My 18 year old niece was objecting to the liberal application of herbs on food of any kind.

Rosemary she found particularly objectionable. “Makes things taste all planty”, says she. Well yes, I suppose it would.

I think I can safely say that it not had not occurred to me that a “planty” taste was something to avoid. I forget that copious amounts of herbage may not be to everyone’s taste, being firmly of the opinion that a handful of fresh herbs can do a lot to enhance most things. Like potatoes.

My very own parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme

As it happens, I have, growing just outside my back door, that very tuneful collection of parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme, any of which can make a potato sing. You will also find chives, oregano and mint, and they, too, will blend harmoniously with any passing spud. And if I could manage to successfully grow dill, coriander or tarragon, they, too, would join my potato-friendly herbal chorus.

In fact, while I would never, ever object to a simple new potato, boiled and served with butter and salt, add grace notes of mint, dill, chives or parsley and I’ll soon be singing myself.

Boiled new potatoes and fresh mint, a classic duo

What happened, you see, was that Love Food magazine, published with yesterday’s Irish Independent, had included a little piece from me on tips for Christmas (ah, yes, fame at last! – even if it did miss out on my current top tip, which is to head over here for a shot at a free box of Tayto crisps).

Exciting indeed to see my words in actual newsprint but, having urged everyone in the country to fill their freezers with mince pies and the like, I had a weeny problem on that front myself. My freezer bore one of those looks that said “defrost me now, or else…”.

I had been trying vaguely attempting to clear the freezer for months now. No sooner had one lot of frozen comestibles been used up, than another magically appeared to take its place. At times it felt like hell might freeze over before the plug got pulled on my own frozen-over fridge.

However, knowing that the deed had to be done before I loaded up with Christmas fare, I bit the bullet and, for about a week, dined on whatever the freezer had to offer. This pea and mint soup, brought to you by a bag of frozen peas, some frozen chickpea stock and frozen ginger, was definitely one of the better things to result.

I first made my acquaintance with rosemary early in life. As children, we were often sent to fetch rosemary and thyme from the bushes of same that grew along the avenue which lead to our house. It was important to learn to distinguish the two and not return with the wrong one! The rosemary, though, I only ever remember being used with meats and in savoury dumplings for beef stew. Much later, I developed a liking for slices of courgette fried with rosemary and finished with a splash of lemon juice. Then, a few years ago, MGH gave me a little rosemary plant which, despite massive doses of neglect, has thrived in my garden, but was only pressed into use in the kitchen occasionally and, even then, always for savoury purposes.

It actually came as quite a surprise to me when I discovered recently that rosemary has a role to play in baking. I’ve lately made my first batch of rosemary sugar, thanks to big sis #1, who says she uses it to add an extra little something when she’s making fruit crumbles. I also have my culinary sights trained on Nigella Lawson’s rosemary loaf cake, which makes use of both fresh rosemary and rosemary sugar.

Meanwhile, my rosemary sensors have become very active and I have been taking note of rosemary appearing in (what are to me) alternative guises. This is why this recipe for rosemary cashews piqued my interest – it’s a combination that’s both sweet and savoury and makes for an excellent party nibble.