Wild Indian berries

It’s time to wish summer goodbye

When it gets so hot that your eyes find it difficult to stay open, 
When the sun gets so bright that all you see is a blinding whiteness,
When the drops of sweat come down so fast that it’s like standing under a shower,
When the breeze is so still that even a hair doesn’t move
When the blue in the sky gets mixed up with grey
That’s when you know it’s time to say goodbye
To those hot days of summer.

Ripe jackfruit

Alas, the market so full of summer fruit like ripe jackfruit that inundates the street with its strong overpowering smell , fat black jamuns that have flooded the market at an astronomical rate  and wild Indian berries of the Shabari fame (the poor peasant woman who tasted each and every berry before offering it to Lord Rama who was in the neighbourhood) and peanuts and toddy palm hearts filled with a sweet cooling squishiness will soon give way to lychees, chickoos and cherries and fruit from the North.

Peaches, plums and cherries

The Portabellos are here!

While the rest of the world is saying hello to summer, we in Mumbai are bidding it goodbye. And with  summer’s end come the cherries and plums and apricots . Portobello Mushrooms – fresh fat and succulent at the food stalls  gladdened my heart  Though a lady shook her head.    ” It must be bad”  she said shaking her head  when I swooped on them in glee!

I will be entertaining our friends tonight and  will be making my own version of a Mushroom risotto.  I will serve with  grilled yellow and red peppers. I’ll start with a cream of spinach soup  with garlic bread . I’ll serve my favourites spaghetti al’olio, roast chicken and fried potato salad with a glass of chilled white wine. And to round it off I’ll have diced mango and ice cream – the perfect way to bid summer goodby