ALL OVER the country people are rediscovering the joy of growing their own vegetables, a little soft fruit, an apple tree or even a few fresh herbs. It’s not just about the economics – there is the sheer thrill of digging your own potatoes, carrots or beets and it is certainly is a thrill having waited patiently for four to five months for them to grow.

THIS WEEK we feature lots and lots of salads, just what we all yearn for during this unexpected spell of beautiful weather. Recently chef and cookery teacher Barny Haughton from Bristol came to Ballymaloe Cookery School to do a whole morning on salads.

SOMETIMES I wake up early enough in the morning to catch Farming Today on BBC Radio 4.

FOR years and years, I’ve scattered flower petals over food for extra colour and pizzazz. At first I was pretty cautious, using mostly flowers of fresh herbs from the garden.

ALL Slow Food events have an educational element as well as a hedonistic one. So when we gathered in Lismore recently we started our evening at Michael McGrath butcher’s shop on Main Street. We were all anxious to learn from this man whose skills have come down through four generations – his father, grandfather and great-grandfather.

IT’S AN ill wind that doesn’t blow someone some good. Even the volcanic ash has benefited some people – the mâitre d’hotel at Rick Stein’s seafood restaurant in Padstow was beaming from ear to ear when I was there recently.

I’M NOT sure why gooseberries haven’t had quite the same revival and surge of popularity in recent times that rhubarb has, but I totally love them. Everyone should have a couple of gooseberry and blackcurrant bushes in their garden as well as a few rhubarb stools.

WE LOVE our cuppa in Ireland and are still drinking more tea per head than any other country in the world. Sadly nowadays most cups of tea are made from teabags rather than good loose tea which I am totally convinced makes a far superior brew.

AT LAST, restaurants are reporting an increased appetite for eating out; perhaps those green shoots really are sprouting. I’ve had several requests from readers for an update on the London food scene. Lots of good things are happening over there – despite the cautious atmosphere, many young people are “chomping at the bit” to open cafes, restaurants and gastro pubs.

IN NEW YORK, I lost track of the number of people who told me that the most exciting and diverse food scene was out in Brooklyn, so needless to say I sped over the bridge in search of the supercool foodie set.