Yesterday it was supposed to be sunny all day, and instead it got cold and cloudy. Today it was supposed to pour rain, and instead it’s warm and sunny. Go figure.

Yesterday’s barbecue turned out to be a lovely—if rather British—affair, taking place as it did on a windy, rocky beach with the heavens threatening to open up over us at any moment. Luckily it didn’t actually rain, so we were able to enjoy some tasty charred hamburgers, hot dogs, sausages, and steaks (and various meat-free options for the veggies among us). In the end, I only managed to make the potato salad and nothing else, but I’m still determined to make something involving barbecue sauce at some point during the week. Once I get a craving for something, I cannot rest until it’s satisfied.

Tonight I’ll be cooking up another family recipe: ham pilau. Not only will it help me use up some of the tons of vegetables I have crammed in my tiny refrigerator right now, it’s also a handy one-pot dish that I can leave sitting on the stove for when Jeremy returns from his foray to London so he doesn’t have to resort to a take-away (aren’t I kind?). It’s also a dish that reminds me of summers at my grandparents’ beach house in Florida, so it’s a nice thing to make on a sunny summer’s day.

I’d better get down to cooking, though—the series finale of Dr. Who is on in just 40 minutes, and now that I’ve actually started enjoying the show, I’m quite curious to see how it wraps up this season. So it’s off to chop vegetables I go…