Sort of a holiday

In another timeline, I’ve just got back from holiday. Spain and France, travelling by train. Of course, in this timeline, I haven’t been anywhere. But we decided we would have a sort of holiday at home: we ordered a hamper from Fortnum and Mason as a treat, and I threw all rules about the consumption of alcohol out of the window (my husband has never had any, since he retired he just drinks as he feels like it – I just hide any nice bottles of wine I don’t want him guzzling when I’m on my non-drinking days).

We also decided this was finally the time to go back to takeaways, beginning with a burger and chips. Rad Burger are a local company, who are usually to be found at festivals and events (in the winter they pop up at the Canterbury Christmas market) but for lockdown have found themselves a place for the van in a pub carpark, and are doing takeaway and delivery.  Their burgers are very good, and this did not disappoint. Their standard burger features halloumi cheese, mango chutney and lettuce, as well as a very good beef patty, all housed in a classic burger bun. The chips are proper French fries, with rosemary. The whole meal was the kind of utterly unhealthy salt and fat fest you could never produce yourself. It was wonderful.

So, so good...

The second delivery was a bit more refined. Our local posh Indian, the Ambrette has started doing delivering their afternoon tea. Pictures follow:

Samosas, complete with smear of coriander chutney

Sandwiches: chicken tikka, Mubai masala potato and smoked salmon 

Giant scones

And cakes. So many cakes

There was a good deal more food than we were expecting, and it was all delicious. Both of these meals were the result of seeing ads on Instagram, which once again shows how we’d never have got through this without technology…


Other ‘holiday’ treats included a paella, drunk with a bottle of cava (from Barcelona, where we should have been for the first part of the holiday), a re-run of the cacio e pepe I’ve written about before – by special request of the husband, who’s decided it’s his new favourite, a classic steak and chips with blue cheese, and the babka, which I’ve already written about. There was also some asparagus meals, because as we’re stuck at home we might as well take advantage of local produce, one featuring Melinda’s so good it should probably be illegal mayo/miso/mustard  combo – I’m now wondering what I can eat this with when asparagus season is over.

We also had a reasonable amount of nice wine, and a couple of extra cocktails, including this Negroni marmalade sour. It was delicious, but I’m trying not to make them a habit…

Negroni marmalade sour. So good... (Focaccia in background)

After Barcelona, we were supposed to be going on to Granada, so as a final ‘holiday’ treat, I’ve ordered an Andalucian cookbook, so even if we didn’t make it there this year, I might at least be able to make some of the food - and it will help stave off the post-holiday blues, which bizarrely still kicked in at the beginning of this week, even though I hadn't gone anywhere. I’ll report back once it arrives…