[Chop fresh herbs to bash with oil, or press into butter, or flavour plain yogurt into a sauce.]

In autumn, roast a whole butternut squash. Smash it in a bowl with good olive oil, a little freshly grated Parmesan, and a lot of freshly cracked black pepper. Spread the squash thickly on the toast, drizzle it with more olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice, and sprinkle it with roughly chopped toasted almonds.

[Stale bread can’t be bought. You must wait for it.]

bread soup that’s true to the spirit of bread, which is that if you have it, all you need to turn it into a meal is whatever else you have.

[Form leftover bread soup into cakes and fry with olive oil into pancakes; probably better than either the soup or the bread.]

Almost any fruit tastes good sliced, laid out on a plate, and sprinkled with salt and olive oil. Most taste good with herbs, or onions, or olives, or chiles, or nuts added, too.