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Even though the lamb is the star of this dish, it’s the asparagus that truly makes me happy. The arrival of asparagus season always feels like a little celebration of spring and longer, brighter days ahead. British asparagus, the best in the world, adds a fresh, seasonal touch that makes this rice really special. It’s … Read more

I am trapped in a shared-ownership flat, which is proving ­impossible to sell because the fire safety engineer who surveyed the block is accused of forging fire safety certificates required by mortgage lenders. I own 45% of my home and pay rent on the remaining 55% to Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing (MTVH). The building has … Read more

Recent headlines about stock markets in freefall and graphs with downward arrows are not what you would choose as a backdrop to persuading people to move from cash savings into riskier investments. But that was what the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, was faced with after announcing that a review of cash and shares Isas was on … Read more

David Williams was 17 when his mother died of cancer. But he didn’t cry when his mum’s friend knocked on the door in the dead of night to give him and his sisters the news. He was the eldest of three, “the adult male” as his father had left years earlier. Instead, he bottled up … Read more

While waiting for a show during London fashion week in February, I and a few fashion writers, stylists and editors were admiring each other’s outfits. Surprise, surprise, we discovered that the pieces we loved most were preowned (and largely from charity shops, I might add). The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission … Read more

This is one of my favourite recipes for this column so far. Light, fresh goat’s cheese and artichokes baked in a tart with a smooth, herb-packed base and finished with hazelnuts; I especially like the contrast of the crisp filo against the filling. There are a lot of herbs here, but they balance beautifully, so … Read more

Writing in 1891, in his cooking manual La Scienza in Cucina e L’arte di Mangiar Bene (Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well), Pellegrino Artusi introduces the potato as a tuber from the solanaceae (nightshade) family that was native to South America and introduced to Europe in the 16th century. He goes … Read more

Taberna Albricoque This fun, welcoming restaurant – a renovated tavern with traditional tiled floor in the Santa Apolónia neighbourhood – focuses on the flavours of the Algarve. Chef Bertílio Gomes’s family comes from this southern region, and his seasonal, constantly changing menu features dishes such as octopus with sweet potato and razor-clam soup, which evoke balmy … Read more

I knew straight away that something was wrong. I had arranged to go to an opera with a friend. She’s normally a chatty person but, when I got to our seats, she wasn’t saying anything. I asked her a few questions but she was monosyllabic in response. During the intermission we went out to the … Read more

It is not by design that I have come to meet the Devon-based ecological gardener Poppy Okotcha on the spring equinox, when day and night are equally balanced. It feels fitting. In her new book, A Wilder Way: How Gardens Grow Us, Okotcha describes how it is now that she rids her garden of last … Read more