It’s summer, or at least that’s what the calendar is telling me. Outside it’s cold, grey and miserable, but inside I want the sun to shine. So what better way than making summery food to get in the mood?

Two weeks ago at Food Blogger Connect, the lovely Giulia of Juls Kitchen gave everyone a little present from her home – a jar of a Mediterranean salt mix (with rosemary, sage, garlic and black pepper), which she labelled Tuscany in a jar.

Great stuff, I thought, and got brainstorming on what to make with it. Ratatouille? Flavoured polenta? Sprinkle some on salads? I was lost in thoughts, with my nose sticking in the spice jar, when R. came into the kitchen and asked what I was sniffing. ‘I’m indulging in the smell of summer, and trying to decide what to cook with it.” She took the jar from me, gave it a critical nosing, and returned it to me with a big smile on her face and just said ‘Focaccia’.

That’s how this lovely bread came about. I really like Focaccia, but I don’t make it often enough. My first Focaccia recipe was given to me by our lovely Italian neighbour Rosalie. I did quite a bit of babysitting for her children, and one day she had made this wonderful Focaccia for us lot for dinner. It was amazing! I’ll have to dig that recipe out of my old food files and make it again. For the while being, this new recipe will do. I mixed a bit of wholemeal flour into the batter, since I ran out of strong white flour, and I was surprised by what a nice touch this gave the Focaccia.

So, thank you Juls for this lovely spice mix. If you want to make it yourself, check out Jul’s recipe.

Right, I’m off to Berlin for the weekend, so fingers crossed the sun will shine and I can browse some markets and snap some nice food photos for you all. ★