I wanted...I bought...I made

Really enjoyed these lentils and kale, perfect autumn food

I know I have been a bit intermittent - can you be a bit intermittent? - with this section of the blog of late. It is mostly because now that I am at home, making sweet Wolfe things for the stall at Brixton or for my new clients, I have less need for an overarching plan each week as I can pop out for things when I need to. It is also, it must be said, because Borough is becoming less home cook friendly - I have mentioned before the loss of Booths - my once favourite place for vegetables whose removal made the weekly shop unbalanced, like a wheel had fallen off my trolley. Many of the people working there are new and it takes time to know them though often they are too busy for that to be realistic. It is though still a treasure trove of good things and it will have to change much more before I could contemplate not heading there each week. So I guess I need to try a bit harder with this round up!

Friday I want pumpkin soup, from a recipe I heard on Women's Hour with Heston Blumenthal - ah the joys of working at home. There is half a rye loaf in the freezer that will be the perfect accompaniment. Thoroughly fabulous. Saturday the man is threatening to have to work so perhaps sausage and mash would be a cheering sight on his return - he worked Sunday so Saturday we had his favourite of cold collation, bits and pieces of cheese and olives and saucisson with good bread to go with. Sunday I think roast lamb - we have some in the freezer kindly given to us by the man's sister and brother in law from their farm, needs roasted root veg and perhaps a parsnip puree - we also had pork spareribs in the freezer I noticed as I fossicked so I steamed them with black beans, did cabbage with ginger and served the lot with rice. Monday the man is out so might just have an omelette had an exceptionally good lentils with minced pork, garlic and curly kale, Tuesday I think butterbean puree and steamed aubergine, perhaps a beetroot salad to fill pitta with a little more of the lamb we had the lamb from Trew farm roasted with root veg and potatoes dauphinois. Wednesday noodles actually a simple pasta with tomato and balsamic sauce, I still love noodles, and Thursday tortilla - more freezer treasures we had grilled pork chops with mashed swede and wilted greens for a very wonderful autumn repast. Should be a tasty week.

The market was busyish Friday morning, started at Neals Yard and bought milk, yoghurt and cream but no spaghetti as they had run out, spent £9.70

At Ginger Pig John was back from his holiday, cheerful as ever. Bought smoked bacon, minced beef and pork chop - all for the freezer in the end - for £13.87

A pork pie from Mrs Elizabeth King - I had a sudden hankering and the moment I got home I cut me a huge hunk for my lunch, ah the fabulous smell, the amazing textures of meat and jelly, the rich pastry, no surprise they won gold at this year's Melton Mowbray awards. All that joy a mere £5

Cheese from Gastronomica - a rich old Pecorino, a creamy dreamy rocchetta and a crumbly chunk of Parmesan - £19 the lot

Round to the fish man and joy! he was there but hadn't made a plan for fish so bought a tranche of smoked bass to be getting on with - £3

From Lizzie at Wild Beef I bought eggs and sausages, not as a breakfast surprise but should have! £7 She was telling me about getting a kindle and wanting a particular book which turns out is not available till January, so she has put the kindle away

Fancied salted almonds so wandered through Brindisa - £4.50 a pack - definite treat territory

Then to Fresh Olive where I was told with some certainty that Friday may be cold but Sunday would be 20C. I doubted but I was wrong! Bought a tub of luques £3.50

That was all - bought veg from the organic stall at Oval Market Saturday - spent £65.57 at Borough