Okay, I’m not sure how it happened, but we seem to have lost 20° in the outside temperature, and this morning I was out there with the ice scraper. So, Delia’s Summer Collection is going away for 6 months, and swapped for the winter version, which is my standby for this time of year.

But if you were looking for some more winter inspiration, then how about some of these?

Winter Harvest Cookbook: How to Select and Prepare Fresh Seasonal Produce All Winter Long – this is an update of an earlier version, but given that it was written in Canada, I think they now what winter is like! I like that this one not only does great cooking, but also covers things like urban composting. There are nice features on different ingredients, and some great sounding recipes. Apple pastila is just up my street, and there’s plenty to go at here.

The Ski House Cookbook – if anywhere needs to know about great warming winter food, it has to be a ski chalet. All that activity, all that cold weather, just crying out for great carb overload! These are quite quick recipes, designed to maximise time on the slopes, but deliver great food quickly. Perfect for friends and family, and for bigger groups.

Snowflakes and Schnapps – this is a beautiful looking book, very Ice Queen throws a banquet in Narnia. I have no idea where I’d start with this book. I mean, bacon rosti with poached eggs and thyme hollandaise anyone? Washed down with almond hot chocolate? What’s not to love?

Autumn Gatherings: Casual Food to Eat With Family and Friends – this title is almost written for me. I seem to get people together a lot more in the autumn, and our gatherings are definitely casual, normally all gathered around the kitchen table. It’s got a huge turkey on the front, ready for Thanksgiving, but not sure what else. I’m going to buy this on the title alone, so will report back.

A Paradiso Year: Autumn and Winter – Dennis Cotter writes great vegetarian cookbooks, andI think autumn and winter lends itself to great veggie cooking, with all those great root veg. Proving that winter cooking doesn’t have to be unhealthy, this really lends itself to great cooking with great produce.

When it gets cold like this, is there anything better than spending time in the kitchen, oven on, and turning out great warming dishes? It’s what makes the season for me, love it! What do you love about this time of year?

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Having worked in the beauty industry for quite a long time, then I’ve seen the launch of a whole host of products for the month of October that support various breast cancer charities, and I’m pleased to see that now the food related industry is now also lending its support. Maybe it is a bandwagon, but hopefully everybody wins: charity, patients, consumers and the brand. Here’s some things that are useful, tasty or just out and out pretty, all to support a great cause.

* From Le Creuset, the Strawberry Tea Collection will bring a glorious pinkness to tea time all year round. Use it to host a Pink Friday tea and the fundraising just keeps on going. Le Creuset has pledged to raise at least £20,000 with an average of £1.25 per unit going to the charity.

*Find special pink packs of Mornflake Extra Crispy Muesli in store now, and buying your breakfast will see 5p per packet going to Breast Cancer Care. Good British company too!

* Very popular in this household, Bottlegreen’s Pomegranate & Elderflower cordial or pressé is extra pink this month, still very tasty, and makes the drivers at any gathering not feel left out. And 10% of the purchase price goes to Breakthrough Breast Cancer.

* Chocolate makes most of us feel good, so use it to do good too. Green & Black’s Raisin & Hazelnut bar is boasting the iconic pink ribbon in addition to its usual hot pink wrapper and will send £20,000 to Breakthrough this year.

There are a few other products that I don’t care how much they’re donating to charity, I’m not buying. I’d rather just send the whole amount to the charity. I’m sure if you check out the charity websites, you’ll spot them too! Otherwise, it’s a great way to make what you normally do do more good, not just supporting good producers.

Now, if the Alzheimer’s charities could just get themselves this organised and this out there!

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I retweeted a comment from Sally Golland about a great new gift from The Gluttonous Gardener, and great to get their latest catalogue through. And it turns out the Red Hot Box was just one of a great range of plant meets food gifts that they offer.

For something with unusual food brownie points, then I’d go for the medlar box. This is a really old fruit, and there have been a dwindling number of trees here in the UK, but then a number of chefs seem to have got interested in working with the fruit again. The tree also benefits from really pretty blossom, and is ideal for small gardens. As well as getting a small tree, the gift also includes a jar of medlar jelly, so you get a taste of what you can do with the fruit.

Got friends with a new baby? How about the Under the GooseberryBush set? Cute name, good gift, with a ready to plant gooseberry bush (not too much hardwork for the new parent). Then there’s the copper tag to record all of the important details of when their own particular gooseberry bush delivery was made. And then there’s the bottle of champagne. Just be careful this doesn’t come with a second delivery!

