October

October kicks off with World Vegetarian Day which is held on the first of the month - a perfect excuse to get stuck into the squash that is in abundance this season. Carving pumpkins is a fun Halloween tradition but remember that the innards are a tasty treat. My favourite way to use them is roasted and puréed for a ravioli filling and when rubbed with garlic oil and roasted, pumpkin is a delicious addition to a Sunday roast. 

Of course, prolonged vegetarianism would be foolish seeing as October is when game starts trickling into shops. This year I got my hands on a glut of damsons and have made a jar of sauce that complements the meat beautifully. Loath as I am to utter the dreaded C word prematurely, it really is necessary to think ahead if you want to make your Christmas as tasty as possible. Damson sauce is a great alternative to cranberry sauce, if you fancy a more original addition to your seasonal table.

This month is also the height of the British apple season. It's almost a shame to cook them as they are delicious au natural but a bit of pastry never does any harm so I'm using this month to perfect my Tarte Tatin making skills. Waitrose stock "Weather blemished" apples which are great value, prevent food waste and give our orchard farmers a helping hand when the weather works against them. They are perfectly imperfect and I love them so much that I seek them out over their more aesthetically pleasing counterparts. It's the shopping equivalent of welcoming an abandoned kitten into your home, albeit less messy and a lot tastier.

Meal Plan w/c 22nd September

Monday: Tonight is soup night, and we're having my favourite soup- country vegetable. This will be served with some rye bread and parsnip crisps.

Tuesday: We haven't had a stir fry in ages so I'm going to make one to have with some hoisin salmon and coriander rice.

Wednesday: Tonight is Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, so I'll be trying out some traditional Jewish recipes. According to tradition, having fish on the table is an omen for blessings in the year to come. The fish should also be served with the head on, based on the Deuteronomy verse "May we be heads not tails" or in other words, leaders not followers. So, fish will be on the menu, most likely a salt baked sea bass. I also want to have a go at making challah- a sweet, yeasty bread which looks quite laborious but delicious. 

Thursday: I haven't used my pasta machine in a while, which is a shame as I've finally cracked the pasta making. I'm thinking of making some ravioli. Butternut squash is in season, so I'm going to use this as the filling with some pine nuts and a rosemary sauce.

Friday: I keep saying that I'm going to make my own Bibambap and tonight I'm definitely going to do it. There are so many components of the dish to get right- the beef needs to be well marinated and tender, and the rice needs to be sticky but not stodgy. If all goes wrong we can just go back to our local Korean restaurant!

Saturday: We've been having mackerel for a while, so I'm going to try and get some rainbow trout this weekend. I'm going to serve it with a beurre blanc (we had some in Normany and it was delicious) samphire, and garlic potatoes. 

Sunday: Game is finally trickling down into the shops. Last week we had a delicious venison casserole and I'm going to go to Borough Market to see if I can get some guinea fowl. I'm loving all the seasonal veg at the moment, so we'll have lots of that with some goose fat roast potatoes. We're also making the most of the wonderful fruit at the moment in out desserts. So far we've had plum, pears and figs. Apples are great this time of year, so I'm going to make a dessert based on them- maybe an apple and clove pie with custard... Mmmm!