The best of the web: Strawberry panzanella, Launceston Place, tipping, eggplant steaks, squid stew, local food, Martha Stewart, artichokes and ginger ice cream

• * Strawberries will be in season in England in another month or two and I’m definitely going to try out this recipe for strawberry panzanella from 101 Cookbooks. I’ve never had, or even heard of a ‘panzanella’ before but mushy strawberries, crusty, toasty bread, and yogurt sounds like a cracking combination and the photos look great.

• * A Forkful of Spaghetti has blogged about dinner at Launceston Place, a restaurant with Michelin-starred chef Tristan Welch at the helm. It’s pretty clear that she liked it!

• * Guardian Unlimited’s Word of Mouth raises the thorny issue of UK restaurants abusing their staff and the good will of dining patrons by keeping tips, or using them to fund the minimum wage.

• * Eggplants (aubergines) are one of my favourite vegetables. A Veggie Venture has a fab sounding recipe for eggplant steaks – looks simple and tasty!

• * Pixie from You Say Tomahto, I Say Tomayto has posted about her mother’s Maltese squid stew. It sounds fantastic!

• * Browners on Around Britain with a Paunch questions whether the current mania for local food is really good old fashioned protectionism.

• * Bakerella was on the Martha Stewart show and super-excited to be there.

• * Everything you ever needed to know about preparing and eating artichokes, from Food Blogga.

• * And for dessert, here’s some ginger ice cream from Cafe Lynnylu. Beautifully photographed, as this blog invariably is.