Recipe: Vibrant autumn coleslaw

No need to wait till next summer with this vibrant autumn salad from The Natural Cook by Tom Hunt.

This slaw is a great way to ‘eat the rainbow’ – colourful veg contain a range vitamins, minerals and antioxidants to ward off winter bugs.

Vibrant autumn coleslaw

Serves 4

200g carrots 1 small beetroot 3 beet tops or kale leaves, shredded 2 tbsp sunflower seeds 2 tbsp pumpkin seeds Juice of 1 lemon Small bunch of parsley, roughly chopped 150g blackberries Extra virgin olive oil 1 tbsp sesame seeds

1. Grate the carrots coarsely, dress with a splash of extra virgin olive oil, a little lemon juice and salt and pepper. Toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan until they brown slightly. mix with the carrots.

2. Grate the beetroot and add it to the dish, but don’t mix the salad until you’re ready to eat, so the colours stay separate.

3. Add all of the remaining ingredients and season the mix to taste. Toss gently with a glug of the oil to coat, then serve.

Seasonal twist

Play around with different ingredients as the seasons change. As winter arrives, substitute the blackberries for dried fruits and grate in whatever raw root vegetables you have handy, from kohlrabi to celeriac.

Storage

The salad will keep for three days in a sealed container in the fridge, but is best eaten straight away.

Recipe from The Natural Cook by Tom Hunt.

Buy or download October's The Simple Things now.

Recipes: Garlic

Spicy or smoked, raw or roasted, garlic comes in many guises and varieties to make your dishes sing. Try these three garlic recipes.

Is there a more amazing a plant than garlic? Venerated by the Egyptians, eaten by the first Olympians before competitions and worn as buttonholes by Palestinian grooms to guarantee potency on their wedding night, it has been credited with medicinal, aphrodisiacal and magical powers. Ulysses apparently used it to escape from the clutches of Circe the witch, while King Tut took enough into his tomb to last him for all eternity.

In September's issue of The Simple Things, we meet Mark Botwright, who owns South West Garlic Farm in Dorset and believes “there is nothing more beautiful than a field of garlic.”

Three garlic recipes

In celebration of the stinking rose, we've hunted high and low for three top garlic recipes that really bring out the best of allium sativum.

Fancy a fragrant garlicky mayonnaise? Try aioli - perfect with prawns in this recipe.

Ottolenghi's legendary caramelised garlic tart recipe brings out the sweetness without the stink.

But if it's vampires you want to avoid, go for Alice Hart's very garlicky roast chicken - the epitome of garlic recipes.

Turn to page 47 of September's The Simple Things for the full garlic feature. Buy or download now.

Recipe: Chocolate rum and raisin fudge

There’s something satisfying about making fudge. This chocolate rum and raisin fudge recipe from Will Torrent’s Chocolate at Home is a great place to start.

Chocolate rum and raisin fudge

Makes about 40 pieces

100g raisins 50ml dark or spiced rum 1⁄2 vanilla pod, split 500g caster sugar 170g evaporated milk 170ml whole milk 50g unsalted butter 125g dark chocolate (70%), chopped 1 tbsp cocoa powder, sifted

You will need: 18–20cm square pan, lined with baking parchment

1. Tip the raisins, rum and split vanilla pod into a small saucepan set over a low heat. Gently warm but do not allow rum to boil. Stir well, remove from the heat and set aside until the mixture is cold and the raisins have absorbed all of the vanilla-scented rum.

2. Place the sugar into a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan (at least 2 1/2 litre capacity). Add the evaporated milk, whole milk, butter and salt. Simmer over a medium heat and stir gently to dissolve the sugar.

3. Put a sugar thermometer into the pan and bring the mixture to the boil, reduce the heat and continue to cook, without stirring, at a low, steady boil until the mixture reaches 114C (230F). Add the remaining rum and immediately remove the pan from the heat. Set aside for a few mins until the bubbling subsides.

4. Tip the chopped chocolate and sifted cocoa powder into a large mixing bowl and pour over the hot fudge. Stir gently until the chocolate has melted, the mixture combined; leave to cool for 10 minutes.

5. Using a wooden spoon, beat the fudge until it thickens, cools and becomes slightly grainy. Add the rum-soaked raisins and mix thoroughly. Pour the fudge into the prepared baking pan and level using a palette knife. Set in a cool, dark place for 3–4 hours, or overnight, until firm.

6. Once firm, cut the fudge into small squares before serving or store in an airtight container for up to one week – you’ll be lucky if it lasts that long!

