Ingredients

I lifted the last of the parsnips, skirret and spuds this morning, as well as the last celery plants which have just about survived winter. 

At the same time I picked the first bowl of green salad leaves of the season.

The parsnips were trimmed, cleaned, boiled and mashed. 

The skirret were cleaned and roasted. 

The spuds were divided into three piles: mostly to be put into a bucket in the pantry for use over the next few days/weeks. Some were good for seed and will be added to the stash to be chitted in two weeks' time. The remainder were damaged and required immediate use.

Add an onion and some garlic from the store and I had all the ingredients for a large pot of celery, skirret and potato soup. 

I also got some tomatoes out of the freezer and lentils from the pantry to make a big lentil, tomato and parsnip shepherds' cottage.

Supper tonight will be a green salad and a potato salad, served with some cheese and a hard boiled egg. Simple, but oh so good.

I have stopped eating out. I resent paying for a plate of food which is inferior to that which I can create at home, and for which I have to pay. 

When friends invited me to join them for a meal at the local pub recently I explained my thinking, and we ended up happily eating real food Chez Mima. We all agreed it was a good decision.