Sometimes, necessity really is the mother of invention. As we were driving to get food shopping done for upcoming recipes, our car broke down on the busiest and most dangerous road on the island, in pitch black, where speed limit isn’t a concept anyone seems to be familiar with and where people are often seen texting (yes! texting!!) while driving because they know the road, why would they need two hands while driving…!? To add insult to injury, I forgot to top up my phone… We had no other choice but to walk to the nearest petrol station in search of a towing service. Even though the sky was scattered with stars, it wasn’t the most relaxed or romantic walk. We had no torch, were wearing all dark and non-reflective clothing and I’m not known for my night vision either 😉 . Every time a car blasted past, we stopped in readiness to throw ourselves into a ditch in case the driver hadn’t noticed us. Luckily, we did not have to walk very far, the guy at the petrol station was very friendly and helpful and the tow truck appeared within half an hour. The tow truck guy was such a character that he made us both laugh despite the rough night and kindly gave us a lift to the main town afterwards! The car is currently being fixed and we are hoping to be mobile again soon! Yay!

So, as we have no transport, I’ve had to come up with a recipe from what I already had in the house. This pumpkin crostini is inspired by one I enjoyed for breakfast at one of Warsaw’s vegan-friendly food spots. It’s simple but the combination of flavours and textures works a treat: creamy hummus, sweet pumpkin (sweet potato works great too!), slightly bitter and garlicky rocket pesto, sour pomegranate seeds, crunchy pine nuts and spicy chilli flakes. I recommend having it warm on a freshly toasted sourdough bread. It makes a great lunch or breakfast (if, like me, you don’t scrunch up your nose at savoury open sandwiches for the first meal of the day), but it will also make a pretty canapes if you are having friends around for a few drinks.