i bought these the other day thinking they were fresh almonds but not knowing any more than that. it turns out they are fresh green almonds which are only available for a few weeks each year.

apparently they are eaten raw. and whole. that’s right, give them a wash and then bite in through that soft fuzzy green skin and into the nut. the centre of each, which will form the almond itself, is at this young stage a slightly bitter flavoured gel. the flesh around it reminded me of the unripe (or only just ripe) slightly sour peaches which used to grown in our garden in malawi. interesting to try...

if anyone knows of other ways to eat/use them i'd love to know. and if you're in london and fancy trying them, i bought mine at the wonderful green valley on upper berkeley street, w1h 5qe.

several months ago i saw a recipe in a magazine for a spinach and butterbean bruschetta. it looked fabulous in the photos and when i read through the recipe i was sold – this was something that i needed to try. i then forgot which magazine it was in and, given i usually have several piles of recipe cuttings lying around, tracking it down wasn’t easy.

however, i spent a couple of days over a long and wet weekend sorting through these recipes and filing them away and, as a result, i found the bruschetta recipe.

i made it for friends (it preceded my lentil and spinach lasagne) and it was fabulous! the depth of flavour reminded me of the bruschetta di cavolo nero, fagioli (black eye beans) con l’occio e por we had in siena last year and it is a much more interesting bruschetta than the tomato and basil version that is often people’s default choice.

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we had a party last weekend – it was david’s birthday and we were in the mood for celebrating. we invited a few friends round and i knocked up some canapés.

the goats cheese and rosemary mini muffins were on the menu, along with a gruyere, sage and onion version. so too were these mini thai-style mini turkey meatballs. they, and some mini thai-style sausage rolls were the hit of the night and i’d thoroughly recommend them if you’re planning a party and need some nibbles. not least as they were both able to be made in advance and put in the freezer until party day arrived.

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i’ve had a bit of a shopping spree recently and am the proud owner of a couple of silicon baking trays – one for madeleines and the other for mini muffins. i decided to give the mini muffin case an outing this weekend, reasoning that muffins would be more forgiving if the tray misbehaved.

as instructed i lightly greased them before use (this should now be unnecessary unless the muffin mix is fat-free) and apart from having to manoeuvre a floppy tray in and out of the oven, it was a great success.

the resulting muffins, which were baked naked (no paper cases), had a gorgeous slight crispy texture on the outside – a perfect contrast to the meltingly soft centres. these would be perfect for nibbles at a festive drinks party.

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bruschetta is an obvious choice for me when thinking about starters/ appetisers when we have friends round, especially if there is a mix of likes and dislikes that need taking into account.

the obvious topping choice is tomato and basil but i tend to relegate this to final place when choosing what to do. a long-term favourite of mine involves a creamy beany spread atop the chargrilled garlicky ciabatta.

the choice of beans is not important – haricot, broad or even chickpeas all work fine. This time i chose butter beans. these were topped with parma ham, skye gyngell’s slow roasted tomatoes and some fresh basil. this is incredibly easy, store-cupboard based and delicious. if you need a change from your usual choice of bruschetta topping, give this a try.

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