The Humble Potato.

The best staple to have in any kitchen.

Mondays are funny days really. Firstly after a few days of grazing on everything residing in the fridge, it seems rather empty and secondly, our village shop takes a well deserved afternoon off. If one hasn't shopped before lunchtime, necessity becomes the mother of invention.

We have plenty of flour, onions, raw potatoes, dried pasta and tinned fish in our cupboard but those don't necessarily translate to easy and quick fast food. Often I wish I could indulge in a yummy bacon & avo sandwich but one can dream, can't one?

Today is one of those strange weathered days. Above freezing but due to the heavy fog refusing to move along, it feels cold and dreary...a sturdy lunch was on the cards.

Pilchards on bread were almost on my plate when I happened to remember a bag of half finished potatoes whiling their fate away. Yes, a potato soup did sound good. Onions, garlic and three small grated potatoes covered in water, how easy is that. A dash of seasoning and after fifteen minutes I had the most delicious soup for lunch.

It is so easy to underestimate the humble potato. Versatile to say the least and tasty in any form. Even boiled with butter and salt or cut into strips to bake in the oven or as a soup.

We've become so used to eating ready made meals and fast foods that we've forgotten that food can actually be cooked from scratch and needn't take a long time. At the moment I am rather proud to have rescued this half packet of spuds as otherwise they would have been binned by the time I chose to rediscover them in the vegetable tray. Ah, a nice lunch and a good deed for the environment.

Biggi