The third monthly cook-out // June

Hello folks, wasn't the weekend just glorious with a bit of sunshine and clear skies? For some of us, we survived the haze and carried on with the June edition of the cook-out over the weekend. 

I love these lunches. Great food plus hilarious company, what more do you want? Oh yeah, for the bub to suddenly develop an ability to self-entertain! Kidding. Maybe not. The only catch though is you can only plan for a nap after each meal because food coma will get the better of you.

I was inspired by THIS RECIPE and made a Thai-style smoked duck salad. You can tell, I'm obessed with making salads with fruits eh? I say "inspired" because I used smoked duck, instead of grilled duck, and mangoes instead of pineapples. Oh, when I came home, I found the toasted cashew nuts still in the oven! Doh, instead of owning up to the glitch in my brain, I'm blaming the haze. Still incredibly moreish though! 

My sister, the hostess with the mostest (alcohol in her stash) made this incredible Tagine Djaj Bzitoun,with chicken, apricots, figs, and olives. 

Oh man, THE RECIPE looks and sounds like a biatch to make but it sure as hell as tasted every bit as good as the effort gone into the making it. To make things more awesome, the sauce served as a great giant pot of dip for the nachos. 

We couldn't wait and started before Zhu, who was running a little late, arrived. To be honest, she wasn't even that late; the rest of us were just early and er, famished. 

I'm glad I saved some space for her salmon ceviche. THIS Gordon Ramsay RECIPE reminds me of our local yu sheng and we repaid her efforts with a plate wiped clean. 

For dessert, Diana made a blueberry crumb bars that spoiler alert, involved much butter and sugar. Paired with Haagen Daaz ice cream, that pretty much guranteed a happy ending. 

Have a great week ahead and let's never take our blue skies for granted!