The promise of autumn

I have been in denial for weeks about our shift towards autumn; I'm still wearing my Birkenstocks and summer dresses and refusing to give in to the dreaded tights. That said, we have had a log fire for the last five evenings in a row and I am the first to complain each morning at work about the distinct nippiness in the air! 

When I do finally relent to the seasonal change and pull my jumpers and boots out of the cupboard, I will admit that this is my favourite time of year. Autumn is never a disappointment. It does what it says on the tin: it will rain, there will be mud, bonfire smoke will prevail in the air and the house will get colder. All of this will be accompanied by the most stunning Norfolk skies, where the sun is low and turns everything warm and golden. The hedgerows are laden with free food to be turned into jam, wine and pickles, and the garden continues to provide us with gluts of late summer vegetables. 

Our late summer vegetables look so pretty in the trug that it seems a shame to chop them up. However, rainbow carrots, golden beetroot and stripy courgettes brighten up evening meals as well as provide flavour and nutrition.

Our espalier peach tree was laden with fruit this year

Considering the size of the tree, we harvested at least twenty sweet and juicy peaches, proving that such fruits can be grown successfully in an English garden.

Little Miss DB can often be found amongst the raspberry canes stuffing these sweet ruby fruits in her mouth like a hungry blackbird. 

Autumn means MUSHROOMS! I gleaned a small basket of mushrooms on my Sunday dog walk that provided enough for an omelette. I found three of our trusted varieties: Shaggy Inkcaps (see above), Stump Puffballs and The Prince. The Prince is fairly rare, but we've been picking them from the same spot for years. They have a wonderful almondy flavour and grow quite large without being attacked by worms or slugs. 

Stump Puffballs have a lovely flavour and texture equal to the Common Puffball. They just don't get very big. Shaggy Inkcaps need to be gathered young before they go dark and disintigrate into an inky mass!

We know The Prince well but you have to be careful not to confuse them with Panthercaps which would make you very poorly!

In my view, a basketful of wild mushrooms need only to be gently fried in good butter, garlic and sea salt and served with homemade bread. Because my basket was not exactly overflowing, I added three beaten eggs and turned it into a delicate mushroom omelette with some grated parmesan on top.

A trip to the Cake and Bake Show at Earl's Court over the weekend inspired my son and I to try making a few different breads. This white plait was flavoured with rosemary, brushed with egg yolk and sprinkled with sea salt. We ate it with tomatoes drenched in olive oil, garlic and fresh basil. 

My son also made his granny and grandad a loaf of wholemeal spelt bread to show off his new-found bakery skills. I love this note he wrote on the paper bag containing his fresh bread-even better is the random capitalisation!!

On the left is my light rye loaf and on the right, my son's wholemeal spelt. His rose better than mine!

Dahlias in autumnal shades, pinched from my dad's allotment! I also love my new olive -adorned tablecloth given to me today by my parents for feeding their chickens and watering their tomatoes while they were in Italy. They also presented us with a huge slab of Parmesan, a whole salami, spaghetti spice, dried porcinis and rich Italian coffee. It was a pleasure!!

Autumn holds so much promise. I'll keep you posted!