A dash of green on the menu

Green de-stresses me. A cup of lemon verbena tea, a mossy rill, a cucumber sandwich, walking under a forest canopy, a bowl of salad leaves all work their soothing magic. And well they should; not only is green the peaceful hue of a neatly mown lawn and a waist-high meadow, it is the colour of safety and that of the emergency exit. Our escape route.

I am learning, slightly too late in life, the things that help to remove stress, and it wouldn't surprise me if that is why I built this garden in the first place. It may explain why, rather than strident reds and heady purples, so much of it is made up of the colour that so successfully unhunches my shoulders. Taking supper into the garden instantly put everyone in a better mood, too.

Everywhere I look, something is ready for the table: The Reine de Glace lettuce and Italian mixed-salad seedlings are up only ten days after I put them in; and the acid yellow strawberries are turning scarlet under their ridged green leaves. This time, I piled them on to soft, nut-studded cookies with spoonfuls of vanilla seed-speckled cream.

And if the garden, with its early salads and herbs, disappeared tomorrow I would still somehow have to get my green fix, perhaps eating my supper by an open window, taking in deep breaths of verdant colour with every soothing mouthful.

Here are some recipes for your green fix:

Strawberry-pistachio shortbreads

For the crust

For the vanilla cream

To form the crust, cut the butter into small pieces, place in the bowl of a food mixer with the sugar and beat until pale and smooth. Add the ground pistachios, mix in the egg yolk and then the flour. Add a tablespoon of water to make a firm but rollable dough. Knead the mixture into a ball and roll into a thick log, about 4cm in diameter.

Cut the log into eight thick slices and cut each into a small rectangle (about 6x4cm). Place on a baking sheet (non-stick or covered with a layer of baking parchment). Bake for ten minutes until the biscuits are dry to the touch but have barely coloured. Remove and slide on to a cooling rack.

For the vanilla cream

Whip the cream till thick enough to stand in soft folds. Split the vanilla pod in half and remove the seeds from each with the point of a small knife, letting them fall into the whipped cream. Stir gently so that the seeds are dispersed throughout the cream. Place spoonfuls of vanilla cream on to each cooled pistachio biscuit.

Slice the berries in half even if they are very small and push them partially into the cream. Dust lightly with icing sugar.

Servings: 8

Green herb salad

For the salad

For the dressing

To make the dressing, put a pinch of salt into a small bowl, add mustard and lemon juice, and beat in the oil. Taste and add more lemon juice if necessary.

Rinse the herb leaves and the lamb's lettuce in cold water. Drain and spin or shake dry. Rub the lovage leaf, if you are using it, round the inside of the salad bowl, pressing it against the side to release its flavour. Discard the leaf.

Pour the dressing into the bottom of the salad bowl. Add the herb and lamb's lettuce leaves. Gently toss the leaves in the dressing and serve immediately.

Roast fillets of lamb wth basil sauce

For the basil sauce

Set the oven at 220C/gas mark 8. Put the fillets in a small roasting tin and rub with a little olive oil. Season generously with salt and black pepper. Pull the leaves from the oregano and scatter them over the lamb fillet. Place the cherry tomatoes around the meat and roast until for 15-18 minutes until crisply brown outside and pink within.

While the lamb is cooking, put the basil leaves into a blender with the parsley leaves, peeled clove of garlic and the olive oil. Add a pinch of sea salt and blitz to a thin, fragrant, green slush. Brighten the flavour with a little lemon juice to taste.

Remove the lamb fillet from the oven, leave to rest for five to seven minutes in its hot tin, covered with foil. Serve in thick slices with the basil sauce.

Servings: 4