Comfort Food

After a long flight and a few weks travelling away from home, our bodies quickly tell us what they want for nourishment and repair. Mine wants raw food, vegetables and starches for a few days.

The juicer then becomes my most used kitchen gadget. Fruit and vegetable juices replenish moisture lost in heated hotels and air-conditioned aircraft cabins. In addition they give an immediate and powerful infusion of minerals and vitamins. There is no limit to the juices you can make up from fresh ingredients. I like the recipe below, red, sweet, full-flavoured and peppery. The leftovers make a very good vegetable broth, which in turn makes a perfect lunch when accompanied by some good bread. But experiment with the juicer. Try a green juice with apples, celery, green peppers, spinach and water-cress. Carrots and pineapple, together with yellow pepper, a small swede and some fresh ginger produce a power-packing zinger of a golden cocktail. This is an area of food preparation in which the organic vegetable box schemes really come into their own. And there are plenty of books on juicing and on the beneficial properties of individual fruit, vegetables and herbs, so that you can make up your own combinations.