Wednesday 25 September 2013

Cooking colours

Because I am a new and enthusiastic user of Instagram and a blogger of many years, I take an awful lot of photos of random domestic moments; and as I scrolled through my photos last night, I realised that I have a wonderful record of my cooking at this time of year.

Like many people, the arrival of autumn gives me a renewed enthusiasm for cooking.  The cooler weather, a new series of The Great British Bake Off, unexpected seasonal treasures in my Abel and Cole box, and a generally energising back-to-school-and-University air of new timetables and new diaries, all contribute towards this for me.

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Chicken and leek pie, with a cheesy breadcrumb topping

Soup for lunch
Spicy chicken and vegetable soup
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Chocolate brownies - these made by Olivia

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Potato, bacon and onion hotpot
Apricot flapjacks in progress
Making apricot flapjacks
   

The colours in these photos are autumnal too: the orange of my big Le Creuset bistro pan which I cook with at almost every meal, the wholesome browns of freshly baked bread, the yellow of eggs and squashes, the golden crust of a cheesy topping.  I even use orange and brown hundreds-and-thousands on my buns at this time of year.

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Cinnamon and apple cake - adapted slightly from a Nigel Slater recipe

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Using up the veg in the fridge to make a vegetable curry for supper - the night before my new Abel & Cole box arrives
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Fritatta with cavalo nero, onions and chorizo
Orange buns
Autumnal iced buns
We've had the first mince-and-dumplings of the season, and the first slow-cooker stew is planned for later in the week.  I also think a particularly spectacular pie might be in order to celebrate the return of Strictly Come Dancing this weekend.  

As if autumn wasn't already my favourite time of the year, there's all this abundance of good food to share and enjoy too.   Good times indeed.

Bread rising and a giant cheese scone
A giant cheese scone - fresh out of the oven; and two loaves of bread waiting to go in

8 comments:

  1. I have taken many photographs since I started blogging that I otherwise wouldn't and as you say it provides a great record.

    By coincidence we are having our first slow cooked meal of the season tonight, lamb hotpot, although it is very warm here in sunny Berkshire this afternoon and feels more like summer than autumn.

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  2. Mmm, it all looks wonderful, especially the potato and onion hotpot. I do love those autumn colours as well.

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  3. So much goodness. That hotpot looks particularly comforting and delicious.

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  4. yum. suddenly I am looking forward to autumn after all x

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  5. Mmm lovely! Especially the potato, bacon and onion hotpot. I do love Autumn, really looking forward to the season's change.

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  6. Yum! Totally hungry now! I just know every one of those things tastes even better than they look (and they look so delish!).

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  7. Oh your cooking looks amazing! I am back in blogland and keep being so inspired by everything I see and read - I now want to garden more, cook more, knit more, read more,blog more and dare I say it, even tidy more to make my life look as lovely as everyone else's seems to!! So instead, I have spent the entire morning on the computer.....

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  8. Blimey, you've been busy! It all looks wonderful! Autumn is great with the food, the telly and jumpers! Hope uni is still going well.

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Even though I often do not have the time to reply to everybody, I really appreciate all your comments so much - thank you for taking the time to read my blog and share your thoughts on what I've written.