Bonjour chers lecteurs! My mother in law and a friend of hers are visiting from South of France. As you can imagine, I have been on my best behaviour, also trying somewhat less successfully to get Adele and Jules on their no-nose-picking, no-fighting, eat-all best. I don’t need to worry though as Jacqueline and Françoise belong to the wonderful category of people who as they advance in life, become ever sweeter, happier and more supportive of younger generations. Since their arrival, they have already hailed me as an enlightened mother, a great house manager (never mind the spider webs in some house corners and overflowing kitchen cupboards), an amazingly creative and skilled cook, my wiry hair is “beautifully thick and shiny”, jeans suit me fabulously well and oh, this morning, I barely had time to say hello that both were already cheerfully cooing on my cute new emerald green summer dress and my “so petite” waist, under Olivier’s skeptical stares. I sooo love this, I am totally addicted to them, I can’t let them leave! As a reward, I have outdone myself with fantastic food. The asparagus tart and Spring poelée were both triumphs in simplicity, look and taste, while the weekend fish and strawberry tart brought effortless refinement to a sunny weekend. Try them all, you will love them, and don’t forget to check out the Kitchen Talk, as informative as ever. Lastly, get a chance to win free passes to Taste of London by supporting Tasty Diaries and forwarding this newsletter to all your foodie friends using the forward button below! One of you, as well as a lucky forwardee who has decided to sign up, will win a free pass to the event. Enjoy the great food and stay tuned for next week’s special South African issue to celebrate the kick-off of the football World Cup. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some discrete passport destroying activity to get to … A la semaine prochaine, Anne-Laure x

How terrible. A few days of Cost Brava weather is getting us in full Summer action with colourful ice creams, flowery strapless dresses, painted toe nails and flip flops making a come back on London’s pavements, and then this. Damp, cold, grey today. Never mind, Summer is still ahead of us so there is no going back, I resolutely decided to park coats, scarves and jumpers and freeze my a… off until the season catches up – while of course continuing to steam my kids up under their winter gear. I have a confession to make, I am one of those mums suffering from obsessive compulsive cold anxiety. You know, those who always carry in their bag a fleece for their little ones just in case the temperature drops below 25C? Or who, on hot days, set an alarm at 2:00am to adjust the open window in their darlings’ bedroom so they won’t catch a deadly pneumonia from the cooler night? Well, that’s me. And yes, I really did that last bit when Adele and Jules were babies… Baking-wise, this trait extends to my oven temperature so rest assured you can trust me when I tell you to set your oven to 200C! Most appropriately, this week’s TD is taking the colours of Summer. You will love the lazy, quick and delightfully cooling pasta salad and wrap, while the weekend therapy features a most rewarding and flavourful barbecue feast, with a juicy dessert that celebrates the beginning of the cherry season. The Kitchen Talk this week tells you all about the outcome of my experiment with homemade kitchen cleaning products, and gives a top notch tip on how to make your milk laster longer. Bonne lecture, bonne cuisine, et à jeudi prochain!! Anne-Laure x

Oh la la. I don’t know about you but this warm weather has gotten me into a frenzied home improvement mood. I finally framed my old 80s French vinyls and put them up on our lounge wall. Or rather, I had Oliver do it – I knew his geeky mind would relish the exciting opportunity to align eight frames in two perfect lines on top of each other. I peeked into the lounge at some point to see him stretched out along the wall, tracing complex intersecting lines with a compass. My chéri was obviously having the time of his life. He did brilliantly and his success got me into grass cutting, weeding, and totally useless Internet shopping for the home (I bought a vase and two yellow kitchen chairs. Don’t ask). The great thing is I also put my overflowing energy to good use, cooking for you fabulous vegetarian recipes. Yes you heard me dears, TD this week has gone all veggie, since from Monday we will be enjoying National Vegetarian Week! With all the goodies Spring has on offer this is a wonderful opportunity. Just read: broad beans and nuts salad, spinach, raisins and camembert tart, tofu (or chicken) with creamed morels and pea shoots on crispy noodle beds and a luscious strawberry, rhubarb and mascarpone ice cream. Close your mouth now, your colleagues across the room can see you dribbling. Don’t forget the Kitchen Talk, featuring lovely broad beans, my experiment in ecofriendly kitchen cleaning and the quickest way to remove those annoying stickers from new tableware. Enjoy et à la semaine prochaine! Anne-Laure x