The August List

Delicious things to read, wear, watch, do and cook

August is always a bittersweet month: it’s peak summer but also kind of the end of summer. All good things must come to an end, of course, and with the end of summer, we also have the beginning of a new chapter, the opening of a new door: hello, September. Hello, new shoes. Hello, new set of nicely sharpened pencils. Hello, exciting plans, good intentions, big ambitions. So, here are a few favourites to get you started…

Oh, my goodness, Mark Diacono’s newest book is pure joy. I love Mark’s substack, of course, and have loved following along as he wrote this book in real time online, chapter by chapter, week by week, recipe by recipe. But to see it all collected together in book form, to have the luxury of leafing through the lovely pages rather than looking at a screen is a real treat. Stunning writing, beautiful stories, delectable recipes, and deliciously evocative pictures: I have so much love for this book. And have a sneaky feeling that you might too.

So, this is one of those recipes that sounds so wrong, but tastes SO right: I rediscovered it recently after not make it for a while, sometimes you just fall out of the habit of things. But have been eating on repeat ever since: wilted lettuce leaves, a few frozen peas, a crumbled stock cube, a little pecorino cheese (parmesan would do just as well) and a lot of black pepper. I shared the recipe here a while back, just in case you fancy making it too. It’s a great one for making something out of very little - and with a healthy does of pizzaz to it too.

I like to think of this as Nutella for grown-ups. I eat it by the spoonful, add it to pretty much everything (hello, tiramisù with dollops of pistachio cream), obviously love it on toast and just generally can’t get enough of it. If you’re not already addicted, I’m confident you too will be soon.

I do love a touch of leopard print, I’m not going to lie. I’ve been wearing this dress on repeat for the past few weeks: it’s super comfy, very flattering (sort of cinches you in at the waist) and is one of those you can easily dress up or dress down, as you like and the mood takes you. And while, strictly speaking, a summer dress - the colour palette (all those shades of chocolate brown) and the ankle-skimming length mean that I’m getting good wear out of her as we nudge away from sunshine and into chillier days (think: a cardigan and a pair of closed shoes). Plus, I’ve just noticed that she’s on sale right now. If you needed an excuse, I just gave you one.

I’ve long harboured a happy obsession with Tunnocks Caramel Wafers so obviously need this in my life. Plus a good biscuit tin is one of those useful sorts of things that can be oddly tricky thing to find. So it’s a win win really.

I’m obsessed with bordeaux right now: as in, I’m always a fan of bordeaux, but it’s one of those colours that really seem to come into their own at this point in the year when summer turns into the promise of Autumn. So this snuggly jumper is currently top of my wish-list. Obviously, I love the little bobbly cherries too: they’re the literal cherry on top.