Sun, Sea, Sand (and the other)

We went on our annual summer holiday almost this time last month. We were lucky enough to have the best week of the English summer in deepest Kent (with the occasional foray into East Sussex) indulging in all the things I like best – sun, sea, sand (and the other). We walked at least 10km each day (yes, I ran too!), visited lots of lovely gardens for inspiration (although sad to see how many owners let their fruit just drop and rot to the ground, especially the not so easily available quinces and mulberries), and ate raw fruit and veggie goodies from local farms and farmers’ markets. I bought several chocolate mint plants and some organic microgreen/sprouting seeds from a specialist herb nursery, near the fabulous Sissinghurst. Pineapple Mint and Eau de Cologne Mint (which smelt like Savile Row gentlemen) were enticing, but the chocolate mint smelt like After Eights and won me over. I can’t wait to pulverise a couple of leaves and add them to my next batch of raw chocolate...