Carina’s Kitchen

Say goodbye to the warmer months with a raid of the kitchen garden

The top chef provides a delicious summer pudding

AS I get older, I get sadder that yet another August is almost over. I love the warmth of the summer and the longer nights are such a delight. We are so lucky to live in this very beautiful country.

August is a very busy month in our Edinburgh restaurants. The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo is in full swing, keeping us busy up at Cannonball Restaurant & Bar on the Royal Mile; the Rembrandt Summer Blockbuster at The Scottish National Gallery keeps us on our toes at The Scottish Cafe & Restaurant, as well as the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and Edinburgh Book Festival buzzing on George Street. The city is at its very best during August.

Don’t let any local tell you they don’t like the festivals and that the city is becoming overloaded with tourists. A high per centage of Festival, Book Festival and Fringe tickets are bought by the Edinburgh population, so they do love the festivals even if they may not like admitting it.

The winter months are getting longer and longer and the independent restaurants need as many tourists as possible to keep the wheels turning. Tourists allow our core business to remain healthy, which allows us to make sustainable choices to support a much larger community of artisan suppliers from around Scotland.

During these months, our kitchen garden is also bulging with produce. August has all the family on harvest duty at least four days a week. The raspberries, blackcurrants, redcurrants, gooseberries and blueberries are at their best. It takes a small army to gather them all before the birds have their own feast.

As a treat for all the hard work, an all-time favourite is hot fruit with vanilla ice cream. Try very gently simmering a selection of any soft fruits then pouring a generous amount over some really good ice cream. These hot and cold sensations are a lovely way to end the summer with a hint of the chillier months to come.