Saturday, November 04, 2006

cherry tomato and basil pasta salad



the temperature has suddenly dipped in london and it's hovering in the single digits these days. i long for the sultr summer days, which just a few months ago seemed liked they were here to stay. instead of making hot soups and other comfort foods, i'm stubbornly resisting the notion that winter is upon us. at least for now.

as a symbol of my defiance, i made a cold pasta salad bursting with the summer flavours of tomato and basil. i had some left over paparadelle which i cooked in lots of salted water and allowed to cool for about ten minutes. then i added some chopped sweet cherry tomatoes to the pasta. this was followed by a couple of cloves of crushed garlic followed by handful of loosely torn basil leaves. finally, i drizzled some extra virgin olive oil and seasoned with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

as i bit into the summer freshness of my salad, i closed my eyes and dreamt about the beaches of sardinia, the weekend getaways to paris and barcelona, the long summer evenings spent at outdoor cafes in west london, the walks in kensington park at eight pm when it was still light, rollerblading in notting hill and everything else that made the summer of '06 so memorable and the winter feel terribly depressing now.

25 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Cold food in this weather??
Cook some of your hot thai curry or mirchi ka salan instead

Warm you up a bit!

11:44 am  
Blogger Gustad said...

i was cooking with basil this weekend

3:45 pm  
Blogger 30in2005 said...

This year I can truly say I have got used to this hideous cold weather - what I still can't say without feeling like an absolute fraud is that I like it!!

In winter I am all about the hot food. I just bought a soup cookbook and plan to make this my debut soup year.

11:53 am  
Blogger paramjit singh said...

hi.

nice blog. keep up. got some kool tips on cooking for you. picked them up a few weeks ago in greece.

regards

paramjit

10:49 pm  
Blogger gs said...

will be there soon.no cold stuff.i want it piping hot!

12:15 am  
Blogger lulu said...

hi everyone
ok, i'm out of my cold food phase with one last jaunt at nobu last night for some unbelievably tasty sushi.
i'm going to focus on soups and spicy curries and all things warming now!

sandeep,
thanks for reminding me about my thai curry. haven't made it in ages...

hi paramjit
do you have any greek recipes to share with us?

11:09 am  
Blogger paramjit singh said...

hi.

lulu. have some great recipies for winter cooking. too long to post in comments though. drop me an email and will note you down some mouth watering dishes that will keep you warm in winter and get the taste buds watering untill spring ..

regards

12:19 am  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ohhhh, Lulu, this salad looks unbelievably tasy and perfect for this coming weekend which I believe is going to to be warm(ish) weatherwise!

9:31 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

its such a good blog thanks for the view
Busby SEO Test

1:13 am  
Anonymous Londra said...

Looks delicious.

5:09 pm  
Anonymous kajaj sharma said...

i love to cook for my family and friends

8:42 am  
Blogger Unknown said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

8:26 pm  
Anonymous Swetaroy said...

Hello I am Jamila young independent Ludhiana Enjoys girl available for
entertainmenthttp://jamila.in/ I am 21 years old young female in Ludhiana. Big boobs, sexy blue
eyes, black hair and attractive give me completely different look.

8:30 pm  
Blogger Unknown said...

We Welcome are always deliver ingsatisfying Agra Escort Service Sensual and erotic escorts services. The top independent Jaipur escorts agency offers Agra Call Girls dinner and event companions, role play, fantasy fulfillment, overnights Escort In Agra bachelor parties and travel companions.

Agra Escort Service
Agra Call Girls
Escort In Agra

Agra Escort Service
Agra Call Girls
Escort In Agra

8:03 pm  
Blogger Rubia Ahmedabad said...

Hi your blog is very nice blog my
Call girls Ahmedabad provides Thrilling First time Experience with Ahmedabad .
independent Ahmedabad Escort
Ahmedabad Escort
Escort administrations in Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad Escort Gallery
Escort Young lady in Ahmedabad Service

8:07 am  
Blogger Unknown said...

Hellu Guys my self Rashi Ahuja hot n sweet Agra escort. 24/7 available for fun in Agra. Don't wait just click...Agra Escort
Agra Escorts
Agra Escort Service
Escorts In Agra
Udaipur Escort
Udaipur Escorts
Udaipur Escort Service
Lucknow Escort
Lucknow Escorts
Lucknow Escort Service

8:41 am  
Blogger Unknown said...

Welcome to escorts in Udaipur, in our escorts agency collection Indian, Russian and Punjabi model, age lime is 21 to 35. All girl is related to different - different categories like as Air hostess, College girl and business women, Udaipur escorts is very famous for fashionable dream countries.Don't wait just click..Udaipur escort

6:07 pm  
Blogger Monika Roy said...

Hi gays are you looking for new Escorts website in mumbai city,VIsit My website.

mumbai escorts

http://www.exclusivemumbaiescorts.com/juhu-escorts.html

http://www.exclusivemumbaiescorts.com/andheri-escorts.html

http://www.exclusivemumbaiescorts.com/malad-escorts.html

http://www.exclusivemumbaiescorts.com/kandivali-escorts.html

http://www.exclusivemumbaiescorts.com/navi-mumbai-escorts.html

1:06 pm  
Blogger Monika Roy said...

Hello gentleman welcome you independent Escorts in mumbai.

http://www.exclusivemumbaiescorts.com/mumbai-independent-escorts.html

http://www.exclusivemumbaiescorts.com/russian-escorts-in-mumbai.html

http://www.exclusivemumbaiescorts.com/russian-mumbai-escorts.html

http://www.exclusivemumbaiescorts.com/college-girl-in-mumbai-escorts.html

http://www.exclusivemumbaiescorts.com/mumbai-escorts-models.html


1:12 pm  
Blogger Roku-comlink said...

Roku gives you the easiest way to stream your favorite movies and other videos to your TV. Along with that, you also get the solution to access the Roku TV by the best quality of remote access control. However, you need to have a Roku.com/link code enter to access the features of Roku TV.

11:17 am  
Blogger Garmin.com/express-updates said...

There are various reasons when Garmin express shows application not working, which may include problems with internet settings. Moreover, system settings can also be one of the reasons. There are some of the errors which are common and possible. Then check for all functioning after every instruction as well as strategies has been executed.

Garmin.com/express
garmin.com/mapupdate

10:44 am  
Blogger Healthcare Center said...

Help us make more transplants possible!
We are currently looking for kidney donors in "LS Medical Center" to help patients who face life time dialysis problem unless they under go Kidney Transplant. Here we offer financial rewards to interested donors. contact us via Email: kidneylivertc@gmail.com

11:36 am  
Blogger Fubo.tv/Activate said...

The fubo TV provides viewers with access to stream their favorite audio and video contents online provided that they have a good internet speed. The internet connection speed must be secure so that the user can stream all the content buffer-free and without any interruptions. fubotv connect with code

11:21 am  
Blogger Medical Center said...

Help us make more transplant possible!
We are urgently in need of kidney donors to help patients who face lifetime dialysis problems unless they undergo kidney transplant. Here we offer financial reward to interested donors. Please kindly contact us at: kidneyfcentre@gmail.com

7:50 am  
Anonymous 1mbonus said...

Engage in kolkata lottery games for a chance to win exciting prizes and embrace the thrill of anticipation with every draw.

1:04 pm  

Post a Comment

<< Home