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I started making my own apple pectin last year, and have used it a couple of times for jellies (like my Lemon and Ginger Chilli Jelly). Apple pectin is entirely naturally occurring in apples, and in the presence of sugar, it helps gel things. I wondered if it would be possible to use pectin instead of gelatine in other things, like Panna Cotta. I do like panna cotta and like playing around with flavours for it occasionally (like my lemon-topped one, or my savoury lemongrass and coconut one!). I was a little worried that the pectin would both flavour and colour the panna cotta as it is a pink colour. As for the flavour, I decided to run with it and pair it with applesauce. The idea has been bouncing around for a little while and I finally decided to try it. Recipe Cook time: 20-30 minutes + chill time 4 hours to overnight -- Portions: 4 -- Difficulty: Easy Ingredients: 2c cream 2 c apple pectin 3 tbsp brown sugar 1 c apple sauce 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp allspice 1) Pour cream and pectin into a saucepan and heat slowly. Stir in sugar. Bring to a slow simmer and cook for about 15 minutes. 2) Mix the cinnamon and allspice into the applesauce and spoon it into the bottom of 4 or 5 glasses. Gently pour the cream mixture over the top of the apple sauce and chill overnight in the fridge. This worked. Ish. Better than I had feared but not as well as I had hoped. I initially started with 1 c pectin, but while the cream did thicken, it didn't gel. I poured it all (apple sauce included as I couldn't seem to get just the cream) back into a saucepan, and added the third tablespoon of sugar and another cup of pectin. I cooked it again and chilled it again. This time it worked! The cream was the right consistency for panna cotta, and absolutely delicious, with little bits of apple and lots of spice caught in it. The only problem was that the cream was a solid layer on top of a layer of juice. I don't know if it was from the apple sauce or from the pectin, or a little of each, but as soon as we started eating the panna cotta, the juice seeped up and mixed with the cream, and it was all a liquidy mess. Next time, I think I need to reduce both the apple sauce and the pectin a bit further to prevent that. It was still tasty though! So very tasty! Science experiment successful though. Pectin works to gel things other than jellies, as a replacement for gelatine. With some caveats! The other issue with using homemade pectin, scientifically speaking, is that it is not going to be a uniform strength. What took 2 cups of pectin this time might take 1 1/2 or 3 next time, there is no real way to know... I guess I will just have to play that one by ear. Luckily, that is how most of my cooking happens, so I'm ok with that. Also, it didn't turn pink, but was a little coloured by the spices. I will have to try this one again, with reduced ingredients, to see how it goes then. Served in little glasses, I think this could work quite nicely as a party food!

Recipe Cook Time: approx. 1 hour -- Portions: 4-6 -- Cooking Level: Easy Ingredients: for the mayo: 1

One of the rare days we didn't have soup for lunch, it was sunny and warm in the sunshine, but there was a nip in the shade with autumn coming on. This was quick and easy to whip up when I got back from running errands, and made for a great light lunch, with enough flavour and texture but no weight. A big hit with Hubby and Little Bit! Ingredients: 1 1/4 c flour (I used about 3/4 - 1 c of white flour and the rest was home ground barley flour. It is less finely milled, but the texture was great) 1 tsp Rosemary 2 eggs 2 c milk oil for cooking For the filling: Roast pumpkin wedges Mushrooms, sautéed in butter Grated cheese Bacon bits Fresh cheese or cream cheese of some kind (I used my homemade Fromage Blanc) 1) Place flour and rosemary in a bowl and add eggs then milk gradually, beating well after each addition, forming a thin batter. 2) Heat a crêpe skillet and oil it using a cloth or paper towel. Pour about 1/2 ladle of crêpe batter in and tilt to spread it evenly over the bottom of the pan. Cook over medium-low heat until the surface becomes matte, then flip using a spatula and cook for a couple more minutes on the other side. 3) Place on a warmed plate with about 1-2 tbsp fromage blanc or other cream cheese down the centre of the crêpe and other ingredients sprinkled over it. Roll and serve. I really enjoyed this flavour combination. We happened to have left-over roast pumpkin as well as the other bits and pieces so it worked out very nicely. The bacon could be left out for any vegetarians joining in this deliciousness, too. On some of the crêpes, we also added a little of our Carrot Ketchup for a little added flavour. I also, for the sake of science, tried a sweet version, with fromage blanc, pumpkin and date syrup (although honey or molasses would work too), and it was scrumptious. We had this for lunch, but it could easily work for breakfast or dinner too!