A classic gift from them is the Thai Chef’s Crate, which would give the keen cook their own supply of fresh kaffir lime leaves. The plant will grow happily in a conservatory or warm windowsill apparently, and you can be busy growing Thai Basil alongside, which comes as a packet of seeds. The crate is completed by three of the other essential tastes: palm sugar, fish sauce and chilli sauce. Perfect.

So whilst not the cheapest options, these are interesting, a little different and would show a bit of thought. Not to mention would be a gift that keeps on giving as they get to enjoy the continuing harvest of your fabulous foodie gift!

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I think I’ve been a bit slow to pick up on these, and in fact spotted them in City Super in Hong Kong on my last visit, but am quite keen on the Bobble water bottle. Not only does it look pretty funky (and comes in a big range of colours) but is a portable filter for tap water.

I think more and more of us are aware of our drink miles, as well as our food miles, and bottled water always strikes me as one of the most bonkers things ever. And a Bobble means you can filter tap water wherever you are, with each filter being able to work through 150 litres of water. There are a couple of sizes available, depending on how much water you need during your average day, and replacement filters are easy to get hold of.

When you think about how good our water is to start with, then this just helps it to be that bit more palatable. Plus there’s the knowledge that you’ll have saved the world from all those plastic bottles. Who says being green has to be dull? These are great looking!

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Nothing to do with my age and early onset of hot flushes, but more a great resource for those of you fancying growing your own chillies. Or, in my case, great source for a gift for someone who likes it hot!

Sow Chillies has one of the most comprehensive ranges of chilli seeds I have ever seen. So many that the A-Z listings need to be split into 3! Loads here I’ve never even heard of, like Bulgarian Carrot (mild to medium, first to fruit), Numex Big Jim (in the Guinness Book of Records as one of the world’s largest chillies, pretty mild) and Red Trinidad Scorpion (as hot as it sounds, tempremental too).

So you could choose by name, by heat level, or to maximise your cropping season. Or you could do what I did, and just order one of the seed collections. Nice packaging, and the thinkings done for you. For the beginner, there’s the Chilli Taster Collection or perhaps Not Sow Hot. For the expert or heat lover, then try the Ultimate Collection or Sow Very Hot. Which really is very, very hot chillies! With the exception of the Ultimate, all three collections are under £5, and the Ultimate is only £14.95 for 10 packs of seeds, so all pretty budget friendly gifts.

Also worth checking out their veg seeds, as some good unusual seeds on offer. I’m looking forward to planting, and eating, the two lots of beetroot seeds that I got, Chioggia and Burpee’s Golden. Should make for a very pretty looking salad, not to mention tasty!

If you want any advice on growing chillies, then read my interview with Craig of the We Grow Our Own blog, and chilli expert in residence for Wahaca.

Oh, and if you wonder if the Ring of Fire chill is hot, my guess is that the clue is in the name!

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I really wish I didn’t have a sweet tooth. Or poor will power!

Maybe I could try solving those sweet urges with something not quite so calorific, like the Chocolate Flake tea from Teapigs. They say it’s not sickly sweet like hot chocolate (of which I’m generally not a fan) but a sophisticated combination of tea and chocolate. Like dunking your choccie biccie in tea, without the biscuit calories!

They also suggest you can turn it into a tea latte, which I’ve never tried at home, although partaken of a few Chai Lattes when stuck at King’s Cross. Anyway, I’m thinking this is worth a try, and if you’ve got a chocolate lover trying to avoid the effects of over-indulgence, then this could make a great guilt free hit of chocolate for them.

Now, who’s got the kettle on?

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Bring on the first English strawberries, the raspberries, the blueberries…and in the meantime please inspire me with new things to do with appples and plums! I may have found myself not warming to him when I watched Toast over Christmas, but I do love his food writing.

Here’s to celebrating our seasonal fruit harvests!

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Why? Well, you could have many different reasons to do so, or multiple reasons, which possibly might make it easier to keep. So, if you want to lose weight, it’s easier to avoid temptation if you’ve taken everything you need with you. If you want to eat more healthily, you can be sure what’s gone into your lunch. Or if you’re just being more frugal then you’re going to get a lot more lunch for a lot less cash.

I have two things that I love for making taking my lunch easier. The first is new: a very beautiful insulated lunch tote that BFF gave me. Roomy, made from neoprene so good for keeping cool, funky design, I love it.

