Into liquidiser to soup it, then return to pan to warm. To serve, pour soup into a bowl and add some cream. Whisk cream around with back of a spoon to make an interesting shape. Salt and pepper to taste. Roger Phillips suggests serving this soup with butter-made croutons, but I prefer it without - only because I'm off bread.

Right now if you've done all that - you have just spontaneously self-medicated with wild food !

Nettles are a powerhouse of stuff we need after winter. They contain: Iron and vitamin C. There are other minerals such as calcium, potassium and silicic acid in addition to flavonoids and phenols. German studies in 1999 show nettles to have a strong anti-inflammatory action. The leaves are rich in histamine - which can help with allergies. Also they contain serotonin - another very valuable compound for positive being. For this reason nettle is a useful tonic.

Nettle leaves are an astringent, a diuretic and a tonic, thanks in part to their high vitamin C and iron content. As an astringent they are used to decrease unwanted prostrate growth. As a tonic in beer, tea or soup they strengthen whole body. The high salicic acid content in plant can also help with eczema and dried leaves make an easy poultice for some joint pains. Flogging affected part with nettles was once called 'urtification' and was used for rheumatic joints. A remedy with its own hypodermic needles built-in !

The name 'nettle' comes from an old Scandinavian word 'Noedle' - meaning 'needle' in reference to stinging parts - which underrates this useful plant. Nettles were once cultivated in Scandinavia and they were grown under glass in Scotland as 'early kale'.

Even fibrous stems of nettles were used to weave a rough cloth. The young tops make most delicious soup, nettle tea is good internally for rheumatic pains and externally as a balm against sunburn or as a cleansing hair rinse. A green dye can be made from leaves and seeds of this plant were once considered to have aphrodisiac qualities. Useful - or what !

A famous Irish dish called 'Brotchan Neanntog' contains nettles, but they become too tough after June for serious eating. 'Food for Free', a book by Richard Mabey even has a recipe for Nettle Haggis.

Gerard claims Nettles as a remedy against hemlock, bad mushrooms, quicksilver and Henbane, also against bites of serpents and scorpions. An oil made from leaves will take away sting that "itself maketh".

Get spring inside you - go make Nettle Soup.

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Enrobed English Fudge I liked look of plain chocolate to this one, but avoided temptation to bite it. I had eaten first one at room temperature and was suprised how much chilling changed whole effect second time around. Instead of melting into a mass, fudge crumbled delightfully to sweet-rich and dark-earthy flavours. It was all over too quickly. May I have another one please?

Bruges The surface crackled and chocolate spread out in melt. Crispy chrunchles were taste and texture asteroids in a flood of feuillentine. I even tasted crisp, starched uniform of chef who so lovingly created pancake crystals and embedded them in a pure river of milky wonder.

Criollo baton I scoffed a pure criollo baton while I considered next victim from box. Of all chocolate flavours so far it is criollo that transports me most, on a whistlestop tour of Africa that leaps ocean to South America. I become part of earth's consciousness. A simple chocolate can hold so many mysteries.

Brigitte A chocolate by master makers Hermes. It melted well, maintaining its form. The outside melted in unison with inside and flavours of almond marzipan transported me back to bazaars of Istanbul. Hazelnut praline nestled at core. This chocolate morphed through flavours, retaining them all in a most excellent symphony.

Jockey I prefer mysteries of dark chocolate the mothers milk of creamier varieties, and enjoy chocolates that have 'stages' which this one certainly has. The milk chocolate surface one melted away, leeching a darkness from core until I bit into ground zero of hazelnut heaven. It was beautifully timed for a perfect finish.

Rocher Noir The instant tang of dark chocolate hit my hungry tastebuds. This chocolate had lacerations of caramelised hazelnut embedded in its surface that woke up my tongue with texture. The ball warmed in my mouth and slowly imploded. The crisp texture dissipated with enrobing to a centre of almond praline I wanted to bite. I waited and worked my tongue, eroding rich and fresh taste until my eyelids went fluttery.

Grand butter whisky This looked too milky for my tastes and it collapsed too quickly into a greasy whisky sandwich. Give me hard and plain any time.

Chinese truffle I loved streak of white chocolate in this one. It reminded me of Cruella De Ville in 101 Dalmations. It was a perfect size and it sweated layered tastes onto my tongue. I played with it like a worry bead in my mouth until it finally split through skin on one side. Like first eruption, ginger took me and filled me with warmth nurtured by careful ganache. It was like a whole evening by fireside in two minutes.

Dark chocolate baton 60% Belgian Two molecules into silky sheen deep flavours started to erupt. I was planted in black soil as rich flavours expanded my senses. My roots straddled ocean, one set in South America and one in Africa. The whole world was in my mouth, whispering to me its fresh, earthy secrets.

Summertime Hazelnut, cocoa butter, pistachio with smooth and creamy chocolate sail along together into a summer sea of aftertaste. Elegant flavours mixed in harmony.

Ramses Deep coffee-chocolate flavours dwell in a mystic core of smooth hazelnut praline. Aftertastes are rich and nutty, lurking for a while and coating my tastebuds with Egyptian night.

Ganache 982 Richest, deepest, darkest, strongest - scintillating flavours of coffee night, burnt sugar and butter mingle with fresh, creamy chocolate. Was I consuming chocolate or was it consuming me? For a moment I lost touch. This was essence of Black Forest Gateaux with a wide and lingering aftertaste.

Clever Creme Caramel This chocolate was so clever it just leapt into my mouth without any help. The first tastes as double heart chamber melted sent me schitzoid. Caramel flavours flooded from one half and dark ganache from other as it played on my tongue, slowly unrobing. Then it merged my psyche back to harmony. Shards of chocolate chambers protected last moist flavours until fade.

Mango Sorbet Delicate as a quails egg, its orange speckles tempted me in. The skin erupted flagrant mango while a rich, dark core stood back to complement. Extreme fruitiness put me in a party mood as three tastes of white chocolate, mango and deep ganache came together in a perfect finish.

Latte Machiatto Creamy milk and a burst of coffee with chocolate sprinklings, even foaminess was there. Like all most perfect coffees and hot chocolates merged into a single experience. I would spend my life in a coffee bar that served this.

Georgette I immediately felt weight of this one in my mouth. It was so heavy I had to sit down and rest my legs while I concentrated on chocolate. It sat there like a huge gobstopper and I turned it round waiting for flavour to leach through peat-dark exterior. Its form started to compress with warmth. The top suddenly slid open like a sun roof. As dark chocolate coating floated away it left an amorphous shape and deep almond and marzipan flavours ending in a Christmas Cake finale.

Reims truffle From 2 degrees below room temperature, I waited a moment for this truffle to explode inside my fascinated mouth. Layers of chocolate flavours, from creamy white to plain dark chocolate and back. From chocolate day to chocolate night, carried to Africa and back by a huge Giraffe covered in champagne dust, my endorphins singing across plains of Serengeti.

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