
Kristin at Cookthink has made an unbelievably frugal scrap soup from odds and ends I would never have thought to use such as broccoli stems, discarded chilli seeds and leftover shrimp shells. Definitely a recipe to check out for inspiration if you are trying to reduce your food waste
Another creative solution to kitchen waste, Dayna has been freezing the crusts from her daughter's sandwiches to make a divine chocolate cherry bread pudding
A new to me blog to check out, Just Braise which is written by Stacey Ornstein who also writes about dairy issues for the Sustainable Table and is working on a book with Mark Bittman
Omega three packed pasta from a can. Sardines are a great source of omega 3 fats and iron, and in the case of canned sardines that still have the soft bones in them, calcium too. That old staple sardines on toast is a very convenient lunch but if you are looking for a more substantial way to use sardines (with a vegetable thrown in) check out Susan at Food Blogga's recipe for Sicilian Sardine and Broccoli Rabe Pasta
Does anyone fancy some fungus casserole for tea? I'm a regular Quorn eater but if you are a bit suspicious about it and would like to know more before diving in then there is a good article by dietitian Jane Clarke about the advantages and disadvantages of eating Quorn. Then if you're convinced you can get stir-frying or tackle my freezer staple of vegetarian Quorn chilli
Last week while I was busy not blogging I got predictably excited about an idea on Culinate for a breakfast salad. The said salad can be prepared the evening before, kicking the day off to a great start with two portions of veg taken care of before even leaving the house But the real world doesn't always pan out like that and this weekend has been one of those weekends. Suddenly it's four o'clock on Sunday afternoon and my total fruit and veg consumption for the day has been a handful of dried fruit at breakfast (one portion down, at least four to go).
Big salads are the perfect cure to a day of vegetable dodging and have an endearing way of combining the best of all culinary worlds: raw and cooked, spicy and sweet, hot and cold. This roast squash and chickpea salad is delicious and the perfect catch-up job; four portions of veg in one dish. Definitely make the full quantities of the roast squash and marinated chickpeas even if you aren't feeding four people and you will magically find yourself the owner of a ready made lunch to take to work the next day.
The recipe does have a few stages to it but there's no rush; this is one of those good-natured recipes that will fit in happily around whatever else you might be up to. I made the dressing and put the chickpeas in to marinade at about 3pm and then went off to sort out some paperwork. I peeled and diced the squash and sliced the onion late afternoon before settling down to a bit of light blogging, finally roasting the squash and slow cooking the onions just before we wanted to eat. With all of the prep done the actual cooking part seemed pretty trivial.
First job this morning was a big shop to stock up on healthy foods for snacking on while I’m in London and on the way there and back. On the list was easily portable fresh fruit, almonds, oatcakes and individual low fat fruit yogurts.
Breakfast will be eaten on the train, speeding through the glorious Oxfordshire and Berkshire countryside. I’ve made a tray full of Cassie’s breakfast bars, which are bursting with oats, seeds and dried fruit and I’m planning to have this for breakfast on at least three of the days, with yogurt and fruit on the other two for variety.
In the spirit of saving energy as well as time, while I had the oven on for the breakfast bars I roasted some vegetables in olive oil. The roasted peppers, red onions and half of the butternut squash will be made into a chilli, soy and lemon-dressed brown rice salad for lunch on the first couple of days (with enough for hubbie to have some too).
The other half of the roasted squash is all cooked and so we’re all set-up to make my butternut squash and red lentil dahl one evening with minimal effort.

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