Moroccan poached eggs. Serves two.

• 1½ tsp whole cumin seeds
• virgin olive oil
• 4-6 shoots green onion, sliced
• 4 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
• 4 large, ripe tomatoes, chopped, or one 400g can
• 1 cup stock or water
• 1½ tsp sugar
• 4 large eggs
• handful each of fresh continental parsley and chives, roughly chopped
• grilled ciabatta or sourdough, to serve

Heat a heavy skillet or sauté pan over medium flame, and dry roast the cumin seeds for a minute, until they’re beautifully fragrant. Add green onions and garlic, and sauté in olive oil until soft and beginning to brown. Add tomato, sugar and stock, and simmer for fifteen minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tomato is beginning to break down and the mixture has thickened a little. Season. Make a few depressions in the surface of the tomato sauce, and break the eggs onto them. Poach for another few minutes, until eggs are done to your liking. You might need to add a little more stock, if things are in danger of burning. Top generously with parsley and chives, and serve with grilled bread and a drizzle of olive oil. Yum.

Edit: just remembered that this recipe is mostly inspired by a breakfast in Casa Moro: the second cookbook, by Sam & Sam Clark.

Almond Pesto

• 1½ cups raw almond kernels
• 1 cup virgin olive oil
• 150g parmesan reggiano, chopped or grated
• 4-5 cloves of garlic
• armful of fresh basil – I used a fairly even mix of Greek, Genovese and Thai.
• salt and course-milled black pepper to season

Wash and shake dry basil. Pluck leaves and add to a food processor with parmesan and half the oil, and process until just combined. Toast almonds until fragrant, then add to food processor. Sauté coarsely chopped garlic in remaining oil until just soft. Add oil and garlic to food processor and process until well mixed – you may need more oil to get sufficient smoothness. I like mine fairly chunky, although biting into a large piece of almost-raw garlic can ruin your date. Serve warm on grilled ciabatta, mixed with pasta for alla genovese, or store under oil in the refrigerator.

Buttermilk scones

Makes about eight medium sized scones.

• 2 cups plain flour
• 3 tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 40g butter, cubed
• 1 cup buttermilk
• ¼ cup water
• jam and whipped cream, to serve

Preheat oven to 180ºC. Sift together flour, sugar and baking soda. Add butter, rubbing into mixture with fingertips until crumbly consistency. Add buttermilk and water, and stir until just combined. Spoon onto a greased tray. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until firm and just crisp on the outside. Serve with whipped Irish cream and strawberry jam.

I would have taken photos, but we ate them too quickly.