October Seasonal Eating

October is such a cozy month! 

I love the food and the colours of October. For me it is all about the leaves turning golden, the apples dropping off the trees, collecting the last of the blackberries, lighting the log burner and getting cosy with lots of wooly layers!

Food tends to shift from being cold, light, fresh and green to being warming and filling and richly coloured. Stews, crumbles, pies and piping hot chilli on crispy fluffy jacket potatoes.

I am including apples in this piece simply because of the volume around at the moment, they deserve another mention in this fab transitional breakfast:

Apple cinnamon and almond chia breakfast pot:

1 heaped tbsp chia seeds and a mug full of almond milk into an old jam jar. Stir well and grate 1 apple (skin too!) into the jar with a pinch of cinnamon and some flaked almonds if you have any. Mix and pop the lid on, into the fridge and leave for 30 mins to 8 hours overnight. Delicious!

Other favourite things that I will certainly be cooking this month include butternut squash along with lots of other root vegetables. I’ll be roasting chunks of this with olive oil, garlic, chilli and some herbs (rosemary or thyme).  I love to serve this with grilled halloumi or with a fillet of grilled mackerel or if I’m in a rush, a good serving of hummous and a toasted wholemeal pitta bread.

Peel and deseed 1 butternut squash and chop into chunks. Chop an aubergine, courgette, sweet potato and normal potato and tip into a baking tray along with some cherry tomatoes, a drizzle of olive oil, some sea salt and black pepper. Give it a good mix and pop into a hot oven for 30 mins, turning once during the cooking.  Add some chilli if you fancy a bit of spice! I like to make a massive load (2-3 trays) and keep some in the fridge for lunch the next day or so.

Yummy things this month will include fruit crumbles in every variation! Sadly the plums that I normally stockpile from my parents garden are few and far between after an early frost this year but we have more than made up for it with our blackberry haul.

This month I am also looking forward to making some Halloween/ Bonfire treats ready for the November seasonal blog. We are doing toffee apples and a warming chilli and plenty of other cosy treats to enjoy as the nights draw in.

Have a happy October, I’m off on our belated ‘summer’ holiday to the isles of scilly so shall be sure to bring back some foodie ideas from there to share with you!

Faith

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