Barbecue.

Around here, everyone eats outside in summer.

I wheeled out the big heavy cast iron cooker from the shed and lit the coals. The sun was low and the birds were making a racket in the trees - several massive conifers, a huge pine, a tall apple tree, a couple of plums and some evergreens. It's great just to sit, eat and watch the birds flitting through the trees on a summer night.

Last night's recipe:

1. Pick a heap of parsley and mint from the garden.
2. Chop it finely along with an onion and a clove or two of garlic and mix it through the mince along with an egg, a sprinkling of continental flour, the juice of a lemon and a dash of sumac, or use whatever you've got.
3. Form it into kebabs and skewer them.

Check the coals. When they're all glowing, start grilling.

Serve your kebabs when they're done to your liking in any bread you have - I used soft fresh Lebanese bread from A1 bakery - with sliced tomato, onion and lettuce with a little leben and a dash of hot chilli.

After a while, the sun was gone and the birds were quiet.