The things I love - June

Welcome to June’s First Thursday newsletter, a celebration of the good things this month. Can I start by asking, if you enjoy this newsletter ‘like’ it by pressing the heart, or share it with anyone you think might be into it?

How is it June? No, really, how? Did I inadvertently walk into a memory-wiping time machine on the 1st of March? Anyway it is actually June the 4th. I checked 3 times.

I’m just back from an absolutely incredible week on Anglesey, John’s homeland and in my opinion, one of the most beautiful / best places in the world. When the sun shines, it’s completely unbeatable. I am putting together a list of places to go if you ever find your way there soon.

This is supposed to be the best year ever for British strawberries. I was eating them for a couple of weeks before I found this out, and I had been thinking that they are some of the most full-flavoured and sweet ones I can remember - all of them from the posh veg supplier ones to the supermarket punnets - they have all been good. This is, apparently, due to a colder than normal start to Spring, which let them ripen slowly on the plant. Our beach cool bag last week was packed with fizzy water, beers, strawberries and watermelon. Peak summer in May. Thrilled.

The Food season of talks and events starts next week and has some of the best conversations around food out there. I am particularly looking forward to one on food photography named from Apsic to Instagram (what a title). Making food for photographs was my job for a very long time, so I have history here and a lot of thoughts. There are talks with Ruthie Rogers and Neneh Cherry. Andi Oliver will be talking about Edna Lewis, and I am particularly keen to go to this one with Fadi and Sammi.

I’m a rubbish gardener, but I do seem (with the help of my friends Alice and Elisa who know their shit) to have been able to grow some herbs. My garden is full of herbs and it has become my entire personality. If you come round my house, I will show you them and then make you drink tea made from them, do not refuse. This year’s standouts are chocolate mint, which makes incredible tea, bronze and normal fennel, which I use daily, anywhere that needs dill/fennel/tarragon and lovage, which, in my opinion, is the best herb of all time but is only sold by niche restaurant veg suppliers. Loveage is the best thing to eat with tomatoes, or eggs, or courgettes. Plant some - it grows like a weed and you only need a couple of leaves for it to pack a punch, not like when you buy a bunch of basil, and it makes 20ml of pesto. There is a lot of bang for your buck with lovage.

Below for my paid subscribers is an insight into my colour book collecting habit and, in a departure from what I love, a few things I hate.

Heading out tomorrow, free for all you wonderful subscribers, is a takeover from a family favourite restaurant, Sohaila and thier halloumi and cherry recipe that is all the good things about summer eating.