IntheKitchen: Nature’sBounty.

August, and the coast beckons whilst all around the countryside shifts hue once more, this time to purples, greens and ochres as the heather begins to bloom and under the August sun, wheat fields change to a deeper golden brown. As the wind rustles the ripening ears, it is like the sigh of a tide on some distant shore. In the drift of clouds across a sunlit sky, barley and oat fields are a patchwork of yellow and white, while the hills are massed with purple heather. In orchards, plums of every size and colour grace the trees. On cracked plums black and yellow wasps play the freebooter, and the red admiral butterflies come to feast on fallen pears. In my childhood this stubble would then be burned, a practice that has long since been discontinued due to environmental and safety concerns.

All this month locally sourced food is abundant, whether that’s from the garden, allotment or farmers’ market, with a huge selection of fruit, vegetables and fish in season, all bursting with summery goodness.

Heat-loving crops like tomatoes, cucumbers and chillies are in their prime now. Even aubergines and peppers, which are imported to the UK all year round, can be found growing in British greenhouses and vegetable gardens this month. Before the month is out the hedgerows too will be brimming with more elderberries and early blackberries that you can shake a jam thermometer at, whilst the grouse season begins in the middle of the month.

If you’re on holiday, this is the nicest time to enjoy a traditional fish and chip supper. There’s always a queue at the best fish and chip shops - the sign is on the door - “frying tonight” and you can smell the warm paper, sharp vinegary tang and almost feel the crisp salty batter on your lips as you wait in line for your own order. You lick your lips and wait for your own hot, paper-wrapped parcel.

The best place to sit and eat your prize is the harbour wall, perching on the stones still warm from the day’s sun and looking out across the sea as you finally peel back the paper to reveal your delicious supper. The batter should still be crisp, and the fish should come away in thick white flakes.

RisqueorRespectable?Sultry or Sensible?A(very)littlelook atthehistoryoftheStocking….