Right, even though its rubbish outside and it looks like staying that way this week I'm going to prove that, actually, summer in here!
I'll start with the peas.
Even though they are great, frozen, all year round, the arrival of fresh ones opens up more possibilities for a creative cook.
We pod them, saving the pods for a stock, blanch them, and then start changing their texture.
By infusing the pods in boiling water for 10 minutes, seasoning with a pinch of sugar and salt we can make a clear pea "tea". Cooled down and set with gelatine it forms the first component of this pretty Sunday lunch starter. Blanched peas are also podded and pureed with butter and some are reserved for the salad.
We also make a ravioli, not using pasta dough, but by using very finely sliced cured ham fat. Wrapped around podded peas and frozen, it will be warmed under the grill just before serving. The fat will go translucent, and will, of course,  allow me to call the dish "ham and peas"!
I thought some beautiful, glistening, freshly picked white crab meat would be superb with this, but being Sunday lunch, thought I would serve some boned, crisp fried confit chicken wings instead. Oh, and I had no crab anyway!
With a warm dressing made with some Morel mushrooms and some sliced summer truffles, surely this means I will be wearing my shorts soon!

And now we have Cherries as well! As well as using them in our puddings , they make a very agreeable garnish for rich meats, such as duck. Ours are from Goosnargh, over in Lancashire, and really are very good.
Arriving whole, it allows us to use the whole bird. Salting the legs, then poaching in duck fat, the meat it used to make a duck sausage. The breasts are served nice and pink and the bones are roasted to make a dark sweet sauce.
We also bake the skin to make duck "crackling", this is then used as a seasoning for some stir fried greens that are served on the side.
The only part I have a problem with is procuring their little hearts!
They are absolutely out of this world, especially grilled on my barbeque, in my garden, drinking wine, in the sunshine, if summer ever arrives in Pilsley!
So, some of the cherries are pickled in a reduction of red wine vinegar and sugar, some are pureed and some are saved, whole, for a garnish.


With a slice of fried duck liver and a pressed potato and bacon cake, it is another dish that proves, that somewhere else, Summer is here!
Just not Pilsley!

And, finally, here is a picture of some bread. It has just come out of the oven, ready for all of our Sunday lunch customers.

And I thought it looked nice!