As the days shorten and the weather turns cooler I've rounded up some midweek meals perfect for the cooler days that Autumn brings.
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My September in a Nutshell
I like to start my #CookBlogShare hostings sharing a little of what I have been up to both in real life and on my blogs. At the end of last month we were still in summer and as luck would have it we got a bit of an Indian summer to enjoy, but as September draws to a close there is no doubt that autumn has arrived!
During September I shared my time between Suffolk and London. Produce from my fruit trees in Suffolk kept me busy in the kitchen. It was a bit of a mixed year. The dry summer meant the apples on my dessert apple tree were small and not very juicy and generally disappointing. Although the wasps didn't seem to care. Most years we squeeze the apples we can't eat and get several litres of juice but this year zilch!
The cooking apple tree faired a bit better with a massive crop but again rather small apples. I also I have a bit of a problem with brown rot and scab which wasn't helped by the damp spell in August and some strong winds meant a lot of windfall. Nonetheless I managed to juice a fair few and we now have 10 litres of apple juice in the freezer. I prepared and froze a few for crumbles and pies later, and of course did some cooking with them with a few good enough to store.
The plum tree like many others it would seem went into overdrive with a great crop despite a lot falling unripe during some high winds. I found out even the small green ones ripened off the tree sufficiently to use in a compote. With the rest that I couldn't eat fresh I made into jams, chutneys, crumbles and cakes. I couldn't help noticing a lot of plum recipes on the net so I rounded up some of them in a round up post of over 20 perfect plum recipes.
I also got my first every crop of grapes this year. They are Chardonnay grapes for making wine and are a bit pippy but very sweet. Sadly the wasps helped themselves to most of the crop!
With all these lovely goodies I have had plenty of recipe inspiration for both of my blogs but have left me with little time to do some of the behind the scene activities such as completing my ebook for Only Crumbs Remain and updating my homepages, so they get moved back yet again. An increase in email subscribers to Recipes Made Easy has meant that I have had to find time to organise moving my email list to new email service provider sooner rather than later, it's in progress and I will be making that full jump next week.
Midweek Meals for Autumn
Much as I love the summer and all the bounty it brings I also look forward to Autumn. Autumn signals the real start of the baking season and everyone knows I love baking. Its also a time for more substantial dishes to warm both our bodies and our souls.
Salads and simple summer dishes are delicious but then again so is a warming stew or roast and I eagerly anticipate them as summer turns to Autumn. Now is the time to start enjoying such warming and comforting meals again. So this week I'm sharing the dishes linked last week that best mark this move into the cooler months, all of which would make great midweek meals.
The Mains
You might also like to try this 5 ingredients recipe for Garlic prawns from Go Healthy Ever After they take less than 20 minutes to cook and served with rice are transformed into a hearty meal.
And if you are looking for a vegetarian mid week meal try Courgette Strata from Choclette at Tin and Thyme. Described as a cross between a baked omelette or a type of savoury bread pudding. Courgette strata is a take on an Italian classic and it makes for a quick, easy and satisfying meal.
On the side
If you are after some easy sides to go with your mid week meal why not try
or Grilled Corn Succotash also from Farmers Girl Kitchen or a hearty Bean salad from Lost in Food.
A little something sweet
or perhaps Nutella stuffed cookies from Cooking with my Kids. Plum flapjacks from Jam and clotted cream. My Plum and almond traybake on Only Crumbs Remain. or Gluten free coffee and walnut cupcakes from The Glutenfree Alchemist.
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Nicole - haricoco.com
Great post! Love seeing all these autumny dishes in one space. Great time a year to change recipe routine with all this fresh new produce!
Cat | Curly's Cooking
I love all the comforting food that Autumn brings. Thank you for including my Teriyaki Chicken 🙂
Jacqueline Bellefontaine
Cat that look particularly yummy I hope to try it soon.
Melissa Altman-Traub
It was nice to see your harvest. What a great inspiration for baked goods.
Lesley Garden
Love your fruit harvest and very impressed with your grapes, something I'd never consider growing this far North! Lots of lovely ideas here for mid week dinners. I think top of my list is slow cooker chicken teriyaki, I'm all for any recipe that keeps things simple through the week!
Jacqueline Bellefontaine
There are some amazing wines being produced in Suffolk Im a particular fan if Flint Vineyards. They are new guys on the block and they are already scooping awards and rave reviews. (Don't suppose they will want my grapes though Ha ha)
Choclette
Love the bountifulness of autumnal food. I think I need some of Janice's sweet potato mash in my life. It looks phenomenal. Fab round up as ever and thank you for including a link to my courgette strata.
Donna
I'm always on the lookout for midweek meals, especially now the kids are back at school and life is chaos! These recipes all look great, thanks for sharing!
Jacqueline Bellefontaine
Aren't we all. It is a perennial problem so you can never have too many ideas.
Jhuls @ The Not So Creative Cook
Hi, Jacqui. I love the features this week and I love your layout for your post today. Thank you so much for hosting! I hope you are having a lovely week!
Michelle Rolfe
Some great ideas! This is definitely my favourite time of year (I think I say that every season) so maybe it the changing seasons I love. Comfy jumpers, warm food and a great harvest of fruit and veggies. Whats not to love! Cheers, Michelle x
Jacqueline Bellefontaine
I'm the same the next season is always the best until its almost over then it is time to look forward to the next. They all bring their own joys (and negatives) so lets celebrate the joys.
Kate - Gluten Free Alchemist
I think the apple trees everywhere have suffered this year. And all the plums seemed to be riddled with maggotty things.
Your plum cake looked beautiful though. xx
Jacqueline Bellefontaine
My neighbour had problems with Maggots in their plums but my tree was fine. It just suffers a bit because it is in a very exposed position but this year was spared in spring but hit by the unseasonal high winds in August. I wasn't expecting the very green underripe plums to ripen so I thought I had lost half my crop.
Corina Blum
It's definitely the weather for these autumnal meals now! I'd especially love Chloe's chicken and butternut korma.