Veg box help

[clare8allthepies]

I have recently subscribed to one of those organic veg box schemes but am struggling to think of what to do with the veg (extreme sleep deprivation might have something to do with it)
Last week we had roast chicken with assorted veg twice, imaginative huh!

We have this week
Potatoes
Carrots
Leeks
Cucumber
Chestnut mushrooms
Cauliflower
Purple sprouting broccoli
A sweet mama squash

Any ideas? The cucumber will get used up pretty quickly, and I've already used half of the spuds

Many thanks

You need the River Cottage Veg book, it will give you loads of ideas, or have a look on the BBC food web site.

Roast carrots are lovely, or a carrot cake, you can also roast the squash at the same time. You can use cauliflower instead of rice for a curry. Leek and potato soup or creamed leeks (this is lovely, just cook with a little cream). Spag boll with the mushrooms (I hate mushrooms so I wouldn't use these) or you can stuff them with rice or something. Broccoli is great with bacon.

I use 3 websites: Riverford, BBC Food and BBC Good Food. Can just put in a vegetable and get list of recipes. Also yy to Veg book, is ace.

If you're making curry with cauliflower you could also make a cucumber dip. Plain yogurt, grated cucumber and a little bit of mint. Yum! You could make bombay potatoes with any that you have left, or use the squash.

My favourite for carrots: scrape, cut ends, grate; serve plain as a salad or with a bit of oil and vinegar if you like.

Or use them as snacks.

Pasta with mushroom sauce - put pasta on to cook; melt 50g of butter and slice the mushrooms into it, cook over a medium heat, stirring, until lightly coloured. Take off the heat and stir in 2 dessertspoonfuls/50g of flour. Add a splash of milk, put back on the heat and stir until milk absorbed; keep adding milk a little at a a time until you have added about half a pint; stir occasionally while it cooks. If still too thick, add more milk but allow time for it to thicken. Drain pasta, stir sauce in, chop green herb over and serve.

Or do the same thing but cook some leeks in the butter as well.

Or mushroom omelettes [slaver]

I love roasted squash on pizza - we aren't veggies but it's amazing, maybe with some feta or other cheese too. So peel, chop, roast in the oven for erm a while? 30 mins? Then add to pizza base and cook.

TBH I always cook purple sprouting as the main attraction as I love it so much - steam it until tender, serve with dull leftovers.

Ooh thanks for all the suggestions!

Can't believe I didn't think of the riverford website as that's where the veg box is from

I think I'm going to make a veggie curry using the leftover spuds, some of the carrots and the cauliflower.

Then will do just the one roast this week with half of the broccoli, and cheesy leeks. May also have the roast squash then, but might turn it into a soup instead as my 3 year old does like butternut squash soup.

And then think I'll scoff the shrooms all by myself for brekkie!

I can't believe I find it so hard to think of meal ideas when I must own 50. cookery books!

Really easy pasta sauce: slice the leeks thinly, sautee in a little olive oil with a pinch of thyme for ten mins, flake in one pack of smoked trout/some chopped smoked salmon/some chopped smoked ham, stir in a couple of tablespoons of creme fraiche, then serve with pasta. Takes 13 mins tops!

Leek and mushroom risotto - if you've roasted a chicken, can make stock from its bones, carrots, green bits of leek, + any other veg lying round then use stock for risotto plus any leftover meat.

Purple sprouting broccoli - can be made into pasta with breadcrumbs and anchovies. Or stir fried with garlic and prawns/chicken/beef and oyster sauce.

Cauliflower - curry, cauliflower cheese, roasted in the oven with the carrots, mashed up as alternative to mashed potatoes, used to make gluten free pizza base.

Squash - make soup. Or - Cut in half. Roast in oven. Scoop out flesh and combine with softened onion, feta, pine nuts. Then pop back into skins and into the oven again to brown.

Making myself hungry now.