A Year in my Fenland Kitchen

It's autumn, and so here is another soup recipe! This time for mushroom soup, made with a combination of dried mushrooms, button mushrooms and wild mushrooms. A few years ago we had friends who lived in France (now returned to the UK) who regularly foraged for mushrooms in the countryside around their home. When we visited, it was a favourite activity to do together. Collecting mushrooms has always been a popular pastime in France with know-how passed down the generations and in addition, most local French pharmacies will identify, free of charge, any mushrooms you have picked. Although, foraging is gaining more popularity in this country, there is generally not the same level of expertise regarding mushrooms and being of a nervous disposition, collecting mushrooms for the kitchen is something I prefer to leave to the experts. Consequently, the wild mushrooms in the photo below were bought from Waitrose!   For a number of years when our two daughters lived at home, soup, and in par...

 The history of yoghurt can be traced back thousands of years and probably has its origins in what is now Turkey. Some historians believe it may have been invented by accident, when milk exposed to bacteria in warm temperatures turned sour. However it came about, people soon realised that not only did it taste delicious, but that the fermentation helped to preserve milk, since its natural acidity slowed the growth of harmful bacteria. And nowadays, it is probably our best known fermented food. My first introduction to yoghurt was as a child in the sixties, when little pots of yoghurt under the trade name Ski started to appear in the shops. Their USP was that it contained REAL fruit (a rarity at the time) and despite having a lot of added sugar was marketed with the jingle "Ski, the full of fitness food" Mum, always something of a trailblazer when it came to eating healthily, eschewed Ski and much preferred Longley farm yoghurt which she bought from the health food shop, since...

It's autumn and that means a return to warming and cosy meals .... and in particular, soup. I love soup! Easy to make, endlessly versatile, nourishing and most important of all....delicious. Root vegetables especially seem to lend themselves to being transformed into soup and this recipe uses two, namely, carrots and sweet potato. I have garnished the soup with a few of the fried onion slices from the recipe, and a good sprinkling of zaatar, a Middle Eastern spice mix, readily available from most supermarkets. The addition of a swirl of yoghurt and a good squeeze of lime juice helps to offset the inherent sweetness of the root vegetables.  I hope you will agree that this is a perfect recipe for those darker evenings which are just around the corner. Speak soon. Annie x (N.B. I realised that I had omitted to include the fresh ginger in the method ... oops! It should say 'add the grated ginger along with the garlic')  

 These last couple of weeks have seen a seismic shift in our national history with the sudden death of Queen Elizabeth, our sovereign for the last 70 years. Along with the majority of people here in the Uk, I have known no other monarch. The Queen was a constant in the ever changing patterns of our lives. And it is difficult to grasp that she is no longer with us. Her faithfulness in keeping her coronation oath,  her devotion and hard work, an example to us all. The day before the state funeral, we drove the 40 or so miles to Sandringham, one of the royal residences where Queen Elizabeth used to love to spend Christmas and the winter months. Along with hundreds of others, we laid a small posy of flowers as a tribute, adding them to the sea of flowers already there. Despite the crowds, there was a calm and peaceful atmosphere on what was a beautiful autumn day. Today is another lovely autumn day and I am still celebrating all that autumn has to offer and in particular, the deli...

September ...and a new school year is here; a fresh start, new ( squeaky) shoes, the feel and smell of, as yet, unopened exercise books, freshly sharpened pencils .... and the anticipation of things to come.  Those feelings never seem to disappear, however far back the memories stretch! A good time to revamp my blog, with a new look and a new name... and a nod to my book of the same title which was published in July. Summer is drawing to a close. And what a summer it has been, with record breaking temperatures reaching 40c here in the Fens and until recently, virtually no rain. But, Autumn, my favourite season is at the door and the English apple and pear season is underway. Time to enjoy these wonderful fruits. Here is a recipe for Apple and Hazelnut squares, to celebrate the season's bounty. A perfect autumn treat! Speak soon. Annie x