“Summer is fleeting,” my friend Heidi tells me as she is getting ready to leave. We’ve spent the morning in the house shooting portraits. Courageously, I should add, in view of the extremely hot temperature of the day that make us sweat the minute we move.
She and I feel the same way. We know that summer will be gone before we notice.
“Do you remember your summers as a teenager? I want my summer to be feel just like one of these,” I tell her, laughing.
Naturally, I know it will never be the way it was. Life has changed. Responsibilities and roles have evolved. I am happy they have. Now there is Lulu in our life. It feels fulfilled.
But I still remember the carefree feeling of those summer days. The time of les grandes vacances when I could get up late and spend a whole day outside to read books or ride my bike, if I wanted to. With the sun setting at around ten at night, somehow, those days had an everlasting quality. Summer would stretch at a wonderful slow pace.
I remember the noises and the way the air smelled too. And I have the memory of the sweet aroma of jams and preserves prepared in the kitchen recorded in my brain.
In summer, there is so much beautiful produce that I am relentlessly inspired and excited about what I am going to cook next. That, I know, will never change. It lives deep inside me.
I know I have not found the time to tell you much about what I’ve cooked. Between trips and workshops and photo jobs, I didn’t find the space to. But I still imagined that you’d like to know what summer at home looks like at our table.
Oh the joy of summer fruit, with its cheerful popping colors! Red, yellow, orange. They look so happy! They are bound to inspire.
With them, I’ve baked teacakes and muffins; I’ve made tarts, clafoutis, crumbles, fruit papillotes, and fruit popsicles. We’ve made and gobbled down loads of them.
Popsicle is a magic word.
Next come the tomatoes. Yellow, red, orange, and black. Large and small. They all burst with the flavors of summer.
With them, I’ve baked tomato tarte tatin and tarts, and I’ve prepared lots and lots of batches of refreshing gazpacho–come back to hear about this one, it’s a real winner!
I’ve cooked fish and risotto, and I’ve made tons of salades composées–the perfect fare for my lunches solo at home. And despite the heat, I’ve baked muffins and pots de crème au chocolat–because chocolate lives in my life every day, no matter the season.
I hope these will inspire you too.
And since I am still here, I thought I’d share two of my recipes with you today. The first is s recipe for red fruit popiscles–super easy to make. Red. Beautiful and refreshing. Filled with delicious fruit.
And the second is a classic in my répertoire: les tomatoes farcies (stuffed tomatoes).
I actually understood what she meant. A plate filled with tomates farcies will always mean exactement the same thing to me.
They bring me right to a summer dinner back home.
In a pot, combine the water with the sugar. Bring to a simmer so that the sugar dissolves. Stop the heat and let cool. Refrigerate.
Purée the fruit with the cold syrup and mint. Pass through a chinois, or fine sieve, and divide the fruit mixture between the popsicle molds.
Freeze for 30 minutes. Insert the wooden sticks and place back in the freezer again until completely set.
I like to make more syrup than I need. I keep the rest covered in the fridge for future uses.
Cut a small hat for the tomatoes. Using a melon spoon, scoop out the flesh and seeds. Season inside each tomato with salt.
Place the tomatoes, cut face down on a cutting board so that they release some juice. Leave for 30 minutes.
In a large bowl, combine the meat, shallot, carrot, watercress, ground coriander, parsley, tarragon, and ricotta cheese.
Stir the egg in and mix until the preparation is homogeneous. Season with salt and pepper.
Stuff the tomatoes with the meat and place the hats on top.
Arrange the tomatoes in a baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake for about 40 to 45 minutes.
Serve with a grain like rice or quinoa, or mashed potatoes on the side.
so full of beautiful summer, gosh to be a guest at your table. so lovely bea, next week with lulu sounds perfect!
mon dieu! j’adore vos photos!
this post is just a gorgeous way of preserving the ‘fleeting summer’ that you mentioned. it’s deep in winter here, alors je suis si jalouse!
your recipes and gorgeous, gorgeous photography have me yearning for the warm summer months, all the colours and tastes!
The pictues are so stunning! Lovely colors. This post was pure inspiration. I feel like running to the kitchen to prepare a summer menu.
Wonderful summer memories – and delicious recipes to try!
Gorgeous as always… Lucky you, you are sweating… We are still waiting for summer in London !!!
Your pictures and stories make me feel like going to some place warm to experience “real” Summer right now. In the San Francisco bay area where I live, Summer is more like September and October. Enjoy!
Quel bonheur! Everything looks delicious. Happy summer!
A beautiful post and feeling inspired now to cook my way through the rest of the hot Florida summer!
Wow!!!!!! I am left speechless yet again.. What a truly exquisite post.. brimful of mouthwatering recipes and pictures to inspire…Merci Beaucoup!
Oh, I perfectly remember those carefree days, spent exactly like you, reading books, riding my bicycle in the Tuscan countryside, eating ice-creams and sizing the day.
The summer was endless, or at least so appeared to me, ever lasting afternoons spent in the cool living room watching old movies, while outside the sun was scotching hot and the cicadas would sing till night.
and the jams and preserves my mum and my grandma would do, such precious memories!
Now it’s different, but I cannot help myself from feeling a subtle freedom feeling every time I wake up in a summer day!
and delicious recipes, too! Tomates farcies bring me to France as well, such a magic dish!
Enjoy your days at the beach with Lulu!
Wonderful, colorful, tasteful and super inspiring post, timely coming to warm up a bit the winter in Buenos Aires!
Absolutely beautiful photos that capture the best of summer!
You are one of my inspirations! I made the Stuffed tomato with potato and pork recipe from your cookbook last night with the variation of using up my pork pate instead of ground pork. I am also celebrating the colors of summer! I love your photos and your sensibility about food! thanks!
What a wonderful wonderful post!…Lulu has so much grown up! Thanks for sharing!
It is the hot part of summer where at times I start to not like to eat anything . . . only popsicles! But what you present here looks refreshing and so summery. It’s a challenge for me to mix it up and find what suits the season.
What a delicious summer! I too long for the summers of my childhood when there was so much time to do with as I pleased. But yes, now it is a different kind of wonder as we experience it with our little ones!
You really know how to cook and make your readers yearn for more. Loving the recipes that you posted, my daughter will surely love Red Berry Fruit Popsicles and Red Currant Muffins.
What a lovely post! So summery and inspiring!
I’ve just found your blog and can only say that your photography leaves me almost speechless…it’s just stunning!
I love your photos ! Every dish seems delicious !
wow!! les photos sont colorés et très belles!! vous êtes inspirant. Maintenant je veux préparer les popsicles pour les jours chauds de juillet 🙂 merci!
Oh Béa!!! Everything’s so wonderful…the food, the photos, your words… I love your blog (and your book). You put magic in everything you do.
such a lovely post…and so happy that you’re savoring some of your summer!
Beautiful photo of your berry popsicles. I really aught to try them once. A real joy!
Thank you so much everyone. As always!
Ce poisson a l’air d’un pur délice! Cela me donne des idées… Merci!
Really nice post, great blog.
| La Tartine Gourmande < Loved it!