Summer is most definitely here now, after a protracted and somewhat chilly spring. The past few weeks have seen the temperature rise and fall like a whore's drawers, but it's the humidity here that's the killer. The daily routine is as follows: wake up, shower, dress, towel down as already sweaty, cycle to work, change, pray that the airco works, slowly dissolve into a pool of sweat, cycle home, shower, dress in a single item of clothing that doesn't actually touch the skin, sit in front of the window with a large glass of iced water, towel down as still too sweaty, go to bed. Rinse and repeat. After several weeks of putting off the inevitable, I finally purchased a small table fan yesterday -- €17.50 and worth every euro cent. I can now lie in bed and having cooling breezes play across my ... ahem, let's not go there. However, I'm still reluctant to have it on overnight in case it overheats and the apartment catches fire -- making it far too hot to sleep properly. Good job I'm not overly paranoid about these things.
2. Make gazpacho
I've long since foresworn the Spanish food items I loved most: chorizo, jamon serrano, natillas. But gazpacho is still my go-to summer recipe, which is odd given how much I dislike raw tomatoes and tomato juice. I think it's something to do with the combination of tomatoes and vinegar and cucumber. My talented Bulgarian but Madrid-based semi-sister-in-law Milena sent me this recipe: I highly recommend it.
Skin 6 large ripe tomatoes (score, pour boiling water over, leave for a few minutes, rinse under cold water, and peel). Chop and place in a blender along with 1/2 a cucumber (chopped), 1 red pepper (chopped), 1/2 a large onion (yes, chopped), a clove of garlic, a hefty glug of olive oil, and a good splash of vinegar. Blend for a couple of minutes until pink and slightly frothy. Taste, add salt and pepper as necessary, and more oil/vinegar/garlic to your liking. You can also add more tomato if it needs beefing up, so to speak. Blend again, briefly, and then pour into a bowl, add half a dozen ice cubes, and place in the fridge to get really cold. (I usually sieve it but then I hate vegetable gloopy sludge and getting tomato seeds stuck in my teeth; you may not be so fussy.) Top with more finally diced cucumber/pepper/onion, an ice cube, and perhaps some hard-boiled egg and croutons. It can start to go a bit fizzy after about 12 hours, so you want to eat it the same day.
From this:
To this:
This is quite a thin soup, but infinitely preferable to the thick stodgy ones with bread in.
3. Work from home
It may not be much cooler than in the office, but at least I can shower every hour and not bother with restricting undergarments.
Speaking of work, time to get back to the grindstone.
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