Table escape

As I impatiently wait out the end of summer here, I must mentally travel to more appealing destinations to put my mind at ease. I find the month of August monotonous; like a long good-bye.
And so, for a little perk this weekend it was a Scandinavian-inspired dinner of fish, potatoes, and cucumber salad, with lots of fresh dill.

The swordfish was delicious, grilled with lots of olive oil and lemon, which is actually culinarily leaning towards Sicily, but I cannot stand cooked salmon, so could not have it on the menu despite it being the more traditional choice.

This weekend I also made, for the first time, a gooseberry fool, following a recipe given to me by Snowy. I was excited to find green gooseberries at Whole Foods, because I'd never tasted them. As per instructions, I cooked the berries down and sweetened them with sugar, and then strained them to achieve a seedless puree (not a very appetizing sight).


When it comes to whipped cream, Nigella always stresses that it should be floppy, but I can never comply, as something about a wimpy whipped cream annoys me. I prefer it heavily beaten.

A splash of elderberry flower juice completed the taste, which was all at once tart and rich.

Very nice!

As I write these descriptions, I can imagine a Freudian analyst gathering fodder for the patient file. Nevertheless, I guess a mental journey is better than no journey at all.