Faced with the ends of a vegetable delivery it can be hard to think of what to make. Here is an easy and flavourful creamy soup which can be eaten as is or used as a base for chowders and pie fillings. Plenty of possible substitutions – just use what you have left over.

• Ingredients: 1 red onion, 2 potatoes, 3 carrots and 4 inches of cucumber/courgette. A little butter, milk, parsley, salt, pepper. One slice of stale but good sourdough loaf – not too thick.

• Method: Wash, peel and dice the vegetables. Add the potatoes, onion and carrots to a deep soup pan in which you have melted the butter. Stir around on a low heat, adding the cucumber after a few minutes have gone by and the other vegetables are partly cooked. Then add about half a pint of milk. Stir well and add the same of water – just up to the height of the vegetables, plus the whole slice of bread. Stir and leave on a very low heat to simmer away until everything is soft. Taste it and add salt and ground pepper.

When cool enough to handle, blend to a cream. Serve scattered with parsley. Bread and cheese go well – shown here with home made fougasse and Quicke’s cheddar.