Yes, I know it's probably raining cats and dogs as you read this, and that the suggestion that you need to get out the barbecue or delve into books all about outdoor grilling is going to seem like some sort of joke, and not a very funny one at that.
But, let's take heart, and wait for the sun, and in the meantime take on board loads of the ideas from Marlena Spieler's The Classic Barbecue And Grill Cookbook, which has just appeared in paperback.
This is an indispensable book on the subject. The layout is exceptionally user-friendly, the recipes are terrific, but above all it is a book which engenders a feel for the art of barbecue.
Too many of us used to think that to make barbecue, you piled a great deal of various meats onto a grill, and drank a lot of beer while they smoked away. Then you ate them, with lots more beer. Spieler shows just how much more even inexperienced cooks can achieve on the barbie, and you really shouldn't venture outdoors with your tongs and your baster without a copy.
As to what barbecue, some time ago I bought a Weber kettle barbecue, following a period working with a gas barbie and after some years of trying to figure out how to work a small, cast-iron barbecue bought in France one summer.
The gas barbecue gave no element of charcoal smoke to the food, and was really little different from cooking indoors. True, it was fast to use and easy to clean, but somehow mucking about with charcoal and matches is what barbecues are all about. The Weber, by contrast, captures the element of smokiness perfectly when you cook under its big kettle dome, and the fact that you can cook entire chickens slowly in the kettle makes it wonderfully versatile. (Bear this in mind the next time there are winter storms and the electricity goes off: if you have a Weber in the shed, you can cook a small turkey on it). It is also very easy to move about, easy to light, and not very expensive; for the kettle barbecue you should expect to pay around about £80£100 - quite a lot less than some electronic, state-of-the-art set-ups.
I unearthed mine about 10 days ago and brought it around to the patio. It has rained ever since, a meteorological occurrence for which my wife holds me personally responsible . . . I know many devotees of eating outdoors, but I don't think I have ever come across anyone so crazed about the pleasure of picnics and barbecues as Hugo Arnold. On the evidence of his new book, Outdoor Feasts, Mr Arnold likes to eat and cook everything and anything outdoors, given half the chance. "I am passionate about eating outside," he writes in the introduction. "Fresh air, the warmth of the sun on my back and the gentle rustle of the trees all help to sharpen the senses." This is idyllic stuff, without wasps and rain and children having accidents with forks, and none the worse for that. There are recipes for grilled entrecote with filled mushrooms and bearnaise to be cooked on the barbie, plates of char-grilled squid with chilli oil, humous and rocket salad, curried dishes such as potato, cauliflower and cumin salad, simple sandwiches such as sausages and mustard. In fact, Arnold takes much of the repertoire of modern cooking and simply suggests that it suits outdoor eating perfectly - a bright idea, though I would quibble about the suitability of pizza as a picnic food. The enthusiasm of the text is engaging, a series of reminiscences of food eaten here, there and everywhere, for every manner of meals from breakfast to barbies.
The Classic Barbecue and Grill Cookbook by Marlene Spieler is published by Dorling Kindersley, price £9.99 in the UK. Outdoor Feasts by Hugo Arnold is published by Kyle Cathie, price £17.99 in Britain.