Several days a week I need to take a packed lunch to my workplace, since not all the various jobs I do provide a break for finding lunch, or are near enough to a shop or café to make finding anything feasible. Mostly I try to think about this in advance and make sure there’s a cold dish ready to be packed, or bread available for making sandwiches. But sometimes I’m not that organised. Luckily I do have very healthy store cupboards though!

This is a tasty and filling bean salad that can be made entirely from store cupboard items (if your cupboard’s like mine!), and is thrown together in moments.

1 tin butter/lima beans
1 tbsp chargrilled artichokes
1 tbsp sundried tomatoes
1 tsp capers
Half-a-dozen fresh basil leaves
Freshly ground black pepper
Sea salt
Balsamic vinegar
Good EVOO

Drain the beans, roughly chop the artichokes, sundried tomatoes, capers and basil.  Stir into beans, dress with salt, pepper, vinegar and oil. Pack in a well-sealed pot or jar. Remember to take a fork!

Really tasty, filling, easy and not too smelly for your work mates to suffer!

I am, quite frankly, utterly thrilled that somebody has taken one of my recipes and produced something this beautiful. How inspiring! 

My veggie pasty recipe, plus info, pics, links and lenses.

HLT - the Halloumi, Lettuce and Tomato sarni. Yum.

A friend has suggested I should make my own recipe cards. I love this idea. She saw my listings for Simply Delicious cards and was kind enough to say she was disappointed when she saw them (no, it’s a compliment, bear with me… ;o)) because she’d expected them to be my own recipes and photographs. What a genius idea!

I’m going to add a twist to this, as I was already waiting for a delivery of card blanks for another plan… I love new projects. Watch this space. :o)

Along with the slice of pumpkin I was given came, naturally enough, the pumpkin seeds. Waste not want not being one of my mottoes… roast pumpkin seeds had to be done. A little research brought up the suggestion that if they were boiled for ten minutes first, the shells were perfectly edible too, so that’s what I did. Washed, boiled, dried in a hot pan then added a drizzle of olive oil and some Cornish sea salt and continued to toast in a moderate pan, tossing from time to time. Now served in a small dish (yes, I made that too - try anything once is another motto!) while still a little warm. A glass of red wine. The evening’s begun a little early today. ;o) Have a lovely evening folks x

Don’t waste those pumpkin scraps! When you cut your pumpkin to make lanterns, or if you just buy one and then wonder what the heck you’re supposed to do with it… try this spicy pumpkin soup. Invented on the spot when I was given somebody else’s spare pumpkin slice (thank you!) it’s a glorious colour, warming and tasty.

Fry a few curry spices in olive oil (I had a mixture of cumin, cardamom, chilli and cinnamon - must have been a C sort of mood!) and when good and toasty, add chunks of pumpkin (de-seeded, peeled and cubed). Coat in the oil and spices and soften a bit, then pour over light vegetable stock and leave to simmer for as long as your patience can stand. At some point stir in a good slurp of milk (dairy, soy, goat, whatever) and keep simmering. Cool a little so you don’t scald yourself, and put it through a sieve to remove all the fibrous bits. Add sea salt to taste. Bring back to simmer and stir in a good helping of Basmati rice to produce a really stout, satisfying autumn soup.