This fruit, with which I'm sure you are all well familiar with, just had to be included in our experiments if only for the reason that somehow the arrival of the watermelon enabled me to convince Andy to pose half naked for these ridiculous photos: Actually though there are lots more reasons. Firstly I have a fond attachment to the fruit. I have a vague memory of being introduced to it on a holiday as a small child in Bulgaria. I was so in love with it then that I insisted we brought one back on the plane home with us. I can only imagine how ridiculous I must have looked as a skinny little kid climbing on to the plane with my arms proudly wrapped around the biggest melon I could find. The next reason is that the experience of eating a 'real' watermelon is unlike any you 'll get from another fruit. I say real because I know, you can get watermelons at home, BUT believe me, they just aren't the same. Watermelons you buy from a supermarket in the UK that have been shipped across the world are just enormous balls of hard, flavourless, light pink ...

Mmmm, just seen this recipe for nettle pesto on Joanna's Food. It looks amazing! I almost wish I was back at home to try it out. Nettles are packed full of healthiness, they grow everywhere (you could say like weeds...) and yet I've still not managed to get into cooking them myself despite being told years ago how good they are and how easy they are to cook with. This recipe looks really simple, so I'm thinking it must be a good one for anyone looking for an introduction to wild food. It is the best time for nettles in the UK right NOW. For the best nettles pick the young fresh green tips of the plant. Be careful not to pick from anywhere that is likely to have been sprayed with chemicals and pick as far from paths as possible (to avoid dog pee). I'm slightly gutted I can't do this myself this year, so can someone please make it for me and let me know how it is?... Nettle Pesto Nettles Mint (if you've got it, or other herbs, or none) Garlic Wholemeal bread Cheddar Oil Pick a colander full of young nettle tops (you'll need gloves). Rinse them, then plunge them into boiling water for one minute ...

Custard Apple - Mang Cau You'd ever guess it from the name, but these actually taste a bit like a custardy apple. Wow. Very sweet, creamy and delicious. Even the big black seeds that fill the inside don't detract from this tasty treat. Well worth a go. We had no idea what to do with it when we bought it, so we chopped it in half, here's the inside: You can then easily pick off the green skin and eat the fleshy inside, spitting out pips as you go. Yum. The Coconut - Dua I'm sure most people have seen and eaten coconuts when they are at their older brown stage, but I'd not seen these green ones before. It's the same fruit, only younger, which means that apart from the obvious colour difference they have not yet developed the coconut "meat" and instead are mostly harvested for their drink, coconut water. It does contain a small amount of jelly like substance that is the beginning of the formation of the nutty stuff. This jelly can be scraped from inside and eaten along with the drink. The amount of juice inside is quite incredible. Andy and I both got one and I'd say there was ...

A little while ago our lovely friends John and Helen Kiff surprised us with a gift of 500,000 VND with instructions to treat ourselves to a hotel upgrade/swanky meal out or whatever treat took our fancy. After some deliberation on what to do with our new found wealth we eventually decided to use it on a night out on the town to celebrate moving into our new house in Hoi An. What a lovely night we had! We got all dressed up, Andy even wore a shirt, and we started the evening with a pleasant stroll into town. Our first port of call was to be River Lounge, a very fancy restaurant/cocktail bar on the edge of the river in the old town. We spent an hour or so relaxing in their 'beach' area sipping mojitos and enjoying the scenery. Hoi An is a very pretty town. There are lanterns everywhere which light the streets like a magical techni-coloured dream. The protected Old Town is a unique mix of Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese and European architecture and it's beautiful old ocre coloured buildings line the riverfront. Housed in one of these buildings was our chosen restaurant for the evening, the aptly named Café Des Amis (-that's Friends' ...

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