BOTTOM OF THE VEG DRAWER

I'm a serial offender when it comes to having a couple of limp carrots, a shriveled chilli and a few black spotted tomatoes hiding away at the bottom of the veggie drawer. But team it up with a dried up cob of fresh corn and some kidney beans and you've got the makings of some delicious vegetarian nachos.

Restaurant-bought nachos are all too often swimming in a soup of cheese and sour cream, but if you go easy on the dairy and team it up with some old style maize chips (I like the blue maize ones - gluten free and light on the seasoning) and some mashed up fresh avocado then it can be a pretty balanced meal overall. Another (healthier) alternative to chips is a soft tortilla, which you can grill with a sprinkle of oil and spices to get good and crispy.

I added a splash of chipotle (smoked chilli) to this mix. Utterly impossible to source round these parts*, I hauled a few tins back from the states when I was last over that way. Smoked paprika is the best alternative if chipotle is a little too exotic for your local stores to have in stock.

*Edit: I have now found this at the corner grocery store in Nightcliff! That lot never cease to amaze me with their weird and wonderful array of random international foodstuffs.