The Autumn Kitchen
There is a chill in the air this morning, the first of the season; a sure sign of change. The days remain pleasantly warm but the nights are beginning to cool. I adore this time of year in the kitchen. Cosy afternoons spent cooking up food to nourish and warm both body and soul. After the long, hot summer I am ready to embrace this change. I no longer desire a vibrant summer salad or a bowl of pasta with a fresh tomato sauce. My body and soul seek comfort and sustenance against the oncoming cold and that means soups, pasta bakes, stews and pies!
I adore the changes in the colour of food at this time of year. The deeper greens and oranges of winter squash, the purple and deep green of kale and cabbage replace the vibrant greens and yellows of summer squash, beans and peas. The tomato box is now full of deep red, greeny-red and orange tomatoes. Blackberries and plums take the place of strawberries and raspberries. This is apple season, although it makes me sad when I look in the supermarket at the dull varieties on offer, and very few of them from the UK. Farmers markets are a good opportunity discover more tasty varieties but locally these markets are scarce. Our apple tree did not fair very well this year. It was a year for 'the tree' but even so, the fruit was small and pale and the wind and torrential rain knocked most fruits to the ground. Unfortunately we were away at the time; consequently the mice and slugs benefited from the windfall fruit this year, even more so than usual!!
This is the time of year when soup becomes a staple lunch dish, usually along side some dense soda bread. Early in the autumn it may be a roasted tomato and lentil soup with plenty of garlic. As the days chill and the season deepens the thicker soups appear, my favourite being celeriac. This is also one of my favourite vegetables, slightly ugly and a laborious job to clean and peel it rewards you with a creamy, soft flesh with a gentle celery type flavour; perfect roasted, as a soup or layered with potato in a creamy dauphinoise.
September sees the return of mussels to the table. Traditionally mussels were only eaten when there is an 'R' in the month to protect their reproduction time in the summer. Sustainable farming methods now mean they are available all year round but seasonal eating does no harm. We eat them steamed gently in a pot with shallot, garlic and white wine or Pernod then piled in a dish for everyone to tuck in and plenty of good crusty bread to mop up the juices.
This a time of abundance and plenty. A time to prepare ahead for the winter. Whilst many of us no longer expeience the 'hungry gap' it does no harm to think ahead. Preserving excess food now can help in hard times and even bring a little summer sunshine to the depth of winter. A chutney made with a glut of courgettes can brighten up the Christmas cheese board. A fresh tomato sauce stashed in the freezer can bring a little sunshine to a plate of pasta on a dark winter's day. Peas and beans, blanched and frozen can grace a plate with sweetness long after their stems have withered and folded back into the earth.
Early autumn is a time of comfort and ease. There is still warmth in the sun but a chill in the morning and evening. A time when a cosy jumper and a bowl of something hot and nourishing can put the world to rights. A time to savour and reflect on the business of the doing seasons of spring and summer and plan ahead for the season of rest....winter. After all, winter is coming!!