Provided your local hedges haven't fallen victim to inconveniently timed flailings then Autumn is a rather bounteous time for gathering. Each year we try to expand our use of what's available to us, to both experiment and stock up our larder. Plus it's fun too, to see what can be made. First off, I've already written about blackberry and apple crumbles but you can also use blackberries in jam or jellies. I've never felt that inclined to make bramble jam but that be because I have around 27 different flavours of sweet preserve* in my cupboard and know blackberry would be the last flavour I'd reach for. The success story from last year was the blackberry and crab apple jelly so I definitely wanted to make another year's worth. Crab apples are such a gift, growing in abundance for free and you can take more than you can carry and the tree won't look much less empty. There are loads of different styles of crab apple, most are bogus but apparently you can just pick from the trees you get along better with. I've not been able to differentiate and they all seem fine. 

 

Autumn feels like the right season in which to crumble. I suppose the classic is apple and blackberry but coming from a dynasty of crumblers, I can say I've had a fair few courtesy of my grandmother - not all of which I would call a treat. Canned strawberries are not the one. Last year I finally found the recipe, the 'one', the perfect crumble topping which both C and I agree is the pinnacle of crumble toppings. None of the others I have made over the years have quite been perfect, with the very worst being those so-called healthier ones with oats.  The butter has to be cold, cubed straight from the fridge and cannot be substituted with spread. I leave my topping as breadcrumbs but with larger buttery blobs because these melt wonderfully in to the topping. Also, the sugar has to be demerara to give the proper crunch. 

Fruit wise, I stuck to the quantities of fruit but in terms of apples just work with what you have got. I used just windfall cooking apples we picked up locally mostly and once added some unwanted eating apples. To stop them going brown and manky after slicing I mixed a little citric acid and water to mix them through as we didn't have any lemons. I drained off any excess. The addition of sugar and cornflour to the fruit gave it a lovely thick and syrupy quality after cooking and didn't allow for the watery wishywashy bottom that can otherwise result. 
This is before it went in the oven. It took around 45 minutes to cook. Topping must not be pressed down, just gently tipped on, no matter how precariously over-filled it looks.

It's no secret that I love anything rose scented. For the last few years I have used dog roses from the hedgerows to make rose petal jam which has become a gem of our store cupboard. Having read up more on roses, it's interesting that all rose petals are edible, providing they ARE genuine rose family. Some plants have rose in the name and most definitely aren't so do not be fooled. 

I suspect a lot of people want to get into growing their own fruit and veg but have little idea where to start or feel like they need some guidance before feeling like they have any kind of direction. I'm by no means an expert, only an enthusiast with a bit of experience behind her. But enthusiasm can get you off the blocks.
Here's my little guide of things to consider when starting out on your journey.

1. What do you want to eat? It sounds obvious but make sure you grow what you want to eat. It's an opportunity to grow things just for yourself so don't forget that treats like asparagus and rhubarb are possible. Don't just buy the first varieties you find, have a read and ensure they are the type you want, eg tomatoes come in all sort of shapes, sizes, colours and flavours so make sure you choose wisely.
2. Where will you be growing? Do you have a window box, raised bed, greenhouse, allotment, corner of the garden or conservatory? It's surprising what spaces can be made use of but make sure you are growing something suitable for the area. Don't forget to consider the soil or mix of compost you are growing in to. 
3. Growing from seed, plug or plant? You can start at any stage for some plants, though others like carrots and parsnips really only grow well when sown directly and aren't moved. There are benefits to each stage but often plugs or plants will be more expensive than seeds. 
4. When to start? Don't start too early! It's a false economy to jump the gun as germination will be delayed or risk the seeds rotting. You cannot force the conditions to be right. The ground will be dry enough and warm in it's own time. A late frost could wipe out tender growth so bide your time. 
5. What are the risks for your plants? Make sure you consider if they will need support, shelter, protection from pests, regular watering, feeding and pruning. 
6. When will the harvest take place? You don't want to miss out on the fruits of your labour so keep an eye on when the harvest will be. 

 The growing year starts much later than I expect every year. Yet, with sweet peas, chillis and celeriac they do benefit by being given the first attention. I chose to grow sweet peas from the seed I collected from my own plants last summer. In a change to the usual, I wanted to grow mild but flavoursome chillis so I'm trying Machu Pichu and early Jalapeno which I hope to eat over late summer. Yum. Maybe stuff with cheese.

Next up the aubergines perhaps.
Take care,
Sophie

I knew it was Seville oranges I needed and that January is the time to get them. I was thinking of trying the market but as Tesco had them I caved early and bought 2kg. The recipe uses 1 kg but I thought if I'm going to have all that faff I at least want a good few jars out of it, so made a double batch.
I won't recount the recipe or method precisely as Delia's is far superior to my tale of strife but let me tell you this: to squeeze the contents of 2kg of oranges and put all the 'bits and pips' in a muslin took me well over an hour and I wondered if I might be delirious with the zesty aroma. A bit fiddly does not cover it!
Although Delia said not to worry about some of the pith I fretted and gave each empty husk a little clean up with a teaspoon so I was satisfied they were as clean as could be.

A rather untidy muslin of bits! The juice went straight into a pan with the water. Next the peel needed chopping. You get thin cut or thick cut marmalade but mine I would call mixed cut and frankly it's lucky to all be cut at all because this took FOREVER too. I preferred to cut each half in half, press the which side flat on the board and pull the knife top to bottom in quick succession rather than scrunch up. Yes, I'm slovenly on finesse but that's tough, it will taste the same (even if texture may differ from one mouthful to another).
There was such a mountain of peel that even my large preserving pan was not big enough so I tipped some into a separate pan. I the big one the muslin was dangled in and tied up like a buoy and left to simmer gently for a couple of hours.

