New Covent Garden soups are really yummy.

Congrats on getting back into work.

I go through phases of making soup for the week and having that, and making a quick salad for lunch every day. My favourite salad is spinach (or spinach, watercress & rocket), sun dried tomatoes, cooked chicken bits, carrot sticks, a little bit of crumbled up feta cheese, a blob of pesto and a spoon of extra virgin olive oil. My favourite soups are sweet potato or butternut squash and coconut, or curried carrot and parsnip :-) If I make soup, I make it thick and chunky so I feel like I've *eaten* something for lunch rather than just had a hot drink!

Bento bento! The japanese do lunch so much better than our rubbish soggy sandwiches wrapped in clingfilm. My favourite is tamyagoki or egg-wrapped sushi rice with carrot sticks/asparagus/brocolli some dry fruit, maybe some cucumber pickle or beetroot... whatever is in the fridge basically.

I would love to get my hands on some brown rice for sushi though, as the japanese white stuff must be pretty bad - the grains are so fat and starchy.

A friend sent me this. I didn't make the full 10 portions, but made 7 from it instead, but it was delicious microwave reheated and server over spinach or salad leaves.

"Now I didn't weigh my squash & sweet potato until it was cooked. But it was one butternut squash & 2 big sweet potatoes. I also do a lot, this does 10 portions so reduced accordingly.

- 1kg sweet potato cooked weight
- 1kg butter nut squash cooked weight
- 220g pearl barley dried weigh
- oxo veg stock (I can't remember how much 660ml rings a bell, but it should tell you on the pearl barley packet. Check this!)
- 25ish French green beans, chopped in half
- 1 onion chopped or sliced
- 1 garlic clove, crushed & chopped
- 1tsp dried chill
- 1tsp dried rosemary
- 1tbsp olive oil (normally I wouldn't bother with this but it stopped the pearl barley sticking together)
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp whole grain mustard

Now my sweet pot & butternut turned into about 1kg each when cooked. I just peeled, chopped up & boiled/steamed till tender adding the beans for about 3 mins at the end.

In a separate pan, fry the onion & garlic in the oil, add chilli & rosemary, when onion is soft add the pearl barley, coat in oil then add stock, simmer, covered for the allotted time, think mine took 45mins, until all stock is absorbed & barley is tender. Add more water if needed.

For dressing mix vinegar, honey & whole grain. If your honey is thick microwave it all on low for 30 seconds to combine well.

Then I just portioned it up, dividing between 10 recycled bought soup plastic containers. Barley first, then squash, sweet pot & beans, then dressing. Leave to cool then fridge or freezer. Should be ok for 2-3 days in fridge. I had mine heated or cold with mixed lettuce leaves, for a week! About 187 per portion."