FRIDAY 13th, unlucky for some, but not Chez Jude as, hooray, it's my daughter's 13th birthday today.

YOU know all these TV ads and magazine features about barbecues - how they tend to feature extended families, all laughing and merry.

AS you read this, I'm barrelling north for a self-catering holiday in the little Shangri la that is Scourie.

ONE had always believed, until now, that one's father knew all there was to know about country lore.

AROUND this time of year, the Sunday supplements start running quite annoying foody articles advising on al fresco dining.

WHAT could be nicer than a barbecued steak, or maybe a grilled lamb chop, garnished with a disc of chilled, herb-flaboured butter?

I'VE planted five strawberry plants, which are looking a bit dismal.

AFTER a quick foray into the cuisine of America's pacific north west last week, I thought we might saunter over into Idaho this week.

ONE of the finest aspects of Masterchef was when one of the contestants made gnocchi. And, more to the point, pronounced it "nyocky".

I'M quite recovered now, thank you for asking - but last week, as I attempted to cater a buffet for 26.

I INVENTED this at short notice after surveying the pathetic contents of fridge (out-of-date readymade puff pastry) and freezer (tomato sauce), and was very pleased with the result.

MY late grandmother left a big jotterful of recipes gathered over her lifetime. The earliest dates back to 1915 ("throw two nice sweetbreads into a basin") but as she married and had a family, the recipes become much more economical and family-oriented.

THERE used to be a really lovely café in one of the seaboard villages near Tain.

IT takes skill to work the anniversary of the Assynt Crofters Trust into a cookery column, but just watch me do it...

I'VE just spent an hour trying, and failing, to dig my car out of a snowdrift.

I KNOW, I know, I'm pushing at an open door with this one. Still it's sufficiently ordinary to fit in with the general bleakness that is January.

THIS is a tasty, easy pate to serve with oatcakes, crusty bread and salad or in sandwiches.