I think I may have given one of my neighbours and the driver of our rubbish collection service a chuckle today. Both happened to come along the back service lane just as I popped outside to the kitchen garden to pluck some fresh zucchini flowers in the cool light of the early morning. If the sight of a half-asleep woman, scissors in hand and wearing a slinky Peter Alexander robe, didn't make them smile, the happy dance I did when I found several fiori di zucca ready to pick certainly must have.

Before I launch into this snippet, I would like to thank Bellatrix, Nymphadora, Minerva and Poppy, the lovely ladies (or 'laid/ies') who provided the eggs which made this story possible. Named after females in the Harry Potter books, the hens are owned by my good friend 'The Dog' and his family, and must admit I had a chuckle when I heard about their individual personalities.

'Speaking as someone who didn't go through the UK school system, with all the culinary baggage that entails, I am inordinately fond of custard in any shape or form.'   - Yotam Ottolenghi on the rules of making custard

'We've decided we're not going to grow zucchini this year (mainly because everyone else does, so we're happy to take their excess off their hands and we'll have something else to fob off on them, I'm sure). But in the past when we grew 'zeppelins' we used to wrap them in a baby blanket, put them in a basket, leave them on someone's door step, ring the doorbell and run.      —  John Griffin, a.k.a. Kitchen Riffs

'Somehow I was never told that rhubarb was good for me, so I grew up loving it. I loved its beautiful rose-pink colour, its sharp and surprising flavour, and the way I could trail a spoonful of proper custard through my bowl of rhubarb and admire the patterns I made.'                                                                                     
                                                                                    – Stephanie Alexander, on Rhubarb, The Cook's Companion

'eton mess
Combine strawberries with crushed meringue and a spoonful of raspberry sauce then fold mixture into enough whipped cream to make a gloriously marbled crimson-and-white dessert.  Serve in pretty glass dishes'.
                                                                                                                       - Stephanie Alexander, The Cook's Companion                                                                  

Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Truffle 
and Barossa Maple Bacon

Scrambled Eggs with Truffle and Barossa Maple Bacon

The 8g truffle that I unearthed at Tarago Truffles at the weekend