Recipe from Will Torrent’s Chocolate at Home (£20, Ryland Peters and Small).

Want more homemade sweets? Try these recipes.

For the rest of our Could Do list, turn to page 17 of September’s The Simple Things. Buy or download now.

Fruits of the hedgerow

Go foraging this month and find out what you can make with the fruits of the hedgerow.

More than mere borders, our hedgerows host amazing biodiversity. Here's a little of what they hold.

Turn to page 127 of September's The Simple Things for a guide to hedgerow berries, and try these ideas for using them in the kitchen.

Rosehip

Jekyll and Hyde of a species. Rich in vitamin C, delicious in wine and jam. Just avoid the fine hairs - a key ingredient in itching powder.

Try: Rosehip syrup

Damson

Higher in sugars than its kin in the plum family, and the go-to ingredient for a flavoursome home-pimped vodka. Peak harvest time is right about now.

Try: Damson cheese

Rowan

Too sharp in taste to enjoy solo, but a piquant addition to many a conserve. Try with roast meat. Note to bee lovers: its scent is catnip to pollinators.

Try: Rowan and rosemary jelly

Hawthorn

Staple hedging material. Fruit good for syrups, magnificent for brandy. Beware pedants insisting that, botanically, they're not berries, but pomes.

Try: Hawthorn berry ketchup

Sloe

A foraging favourite, the fruit of the blackthorn tree is among the last around before winter. Pick from now until early November, bottle with gin and sugar.

Try: Salted sloes

For the rest of our Fruits of the Hedgerow identifier, turn to page 127 of September's The Simple Things. Buy or download now.

Recipe: Shakshuka

Shakshuka: Tom Hunt's Middle Eastern breakfast, taken from The Natural Cook.

A breakfast of substance - for traditional Brits, at least - involves quite a bit of frying. How lovely, then, that this Middle Eastern-hailing dish poaches its eggs. In spiced passata, no less.

"We serve this in huge pans from my festival cafe," says Tom Hunt, "with hundreds of eggs poaching in the rich tomato sauce."

We'll take four, please.

Shakshuka

Serves 2

For the passata:

600g ripe tomatoes
2 basil leaves

For the shakshuka:

1 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp sweet paprika
Glug of light olive oil
1 mild green chilli, sliced (optional)
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
4 eggs
3 sprigs of parsley or coriander, roughly chopped

1. To make the passata, wash the tomatoes, then blend to a fine pulp in a food processor. Gently simmer in a wide saucepan for 15-30 minutes, until they have reduced to a thick sauce. Taste them as they reduce, decide when you have reached your desired consistency and flavour, then stop cooking.

2. To store passata, line a sterilised jar with basil, pour in hot passata and seal.

3. Gently fry the onion with the cumin and paprika in the light olive oil, adding a pinch of salt and half the chilli for ten minutes until soft. Add the garlic and fry for a further five minutes.

4. Add 300g passata and simmer for 10 minutes. If the sauce becomes too dry, add a little water.

5. When you're ready to eat, make four hollows in the sauce and crack in the eggs. Cover with a lid and simmer for five minutes for soft yolks, ten minutes for hard. Serve, sprinkled with the herbs and a little pepper, on your favourite toast. Sprinkle with the rest of the chilli.

Taken from the book The Natural Cook by Tom Hunt.

Organic September

Make one small change this month with Organic September.

That's the theme of Organic September: whether it's trying out an organic veg delivery box or swapping your usual face cream or chocolate bar for an organic product, every little helps to make a difference.

Here are ten ideas to make it easy to go organic:

Eat at least one piece of organic fruit each day Switch one beauty product such as shampoo Sign up for an organic veg box Join the Soil Association Have an organic cake bake off at work Buy organic tea & coffee Plant organic bee-friendly seeds Take part in #organicbeauty weekend Buy an organic pair of jeans Throw an organic dinner party

Find out more by visiting the Soil Association's Small Change Big Difference website.

Autumn fruit jam recipes

Go foraging for fruit and get jamming with some autumn preserve and jam recipes. Make the most of all the blackberries, plums and damsons this month. Stew with a bit of sugar and serve cool with cream on late summer days when you want to be outdoors, or pass a rainy afternoon happily in the kitchen making jars of homemade jam or jelly.

Jam recipes

How about trying one of these jam recipes for rosewater plum compote, bramble jelly, damson jam, or plum and Earl Grey jam?

