No matter how much we aspire to being basket-carrying members of the farmers' market shopping brigade, the reality is that most of us end up from time to time relying on store cupboard ingredients, or what's available in the local supermarket five minutes before closing time.
The good news is there are some really good commercial products out there, and SuperValu is leading the way with its new Supreme range of Irish and international products, many of them sourced from small indigenous producers. There are more than 100 Supreme products, mainly geared towards quick and easy meal assembly, and available in all 180 SuperValu stores nationwide. Distinctive black, white and gold packaging makes the range easy to locate on the shelves, and there is clear and concise nutritional information on every product, just so you'll know how many calories are in that Belgian Chocolate and Hazelnut Praline Gateau.
SUPERVALU SUPREME BUFFALO MOZZARELLA & CRUSHED TOMATO FRESH PASTA MEDALLIONS (€2.99): These plump pillows of fresh pasta filled with real buffalo mozzarella, provolone piccante and tomato look delicious even before being cooked - a million miles better than most commercial stuffed pastas. Drizzle the cooked pasta with olive oil, top with some chopped cherry tomatoes and a few torn basil leaves if you have them, or sage leaves and lemon rind and you have a quick and tasty supper in minutes. There's an Angus beef porcini mushroom and Chianti red wine variety, too, and each pack serves two. Marie-Claire Digby
• If you have a store-cupboard star, a favourite supermarket buy, or you've found a great new product, we'd love to hear about it. E-mail your suggestions to bestbuys@irish-times.ie