I've been cooking a lot recently, partly for work, partly because I've been enjoying it and partly because, for various reasons we've ended up with a lot of ingredients in the fridge. Ingredients which needed to be used up, before they turned.

 

Here are some recent scenes from my kitchen.

 

 

 

All the fig trees in my suburb are in full fruit.

 

Each day, as I walk or run around the suburb I watch their progress with great interest. Over the last few weeks each has been carefully covered with a giant hairnet, or some other home made netting, to protect the ripening fruit from the local birds and possums.

I often dream of having a fig tree and each year getting a harvest of figs. A bounty to be eaten, cooked and preserved. Where I live, despite being surrounded by figs, fresh ones are expensive in the shops and unfortunately all the trees I've spotted are located well within the boundaries of each house, so there is little chance of any pavement over-hang harvesting.

If I did have a harvest of figs however, this is what I would make:

 

For the moment though, I shall keep on dreaming.

 

I've always loved the flavour of kaffir lime leaves and now we have a small tree at the clinic where I work, I have a regular supply.  Here are three recipes I've spotted, which make very good use of this lovely fragrant leaf.

 

 

Thi s meal from The Indolent Cook looks so very good. Chunks of tofu are marinated in a mixture of chilli, tamarind, kaffir lime leaf, fish sauce and palm sugar. The tofu is then cooked quickly, in a small amount of oil. Serve with rice and a green salad for a delicious meal.

 

 

 

The third recipe on this page, by Yotam Ottolenghi, is a wonderful looking soup. Carrots and pumpkin are mixed with cumin and fennel seeds, fresh ginger, lemongrass, lime juice, fresh coriander and coconut milk. It's a delicious and flavour filled soup.

 

 

Another soup, although this one from Nourish Me is a more wintery recipe. It has similar flavours to the last soup, with the addition of oven roasted onions. I've made this several times and love it.

 

 

 

Photo by Andrea Nguyen.

 

In my opinion one of the best things about summer is it's cherry season. I love this sweet and luscious fruit and can't wait for them to appear in the shops. The season is short, so as soon as local cherries hit the shops I try to take full advantage.

 

To get the best cherries choose ones which are plump and juicy, have a good colour and are not too squishy. The greener and fresher looking the stem, the fresher the cherries.

 

After buying, store your cherries in the fridge in a plastic container or ziplock bag and eat within four days - which is never difficult!

 

I mainly just eat cherries straight, no fussing or cooking. However, for a delicious looking summer dessert you could make this Apricot, Cherry and Almond Galette. Alternatively you could add some to a luxurious fruit salad.

 

 

 

Photograph by D H Wright.