For more ideas on our September 'could-do' list, turn to page 17 of The Simple Things. Not got your copy? Buy or download now.

Food from afar: Pasteis de nata recipe

It's got sweet, flaky pastry, it's got custard - what's not to love about Portugal's Pasteis de nata?

There’s something divine about the transformation of eggs, cream and sugar into gently set custard. So it is fitting that the most revered of custard tarts has monastic origins.

Portugal’s pastéis de nata were created in a monastery in Belém. When the cloisters closed in 1820, its clergy sold their trusty tart recipe. The buyer founded a bakery dedicated to the pastel de Belém: a flaky pastry tart filled with egg-yolk custard and baked until its crust is patchily blackened. It soon became a national treasure, travelling wherever the Portuguese went, too. In Hong Kong, via the colony of Macau, they became a staple of the dim sum house.

The Portuguese originals are still made by hand in Belém, where people queue to eat them warm, dusted with cinnamon and sugar. Like the keepers of secret recipes everywhere, the guardians of the monks’ prized formula hint at a ‘mystery’ ingredient. Various cookbook versions suggest vanilla, cornflour, even lemon. But then they also recommend – oh, the sacrilege – shop-bought puff pastry...

London’s Lisboa Patisserie is the place to sample their melt-in-the-mouth authenticity, with shots of bracing Portuguese coffee. A word of warning to the frugal, however: one is never enough.

Want to make your own? Try this Pasteis de nata recipe from Leite's Culinaria.

For more, turn to page 32 of August's The Simple Things. Not got your copy? Buy or download now.

Recipe: Chocolate fridge cake

No need to bake in August with our indulgent chocolate fridge cake.

This cocoa-laden treat embodies indulgence, not least because you only need a fridge to make it. And it's the perfect way to celebrate National Afternoon Tea Week (11-17 August 2014).

Chocolate Fridge Cake

150g unsalted butter 100g golden syrup 200g dark chocolate, chopped 1 medium egg, lightly beaten 330g digestive biscuits (or similar) 60g walnuts 60g sultanas 100g glacé cherries 75g brazil nuts

1. Line a 23cm square tin or similar flat dish with baking parchment.

2. Melt the butter and golden syrup in a pan and bring to the boil. Add the chocolate, reduce heat to low and whisk until the chocolate has melted.

3. Gradually add the beaten egg and continue to stir with the whisk until the mixture has thickened a little and formed a shiny emulsion. The egg will cook in the heat of the mixture but don’t let it boil (it shouldn’t reach above 85C). Remove from the heat.

4. Break the biscuits into chunks (quarters are fine), put them in a bowl with the walnuts, sultanas and half the cherries. Pour the hot chocolate mix over the dry ingredients and mix gently. Decant into the prepared tin, leaving the runny chocolate on the side of the bowl for now. Press the mixture flat in the tin.

5. Put brazil nuts in the chocolatey bowl and, using a spatula, coat them in the leftover chocolate. Sprinkle in a loose pattern over the biscuit cake, then add the remaining cherries. Chill for 3 hours or until set.

Recipe taken from Konditor & Cook: Deservedly Legendary Baking by Gerhard Jenne (Ebury Press, £20)

Cake in the House - page 51 of August's The Simple Things. Buy or download now

Recipe: Three ways with cherries

Go cherry crazy! This year’s crop of British cherries looks like it is the longest and largest ever, mostly due to our mild winter. They’re around until September so find a ‘pick your own’ and use with gay abandon to add colour and sweetness to meals.

Here, we've picked three delicious recipes for a sweet treat this summer.

Cherry Compote

The original, simple way with cherries. We love what Rachel writes about her favourite fruit. Cherry Compote recipe by Rachel Eats.

Image above: Rachel Eats

Sour Cherry Milkshakes

These sound incredible. Although it may be a job to hunt down Montmorency or Morello cherries at a 'pick your own', we think it looks worth the effort. 

Sour Cherry Milkshakes recipe by Orangette.

Image above and at top of page: Orangette

Pluot Summer Salad

Not a fan of sweet desserts? Cherries make a surprising addition to a summer salad.

Pluot Summer Salad recipe by 101 Cookbooks.

Image above: 101 Cookbooks.

Find more seasonal recipe delights in August's The Simple Things (buy or download now).

Recipe: Berry coconut ice lollies

Berry coconut ice lollies are perfect for hot days. The good news? You’re only two steps away from this wholesome treat on a stick...

