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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did you guess correctly? yes, these beautiful vegetables are gem squash.

gem squash are vegetables from my childhood in malawi and as well as tasting wonderful (a sweet squash, with a less dense texture than butternut squash), they are bound up with all sorts of childhood memories, particularly our christmas day meal which would usually feature them.

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i'm very excited. i love this vegetable but it is ridiculously difficult to track down in the uk. however, life is good as i now have some!

does anyone know what it is? and if so, what would you do with it? check back tomorrow to find out if you were right and what my plans are for it...

if i’m eating out, when it comes to choosing pudding crème brulees are always, automatically, on the shortlist. the sweet warm crunchy caramel, the chilled creamy custard and, ideally, a hidden layer of fruity treasure at the bottom of the dish.

i’ve never made my own crème brulee. baked custards have consistently thwarted me (they don’t set, they curdle or they shrink to nothingness) and my bad experiences with them have consistently put me off trying anything custard based, including crème brulee.

however, the call from jennifer, the domestic goddess, for food bloggers to give in to their cravings and cook the things they’ve never tried, changed all that. i made a lovely rose-scented apricot brulee and conquered my fear.

the hidden apricots had a slightly sharp taste and were lightly flavoured with rosewater. the custard was rich and full of vanilla flavours. the caramel was perfect and risk-free as i made it separately and simply poured it over rather than risk trouble with blowtorches or grills. this is my contribution to jennifer’s sugar high friday.

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