The season's freshest produce - week of March 29

At their best: Green olives are available for brine-your-own.

Best buy: Lemons are back on the menu after their summer break. Grate the zest over mixed heirloom tomatoes and dress with fresh olive oil and good salt.

In the vegie patch: The wet weather brought snails and slugs so guard the soft-leaf veg.

Bad news: Leatherwood honey is unique to Tasmania, where leatherwoods are understorey shrubs of forests in the island's west. Long-burning fires this summer prevented many apiarists accessing their hives at harvest time. They expect shortages of leatherwood honey this season, and possibly into the future, depending on the extent of damage to the plants.

robinpowell.com.au