The change in the season brings with it cravings for different foods. The evenings are getting darker earlier, the morning temperatures are lower and leaves are falling. This dropping off of light and energy triggers internal changes and most obvious of these is the desire for comfort food.
Mushrooms are a favourite of mine, for their dark earthiness and their compatibility with pasta, rice or other starch, but we had them for supper the other night sauteed with garlic, moistened with a little cream and piled on top of good toast.
Mashed potato is another delight of the colder months, and either as it comes or with leek or spring onion added, it is too good to overlook.
As for sweet things, it's time for apple puddings or plum and almond crisp, and anything with blackberries gets my vote. These brambles are in the garden (by accident, not design), as are the rowans, but there isn't enough of either to make anything much with them on their own. I had my first hedgerow blackberry of the year in Hampshire about seven weeks ago, now here are our northern ones only just ready.
Here is Blackberry Picking by Seamus Heaney.
We will be making a plum and almond crumble for lunch tomorrow, but I must admit that we had to buy our ingredients.
Posted by: Peter the flautist | 20 September 2008 at 05:45 PM
What a mouth watering post! I love mashed potato (with butter and cream, of course) and could quite happily eat a huge plateful. Right now, in fact.
Posted by: Liz | 21 September 2008 at 12:11 PM
Ooo, yum!
Posted by: Kaitlyn | 21 September 2008 at 01:58 PM
I'm afraid we have blackberries in the garden, too!
There are lots more in the hedges around here, and so far we have picked 5 lbs and made 5 jars of bramble jelly. Delicious.
I'm trying to keep up with the windfalls - apples and pears, but there is only so much weight I am prepared to accomodate before the scales shout 'enough' We had apple crumble for lunch today, my son's French girlfriend loves it.
Posted by: Carole | 21 September 2008 at 03:48 PM
Plum and almond crumble (from Slater) delicious I am happy to report.
Dark Puss
Posted by: Peter the flautist | 21 September 2008 at 03:54 PM
What do you do with the rowan berries? Our tree is fairly loaded with them.
Posted by: Fiberjoy | 30 September 2008 at 03:36 AM