Worth the Chill

A Santorini sunset: Un-rivaled save the chilly colours of Skye

Picture this: a quaint little cottage with magnificent views of the sweeping MacLeod loch, with sea lions lazily sunning themselves on an ever small isle where the mystical waters gently lap at its wonderfully fine, barely beige beach. A stone's throw away is a splendidly foilaged woods, as gentle as all the landscape the north of England is reputably renown: no poisonous spiders, no venomous snakes, no murderously fanged wolves. Nothing living within is ever a threat to a leisurely meandering through this whisper-quiet forest.

But surprise, surprise: we have a roaring wood fire going during summer days this further north in the Isle of Skye. And a hearty swig of malt whisky is definitely the way to go after a good trek round the loch and into the woods. My eye balls may bulge and the throat seems christianed by holy fire, but I can now understand fully the love affair Scots have with tipping their glasses neat all year round.

Still it's a marvellous way to get yourself lost in the rainbow-coloured hues of the setting sky. And the memories they bring more than amply make up for the generous layers we swaft ourselves. We'll absolutely volunteer for Rudolph's job if Santa ever decides to bring Christmas cheer to Skye during a chilly June.

Getting a chill also takes a number of middle-eastern vegetable dishes from the ordinary to the extraordinary! Serve them freshly prepared and you won't ever want to take a second mouthful. Leave them refridgerated, over night if you can, and the lowered temperatures potently transforms your first bite into a craving for a second serving.

That the chill is THE crucial ingredient in dishing out a fantastic fattit al hommus draws strength from the liberty this steps gives me in simplifing the recipe effortlessly. Any can of chickpeas will do. Swap the mint for the coriander. Don't toast the pine nuts at all. And generously heap it onto olive ciabatta, rather than trusty pita bread.  

This truth applies to the way some Morrocan vegetables dishes are prepared too. A simple serving of boiled and heavily spiced carrots is made mouth-watering only after camping over night in the fridge. As would a vegetable salad need do to live up to the enticing expectations elicited by the profusion of  colours - fiery red, spritely yellow, lush green and midnight black.