As Seasons Change, So Does Food-Mood
As we enter towards the end of Autumn, gradually into the Winter months, it is time to start getting cozy! Get your fire place ready and lighted up, think about the delicious foods that you can start making and baking and indulge in any other rituals that help ease the transition from the sunshine of Summer to the depths of Winter.
It’s time to switch things up in the kitchen, moving away from salads and cold foods to more warming meals that include soups, stews and casseroles.
No matter the weather, it is a great time to visit your supermarkets and local farmers markets to see what is in season and buy those ingredients. This way, they not only taste better when in season, they are plentiful and help support growers who focus on life’s natural growth in sustaining the planet, farmers as well as our diet (health and nutrition).
Here are some of the ingredients you can expect to find now that are in season and ways you can get creative with them.
Apples
Now is the time of apples, plentiful and in their many varieties from golden delicious, granny smith, gala to pink lady. They all have their unique textures (firm and crispy or a little more soft and juicy) and flavours so give them all ago at one time or another.
What to do with them? Here are some ideas.
Sweet dishes: pies, tarts and crumbles, sliced and dipped into a little nut butter for a healthy snack, apple sauce to be used in both sweet and savoury dishes (tofu, tempeh as a savoury sauce), in juices and smoothies, simply eaten raw when looking for a healthy snack on the go, baked in the oven with a little drizzle of coconut oil and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
CLICK HERE to try this delicious recipe (pictured below), made in my Thermomix for ‘Stewed Apples with Walnut Crumb’. So delicious and wholesome. This is a firm staple in our household. Once you try it, you will go back to this recipe again and again!
Savoury dishes: cut up in chunks or cubed and added to casseroles and stews to create a delicious tangy balance between sweet & savoury, in salads, in coleslaw.
Pumpkins & Squashes
Again, these are now plentiful and come in all shapes, sizes and colours.
With Halloween season just around the corner and Thanksgiving just after that, now is a great time to get cooking up some great sweet and savoury dishes.
CLICK HERE to access and download our top 7 favourite ‘Pumpkin Recipes’ in PDF format.
Root Vegetables
Root vegetables are the basic ingredients to most diets specifically those on a plant-based diet. They are filling, nutritious and versatile and can be the main ingredient of your dish or a delicious accompaniment and side.
What are classed as root vegetables? Carrots, parsnips, beetroots, potatoes, yam, sweet potatoes, celery, ginger, turmeric - basically anything that is grown underground.
Whatever is your favourite, add 3-5 varieties (adding fresh fennel, flesh and leaves, to to this dish takes it to another delicious level) to a baking tin, drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper and a few of your favourite dried or fresh herbs and roast in the oven, mixing up half way, for about 45-60 minutes on 190C/380F. DELICIOUS……..
