Courgette, potato and cheddar soup;

• 
• 500g potatoes, unpeeled and roughly chopped
• 2 vegetable stock cubes
• 1kg courgettes, roughly chopped
• bunch spring onion, sliced - save 1 for serving, if eating straight away
• 100g extra-mature cheddar or vegetarian alternative, grated, plus a little extra to serve
• good grating fresh nutmeg, plus extra to serve
• 
  

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1577642/courgette-potato-and-cheddar-soup

Autumn ideas from The Co-operative (Good with Food) Magazine

Baked corn with chilli and lime: Preheat the oven to 200C. Mix 30g butter, zest of a lime, 1 chopped red chilli and a handful of chopped coriander.  Place four corn cobs on foil sheets on a baking tray and dot with the butter. Close up foil and cook for 30 minutes. (or, if some of these ingredients are not to hand, cook the cobs just with the butter). Serves 4: 130 calories.

Sweet roasted butternut squash: Preheat oven to 300C. Cut one butternut squash into chunks (skin on), discarding seeds. Put on roasting tin, skindown, drizzle with 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp maple syrup, 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Roast for one hour, basting occasionally. Serves 6: 90 calories.

Easy cheesy muffin scones
7 sundried tomatoes (45g) or cherry tomatoes
250g SR flour
80g lighter mature cheese, grated
Handful fresh chopped herbs (optional)
200ml low fat yoghurt
1 large egg
3tbsp olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 190C and lightly grease a 12 hole muffin tin.
2. Cut tomatoes into small pieces
3. Put flour into a bowl, add tomatoes, cheese and herbs.
4. Put yoghurt into a jug, add the egg and oil and stir.
5. Add this to the flour mix and blend lightly
6. Spoon into the muffin tins and bake for 20-25 minutes or until light golden
7. Makes 12: 170 calories each.

Spiced loaf with fresh pear

50g baking margarine

50g vegetable oil

85g light brown sugar

85g black treacle

2 eggs

170g plain flour

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp bicarb

140ml milk, warmed

To serve: fresh ripe pear

1. Preheat oven to 140C. 
2. Grease 900g loaf tin and line the base with greaseproof paper
3. Heat margarine, oil, sugar and treacle gently until melted
4. Cool slightly and stir in eggs, flour, cinnamon and ginger.
5. Add bicarb to warmed milk and pour this over the mixture and stir well.
6. Pour mixture into tin and bake for 50 - 55 minutes.
7. The top of the loaf should have a slight crust .
8. Ideal for picnics
9. Serves 12, 185 calories a slice

Home-made baked beans

1 celery stick, finely chopped

2 carrots, julienne

1 tbsp olive oil

2 onions, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

Pinch chilli powder (optional - why is it that chilli is put into everything these days?)

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp mustard

400 tin cannellini beans, rinsed

400 tin haricot beans, rinsed

2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes

1 tbsp treacle or light soft brown sugar

1. In pan cook onions, celery and carrots in the oil until soft.
2. Add garlic, chilli powder, paprika and mustard and cook for 10 minutes.
3. Add beans, tomatoes and treacle/sugar, stir and simmer gently for another 20 minutes.
4. Serves 8: 110 calories.

to be continued . ...

Famly Favourite

Vegetable Pie with a Herby Crust

2 leeks, 2 courgettes or similar, sliced

2 tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic

grated zest of a lemon

4 ripe tomatoes, sliced

1/4 pt vegetable stock

2 tbsp sundried tomato paste

1/4 pt double cream

3 tbsp ch mixed parsley and oregano

Topping

8 oz SR

3 oz butter

1 tbsp chopped basil

2 oz red Leicester or Cheddar cheese, grated

3 - 4 tbsp milk 

• Heat oil in pan, add leeks, garlic, lemon zest, fry gently 5 mins. 
• Add courgettes and cook 5 mins, until softened.
• Add tomatoes to pan with stock, tomato paste and cream.
• Cover, simmer gently 20 mins. 
• Add herbs, season.
• Topping: sift flour and rub in butter. 
• Add basil and half cheese and enough milk to form dough.
• Roll out dough to 1 cm thick. Using 5cm pastry cutter, stamp out round, making 12.
• Put vegetable stew in dish, arrange scones around the edge of dish, overlapping slightly. 
• Brush scones with milk, sprinkle with cheese.
• Bake at 220 C (No 7) for 20 - 25 mins.
• 4 January 2014: I made this dish today.  However, we don't have a proper kitchen at the moment so had to make some 'adjustments':
• No scales so when it came to making the scones, guessed the ingredients. 
• Then realised I had no baking powder. Looked up on the internet and found that for 8 oz plain flour use 1 tsp bicarb and 1 tsp vinegar.  So added these but then worried that it wouldn't rise properly, so added an egg.  And it was fabulous!  Certainly worth making again.
• I had no marjoram so used some fresh basil which I'd bought and didn't know what to do with.
• The other 'adjustment' was using low-fat creme fraiche instead of cream and it was just as good.