There was not much food available for cooking the meal at FoodCycle tonight but there were a lot of bananas. So while Lucie got busy crafting a delicious vegetable Bolognaise Gill started making a sticky caramel sauce which she used to caramelise enough bananas to feed 40 people. They very sticky but went well with the rice pudding made by one of the other volunteers. Abdulrahman was his usual smiley self and as well as serving the guests, enjoyed a bowl if the pudding and sticky bananas too.

Our first task today was to peel a mountain of veg. There were carrots galore which we had to peel and chop and 3 sacks of potatoes. The team had a lot of chatter while we worked and we hope we may have found a new recruit for GoodGym too.

so lovely to welcome Pelumi to the FoodCycle team tonight. Although he was on the hosting team with Abdulrahman he also joined us in the kitchen to help with the washing up and was a great help. As always we had great fun turning the supermarket surplus into a delicious three course meal; tonight the menu had a real autumnal feel. Lucie took charge of making a carrot and coriander soup while Dani and Gill made an apple crumble for pudding. With bags of carrots and a crate of apples there was a lot of peeling to do. Abdulrahman was a fine host and along with the others made sure that all guests were welcomed and served with a smile.

There was definitely an Autumnal feel this evening and we three of Luton's GoodGymers i the kitchen at FoodCycle there was no surprise that the mini pumpkin like squashes were turned into a delicious soup by Lucie. Gill suggested that it was like having our very own soup dragon (being from the generation that watched black and white tv programmes. Unfortunately her attempts to recreate the Clangers meant the others thought she was losing the plot. She and Dani git on with creating a lively earthy mushroom and lentil loaf and a delightful bread and butter pudding - with help from the other FoodCycle volunteers. Neill and Abdulrahman were hosting again and Abdulrahman , as always, had a smile throughout the evening - even when hoovering the church hall at the end of the session. Well done team, another delicious meal and lits of happy guests.

Another busy night at FoodCycle and fortunately we had lots of fruit including a crate of plums. So plums it was for the dessert. Gill concocted a mango pudding and was then helped by Lucie to make a very tasty plum compote. Lucie had also been busy prepping the stir fried cabbage and the veg for the main course. And of course our meal wouldn’t be the success it was without the hosting team, and Neill and Abdulrahman were great at packing the grocery bags to take home, setting up the hall and serving the food to the guests . They made a great job of clearing up afterwards. We may not be sugar plum fairies but we certainly worked some magic tonight.