pumpkin soup with shavings of parmesan

When autumn nights are drawing in, this lovely warming soup is the perfect comfort blanket.

guinness is good for you! beef in ale stew

my goodness, my guinness!

"Guinness is good for you" so said the old advertising posters, together with "My Goodness, My Guinness" and "Lovely day for a Guinness". Well of course I knew that. Guinness is probably part of my DNA, my father worked for Guinness for many years and recognising the dark, velvety beer together with the wonderful iconic advertising from the mid-20th century are some of my earliest memories; perhaps my heritage, so to speak.

This is one of my favourite cold weather dishes; I am firmly of the belief that it is the ancient British or Irish equivalent of Jewish penicillin (chicken soup) as I find it both comforts and cures me of all ills.

spicy mushroom soup

a deeply soothing mushroom soup

There are times when I find enjoying a mushroom soup a deeply soothing experience; an almost spiritual one, communing with nature. This soup seems to be both spicy and calming at the same time with it's mouth-watering savoury taste. It is both spicy and aromatic and is a most beautiful dark brown colour, flecked with green . . . a sort of forest floor of a soup, but without the mossy bits! 

jerusalem artichoke and leek soup with mussel gremolata

Autumn has arrived with a vengeance and a warming soup seems the perfect sop to the wet and blustery weather. This soup has an intriguing nutty flavour with a slight hint of sweetness. Jerusalem artichokes have a real affinity for fish and shellfish; (think Jerusalem artichoke gratin with kippers and you'll know what I am talking about). Here I used mussels, but I have also served this soup with a gremolata made with finely chopped tinned smoked oysters which seem to accentuate the sweet nut flavours.

what's in season: october

a shy pumpkin!

October is marigold, and yet 

A glass half full of wine left out 

Ted Hughes

This is the main season for apples and pears. The first Bramley apples are now in season, as are figs. The Jerusalem artichoke season is just beginning and cauliflowers are at their peak, together with main crop potatoes and carrots, sprouts, and broccoli. Lettuce is running out by the middle of the month, and courgettes finish towards the end. It’s a fabulous month to go foraging for mushrooms!

chicken with sloe gin and juniper berries

sloe berries before the first frosts

Yesterday we went sloe berry hunting. Our favourite location seems to have remained a secret from both other north Londoners and the local wildlife as the bushes looked remarkably unravaged. A good haul now nestles in the freezer until next weekend when I'll be in a home-brew frenzy, making sloe gin, damson gin and some more mead (more of this another time). 

bloody marvellous bloody mary!

Oh how I like a well-made Bloody Mary and this version is my favourite. It is quite simple (why gild the lily?) and I am convinced of it's life-affirming properties; it is known to cure most ills.

a bloody marvellous bloody mary!

This popular cocktail typically contains vodka, tomato juice, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, lemon or lime juice, celery salt and black pepper. Some versions also contain beef consommé, horseradish, cayenne pepper, port or sherry. (Although probably not all together). One of my favourites had a secret ingredient that the bartender later confessed to being Absolut Mandarin, a vodka infused with natural orange oils, which blend beautifully with the the spicy tomato base.

pea and tuna fishcakes with lemon mayonnaise

I am a pea fiend, if such a thing exists. I cannot remember a time when I didn't like peas. As a June baby, I was born loving peas eaten straight from the pod. But I am reliably informed, by people who understand these things, that this fishcake recipe is a good way to get faddy eaters to eat their peas.

a tale in which I learn to make a gloriously haphazard chicken curry

chicken curry with rice - steve woods

I have always been interested in authenticity in cooking. It's not that I have some kind of puritanical aversion to adapting a recipe, (heaven forbid), but if I am going to modify one then I do rather like to know what rules I am breaking.

When Maher, the rather elegant mother of a friend of mine,  kindly invited a bunch of us girls to lunch, for an afternoon of learning about and cooking several curries together with the promise of some red wine quaffing thrown in, I jumped at the chance to take part. If only to absorb all of the above in copious quantities, in the interests of authenticity of course.

apple and blackberry crumble

beautiful blackberries

Fruit crumble is one of the ultimate comfort foods, definitely designed for chilly or damp British days. It brings back memories of childish anticipation. To be honest, while I love my savoury food, I could quite easily forgo everything for a bowl of crumble topping and lashings of cream. Unfortunately sanity prevails . . . most of the time!

sweet cherry-stewed meatballs - full of wonderful middle eastern flavours

This delicious recipe has a lovely sweet and sour hint of Persia. I have a confession to make, I have absolutely no idea where I had originally sourced this recipe (Bad Kelly!). I found a notebook with this recipe scribbled down in it and I suspect that this may have been based on a review in the New York Times of a cookbook by the American-Syrian writer, Poopa Dweck,  . . . yes, I too was entranced by her name too!

peach and tomato salad with basil

peaches - John Smith

Peaches and tomatoes make an pretty salad to serve at a lunch or dinner party; it is delicious with grilled fish or meat. Biting into the peach releases a burst of juicy sweet flavour which melds perfectly with the sweet-sharp flavour of tomatoes, topped off with the herby spicy notes of basil. Perfection on a plate.