Parsnip gnocchi...

in a sage brown butter sauce. I'm a convert. Why did we ever bother with potatoes?

A note on cape gooseberries

They're much better fresh than dried! No footy odor or taste. I sampled one in the school garden where I volunteer, and am now a gooseberry convert.

And just last week, I got to try mulberries. Also delicious. They look like small, peaceable blackberries without the seeds. They taste gently of berries and summer. I ate them off a fresh grape leaf plate.

Bees bottoms, wobble, and scurvy

A few of my favorite quotes from the Fergus Henderson and Justin Piers Gellatly cookbook Beyond Nose to Tail:

- Victoria Pudding: "gastronomically as exciting as Prince Albert."

- Brigade Pudding: "When I stayed the weekend with Tanya and Piers Thompson, she produced this delicious pudding, somewhat reminiscent of a bee's bottom with stripes of suet pastry and mincemeat. As well as being a dab hand at pastry, Tanya is a joy to dance with."

- Steamed lemon and vanilla syrup sponge: "Keep the scurvy at bay."

- Damson Jelly: "Jelly doesn't fail to please. No one can resist that wobble."

- Little chocolate buns: "There is nothing finer than warm little buttock-like buns."

- Prune loaf: "Onomatopoeically a joy."