A fair amount of evaporation took place which pleasingly meant both pans could be put back into one. The bag of bits was taken out and squeezed. This was the worst part because in the video it looks easy and you scrape the goo off the bag with a spoon but when I did it the goo just went all over my hands and I felt like an idiot!
What remained of the goo went into the pan along with what looks like a monumental amount of sugar. Delia explained that as the sugar preserves it, the very bitter Seville oranges balance it out - of course sweeter oranges would make for a sweet jam instead. I was very cautious about making sure the sugar was all dissolved but well after an hour of checking, stirring and waiting, even my caution was thrown to the wind in favour of cracking on.
A rolling boil (I recounted it incorrectly to C as a roaring boil which does sound equally as dangerous) is reached my cranking it up to full whack and standing back as furiously swelling molten lava threatens to burn your face.
A stir every now and again to avoid burning it on the bottom of the pan. After an alarming 15 minutes the first test took place (not set) and I learned that you must take it off the heat during the test else what you have tested is 3 minutes behind what you have - that's where I've blundered before.
On the second test I was happy with the result, so dissolved a little butter around on the scum which pretty much all disappeared.
I ate most of the test sample before snapping.
The jar preparation took ages too, I wanted to remove old labels before washing and sterilising.

Then finally, finally, I poured it into jars and cleaned up. Start to finish it was 7 hours of my life. So yes, a bit fiddly and long winded but I do have 16 jars of amazing marmalade to eat and give as gifts. My Dad likes marmalade and always used to make me try it on toast , which I loathed but now it's something I love!

This was not cheap to make, in fact it cost a lot even without factoring my labour but I have made something pretty amazing.

If you want to make some for yourself you had better get your skates on and buy those oranges!!! Allow a good amount of time.
Have you made marmalade before or are you tempted to give it a go?

Take care,
Sophie

Making soup is a regular ritual for me. Whenever we have a chicken I ensure that it gets popped in the big pan and boiled up to make stock which is then portioned up and frozen, ready to be used for my next mega batch of soup. It's always preferable to use whatever is in season and needs using up before it spoils.
Over the summer it's usually courgette which needs using up but this year we easily kept pace and didn't have a glut at all that I can remember.
I ditched the pumpkins of yesteryears which are difficult to cut, peel and use all in one go and instead I grew two types of butternut squash and uchiki kuri (red kuri). These are brilliant for using in soup from the day they ripen on the plant all the way through winter as they will happily store for months. The flavour of these squashes is far superior to pumpkin and they are much easier to handle although I would mention that holding the peeled flesh dries out my skin and I look particularly crusty of hand the following day.

• One large or several small chopped onions - sweat in generous blob of butter until soft
• Add a teaspoon each of curry powder and (smoked) paprika , stir and let the aroma develop for a minute or so
• Dice into approx 1cm cubes 3 or 4 small aubergine and about half a small butternut squash and pop these into the pan, stir
• Add in a can of chopped tomatoes and top it up with stock of choice, I use my homemade chicken for extra flavour. Season with salt and pepper, stir, bring to the boil then simmer for around 25 minutes
• Ensure it's all soft, take off the heat and blend when a little cooler. 

The celeriac we grew are very small this year. They are such a slow growing vegetable that if the conditions aren't right, or they have a late start you will never end up with a good crop. The little veg scrub up alright so I teamed them with some ugly parsnips to make a creamy white soup. Again, start with onions. This time add a few cloves of garlic once the onions are soft. Add sliced or cubed veg and top up with stock but if in doubt add too much liquid as the celeriac and parsnip thicken things alarmingly. Blend!
I did want a good broccoli soup recipe and the one I found from a well known chef was essentially just broccoli, stock and a drop of cream which I thought was a woeful effort. I at least added onions but mine was uninspiring.

Take care,
Sophie

On my list of plans for Autumn I specifically remember noting that we wanted to forage sweet chestnuts. Two weeks ago we took a little trug bucket and set off for a spot we had previously found some nuts. It became immediately apparent that we were too late; nothing on the tree and only empty, spent husks on the ground. It looked like we had missed it by a mile, which made me feel immensely guilty as this is one of C's favourite treats. Last year we found some good trees on a walk but it was a long way from home and the thought of heading off for a long drive only to find we had missed those as well sounded like a poor use of time. I resigned myself to the fact we would have to buy them this time and remain more vigilant next year.
However, on Sunday we set off for a new walking destination and found plenty of sweet chestnut trees with nuts to collect! It was unexpected and we took home a couple of handfuls. Sweet chestnuts can vary in size and its only the medium and large sizes which are any use. If you're not already 100% sure then make sure you take a reference when foraging so you don't muddle them up with conkers which are NOT EDIBLE. Caution should be used and always look up to check you've not got a sweet chestnut and horse chestnut tree side by side.


Have you been gathering sweet chestnuts? Ours were roasted and nibbled that same evening.
Take care,
Sophie

It's become tradition to make rose hip syrup each autumn, I wrote a rough method last year. While out and about each year we try to earmark particular locations for the future gathering of fruits. Our go-to hedge for foraging has a marvellous quantity of several bounties, one of which being roses. Back in spring we gathered rose petals and in early autumn it became time to harvest rose hips. There doesn't seem to be a 'right time' to pick them; they're either solid bullets or already a pulp so just gather any red ones that haven't started to go rotten and be glad there's enough to make a meaningful batch.
I use my hedgerow cookbook recipe as always which this time made 3 bottles' worth; my winter cold avoidance ritual wouldn't be complete without it.

Take care,
Sophie