Summer happened overnight. Which is really rude when you consider how unready I am for summer clothes. All I’m saying is perhaps a milder spring could have cajoled me into running around Greenwich Park a few more times before it became so hot you just want to walk around with as little on as possible without getting arrested for indecent exposure. No matter. All this heat and humidity will make me sweat my way to my target weight in no time.
That said, Sunday lunch needed adjusting. A traditional roast just ceased to be weather appropriate. So after I finished my first run of the season, my family and I headed to our local Farmers’ Market and bought the makings of a proper summer lunch. A dressed crab (we named him Jeff on the walk home), avocados, a German seeded loaf, and the ingredients for my favorite salad–red cabbage, carrots, ginger, and sesame seeds. While I fixed the salad, Helena enjoyed a homemade blueberry banana popsicle and played with a bucket of water on our balcony, as children with no pool do. Henry read with his feet up in the shade.
Below is my salad recipe. It’s so simple and incredibly fresh. I especially like the palate cleansing ginger. Really nice with something like crab. It’s also a really pretty salad, provided you like purple and orange.
Ingredients:
3 carrots
1/2 head of a small red cabbage
3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
3 tablespoons Chinese rice vinegar
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
2 teaspoons honey
1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
Method:
In a large bowl, grate the carrots and cabbage together. Next, toast your sesame seeds over a low flame just until their oils release. Add those to your vegetables. Finally, mix the last 4 ingredients together in a small bowl. Flavor to your taste. Pour over the salad, toss, and serve.
Chagrinnamon Toast 