We are in our holiday home for three weeks (hurrah!) with a bonanza of veggies and salad given by friends and neighbours,  so I  have decided to be creative with these lovely gifts;

broad bean and bacon salad with warm bacon vinaigrette (pop the lightly boiled beans from their jackets, fry the bacon in its own fat til crispy and chop then add vinaigrette to the pan, swirl and combine)

courgette cakes (grated courgette  squeezed in a tea towel then combined with grated cheese and a little flour plus garlic or herbs or spices as you choose and fried in pan til golden)

nearly nicoise (runner and/or french beans lightly boiled combined with hard boiled eggs, tom puree, bacon bits or tuna and capers or cornichons only if your vinaigrette isn’t punchy enough)

rhubarb fool-ish (rhubarb stewed with orange juice or elderflower cordial – home made of course – when cool stirred into greek yoghurt or whipped cream or cold custard)

roast beetroot (whole clean roots loosely wrapped in foil and sprinkled with garlic and oil, baked for 30 mins and left to cool before slipping off the skins) gret hot as a veggie and cold when diced with cheese

phew! fridge nearly ready for the next instalment …