And it’s big enough to hold my little flask. I love this flask, perfect for enough soup for lunchtime, and will never forget the spoon as it clips into the top. And because it’s a wide mouth, then I’m not just limited to soup. I’ve taken daal and pasta as well as some great homemade soup. Just because it’s a packed lunch doesn’t mean flavour can’t rule, so I also drop in a little container for additional flavours, like soured cream for my beetroot soup, or spiced yoghurt for the daal.

Then I just need a decent water bottle to do away with any attempt to buy bottled water. Or to do away with plain water, as I am rather fond of mixing it up with a Belvoir Cordial, especially ginger at the moment.

So, make your packed lunch interesting for many reasons, and support  many resolutions. And is there any better gift for a foodie than making sure they have great taste with them, even stuck at their desk?

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Bit of a frugal theme this week! After yesterday’s helpful tools, we’re moving onto one of those big areas for savings: the packed lunch. But with a bit of planning, imagination and inspiration then you can push memories of those bland clingfilm wrapped sarnies to the back of your mind!

501 Bento Box Lunches: 501 Unique Recipes for Brilliant Bento- whether you’re a beginner or Japanese food enthusiast, then this would give you plenty of inspiration for something very different to a round of sandwiches. Although pork pie bento possibly has less Japanese roots than Melton Mowbray! Get your bento box out and get chopping.

Lunchbox Bible – actually quite tricky to find a lunchbox book aimed at adults rather than kids. This one is a good compromise, and I like that it covers make ahead food and also using up leftovers from the night before. Lets face it, if we’re being frugal there’s going to be a lot of this going on!

Raising the Salad Bar: Beyond Leafy Greens–Inventive Salads with Beans, Whole Grains, Pasta, Chicken, and More by Catherine Walthers – good long title, giving a good range of ingredients that would definitely give you a whole range of different options for lunchtime. Perfect if you’re not big on bread, or even just don’t want bread every day.

Soups + Sides by Catherine Walthers – I don’t know if Catherine never has a proper meal, as this the second of her books I’ve chosen, but I like this as another option for lunch. Sometimes soup is not enough, so a good side order to go from home can make the difference between average lunch and great lunch.

Leon: Ingredients and Recipes by Allegra McEvedy- If I’m in London (and pre my frugal days) then Leon would be my choice of places for a quick but fabulous lunch. I blame Lisa Eldridge, she made me escape there once from a press show, and a new addiction was born! I even lobbied them on Facebook for the return of the sweet potato falafel.  The book gives you the recipes you need to try and create as something as fabulous for your lunch as they would dish up for you. Love it, it will be my bible for new lunches!

So, we might be saving cash, but we’re not cutting back on taste! Get planning and get creative! Fantastic photo of a dull lunch by Luis Del Rosario on Flickr.

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* River Cottage Stinger – you may remember the scenes of Hugh eating nettles, but to my mind this is a better use of them! Hugh developed this beer with Badger Ales himself, and it is an organic handcrafted ale which uses organic nettles handpicked in Dorset.

* For a hamper of River Cottage goodness, try the Festive Treats box. Available for delivery from mid November onwards, it includes organic damson jam and marmalade from Thursday Cottage , some Cocoaloco organic chocolate truffles, which would go perfectly with the Coffee Factory coffee they use in River Cottage Canteens.  Should you need a drop of the hard stuff then there’s a couple of bottles of Stinger, and you can record the great meals you cook and share in the 2011 River Cottage Diary. Small option is £45, or you could go large at£95. Would seem a little excessiveve to do so this year though.

* How about a sausage for your stocking? Or 8kg of organic saddleback pork? The meat has been produced by Sydling Brook Organic Farm, a traditional mixed farm. A traditional breed of pig, treated with the highest respect, maturing slowly, producing wonderful meat. You get a great mix of cuts: belly, chops, kidney… even a trotter or two!

* Hugh has been passionate about getting us to grow what we can ourselves. Try the Instant Veg Patch, which they reckon is the easiest and tastiest way to grow your own, with plants selected by the River Cottage Head Gardener, Mark Diacono.  You don’t have to worry about the sowing stage, leaving you with the pleasure of caring for your plants, knowing they’ve got off to the best possible start. You get a voucher, which is then redeemed and they deliver the plants to your door. You get normal things like lettuce and tomatoes, also things like Borlotti Beans and giant red mustard.

Four choices to give you something a little bit different to choose from for the festive season. I thought about recommending the cider brandy, but I saw what it did to Hugh at a food demo at the Game Fair a few years ago. To say it put him off his stride is an underestimation: quite tricky to turn out a liver terrine without the liver!

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