what's in season: january

As I said to the man who stood at the
          gate of the year:
"Give me a light, that I might tread safely
          into the unknown!" 
M. Louise Haskins
 
I am by now thoroughly fed-up with Christmassy food (in particular loathsome turkey) but fortunately despite January's bleak midwinter demeanor, there are still a few things around that are good to eat. 

it wasn't my fault!

Old books - Marja Flick-Buijs

In the immortal words of  'Joliet' Jake Blues:

"I ran out of gas. I, I had a flat tyre. I didn't have enough money for cab fare. My tux didn't come back from the cleaners. An old friend came in from out of town. Someone stole my car. There was an earthquake. A terrible flood. Locusts. It wasn't my fault, I swear to God!"

And that is my excuse for not posting anything recently, and I am sticking to it.

what's in season: december

a glorious Savoy cabbage

Snow is sometimes a she, a soft one

Her kiss on your cheek, her finger on your sleeve

In early December, on a warm evening

And you turn to meet her, saying "It''s snowing!"But it is not. 

And nobody''s there

Empty and calm is the air.
Ted Hughes 

Icy winds and Arctic weather has just hit the UK, apparently the worst in thirty years or so. Snow has just hit London too and I am feeling the need for winter-warming, hearty food. December is a fabulous month for leafy greens vegetables with winter roots in full swing too. 

So think of tasty stews and casseroles, delicious roasts and divine vegetables, from parsnips and swede to Brussels sprouts and celeriac, not forgetting my favourite, "king of all cabbages" - the glorious Savoy.

moroccan harrira soup

spicy harrira stew

This is a version of a soup recipe from Claudia Roden, traditionally prepared during Ramadan and eaten to break the fast. Apparently, the streets of Morocco are perfumed at sunset with thousands of different versions of this fragrant soup. 

While this version of the soup is vegetarian, you can include meat, such as lamb or beef. It is not a soup that is restricted to Ramadan across the Muslim world; it is also served at special celebrations, and why not? It is deliciously satisfying.

chicken stew with dried limes

I cooked a Persian banquet for friends recently and used dried limes for the first time. (I say "banquet" which sounds terribly sumptuous and as far away from my Victorian cottage in shabby north London as the magic of the ancient Silk Routes or the Hanging Gardens of Babylon can be . . . although saffron and pomegranates were involved). Anyway, the dried limes were a complete revelation and I have to thank John Willoughby in the NY Times for the inspiration. He wrote "Holding one to your nose is a bit like sniffing freshly grated lime rind while standing in the center of a brewery" . . . utterly glorious. I was powerless to resist their  lure.

what's in season: november

No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees,
No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds, - November!

Thomas Hood

Fallen leaves lying on the grass in the November sun bring more happiness than the daffodils

Cyril Connolly

Sadly, my favourite tender vegetable crops are disappearing as the first frosts appear in November, although it is still a good month for hardier veg such as cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, leeks, parsnips, potatoes and sprouts as well as traditional fruits such as apples, pears and quinces. However, this is the month that game really comes into its own, so it's not all doom and gloom.

roasted pumpkin soup with chilli and ginger

roasted pumpkin soup with chilli and ginger

Yes, I know I have just posted a pumpkin soup receipe, but I have a lot of pumpkin to get through. (Seriously, who thought it was a good idea to get me to carve the kids' jack-o-lanterns? Me, the most cack-handed cook in north London?) Oh well, I suppose there have been benefits, she says ungraciously. Half-a-hundred weight of sumptious pumpkin flesh waiting for interesting things for me to do with it, to be fair.

Now this gloriously rich soup is lightly spiced with Eastern treasures and full of warming flavours, perfect for a dull Autumn day; it is a very nice soup to come home to.

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!