I come from a family of green thumbs, and although I lack the cultivatory talents of my more distinguished connections, the desire for home produce is most certainly there. But while I try and grow what I can when I can, my present abode affords but a skerrick of room for such nurturings, and so aside from the cursory herb box, there is often little on hand to satisfy kitchen cravings.

However, coming from said family of accomplished and delightfully generous green-givers also means that, should the seasons be so kind, I do get to reap the benefits of nature's successful bounties. Which, in a year where I've decided to try and make more things from scratch is utterly fantastic, as there is already now stock of a rather nice green tomato chutney raring to go.

Plus a few jars of bread and butter pickles on hand for any dirty burger action.

And while I'll have to work on having the cow growers' move a little closer to home, it's nice to know that one's homemade (albeit cheat's) yoghurt actually works.

And should it ever be a tad runnier than desired, then labneh is indeed a most excellent and tasty solution.

Home cooking may not always be glamorous, but that doesn't mean it's not satisfying...