I was on a surprise holiday for the entire las week. I ate, swam, ate, swam, ate, swam at luxury resorts – of course, not at my own expenses. I am more of a rough-it type – and the last two days I was out in the most beautiful cove in Fethiye, which is on the route of Blue Voyage. I was privileged to be on a private boat of an amazingly honourable and hospitable man. Spending time in the sea surrounded by luxury yachts and millionaires was quite an experience that one could dream of.

I’ve always fancied owning a boat and living on it, sailing all round the world – who haven’t? Sleeping on the boat was like sleeping on a rocking cradle, which I was comforting and help to sleep better. The meals cooked onboard were exquisite, too. Why is food cooked at the camp so delicious? Is it the simplicity or the surroundings giving a relish to the food? Is it simply that you have more appetite when outdoors, being active? I couldn’t believe I ate three BIG meatballs!

After the whole week away from my own kitchen and the cooking task, I felt so lazy that I didn’t feel like cooking. All I craved was just watermelon, feta cheese and bread. Also, there was a lot of work to catch up with after the lovely holiday, which I’ve been doing gladly since I am still in a cheerful mood from the lovely time in the sea.

No matter how busy I am, I still need to eat properly – I’m not like those who eat just biscuits for fuel without any pleasure of eating or reheating ready-made foods. When I saw a post on Facebook by Shaf about One-Pot Pasta, I simply ignored it. And then one day while looking for something to eat for lunch, I was suddenly reminded of the post, realising that the kitchen stock was very low right after holiday.

Ok, let’s make a simple pasta. I put all the ingredients, sliced onion, garlic, – ho, ho, I always thank my ready-to-go minced garlic in the freezer – 4 cherry tomatoes, dried basil, – better with fresh basil though – well, what else do I have in the fridge? Oh, some black olives and…well, why not some surimi sticks for fish flavour instead of anchovy?

I wanted it really quick, so I used egg noodles and boiled all together with some olive oil and salt for 3 minutes, and turned off the heat and grated parmesan cheese, cracked some black pepper, and torn some rocket leaves over the plate for a little touch, and… voila!

Oh, my god, it was so delicious that all the efforts of cooking pasta in the past suddenly felt vain. No standing by the stove, watching and stirring, and no much clean-up except one pot, a fork and a plate, only if using one. I can picture myself eating out of the pot at the camp. I was given an electronic pot for camping by an acquaintance and I will definitely try this method when I stay in a hotel during my holiday.

I regretted not having cooked more. Grrr…I wonder if you would try this method one day, but I’ve tried it and can tell you that it works. I picked up a random book to read during the holiday and finished the last chapter after eating the accidental pata. I like Jonathan Coe’s books but this one was not my favourite, thought the first half was quite soothing as I could easily relate to the main character.

July, which is the busiest month for me, is approaching, giving me very little time for cooking and thinking up recipes these days. There might be another long silence during July, I am afraid, but until the time comes, I will try my best to entertain you with my food stories and photos.

Cheers to happy cooking and healthy eating!