Berry coconut ice lollies

Makes 6

300g fresh blueberries 400ml coconut milk 150g live probiotic yoghurt 1 tbsp runny honey Juice of 1/4 lime

You will need:

Ice lolly moulds Ice lolly sticks

1. Place all the ingredients in a blender and whizz to a smooth purée. 2. Pour into ice lolly moulds, add the lolly sticks and freeze overnight.

Recipe featured in August's The Simple Things. Buy or download your copy now.

(Recipe from The Medicinal Chef: Healthy Every Day by Dale Pinnock, Quadrille, £18.99)

Recipe: Chilled prawns with garlic mayonnaise

The finest of finger foods, especially dipped in aioli, this recipe for chilled prawns with garlic mayonnaise makes the perfect summer lunch.

Recipe: Chilled prawns with garlic mayonnaise

Makes 20

20 large whole prawns

1 fresh egg yolk at room temperature

1 tsp Dijon mustard

100ml vegetable oil

1 tsp vinegar

1 large garlic clove, peeled and mashed

1 Rinse prawns and place half of them into a steamer over a pan of boiling water. Steam, covered, for 3–4 mins or until prawns turn pink and opaque and curl.

2 Prepare a large bowl filled with icy water. Remove prawns from heat and pour them into the icy water to stop cooking. Steam the second batch of prawns in the same way.

3 To make the garlic mayo: in a bowl mix together egg yolk and mustard. Measure oil into a jug. With an electric hand mixer, whisk egg yolk and, very slowly, pour a trickle of oil into the egg as you whisk. Whisk until all the oil is used and the mayonnaise firm.

4 Mix in vinegar and season with salt. Add garlic and stir. Serve with the iced prawns and a bowl for discarded prawn shells and heads.

For more summery seafood recipes, turn to page 24 of August's The Simple Things.

Not got August's The Simple Things yet? Buy or download your copy now.

WIN £50 worth of Dragonfly tea (archived)

WIN £50 worth of Dragonfly tea We love a cuppa here at The Simple Things and so are pleased to tell you about a competition to win £50 worth of organic Dragonfly tea. Five winners will receive a mahogany tea chest filled with all 15 speciality teas (96 sachets in total). For your chance to win, click here 

Recipe: Garlic potato salad with lemon creme fraiche

Reinvent the picnic for the modern world with made-to-be-mobile dishes, such as this potato salad recipe. A garlicky mustard kick rescue potatoes from potential blandness.

Recipe: Garlic potato salad with lemon crème fraiche

Serves 6

1.5kg mixed potatoes, cubed

3 tbsp olive oil

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

175ml crème fraîche

1 tbsp maille mustard

2 garlic cloves, minced

to serve:


4 tbsp fresh chives, finely snipped

Fresh dill

Red onion pickle (for recipe, see page 29 of July’s The Simple Things for the perfect potato salad recipe accompaniment)

1. Preheat oven to 190c/fan 170c/ 350f. Toss the potato cubes in olive oil, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and arrange in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Bake for 45 mins–1 hour or until golden and crisped. Set aside to cool.

2. In a large bowl, place the lemon juice and zest, crème fraîche, mustard and garlic. Whisk together, then toss with potatoes, making sure to coat everything well. Top with fresh chives, dill and onion pickle.

Turn to page 26 of July’s The Simple Things for more al fresco picnic recipes.

Not got July’s The Simple Things yet? Buy or download your copy now.

Recipe: Sweetcorn with flower and herb butter

Corn on the cob and butter are the most natural of double acts. Flowers and herbs picked from your plot take this melting accompaniment to the next level in this sweetcorn recipe.

The sugars in sweetcorn start turning to starch the moment the cob is picked, meaning even minutes can make a difference to its taste. Get the barbecue up to heat before you pick, for the juiciest, sweetest corn you’ve ever sunk your teeth into.

Recipe: Sweetcorn with flower and herb butter

Serves 6

6 sweetcorn cobs

For the butter:

150g butter, at room temperature

Small bunch parsley, finely chopped

Petals of a few edible flowers: marigold, cornflower, chive

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1. Put the butter in a large bowl, add all the other ingredients. Season and mix well, pushing the petals into the butter with the back of a wooden spoon. Bring it all together into a rough round using the spoon.

2. To make the butter into a sliceable log, chill the pat until it is workable
but not too firm. Use a piece of wax paper to roll into a log shape. Wrap and refrigerate or freeze until needed.

