All posts tagged: Seasonal Food

Pumpkin spiced muffins with maple orange glaze

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We have had a busy couple of months here, starting a new job, starting school, starting preschool and celebrating a 40th birthday.  Milestones all round.   Between all those things and the increased layers of organisation that they have entailed, the unfortunate blog has been rather neglected. But it feels like we’ve turned a bit of a corner after the half-term break.  We’re finally settling into the new routines, and finding time for more activities together.  Autumn is giving way to winter, but before all the christmassy stuff starts, we decided to have a go at an autumnal bake.  And with halloween just gone, I decided that meant pumpkin!  In truth, the pumpkin decision was mainly because I had added tinned pumpkin puree to my online grocery order on a whim a few weeks ago, and it was sitting in the cupboard begging to be put to good use. As usual, the recipe below is an amalgam and adaptation of various recipes, based mainly on what we had in the cupboard and what sounded simple enough for a two-year-old helper to assist with! Pumpkin spiced muffins with maple …

Roasted Vegetable and Halloumi Pasta

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Do you always manage to eat your ‘5 a day’?  Count them up.  Be honest now – I’m pretty sure a glass of wine doesn’t count as one portion of fruit! When I feel like I’m edging into vegetable deficit, I make Roasted Vegetable and Halloumi Pasta.  It’s a really easy way to slam-dunk your 5 a day in one go, but the addition of the halloumi cheese stops it feeling too sanctimonious! What’s more, once you’ve chopped everything up, you can really just leave it in the oven to cook itself while you have that glass of wine, just for good measure. Roasted Vegetable and Halloumi Pasta Ingredients (serves 4) 1 Aubergine 2 Courgettes 1 red pepper 1 yellow pepper 1 green pepper 500g cherry tomatoes 2 leeks 250g block halloumi 1 clove garlic 1 dsp balsamic vinegar 1 dsp olive oil 2 bay leaves 1 tsp dried basil 400g pasta shapes Directions Preheat the oven to 170c (fan) or 180c otherwise. Slice the leeks into 1cm rounds, chop the other veggies and the halloumi into …

Blackberry Oaty Cookies

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I love this time of year when it’s still summer, but the early mornings hint at the changing season to come, with a chill in the air and wisps of mist clinging to the fields and woods in the valley below our house. It seems early this year, but the trees and hedgerows near us are starting to reveal their autumn goodies, with cob nuts everywhere and ripe blackberries on show already.  So, we took ourselves off blackberry picking, joined by Bird Girl and Chief Stick Collector’s cousins and my sister. As luck would have it, blackberry picking is another thing on our list of 50 Things to do before 11 3/4. So we were hoping to be able to tick off another challenge, which sounded like it would be an easy and risk-free one to complete! We did have to be careful to avoid stinging nettles and blackberry thorns, so it wasn’t entirely without an element of danger (as far as that term is understood by preschoolers!).  But it didn’t take us long to pick enough to take home. …