Warm salad of leeks and tomatoes

I often use leeks in pies and risottos, but here's a more summery, Mediterranean way with leeks. This fairly humble vegetable pairs really well with the more bright and glamorous flavours of tomatoes and olives. Use cherry tomatoes if you can - I couldn't get hold of any on the day I made this dish.

This makes a nice side dish, or perhaps a light lunch with some crusty bread. Adding some new potatoes will make it more substantial.

How to get your 5-a-day in one go plus 5 ways to vary it

I'm trying hard to eat plenty of fruit and vegetables (especially the vegetables). This is partly because I prefer a positive approach to healthy eating - ie eat lots of good stuff, rather than obsessing about cutting out the bad stuff. Plus, as I mentioned recently, there's good evidence that eating vegetables and fruit is linked to a longer life - and that seven portions is better than five (five is the current UK official recommendation, based on the World Health Organisation.)

Very green pie

This is, as the title says, a very green pie. No wonder when it's filled with punchy wild garlic leaves, earthy spinach which adds some mellowness, and sweet peas to balance out the other flavours. And of course, some feta cheese, which isn't green but adds a salty, creamy tang.

Apologies if any of you are getting bored of my springtime wild garlic dishes - but fear not, you can use extra spinach if you don't have any wild garlic.

Four good things on a plate: eggs, cheese, garlic and rice

A year or two ago Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall published a recipe book called Three Good Things. His premise is that "three good things on a plate" is a kind of magic formula for good food, where the whole is more than the sum of its parts (as long as you get the combinations right, of course). I don't entirely disagree, but I find that for a complete main course, four is more often the minimum number for an interesting, sustaining plate of food.