As mentioned in Day 65 of The Challenge This is my first original cookie recipe, all my own rather than just tweaking of an original. It started because we made tollhouse cookies with butterscotch. I find those too sweet, with too high a flavour note. I, therefore, decided to make my own cookies, changing the sugar types - reducing the granulated sugar, both white and brown, and using pomegranate molasses instead. Regular molasses would also have the effect of deepening the note, but pomegranate molasses has an added acidity to it. I then added dried orange peel, dates and ground almonds. These came out quite moist and light. If you want them a bit more substantial, and closer to the texture of tollhouse cookies, add an extra 1/4 c of flour. Recipe Cook time: 30 minutes -- Difficulty: Easy Ingredients: 1 c butter, softened 1/2 c white sugar 1/2 c dark brown sugar 1/2 c ground almonds 1/3 c pomegranate molasses 1/4 c dried orange peel 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 2 eggs 1 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp cloves 2 c flour 3/4 c dates, chopped 1) Cream butter and sugar in a bowl. add almonds and pomegranate molasses and mix well. Soak orange peel in a cup of hot water. 2) Stir in wet ingredients, then gradually add dry ingredients. 3) Drain orange peel. Add date and orange peel. Drop onto greased cookie sheet by teaspoonfuls. 4) Bake at 180°C for 8-10 minutes until golden on top. Cool for a few minutes then enjoy warm! I love these and am so happy with them! I will continue to tweak and play with these a little, but these are a keeper. They are fragrant with a beautifully balanced, complex and yet delicate taste. They are moist and soft, and though sweet and overall very satisfying. The dough is less tasty to eat raw though. When baked in a slightly under-preheated oven, the bottoms caramelised a little, which quashed the orange flavour and brought out the dates. They were also tasty, but with a much less delicate and complex flavour. Swaps and substitutions: You could use fresh orange zest instead of the dried orange peel. I personally liked the chewy pieces of peel, but if you don't have any to hand, the zest will do. You could replace the pomegranate molasses with regular molasses. It will not have the same zing to it, but it would still be a balanced cookie. Try replacing the ground almond with other ground nuts to see the difference. Replace the dates with dried apricots or prunes. If you want to use prunes, alternatively, you could check out the Grapefruit and Prune Cookie recipe. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Recipe Cook Time: approx 2 hours -- Portions: 4 -- Cooking difficulty: Medium Ingredients: 3 c potatoes

