Winter Warmers

And blog number two for today....

With only a fortnight before Christmas I'm trying to use up all the food in the house before we head back to our family homes. Although it's been several weeks since our last veg box we've still got loads left so today's a day for turning the oven on high and roasting all the leftover squash, potatoes, parsnips and carrots I can find as well as a free range chicken.

With the sprouts and cabbage that are still in the fridge tonight's dinner will be huge, but anything leftover will be turned into soups or leftover meals in the rest of the week. I love cooking one big joint at the weekend because it makes cooking for the rest of the week so easy.

I try not to use the oven too often as it takes a lot of energy to heat it up and if you're only cooking a small thing this seems like a waste. So today everything's going in so that all that heat is used efficiently. Often, if I am just cooking a small thing in the oven I'll make a cake or bread as well so that it's worth the energy used. It also keeps the kitchen nice and warm so afterwards I'll be able to sit at the table and finish those all important Christmas presents I've been putting off making without even turning the heating on.

A veg box is a great way to take the hassle out of Christmas dinner too as you can order all your veg straight to your home and know it's organic, local and very very fresh. Why not have a look at the Riverford website, I know from experience that Christmas dinner with veg from them tastes delicious!