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After an August spent mostly on the road, I’ve found myself unexpectedly enjoying the back-to-school feeling that arrives with September. Usually, I greet it with the sort of enthusiasm reserved for a tax return, but, having been away for so long, it’s actually been rather nice coming home. Of course, there are all the usual inevitable resolutions and to-do lists: go to bed earlier, eat better, take lunch to work. Admirable stuff, although I suspect a summer of one too many honeycomb ice-creams and an irresponsible amount of Irish brown bread and salty butter may also have something to do with it. Taking a packed lunch is, in any case, an all-round win, because eating out is increasingly expensive, and food bought in cafes and restaurants tends to be richer and saltier than a homemade equivalent. Depressingly, school and college canteens don’t fare much better, either.
But a packed lunch needn’t mean a sad sandwich or last night’s tubbed-up leftovers. Nena Foster’s courgette, olive and halloumi muffins are a very good argument for taking your lunch with you: nutrient-dense without being remotely worthy, they work just as well in an adult’s lunchbox as in a child’s, and they freeze brilliantly, too. Add a flask of pumpkin soup or Tom Hunt’s sweetcorn chowder for an excellent autumn lunch.
Shuko Oda’s onigiri bento box is another winner, and pleases pretty much every age group, which is no mean feat. Bento boxes are such a hit, in fact, that I have gone one step farther and bought Japanese egg moulds. There are few things more unnecessary than a hard-boiled egg shaped like a rabbit or bear, but they do make lunchtime more exciting. And, really, that is the point. You can fill those little compartments with whatever you fancy: Caroline Craig and Sophie Missing break it down here, with a little guidance on what to pop in those small compartments. Another option is Jeremy Lee’s ploughman’s, which would be a particularly fine arrangement: thick slices of ham, nuggets of cheese, dollops of chutney, sliced apple. A tiny pub lunch, minus the pub.
On days when I crave something more warming, I’m very happy to dust off the Thermos. There is something deeply pleasing about taking a little pot of hot food to work. Meera Sodha’s pav bhaji is perfect for this. Keep it warm in the flask until lunchtime, then spoon into a pre-toasted, buttered roll. The butter melts into the warm spiced vegetables and you wonder if there has ever been a more perfect use for a flask. I feel the same about Rachel Roddy’s real minestrone and Felicity Cloake’s pasta e fagioli, and I’m sure they could be premade and reheated in a microwave, if you have access to one. But you might not and, besides, I think dishes such as these are best when they’re not too hot, and when that rich broth is starchy and thickened. Which, perhaps, is what I like most about September lunches: they don’t have to be virtuous, elaborate or even particularly organised; they just need to be something you’ll actually look forward to eating at 1pm. And that is a resolution I can get behind.
My week in food
Sweet like chocolate | A road trip from Ireland’s east to west coast this summer was a useful reminder that the country is full of quietly brilliant food-makers. Among them is Grá chocolates, founded by Gráinne Mullins, an award-winning, Michelin-trained chef – and now, finally, shipping to the UK. Her hand-painted chocolates are made with Irish milk, butter and cream, use seasonal ingredients wherever possible, and their fillings are cooked from scratch. As a result, they are, inevitably, rather hard to resist. My family’s current favourite is the pumpkin spice hot chocolate, made with caramelised white chocolate and warming autumnal spices. Forget about the pumpkin spiced latte; this is a much more convincing way to drink the season.
Curry heaven | Emma Basic’s Japanese-style curry cubes are the sort of supermarket shortcut that makes everyone’s life better: loved by all ages, and accommodating all palates and dietaries, you really can have dinner on the table in 20 minutes. Make up the sauce as per the packet instructions, maybe add a few veggies for nutritional purposes, then simply add something crisp – chicken, tofu, aubergine, whatever you like – and serve with rice. No preservatives, no colourings, all good stuff and unapologetically convenient.
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Been around the world | Ruby Bhogal’s new book, Around the World in 80 Cakes, is part baking odyssey, part history lesson and part love letter to the humble cake. The former Great British Bake Off finalist has spent three years baking her way around the globe, and I have been following her rollercoaster journey on social media intently. The result? A book filled with thoroughly tested and much-loved bakes: there is everything from Germany’s honey-rich bienenstich to Thailand’s dense, butter khanom badin, and from an Italian torta caprese to a classic British lemon drizzle cake.