3. Once the barbecue coals have turned grey, pick the cobs and place them, husks and all, onto the grill. Allow the outer leaves to blacken slightly, then turn. Once the whole thing is blackened, pull back the husk, slice of the butter and place it on the kernels. Let it melt slightly, then eat.

Turn to page 40 of July’s The Simple Things for more ideas for enjoying July’s allotment bounty.

Not got July’s The Simple Things yet? Buy or download your copy now.

Food from afar: Granita recipe

Granita refers to the coarse, grainy texture of this sweet, frozen treat. Delve into the history of the flavoured ice and try your hand with a summery granita recipe.

Sicily may not have invented flavoured ices – that hour goes to China, Arabia or ancient Rome, depending on which food history you read – but the island has made granita its own, combining it with chopped nuts, mandarins, mulberries, even dark chocolate. At breakfast it’s spooned onto brioscia (Sicilian brioche), while later in the day it gets dressed up with a dollop of cream or biscotti for dipping.

Read more on page 38 of July's The Simple Things.

Fancy a go? Head over to Rachel Eats for a melon granita recipe from the Brit-born, Rome-dwelling blog writer.

Not got July’s The Simple Things yet? Buy or download your copy now.

Recipe: Brazilian cake - Broa de Fuba

Tonight's the night! Let's celebrate the FIFA World Cup Final in a very British way. Tea and cake, anyone? Brazilian cake, of course! In a nod to the ubiquitous workshop of all things Brazilian, we’ve found a polenta sponge that’s a winner in our book.

Moreish, moist and not too sweet, this Brazilian take on polenta cake is a highly loveable sponge.

BROA DE FUBA (CORN BREAD) 250g butter, softened 230g caster sugar 4 large eggs, separated 150g polenta 190ml milk 150g self-raising flour Icing sugar, to serve

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/Fan 160C/350F. Lightly grease a round 20cm springform cake tin and line with baking parchment. 2. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until pale and creamy. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add half the polenta, then half the milk, beating after each addition to combine; repeat. Sift in the flour and mix to combine. 3. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Stir one large spoonful of the egg whites into the batter to loosen it. Using a metal spoon, gently fold in the remaining egg whites. 4. Spoon the batter into the lined tin, smoothing the top. Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the bread comes out clean. Leave the bread in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature, dusted with icing sugar.

Recipe taken from This is Brazil by Fernanda de Paula and Shelley Hepworth (Hardie Grant, £16.99)

Want more Brazil? This month, Andy Martin shows us round his home town, the hip Brazilian city, Sao Paulo. Turn to page 60 of July’s The Simple Things for food, football and (very) late nights from the Brazilian metropolis.

Not got July’s The Simple Things yet? Buy or download your copy now.

Recipe: Peppermint chocolate chip ice cream

Homemade and anything but lurid, this peppermint chocolate chip ice cream recipe is all grown up.

We thought that mint choc chip was a pleasingly synthetic treat we'd left behind in childhood. Then this recipe came along, offering cooling mint flecked with devillishly good chocolate in a wholesome creamy form. We're converted.

Don't be tempted to use milk chocolate over dark, say Bountiful authors Todd Porter and Diane Cu. "It doesn't work as well."

Peppermint Choc-Chip Ice Cream

Makes about 1 litre

360ml double cream 240ml milk 100g caster sugar Peppermint leaves from 15 stems 5 egg yolks 140g dark chocolate, finely chopped

You will need an ice cream maker

1. In a pan over medium heat, mix the cream, milk, sugar, a pinch of salt, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Bring to a simmer, stirring often. Add mint. Cover and set aside for 30 minutes.

2. In a bowl, whisk egg yolks. Sieve cooled cream and discard leaves. Slowly whisk into egg yolks. Return mixture to pan and stir on a medium heat. Cook until custard thickens to coat the back of a wooden spoon.

3. Pour custard through a sieve into a clean container. Place container in an ice bath, stirring occasionally until cool (about 20 minutes). Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

4. When ready to freeze, set a bowl over a pan of simmering water and melt the chocolate. Stir until smooth, then remove from the heat.

5. Freeze the custard according to the ice cream machine instructions. While it's churning, place storage container in freezer to chill.

6. In the last moments of churning, drizzle a fine stream of chocolate into the ice cream. If your ice cream machine makes this tricky, fold in chocolate manually straight after churning. Transfer into the chilled storage container and freeze.

Recipe from Bountiful by Todd Porter and Dian Cu. To order a copy for £18.99 with free P&P, call 01903 828503 and quote ref 50480.

