early morning meanderings

i have been feeling a little out of sorts lately.

i ve got a mean suspicion it s because of this time of year. yes, yes, it is july, summer is in full swing, vacation-wise i mean, the weather is not quite as good as it was in late april or may, but it s good enough to spend our evenings having our dinner in the garden instead of inside (and the winters last long enough here that this is much appreciated).

there s no classes to go to until september. i was so used to spending two nights a week hard at work on some kind of jewellery project and exchanging ideas with my fellow classmates.

now, it s just... well... quiet.

oh, it does mean i have a lot more time ofcourse. time to work at home. time to think. time to cook.

what am i complaining about?! i even have more time to check out more foodie blogs and testing recipes.

oh, it s probably because i haven t been sleeping well. before i m really quite aware of it, i can just feel my brain whirring into action, and when i open my eyes, the alarm on my bedside table says 04.00 am... yikes!

perhaps it s age... even more yikes!

or perhaps it s having too much iced coffee in the evening.

Ree Drummond posted an absolutely purrfect recipe for iced coffee on her blog and i ve been making it ever since discovering it.

so it s my own stupid fault really. probably better to have my iced coffee in the morning instead of early evening and stick to having my glass of wine then.

and what is a good thing to go with a cool glass of white?

a few days ago we had this:

PAN-SEARED TUNA WITH GREEN VEG AND SAUTÉED POTATOES:

INGREDIENTS:
for 2

2 nice tuna steaks
capers
new potatoes (about 10 small ones)
300 gr peas (i always use frozen, they re sweeter)
1 courgette, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
loads of different herbs, chopped finely (i used thyme, rosemary, dill and mint)
a heaped tablespoon of crème fraîche
olive oil
butter
salt and pepper
lemonjuice to taste

METHOD:

1. boil the potatoes until just tender and drain
2. sauté the onion and the garlic in some olive oil until glazy but not browned
3. add the courgette and fry until slightly softened, but still al dente
4. add the peas (no need to defrost if you re in a hurry)
5. add the chopped herbs and the crème fraîche
6. season to taste and set aside, but keep warm
7. in another skillet pan, sauté the drained potatoes (of which large ones have been cut in half)
8. meanwhile very quickly sear the tuna steaks on both sides in some olive oil and butter
9. take the steaks out of the pan and in the searing juices quickly warm through the capers with some lemonjuice, pour this jus on the tuna
10. serve

hopefully, soon, my early morning meanderings will make way for 'normal' hours of sleep again.

i ll be fine ;-)