I don't think I've made rösti since last year when my Non-Traditional 6 Veg Rösti was my first post on here when I started the blog. I don't know why I haven't made it since, as I do like. it. So many other things to make and to try out, I suppose. And a Challenge early on not to make the same thing twice that lasted 100 days. Anyway, looking at the contents of the fridge and trying to figure out what to make for dinner, the zucchinis and apples, as well as some left-over boiled potatoes from a raclette with friends, suggested this to me. It didn't come out perfectly in the first instance as I forgot to salt the zucchini first. This draws out the excess liquid and also leaves them less bitter. Not having done so, the dish was a little wet. In a hurry to get dinner on the table so as not to delay Little Bit's bedtime, I didn't give it as long as I normally would have done to crisp up. Don't make my mistake! Crisp it! The leftovers though, I heated in the air fryer and they were delightfully crispy. Aside from this minor setback in execution the first night, I loved the interplay of the different flavours - the sweetness to the apples, and the salty ham, and the chanterelles. All of it came together very nicely! Ingredients: 1 - 1 1/2 c boiled potatoes, coarsely grated 2 apples, coarsely grated 2 courgettes, coarsely grated 2 onions 4 tbsp olive oil 1 tomato, sliced, 1 c bacon bits or ham 2 tbsp butter or lard (I save bacon fat whenever I cook bacon) 2 c chanterelles, chopped 1 tsp rosemary 1 tsp thyme 1 c cheese, grated (I used Gruyère) salt and pepper to taste Optional: 1 fried egg per person 1) Heat oil in a frying pan and sauté onions until soft. Set aside. Fry bacon briefly until cooked through and beginning to brown. 2) Mix all ingredients except tomato and chanterelles. Place in a greased oven-proof dish or a cast-iron skillet. Arrange sliced tomato over the top. Dot with butter or lard. Bake at 200°C for 35-45 minutes until cooked through and beginning to brown. 3) Use the remaining 2 tbsp olive oil to sauté the chanterelles. Drain the excess liquid and arrange them over the top of the rosti. Serve, and place a fried egg on top of the portions for anyone wanting them (personally, that's the way to go!). I briefly placed the chanterelles on top of the rösti and popped it back in the oven, but I am not sure this added anything to the dish, so I skipped that step above. It could easily be made vegetarian or vegan by skipping the ham (tasty but non-essential) and swapping the lard for butter. I do enjoy a traditional rösti, but all too often I find it too stodgy and heavy, and just too greasy. Also, depending on where you have it, it is almost nothing but potato. I love playing around with this dish as there is so much that can be done with the basic idea, carrying the essence of the dish forward but reducing the stodge and the grease, adding different flavour notes and different colours - not to mention nutritional value! It is an endlessly adaptable dish if you allow yourself to be unbound from strict tradition...

With autumn mists and fall harvest fruits and vegetables available, I've been enjoying taking advantage as much as possible of what's on offer. Planning a white lasagna, I was excited to realise that I had part of a pumpkin that needed using and some apples in the fruit bowl. I wasn't sure how it was going to go, but seeing as everyone at the table (including someone who is not Hubby and therefore is less biased) had seconds, I thought it was probably worth posting. For this, I specially grilled a chicken in the air fryer (I love how easy that was) but normally I would have used leftover chicken from a roast dinner or something. Ingredients: 2 - 2 1/2 c chicken, shredded 3 onions (small) diced 2 apples, diced 2 c spinach or (2 cubes frozen spinach) 2 tbsp butter 1 tbsp sage 1 tsp orange peel 1 - 2 c whey 1 tsp sumac 1/4 c butter 1 zucchini, thinly sliced along its length 1 2 inch pumpkin wedge, thinly sliced 2 1/2 c ricotta 1 1/2 c parmesan, grated Lasagna sheets 1 tomato, sliced 1) In a saucepan, melt the butter then sweat the onions. Add apple, spinach, sumac, orange peel and sage and cook until apple is beginning to soften. Add chicken and enough whey to moisten but not drown the sauce. 2) Melt remaining butter. Brush an ovenproof dish and begin layering: zucchini, chicken and apple sauce, pumpkin, pasta brushed with butter, ricotta, parmesan, repeat. End on a layer of ricotta, parmesan and then sliced tomatoes. 3) Bake at 180°C for about 45minutes until a knife goes in easily and the top is golden and molten. This was really tasty, but I made it a little too wet. I have a bit of a hard time judging the right level of moistness in a white lasagna sauce. It was just right on the second go when we reheated it though! I had thought of using apple sauce in the chicken sauce instead of the whey (which, incidentally, you can replace with stock if you don't have whey lying around), but decided not to this time. I had also considered adding some warm autumnal spicing, given that I was using pumpkin and apple, but didn't. Maybe next time.

Recipe Cook time: approx 50 minutes -- Servings: 6-8 ( depending on size) -- Cooking level: Easy Ingredients

Recipe Cook time: approx. 50 minutes -- Portions: 6 -- Difficulty: Easy Ingredients: 2 sweet potatoes

I am afraid that with night shifts and a teething toddler (how many molars does one kid need?!)