Pledge Update ... 7 done!

5 I will plan a weekly menu and shop accordingly

I used to do this all the time but it has fallen by the wayside somewhat recently. When I actually had a good look at the freezer and cupboards I realised that I could do with using up some of the food already in the house so this week's shop was very small. Tonight's dinner Shepherd's Pie with veg (the mince had been in the freezer for a couple of months so thought I'd better use it up!)

6 I will make one meal from leftovers

That's veg soup for lunchtime today - it was everything that was leftover in the chiller drawers of the fridge - and actually very tasty!

7 I will make something like bread instead of buying in plastic wrap

I made a loaf yesterday- sundried tomata and parmesan - yummy!

I still haven't got round to making bread from scratch and baking in the oven but we do use the breadmaker quite a lot (received from freecycle after I posted a wanted - in fact I got 4 offers and picked another one up for my sister!). I made this loaf from a packet mix so all I had to add was water and the only waste was the paper packet which can be recycled. However, I now realise that the bread I usually make isn't Zero Waste because the yeast comes in a non-recyclable sachet - so will have to explore other alternative for the yeast.

This whole prcoess has really changed how I look at things. I thought we did OK before I started working on the pledges, and I still think we are probably above average in our recycling/reducing efforts, however when I really started to think about how we use things and the waste that's produced I see we have a long way to go to reach Zero Waste. I'm very glad I did these pledges and although I have now finished I see it as just a start with more actions being incorporated into our daily life and continuous improvement with the ultimate aim of Zero Waste.

Yesterday I made some soup to go with the bread for lunch, Roasted Tomato and Red Onion Soup. It is so easy and so delicious that I thought I'd share it with you.

• 6-8 tomatoes with stalk bit taken out and quartered
• 2 red onions peeled and cut into chunks
• Place these in a roasting pan and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt
• Place in an oven at 220 degrees for 20 minutes
• Make up stock - I used to use 1 litre but now Cassia eats soup it's better thicker so I've just been using 500ml
• Add to pan and return to oven for another 20 minutes
• Remove from oven and blend

Unfortunately the tomatoes we used yesterday weren't from our garden but I bet it would be delicious with ripe/overripe tomatoes from a glut in the garden.

Do you think Cassia enjoyed it?!