As the sun climbs higher in the sky and days lengthen, warm sunshine will be encouraging my neighbours famously delicious strawberries to start plumping up. He has a fruit farm perched on the south facing ridge very near where my adorable grandson and his parents live. 

As well as strawberries, the farm is perhaps the last remaining stronghold of the Newick Leveller, a particularly delicious dessert gooseberry that once grew in abundance in the fields surrounding the village.

In a couple of months I will be creating a very special jam from these two local berries and naming it "Jasper's Jam"...Watch out for this limited edition on the website; it will be as sweet and irresistible as its name sake.

Shall I chop the salmons head off or not?...Oh well, does it really matter as we're going to eat it, not ask for its opinion?

I love dreaming up the perfect gathering; budget free menus, cyber space guests, music, dance or whatever spontaneous and outrageous outbursts that come from the mix of wacky diners.

Today, I will cook for them a silvery, slithery wild salmon, preferably caught by my brother on the river Stinchar in Scotland. He is a beautiful, elegant, and fair minded sportsman and if I were a fish I would prefer to end my days on his line rather than any one else's. 

I find cooking a salmon in a fish kettle my preferred method. They look so snug, like a contented traveler in a couchette. I add rough chopped limes, bruised lemon grass, loads of sea salt, and a nobble of ginger. Star anise can also add another fragrant dimension.

On my way to Ouse Valley Foods I saw an albino squirrel. How advantageous it would have been for that magical little creature when the snow silenced the land. This morning it stood out in frighteningly vulnerable contrast to the murky January morning.

I perceived him or maybe her as a beacon of fortune, a vision  and a privileged symbol of unexpected hope. It made my day and for the rest of the journey I whooped with joy!

When I broke my exciting news to the team they were less impressed and the kitchen conversation degenerated into a discussion on the merits of eating squirrel and other lesser known game.