilst the holiday season may be over, it’s still a great time to have people over for a potluck, barbecue, or special occasion. Longer days and warmer weather provide a perfect excuse to get together and enjoy the company of your friends and family.
Some light bites and finger food are an easy way to keep things casual and fun, plus it saves the hassle of setting the table and dinner dishes!
These Spicy Kumara, Cashew & Coriander Fritters are such a crowdpleaser — you can also fry them off in advance and pop them in the oven to reheat before serving. If you’re accommodating for dietaries, these Gluten-Free Corn Fritters are so light and yummy. We love serving them with a big bowl of Chunky Guacamole (a good use for cheap avocados at the moment!).
In keeping with the Mexican theme, these Seaside Tostadas from Summer at Home are also so good and look impressive. You can use smaller round corn chips in place of the larger tostadas if you like, just make sure they aren’t seasoned. Bonus points if you serve them with our Spicy Cucumber Margaritas.
A recipe we keep coming back to is these Zucchini & Feta Crostini — the perfect balance of flavours and textures, and a great way to take advantage of the bounty of zucchini right now. If you have an abundance of zucchini flowers, this recipe for Roasted Zucchini Flowers is a lighter (and less fussy) version of deep-fried zucchini flowers, and is sure to impress your guests! We also love these Anchovy Crostini (also from Summer at Home) which are so simple and elegant.
On the sweet side of things, we love these adorable little Raspberry & Chocolate Tarts. We’ve included a recipe for pastry, but you could also cheat and buy storebought (we won’t tell!). These delicious Melting Moments are an old family favourite and will certainly take you back to your childhood — we added a tang of passionfruit to balance out the buttery biscuit.
Summer Adventures
If you’re hoping to plan some adventures around Aotearoa this summer, make sure you revisit this newsletter from last summer — we shared some of our favourite walks, and ideas for what to cook and eat when you’re tramping.
Rose has also been creating some city guides for Amigo — a fabulous little travel app that curates recommendations from tastemakers all over the globe.
One of the hardest (and most exciting) parts of travel is trying to figure out the itinerary of where to go, places to visit, and things to eat. Nothing is worse than a failed meal when you have precious time in a special place, or ending up in a dire industrial town when there is a charming one just over the hill. It’s the only app Rose uses to travel and it has yet to let her down!
Where to eat, stay, explore, drink, shop, hike, swim… you name it. Plus Rose has shared all her recommendations for her favourite places around the world. Including secret spots in Lisbon, Paris, New York, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, etc. as well as her best-loved haunts in New Zealand and Australia.
It’s invite-only (which saves it from the dreaded TripAdvisor algorithm) and we are excited to share an invite code with you all! The app is free and you can download it via this link — use the invite code ROSEGO to gain access. It doesn’t cost anything to join or use. Enjoy!
That is all from us for now! We hope these recipes carry you on through the next few weeks of summer, and provide lots of inspiration and nourishment for you and your households.
With love,
Annabel & Rose xx
Annabel, I was sure you had a Moroccan carrot salad recipe but searching through all your cookbooks I have, I couldn't find it. If you do, could you perhaps include in 'What to eat' this week. I have an abundance of carrots and you can only make so many carrots cakes before you get sick of them ;-)