Unprecedented warm weather shocked all of us on the British Isles over the bank holiday weekend. And not least because it was bank holiday weekend. This doesn't happen often, but we were not going to question it, but just quickly deweed our gardens enough to create access to the barbecue and wipe the bird poo off the garden furniture to have lunch al fresco pretending we are not uncomfortably hot, our necks are not burning and we are definitely not wishing we could be indoors in our cool kitchens or dining rooms.

So I also did a quick deweed, went for a visit to Homebase like everybody else in the catchment area judging by the pandemonium in the car park to buy my obligatory petunias, geraniums and patio cleaner. The easy kind that you just dissolve in a can of water, pour over the patio and miraculously it's all clean when it dries out. That's my kind of cleaning. I think someone should definitely come up with a similar thing for indoor cleaning.

Our little garden is the size of a stamp and of course completely overlooked on all sides. We are in London after all. You just have to forget about people watching you, wish Good Morning to the topless not very fit guy next door sitting on the window ledge with a can of beer at 9.30am and not worry about people judging you for overcooking the chicken on the BBQ. Campylobacteriosis is all I have to say about that.
So on bank holiday Monday I (over)cooked some middle-eastern spiced chicken and prawns and halloumi and tomato skewers with only one piece of halloumi sliding through the grill onto the coal. Usually it is a lot more.

I love a nice fresh salad preferably of the Greek kind, so I did this slight twist on the traditional Greek salad which was perfect for the hot day.

I forgot all about the red onion, so that's why you can't see any in the picture.

Greek salad with marinated tomatoes

Dressing:
Dried oregano
1 tbsp sherry vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
Salad
1 pack of cherry tomatoes
1/2 red onion
3 small Iranian cucumbers
100 g feta cheese
Handful of pitted olives
Fresh mint

Whisk together the dressing ingredients. Halve the tomatoes, slice the red onion very finely and mix with 2/3 of the dressing. Tip the tomatoes and onion on a platter and leave to marinade for 10 minutes.

Cut the cucumbers into thick slices and cube the feta. Add them on the platter together with the olives. Tear the mint leaves and spread around the platter. Pour the rest of the dressing over the salad.

There have been some murmurings from husband since I have introduced the lower carb and lower saturated fat diet, which has meant more veg, fish, weird pasta made out of things that probably shouldn't be in pasta, less meat and particularly less red meat like his beloved lamb. Summa summarum: girl food. Some meals have induced the question "What is this?", which usually is not a good sign, even if asked with a curious rather than a judgmental tone. And I managed to cause a bout of constipation by hiding chia seeds in meatballs.


And then there was baklavagate. We had some baklava left over from a dinner I prepared for some of his family who were visiting London and came to us for a Middle-Eastern feast. The following evening I heard his anguished shout from the kitchen "Why didn't you hide the baklava, now I've eaten it all!" I rushed to his aid, ripped the baklava plate from his sticky, sugar high shaky fingers. The damage was extensive, but not devastating. He hadn't eaten all of it, but quite a few pieces.

I decided to bin the rest (they were those shop bought super sugary and greasy ones, definitely not designed for a healthy diet). Husband pleaded for another piece before I binned the rest (he actually threatened to take the plate out of the bin and eat all of it if I didn't let him have one more little piece) - I caved in and gave him half a piece. You should see him in his pleading mode, worse than a Labrador puppy with his misty brown eyes.

Husband manfully negotiating over some baklava.

So to ease the pain of the healthy diet I realise a well timed proper man meal with a big slab of meat is in order.

I've never been a great steak chef, but have managed to get them right in the pan a few times. Recently I decided to get brave with the barbecue because we've had some nice weather. My first effort was two large and juicy ribeye steaks. I had been planning to make them for dinner on a Saturday and had asked for some tips from a friend who is a great cook. As advised I had taken them out from the fridge in the afternoon to get properly to room temperature before cooking that evening.

But then I thought with the late brunch maybe we would want to have a light dinner, like fish and veg. So I ran this past husband. "Well, let's have a look at those steaks at least", he said audaciously and I showed him the steaks. He weighed the steaks in his hands and said he felt he could manage one. Gravely he added that he probably should, in all honesty, since he was losing weight at an alarming rate. He invited me to try how very bony his shoulders have become. As a dutiful wife I poked him in the shoulders and agreed that yes I could definitely feel some bone and an injection of protein was the ticket.

Since then I have barbecued steaks many times and they have turned out fantastic without fail. I have always served them with my home made oven chips and some healthy but delicious sides, no double deep-fried chips and buttery sauces for us.


Foolproof BBQ ribeye steaks with grilled tomatoes and chimichurri

Good quality steaks (dry-aged)
Rapeseed oil
Salt
Blackpepper
Herb of your choice (optional)

1. Take the steaks out of the fridge to get to room temperature well in advance, like 3-4 hours, not half an hour before you plan to cook them.
4. Cook 3 minutes on each side for medium (depending on the thickness of course). You can season with salt at this stage, once you have turned the steak once add salt on the cooked side, and once you have cooked the other side, add salt on that side.
5. Rest in a warm place under tinfoil and kitchen towels to keep hot for about 5 minutes before serving.
6. Serve with home-made oven chips, chimichurri, grilled tomatoes and a Greek salad with low fat feta or your choice of sides.

Chimichurri

Small bunch of parsley
2 tbsp chopped fresh or 2 tsp dried oregano
1-2 garlic cloves
2-3 spring onions
½ tsp chilli flakes
3-4 tbsp olive oil
juice of ½ lemon
2 tsp red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper

To make the chimichurri, blitz all ingredients in a food processor. Season to taste.