Panfulls of partridges and the onset of winter

Half a dozen seared partridges resting on a bed of red cabbage
 and cider, waiting to be slow roasted.

From the beginning of October in England the game season starts. Firstly partridge (see above) and then the pheasants. Suddenly our household becomes tired of chicken, salads and Mediterranean fare. Now is the natural shift to casseroles, brassicas and root vegetables. Gravy becomes a staple sauce and root vegetables marry darker, more pungent meats.

Winter heat: spicy vinegar and a blazing woodburner

Just the other day, I had some white wine vinegar that I was using for another recipe. I was inspired to use the rest for some flavoured vinegar. It helps if you obsessively collect small glass bottles like me, but if you ever buy mini bottles of white wine, these receptacles are perfect for the cause. Simply pour in the vinegar and add sliced chillies and bay leaves. They make such pretty gifts and are the perfect accompaniment to a winter salad.

A row of pretty vinegar bottles, punctuated with chilli slices and bay leaves

A winter sunrise. A 7am view over Briston, Thurning, Wood Dalling and, in the very far distance, Heydon and Salle.

This time of year inspires indoor living, baking and crafts. At weekends I rarely feel inspired to depart the warmth of the kitchen. However weekday early mornings are stunningly ethereal; the perfect start to the working day.

Mushroom madness and other pleasures

A parasol protruding from the woodland floor

This autumn has been blessed with a plentiful harvest of mushrooms. There is something so exciting about picking the different varieties that grow in the hedgerows and woodlands near our house. With names like parasols, puffballs, shaggy inkcaps and blewits, they impart an air of magic for the enthusiastic fungus forager. Whilst caution is undoubtedly needed when eating wild mushrooms, finding varieties that you can collect with confidence and frying them in some butter and garlic is a treat we look forward to every year. Wild mushrooms are far superior in flavour than their cultivated 'button' relations and they look much prettier as well.

A basket of mixed wild mushrooms picked in the woods near our house

      

Young shaggy parasols before their caps are open

Parasols have been most plentiful over the last few weeks. They are best picked young, before or just after they have opened their caps (above right), as they can be prone to maggots; the trouble with the mushrooms that grow in the wild is that it's not just us that wants to eat them! Puffballs give a nice flavour to a mushroom omelette, but they often need peeling due to their tough skin. We also found our first blewits of the year a few days ago; this is a sure sign that the weather is becoming much colder and more damp, conditions enjoyed by these purply-blue wood mushrooms.

Fried with garlic on toasted homemade bread is by far the best use for smaller harvests. If you can collect a basketful of different varieties, then risotto, tart or casseroled with game birds or venison are our favoured recipes.

Basketfuls of early autumn bliss