Simon Hopkinson's latest book is an English-looking volume with a Francophile sensibility, inspired by a meal thrown together from leftover... Serves 4, as a light lunch or supper I like the mimicry ...

Q. Our scarlet runner beans have grown well and produced many flowers, but few of the blooms have turned into beans. Instead, they simply fall off the tall vines. Why? A. I am asked this question ...