HOW TO DO SUMMER WELL
It’s the sultriest of seasons but high summer hides a few tricks up its sleeve. Sunshine, simplicity and (thankfully) a slower pace mean the moment is ripe for trying out new skills in the laziest, least stressy ways. Relax, says Debora Robertson, it’s time to take cooking easy
ILLUSTRATIONS: ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES
Does the theory that we’re happiest around the time of year we were born hold true? I ask because I’m a summer baby, born in July (a Cancerian, the sign of the homemaker, though obviously my near-obsessive domesticity is merely a coincidence – thank you, science) and summer is most definitely my season.
Waking up slowly with the sun, rather than in the dark with the brutal jolt of the alarm clock, creates a sense of ease that, if I’m lucky, follows me throughout the day. With lighter mornings and evenings, work doesn’t seem to gobble up the best and brightest parts of the week as it does in winter. We might get to walk to work or at least have a stroll at lunchtime. And if you’re like me, you’ll take every chance you can to eat outside. I don’t mean elaborate picnics, which are often a not-sodelicious stress-fest, but simply a baguette on a park bench, an easy dinner transported into the garden or an ice lolly enjoyed while wandering down the street.