I was reading Nigel Slater's 'The Christmas Chronicles' and it put me in the mood for bonfires and winter soups. Up until that point I wasn't really feeling into autumn. It was here but I was not feeling excited. But after reading just a few passages of his well written words I found myself imagining cold frosty mornings, foggy mists lying in deep valleys, wading through piles of fallen leaves, the crunch and crackle of crisp paper leaves being trodden underfoot.
" N O T E S, S T O R I E S A N D R E C I P E S F O R M I D W I N T E R. I have always loved the winter months, with their crisp mornings, candlelight and promise of snow. The Christmas Chronicles is the story of my adoration of the cold months, my fondness for the winter landscape with its pale blue skies and bare trees; for autumn and winter baking and the season's rituals and feasting. At the heart of the book is Christmas, its fables, folklore and of course, its food." Nigel Slater
Prompted by Nigel's words, I mentally moved on from summer and took the time to emotionally engage with the changing season. This involved a wander in the woods to breath deeply of the smell of damp, mould. The sweet perfume of rotting leaves. The hint in late afternoon of woodsmoke in the air. I began to revel in the season and overdid myself with enthusiasm, bundling all of my nephews and Sally into the car to go and build a den in the woods!
Here are my Autumnal photos taken this year and in previous Novembers. They include among other things ... epic bike rides, woodland walks, my nephews chasing geese & building dens and photos of mushrooms, pumpkins, a blackbird and a squirrel. With a few more quotes from Nigel Slater - a year of good eating.
" The extraordinary partnership of blue cheese and apple ... For me at least, blue cheese and an apple is an autumn rite of passage ... They come from the oven like plump cushions, the apple hot and sweet, the cheese piquant and oozing. " Nigel Slater
" The old Hallowe'en, when hollowed-out pumpkins glowed ghoulishly from darkened windows, was a night I rather enjoyed. Walking along London's Georgian streets, the occasional candlelit gourd to speed us on our way home to drink pumpkin soup ... Nowadays it's all screaming groups in fancy dress ringing doorbells. Trick or treat has become little more than licensed harassment ... Which is why I roast a loin of crackling - encased pork on top of thick slices of pumpkin tonight, the piggy juices trickling down through the segments of golden squash. A glowing reminder of a night when, once upon a time, our imagination and candlelight were enough. " Nigel Slater
" At Myrdal, swirling mist. By the time we reach Finse there is snowfall and hot chocolate in paper cups. There are wood - clad cottages on the horizon, plumes of smoke drifting lazily from their chimneys. I imagine wooden bowls of oat porridge on the table and something in the wood - fired oven, a pot roast maybe, plodding towards tenderness ... A roasted game bird, with smoked bacon, tufts of woody thyme with flowers the colour of heather, and artichokes, gold and ivory. " Nigel Slater
" The smell is fruity and warm and fungal, like a forest on a humid afternoon ... " Nigel Slater
" Scandinavia on my mind. I am making mushroom pies ... the mixture smells like a damp autumn day in the forest. Bosky, sweet, mellow. " Nigel Slater
Thank-you Nigel Slater for your well written words and recipes. Next stop, mushroom collecting. If you don't see any new blog posts from me you will know I got it wrong and ate a poisonous one!