Free Lunch - over Christmas

apple, carrot, beetroot, pickled onion, radish

I just realised I hadn't updated this since December 7th - so over a month! Oops. To be honest the 'free lunch' idea of only eating home-produce for lunch as dropped a bit, or a lot, over the Christmas holidays. It's not so easy to keep it up with other folk around and wanting different things to eat.

same old but no beetroot this time

Anyway, till about New Year I still had small home-grown tomatoes and onions to add to salads and sandwiches, but these have reached an end, though I've still a few small onions to pickle.  I still have stored beetroot, parsnips, tiny green peppers, turnips, squash/pumpkin and winter radish, carrots and apples that were given to us, occasional spinach, cabbage and salad leaves from the garden, and of course a freezer full of tomatoes, courgettes, runner beans and such. Lots of these go in 'mixed' evening meals or lunch time soups with other bought veg, but I want to change my thinking and make them the focus of lunch - not an addition.


So I'm back to veg-based soups - curried parsnip, which is nothing but parsnips boiled and mashed and flavoured with curry, and chillied pumpkin, with tomatoes, tiny green home-grown peppers and chillies - making sure I always have beetroot ready-cooked in case it's wanted.

last of the tomatoes and 'normal' radish

curried parsnip

chilli pumpkin