Picnics and a pigeon recipe for the month of July

Henrietta Balcon makes lashings of lemonade and pan fried pigeon

- HENRIETTA

July is the seventh month of the year and the middle month of the summer. It is also the month that Julius Caesar was born in 44 BC. And that is why the Romans named it July. It should also be the warmest month of the year and hopefully farmers are getting ready to harvest the crops for the years.

We should be harvesting our garden crops of tomatoes, french beans, carrots, broccoli, radishes, and runner beans that are delicious in July. So is Samphire brought to the boil, strained and added to a salad for that salty sea taste.

Strawberries, cherries, and blueberries are all in full cropping by now.

Why not have a picnic on those long summer evenings rather than slaving over a hot bbq? Make a quick banana cake and some home made lemonade - also ideal to take with you when working on the smallholding in the day.

ALL IN ONE BANANA CAKE

INGREDIENTS
140g Butter/Dairy free butter
140g Golden Castor Sugar
140g Self Raising Flour
2 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla essence
1 tsp Baking Powder
3 Bananas peeled
100g Dark Chocolate Chips Line a 2lb loaf tin with grease proof paper