It’s Friday night, the grocery shopping hasn’t been done, there’s nothing in the cupboards. It sounds like the only solution might be takeaways-but wait! Have you considered gathering the few scraps you have left and presenting them on a platter? It may be a last resort, but you’d be surprised how appetising a dinner platter can be! Add to that the convenience of not having to cook, and being able to eat with your fingers, and you may have a winner on your hands.

Case in point; we were down to snow peas and carrots in the vege bin of the fridge this week. There’s no dinner you can make with that. But with some quick thinking, we hard-boiled some eggs and fried some tempeh that was languishing in the fridge door. A quick search through the jungle of jars revealed sun-dried tomatoes, gherkins and hummus. Throw in some of yesterday’s sourdough, toasted, a handful of crackers and some sliced cheese, and you’ve got yourself a respectable platter! Here is the finished product:

The trick is to base your platter on fresh vegetables, include a protein (like tempeh) and then bulk it out with stuff you have lying around.

Suggestions for a D.I.Y platter:

Fresh vegetables and fruit:

• carrot sticks (perennial favourite)
• cucumber
• cauliflower or broccoli florets
• sliced apple
• snow peas
• bean sprouts
• radish
• strawberries
• grapes
• sliced pineapple
• tomatoes
• avocado

Back of the fridge finds:

• cold meat
• tempeh or tofu
• sliced cheese
• hummus or other dips
• gerkhins
• pickled onions
• anchovies
• sundried tomatoes
• eggs

Pantry staples:

• tinned pineapple
• tinned tuna
• crackers
• bread (pita, toast, wraps, tortillas; anything that can be toasted)
• nuts
• dried fruit