Our old friend Joy is joyous both in name and nature. She’s also a vegetarian.
She joined us for lunch recently. As seems to be the case lately, we were rushing, and didn’t have anything planned when we got home at midday. So we grabbed a packet of haloumi from the fridge and a loaf of Dirty Granny sourdough out of the freezer…
In the garden we harvested a large beetroot (the only one we seem to have grown this season), a couple of carrots, a turnip and a baby Cos lettuce…
We sliced and microwaved a few potatoes, chopped up our last remaining Spanish onion, then tossed all the prepared veg in a little extra virgin olive oil and salt. It went into the oven to roast until everything was cooked through, then under the grill (broiler) briefly to crisp up and caramelise…
All the warm vegetables were combined with the Cos lettuce, turnip tops, beetroot leaves and a handful of roasted hazelnuts, then dressed with a mixture of red wine vinegar, a little olive oil and hazelnut oil.
We sat outside in the first sunshine we’d had in over a week. It was a relaxing (and joyous) afternoon!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Delicious lunch, Celia! So healthy and colorful… and of course, the bread only adds to the party!
The bread looks so good!
Delicious and how lovely to share a meal with a friend.
Have a happy week ahead.
:-) Mandy xo
I love roasted beets and that is a beautiful salad.
Love your Dirty Granny sourdough!
Your impromptu luncheon looks like a gourmets delight!
Those spur of the minute lunches are often the best, especially when they include home grown produce. GG
The best meals are always made like this. Sounds wonderful…my perfect lunch
Sounds lovely Celia, it’s so fab being able to rustle up a meal for friends by mainly popping out into the garden isn’t it. I do like the idea of a Dirty Granny Sourdough.
I bet Joy was joyous after that meal. Home-baked bread, fresh organic produce picked from the backyard, sunshine and good company. What could be better. You’re a whizz at producing something incredible from a few odds and sods (said in the nicest possible way!) xx
It’s just so wonderful that you can create something so delicious from your garden and goodies in your kitchen. I must admit I have a decent supply of goodies that could feed people at a moment’s notice but nowhere near as well as this!
What a delightful post! Isn’t it wonderful having so much gorgeous produce at your fingertips with a veggie garden?! Harvesting veg without it ever seeing the inside of a fridge is the best! A joyous weekend indeed x
Wonderful Celia! A rummage in the garden and freezer…et Viola! How lovely to be so rich :)
A lovely result I am certain was greatly enjoyed! And thank you for sharing with us too a mindset which allows imagination and practicality to run hand in hand!
There is special and there is what you do… Special :)
What a fantastic meal to pull together at last minute! And I bet the sunshine was welcome too :)
Beautiful! So many colours :-)
What a magnificent lunch. Who need planning when you can pull that kind of a rabbit out of the hat!
You made a wonderful lunch for your friend on such short notice, Celia. Caught in your situation, I would have taken my friend to a restaurant. ;)
Vegetarian or not, that looks like a wonderful lunch.
Yum, that looks delicious…. Regards Kathy A, Brisbane
I once prepared a fully gluten-free vegan 3 course meal for a dear friend who was on some incredibly strict diet (including gluten-free bread rolls), only to be told when she arrived that she’d ditched the diet a week earlier and was back to her gluten and meat devouring self. I would probably have been better off if I had not been organised at all, although I doubt my result would have been as inspired as yours (especially given my lack of fabulous veggie garden to plunder) :)
I love roasted vegetable salads and I would think beetroot and hazelnuts compliment each other really well. That could be named ‘rabbit salad’ – as in pulling it out of the hat, or in this case, out of the garden:)
That’s my kind of lunch!
There is nothing better then enjoy your friends at a home-made easy dinner with everything that you have grown yourself, nice & lovely! :)
Hurray for lunch from the garden! And vegetarian meals on the fly. That salad sounds so perfect. (I love lots of different textures and flavors in a salad, cheese nuts and fruit or veg) Hugs, Maz
What a beautiful & colorful lunch.
What a beautiful lunch! Your garden is a vegetarian’s paradise. This came to mind when I read your wet garden post. Everything looks so lush and fresh-just like this meal :)
Incidentally, how do you defrost your sourdough? I usually take mine out of the freezer to defrost overnight on the counter. Sometimes I’ll warm it in the oven, but it’s been so hot here lately I can’t seem to turn it on! xx
Em, I sometimes stick it in the microwave for about a minute to soften it up, then slice it and let it defrost the rest of the way by itself. It’s not ideal, but usually someone is chasing me for food! :)
Thanks Celia! I’m going to try that poping it in the microwave… I’m usually chased for food too! Ha ha :)
definitely a JOYous lunch. I would love to have that today. Only need a loaf of dirty granny. :)
What a divine winter salad :)
Thank you all! xxx