With cool, crisp evenings on the horizon, we’ve put together a culinary care package of quick and easy meals and substantial salads to get you through the weeks ahead.

If you’re not ready to part with your summer fruits and veg just yet, waste warriors Matt Stone and Jo Barrett from acclaimed Oakridge Winery in the Yarra Valley show you how to preserve what’s left of last season’s produce.

Learn how to make a wartime supply of pantry staples, from a summer tomato sauce to zucchini pickle, peach mostarda, and sparkling wine and strawberry jellies – although, we can’t promise they’ll last very long!

As we enter comfort food season, delicious. food director Phoebe Wood shows you how to spice up your weeknights with fried rice. Who needs Chinese takeout when you can make your own chilli prawn and sesame rice with an egg omelette and Japanese-inspired bacon, ginger and edamame rice with soy sauce and nori.

If it’s Wednesday night and you’re in a rush, you can’t beat our cover recipe, Yotam Ottolenghi’s fast fish cakes. A world away from your nan’s version, the punchy recipe combines fresh salmon fillets with a fragrant ginger and Thai basil yoghurt.

Professional salad maker Hetty McKinnon also features in our March issue alongside a few of her favourite loaded salads. Her recipes trade up the lighter leaves for heftier veg, from a potato, pea and egg salad, drizzled in a zesty chimichurri to golden roasted butternut pumpkin, finished with lemon tahini and crunchy miso granola.

While it’s still warm enough for outdoor entertaining, stylist Georgia Ashdown invites us down to Chelsea Gardens in the Southern Highlands where she shares her hosting secrets, from styling the food and table to picking the playlist. Georgia shows you how to make your dinner party menu a memorable one with dishes like creamy beetroot and sour cream dip, rustic comté and leek quiche, and raspberry and rosé spritz, that are easy on the eye – and stomach.

In the world of travel, Melissa Leong discovers the magic of Morocco from its ancient sites to its most luxurious experiences. If you’re still contemplating that cruise, we show you some incredible destinations on the high seas, from the Greek and Turkish islands to a luxury river cruise from Vietnam to Cambodia via the Mekong Delta.

The March issue of delicious. hits news stands today.