Golden Brown


Just as the cherry tree outside our house has flamed from green to gold  this week so I find that the food in my kitchen has taken on a distinctly golden brown hue.


Not my cherry tree -unknown shrub in neighbour's garden




There were gingernuts made purely to try out my new cookie stamp.



There was a lunch of baked beans to which I added a cupful of leftover homemade spicy sausage and bean stew (minus the sausages).


There was a big pot of mince with dumplings.


Today there was a six-hour roast shoulder of pork. Not the neatest of joints to carve but utterly delicious and the crackling was the crispest ever. We ate our roast pork with quince jelly.


 Afterwards there was a dish of bread and butter toffee apples. This recipe with cubes of bread fried in butter first, a spoonful of sugar added and removed to a plate while the apples were cooked. Once the apples were soft the sticky, chewy bread cubes were mixed in with them. Really, really good.


What about you? Has your cooking become autumnal?

Comments

  1. I was enjoying the foliage in Worcester today, the sun was shining and the colours were amazing, so I thought of you whilst we were there. It was the same in Warwickshire too. And the Malverns; I've had a lovely afternoon.

    Your food looks delish - as usual. Not too much of it going on here...

    ReplyDelete

  2. Autumn is my favorite season. Here in New Zealand for a holiday weekend, it would be spring if we hadn't had another cold snap, but there's been so much blossoming going on. We're enjoying the fresh crispiness of the season; last night we had simple lettuce salads, the type you have when they're still a novelty, cold roast chicken, steamed asparagus.

    ReplyDelete

  3. o yes, its all about the pumpkin in this house and things have taken a turn towards the stew and casserole. Warming, filling, wholesome goodness.

    ReplyDelete

  4. Yes, it has... soups, stews and roast dinners are back on the menu (beef with Yorkshire pud last week, chicken this week). Pudding today was a sticky ginger cake with stewed apples. Surely the compensation for the colder weather is all in the cooking?
    Victoria

    ReplyDelete

  5. Oh I wish we had had the blue skies to compliment the rich golds, reds and yellows in our garden today. Nothing but grey and glum in Cambridge.
    Huge rib of beef followed by Eve's pudding for lunch with the in laws. Very autumnal and I don't think I will eat for another three days...
    Ax

    ReplyDelete

  6. Stew, cottage pie and butternut soup have all featured here this week - and slow cooked pork still to come! Strange weather today though we had alternating blue skies and thick cold misty fog. Trees are lovely though.

    ReplyDelete

  7. We had pumpkin pie today, which is pretty autumnal in colour and flavour. Sadly, no sunshine to set off our leaves.

    ReplyDelete

  8. I love the colours of Autumn. We had bacon and egg today so I suppose there was a bit of autumnal colour there. I must try your desert recipe.
    Love from Mum
    xx

    ReplyDelete

  9. I do love that stamp Sue, I wonder if you fancy sharing your gingernuts recipe, they look scrummy. I have been makinga lot of butternut soup and roasted pumpkin lately, beautiful autumnal colours too. x P

    ReplyDelete

  10. I confess to a little salivation going on here. That cookie stamp is one sexy mutha.

    ReplyDelete

  11. Definitely into Autumnal mode here, Sue. Roast butternut squash soup with spices, sea-food risottos, and fish soups/stews lots of lentil-ey things.

    Lusting after that gorgeous pork joint - I'm afraid we don't do neat carving here any more, We like our meat on the chunky side. Just missing the quince jelly......

    ReplyDelete

  12. For once we seem to have scored in the West Country this weekend. Sunshine all the way. Lovely walks and soup with home made bread to keep us going. Can't beat it.

    ReplyDelete

  13. I have one of those cookie stamps too, aren't they fun?! I'll bet they were great with the gingernut recipe!
    Going autumn here too: baked squash and fruit compotes flavoured with cinnamon.
    Gorgeous looking dumplings and your autumn leaves are turning all those gorgeous colours.

    ReplyDelete

  14. Decidedly soup weather - and no surprise that butternut squash features in that. I keep meaning to try slow roasted pork or pulled pork. Right I shall be putting that on the shopping list for next weekend.