How to be a mindful eater PLUS three simple tea infusion recipes

Yes, we love food, but it doesn't always get our full attention. Time to reconnect your mind with your mouth and become a mindful eater.

Many of us fall easily into patterns of mindless eating. We pick at food while working at our computers. We reach for the quickest - and usually the unhealthiest - snacks for a quick energy boost. We don't take proper lunch breaks. We are constantly distracted while we eat, by television, by work by our phones and computers. We have lost a lot of the enjoyment of eating and as a result we are guilty of just shovelling food into our bodies.

Turn to page 100 of July's The Simple Things to read Rebecca Frank's rediscovery of the joys and pleasure of conscious eating. And sit down with a cuppa, taking time to enjoy the fragrant flavours of one of these mindful infusions. Glass tumblers work really well, as you can fully appreciate not only the refreshing taste and aroma, but also the visual delights. You can sweeten any of the teas with a dash of honey.

Simple Mint Tea

2-3 sprigs of fresh mint Freshly boiled water

Place the mint sprigs into your favourite tea tumbler.

Pour over hot water.

Leave to steep for a few minutes and you will notice the water start to turn slightly green. Savour and enjoy.

Mindful tea notes: This simple, refreshing mint tea has long been used as a natural digestive aid. It works well if sipped slowly after a meal.

Rosemary Tea

2-3 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves Freshly boiled water

Add the fresh rosemary to your favourite tea tumbler.

Pour over hot water and leave to steep for a few minutes.

Enjoy immediately or strain mixture first depending on your preference.

Mindful tea notes: Rosemary is associated with memory and is a lovely tea when you need focus and concentration on your side.

Lemon, Ginger and Lemongrass Tea

1 inch ginger; peeled and sliced into long thin strips 1 organic, unwaxed lemon A few seeds from a cardamom pod 1 stalk lemongrass Freshly boiled water

Press down on the ginger slices and cardamom seeds with the back of a teaspoon to release the flavours and place them in your favourite tea tumbler.

Slice the top and bottom off the lemongrass stalk and then slice in half lengthways, remove the outer layer, and place sliced inner sections into your tumbler.

Pour over hot water and leave to steep for a few minutes.

Squeeze the juice from the lemon and add to the tumbler.

Stir well and enjoy.

Mindful tea notes: The combination of lemon and ginger is energising, while the extra cardamom adds spicy warmth to boost your metabolism.

Not got July's The Simple Things yet? Buy or download your copy now.

More recipes from The Simple Things.

Pack the perfect picnic

No basket? No problem. Part of the picnic’s appeal is its ad hoc nature, so go with the flow and improvise with our top tips for perfect picnic accoutrements.

High summer. School’s out and the pavements are packed with hot office workers and gaggles of confused tourists. What you need to do is pack up the car, ditch the city and head for the hills: an afternoon spent amid fields and streams and under tree canopies and bright blue skies will restore your equilibrium. Lying on a picnic blanket with a glass of something cold in one hand, and a plateful of something delicious in the other, is a picture-perfect way to idle away the heady days of summer.

Take inspiration from Brideshead Revisited and feast on strawberries and champagne, or enjoy a boating picnic a la Rat and Mole in 'The Wind in the Willows':  The Mole begged to be allowed to unpack it all by himself. He took out all the mysterious packets one by one and arranged their contents, gasping 'Oh my! Oh my!' at each fresh surprise.'

It may be a little optimistic to believe we’ll be picnicking all summer long, but if rain does stop play, you can always eat your picnic on your knees in the car. There are certain British traditions that will never die.

No British summer would be complete without a picnic. Pack the perfect picnic with our top tips.

1. A wine crate makes a great container for packaging and transporting your picnic. Sturdy sides keep it upright in the car and, upturned, it’s the perfect little table.

2. Use mason jars to transport salads, chutneys, and desserts. As well as looking the part, they are easy to fill, pack and can even be used as crockery in times of need. Plus, you can re-seal and take home any leftovers – from fridge to field and back again.

3. A robust bread board or tray at the centre of your picnic rug makes for a mini table, meaning no more spilled drinks or squashed sandwiches.

4. Want to keep mess and waste to a minimum? Pack each picnicker their own meal in a cardboard food box, then hand them round when you reach your destination.

5. Ice packs are a picnic essential for keeping cool. Not got any? They are easy to make using just two simple supplies. Squeeze washing up liquid into a ziplock bag, place it flat and push out any bubbles, before sealing and placing into the freezer. Once frozen, use to keep your chilled picnic items nice and cool.