TESTING, TESTING...

So, I bought a new camera but due to my Amazon one-day delivery taking a few days more than expected I do not yet have the 'plain English' manual that the man in the camera shop recommended and without this, as a dslr virgin, I really do not know where to start so fully automatic point and shoot mode it is. Even in fully automated mode it is so much more fun than using my compact, just the noise is more satisfying. Anyway, stop wittering on about the camera and back to the point at hand, dinner...



Anyone in Britain will know that September has plunged us into Autumn without mercy, the temperature has dropped and it is rain, rain, rain. But am I miserable about this? Actually, I'll say this very quietly, no. I'm actually enjoying the feeling that soon it will be Winter. True, I don't mean I'm looking forward to those cold days that are dark and damp but those that are crisp and clear when your breath is visible and everything sparkles with frost. We aren't there yet but I can feel them coming and am looking forward to digging out my thick jumpers, pulling my Danish felted mohair slipper on, and curling up to anticipate walks in the cold, cooking hearty meals, baking, and, most importantly of all, Christmas (I have already started reading the Christmas sections in all my cookery books).

This wintry feeling drew me to The Kitchen Diaries and the entries for September. On the year in question Nigel had a slightly more Indian Summer but still found himself making a warming courgette and lancashire cheese crumble on a cold September day. I followed in his footsteps with only one change, I used a mix of plain and sweet potato. It's a stress free dish to cook after work and tastes like you are eating a hearty bowl of soup with a cheesy walnut bread but obviously in different, solid, form. I'm sure it would work with other veg too, parsnips, beetroot, swede, turnip, and leeks spring to mind, maybe a scattering of bacon if you are inclined (which I think I will be next time), and I think a strong cheddar would be yummy instead of the lancashire if that's what you keep in the fridge. In Tamasin's Kitchen Bible she says that Nigel Slater is someone who seems to know instinctively what we want to eat. She is so right, on a damp day when Summer in turning into Autumn this is just what you, well I, want to eat.