    ReplyDelete

  15. I wonder whether you could have a 'Quince Tree' cookie stamp made? I could do for one for my daughters that says '2 biscuits max'.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. What a marvellous idea Mise -with a little quince design in the middle perhaps? I could also do with one which says 'if you eat them all now there won't be any for your lunch box on Monday'.

      Delete
  16. Pati from London12:41 pm BST

    We've had, quite a few soups (including pumpkin last night), stews, apple and cinnamon compote to name a few dishes....and have been baking more: biscuits, bars and even an apple pie (cakes here are a rarity!). The kettle has been working much more these days providing loads of cuppas too! I love the "home made" stamp.
    By the way, that pork roast looks amazing!!!. We are pretty crap at cooking roasts here (better at stews) as I feel that we never cook them long enough... Do you have a good recipe for your pork one?. I was thinking of cooking one this autumn.... I would appreciate any suggestion. Pati x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. Not really a recipe Pati -for a 2kg piece of pork shoulder I just rubbed it with sea salt working it into the cracks of the scored skin. Then I put in the oven at 200 degrees c for 30 mins, then I turned it down to 150 degrees and left it for another 5 hours.

      Delete
    2. Pati from London11:35 pm BST

      Thanks Sue! That sounds easy peasy.... You don't even put a bit of oil? x Pati

      Delete

    3. No, no fat whatsoever for pork because of the crackling ;)

      Delete

  17. Oh yes.... leek and potato cheesy bake, chicken and vegetable soup, shepherds pie, roast chicken, aloo ghobi to name a few. On the sweet side I've made blueberry and lemon cake and yesterday it was banana, white chocolate and cranberry tray bake, a mostly made up recipe to use up a couple of ripe bananas. I almost didn't have any dinner last night it was that good! I've brought all but two pieces into work today as I don't want the temptation in the house! Colours are beautiful in Michigan too, love this time of year.

    Hugs
    Brenda

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous2:23 pm BST

    that food all look lovely....as ever...i have ordered myself one of those stamps, lovely idea. those of us that make home made should advertise it loud and proud
    smashing photos of the trees, i have seen some great colours this autumn
    take care tessa

    ReplyDelete

  19. I love the biscuit stamp- & your slow roast pork has me drooling!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Bonnie in PA2:58 pm BST

    Oh dear, I made broccoli cheese soup over the weekend - very green. Guess I am in the wrong color pew. Our markets have local broccoli piled high at a good price, so it was a seasonal choice. We also have piles of cauliflower the size of bowling balls. Your mince with dumplings is interesting. I think of mince as going in a pie. Do you have raisins or walnuts in that dish? Perhaps there is just a US-British confusion of terms.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. Definitely a US-UK confusion here Bonnie! Mince is what we call our ground beef. It's short for minced beef (or lamb. This is how I make my mince. Mincemeat on the other hand is the Christmas preserve made with raisins and other dried fruit candied peel, suet, nuts, sugar and plenty of booze.

      Delete

  21. Blue sky, sunshine, autumn leaves. Glorious.

    ReplyDelete

  22. The mince reference makes me think of Friends when Rachel made an English trifle but by mistake added mince(meat)!

    We've had beautiful weather in the NE over the weekend but today is miserable and grey with the threat of wintry showers by the weekend.

    Cooking wise I've made Sky Gyngell's Pickled Pumpkin, lime curd and River Cottage's Rose Hip Syrup over the last few days. I also had an attempt at chocolate macarons - they failed miserably but still went down a treat with natural yogurt and fresh pomegranate.

    I love autumn.

    ReplyDelete

  23. I think Autumn/Winter cooking may be my favourite - casseroles, roasts, those delicious aromas. How does mince and dumplings taste - what 'lifts' it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. My mince is pretty tasty -I add lots of flavourful veg, herbs garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, smoked bacon and some red wine if I have any plus a Kallo beef stock cube.

      Delete

  24. Yum, everything looks great. I like the cookie stamp :)

    ReplyDelete

  25. Do you cover the pork after the initial half hour?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. No -but if it looked like it was getting too brown I would.

      Delete

  26. Pumpkin makes cooking autumnal here. Pumpkin soup and pumpkin bread (which is really yummy with red currant jelly) colour the kitchen golden!

    ReplyDelete

  27. I once made an all white meal. It was quite unintentional and not very appetising. I couldn't even pretend I had themed it with snow. Your food looks as delicious and nourishing as ever.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment