Have You Ever Wanted a Holiday to Just Continue On and On?

It is at that point that I start to think, can it only have been 6 hours ago I was eating my breakfast in the scorching sunshine overlooking the sea and now I'm back to reality with a thud? My mind starts to wander and thoughts then turn to recreating the holiday experience all over again.

I know I'm not the only one who does this, in fact I know someone who went to great lengths to find expensive ingredients and spent many hours recreating a meal she had in Venice she was so enamoured by it.

And I too find myself when I go food shopping again, bunging in perhaps a block of feta or halloumi in the trolley to go alongside that bottle of wine I bought on the vineyard tour or to go with those miniature gin bottles I got seduced into buying in Menorca 3 years ago (and I don't even drink gin)! See, even on holiday, I'm buying things in preparation for the holiday re-enactment when we get back….

But, let's face it, in truth, tomatoes abroad are more flavoursome than the ones in the UK, that tub of olives from the supermarket isn't quite the same as the ones from the Greek rural village and the touristy box of halva I picked up at the gift shop is more packaging than anything else, so whilst I persevere with my halloumi purchase and with my endeavours to prolong the holiday mood, I buy in a few supporting cast members from specialist shops in town to make it more authentic.

It is worth the effort to do so, places like All Greek Delicatessen in Birmingham will have huge marinated olives and home-made slices of baklava and many of the Italian restaurants (Carluccios for instance) will have gorgeous dried pasta you can't buy en masse as well as online providers (such as The Pop Up Deli) who offer bespoke artisan goods that can boost your meal to make it feel it is just what Nonna in the Med would have made.

All in all, this is part of my post-holiday procedure, trying to keep memories alive through cooking and it is an enjoyable thing to do – helps to delay reality for a bit.

Here I am, holiday food dining on my patio in my thick cardigan rather than my kaftan, the wine flows and debate begins where to go next year. However, whilst that is still yet to be decided, I know one thing for sure and that is that the Menorcan gin is STILL going to be sat in the drinks cupboard well after we return from next year's jaunt!