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As mentioned in Day 97 of The Challenge Happy Thanksgiving (a little belatedly)! Pumpkin pie is a staple Thanksgiving and Christmas food in my family, so even though we were unable to do a full Thanksgiving dinner on the day, we had a pie. This year though I decided to do it with a twist. For starters there is a discussion every year between my husband and I about whether we are making his family's pie or mine. They are both good. They both have definite merits, but we each favour the one we grew up with. So this year, I made a hybrid, not either properly speaking but somewhere between the two. Then, I decided that as pumpkin pie is always homogenous in texture and has quite a smooth, low note to it, I wanted to sharpen it a little with swirly of rosehip puree through it. Finally, my sister had suggested trying to change up the crust a little, using some juice or something to change the colour, so I made pomegranate and cinnamon crust. The pink colour was more striking in the raw dough, but it had a very nice flavour and played well with the rest of the flavours. Ingredients: For the crust: 1 1/2 - 2 c flour 3/4 c butter 1/3 - 1/2 c pomegranate juice 1/4 - 1/2 c milk 1 tbsp sugar 1/2 tsp cinnamon For the filling: 1 3/4 c pumpkin purée (I roasted a small pumpkin and mashed it up, skin and all - but no seeds or guts - to get the purée. Leaving the skin ultimately added some texture to the pie) 1 1/2 c evaporated milk 2 eggs 1/4 c brown sugar 1/2 c sugar 1 tsp (heaped) cinnamon 1 tsp ginger 1/4 tsp cloves A pinch of nutmeg 1 1/2 tsp orange peel 1/2 - 3/4 c rosehip purée 1) Place 1 1/2 c flour in a large bowl. Cut butter into it in small pieces and then rub the flour and butter together with finger tips until it forms a crumb like consistency. 2) Pour in the pomegranate juice and stir with a fork to form a dough. Add the sugar and cinnamon, and then as much milk as needed to bring the dough together. 3) Knead on a floured surface for a few minutes, using some of the remaining flour as necessary if the dough is too sticky. The dough should be elastic and not too heavy. Wrap in cling film and chill for at least 30 minutes, if not longer (it still works if you don't chill it, just not as well). 4) Place the pumpkin purée in a mixing bowl. Add all the other ingredients except the rosehip purée, and mix well. 5) Roll out the pie crust and line the bottom of a pie plate with it ( deeper would be better, but as seen in the pictures mine was shallow and it worked very nicely). 6) Pour pumpkin mix into the pie plate. Dollop a spoonful of the rosehips into the centre, and using the blade of a knife or a thin spatula, swirl the rosehip gradually out from the centre to form tendrils of rosehip through the pumpkin, yet with each remaining quite distinct. Repeat this several times until all the rosehip is swirled in, being careful not to scrape up the pie crust with the knife. 7) Bake at 220°C for 15 minutes the lower the oven temperature to 180°C and bake for a further 45-50 minutes. Cool well before serving. I loved this pie and thought it to be a huge success! My husband declared it to be his favourite iteration of pumpkin pie yet. This is the first pumpkin pie we have had that is better without whipped cream! The sweet pie with its deep note contrasted beautifully with the tart note of the rosehips and the sweet acidity of the orange peel against the spices. I liked this new trial crust as well, although I admit to spilling the sugar a bit so it was a bit sweet. The texture was a bit less homogenous due to the orange peel and the pumpkin peel, and to the veins of rosehip running through the pie at different levels. Love love love this pie! Please try it and let me know what you think! EDIT: I made this pie again for Thanksgiving this year. It was as big of a hit as last year, but this time I made it using cranberry juice in the crust instead, which works just as well!

Challenge update: We have reached day 100! I am calling the challenge here as I am no longer always sure what we have or haven't done on the challenge and it is making meal planning more complicated than I have the energy for just now. Also, I feel the 100 is a decent, nice round number. It is now end of November and we have officially not had the same main meal twice since mid-August. To round off this challenge, we had an old favourite that I grew up with, a Turkish meal called Imam Bayildi. Another old favourite was Bacon and lentil soup, which is dead simple but oh! so satisfying. We tried a new twist on porridge, adding persimmons to it, and trialled cauliflower steaks for the first time. I have been meaning to try these for years and am so glad that we did! American Thanksgiving fell on Day 97 of the Challenge, and while we didn't do a full Thanksgiving dinner (not living in the US we need to find another time for it), but I did try a new twist on Pumpkin pie, swirling rosehip purée through it. Another very tasty meal was beetroot pasta with broccoli sauce topped with garlic shrimp. And then finally, for Day 100, we had a roast for dinner, and I tried a new stuffing, Fenugreek Orange Stuffing, that I had the idea for ages ago and have wanted to try for a couple of months. So very tasty and a good way to round off the challenge.

As mentioned in Day 96 of The Challenge Persimmons are a new fruit for me. They are in season around now every year, and I just never picked any up until now. They are wonderful! Delicately sweet and fragrant they are tasty on their own, but they also pair nicely in sweet or savoury dishes. For this one I tried a new tweak to our morning porridge and it was a big hit with all of us! Ingredients: 1 persimmon, chopped 1/2-1 tbsp honey 1 tbsp lime /lemon juice 1 c oats 2 c milk 2 tsp dried coconut 1 tsp vanilla 1 tsp Aloha Spiced Cacao (or cinnamon/pumpkin pie spices) A handful of raisins 1) place persimmons in an oven proof dish or on a cookie sheet. Drizzle with honey and pour lime juice over the top. Roast at 180°C for 15-20 minutes. 2) Cook oats, milk, raisins and coconut in a saucepan at medium heat stirring intermittently and then consistently until they form a porridge. Portion the porridge into 2 bowls and top with the persimmons. Sprinkle with cocoa spice or other spice topping of your choice. We love this! We've tried a number of variations, including adding 1 tsp of vanilla extract to the porridge, with fenugreek seeds roasted with the persimmons, swapping out the lime or lemon juice, adding a drizzle of cream etc. It requires NO further sugar at the coconut, the persimmons and the honey make it quite sweet enough.

As mentioned in Day 87 of The Challenge Butternut and chestnut seasons intersect! This was entirely experimental. I saw the title of this recipe elsewhere but didn't look at the recipe and then couldn't remember where I had seen it, so I made it up. I had no idea how this would turn out, but it was beautiful. The balance of sweet to acid with a little spice went very nicely. Ingredients: 1 butternut squash, halved and with the seeds scooped out 500g chestnuts, parboiled and peeled 3-4 tbsp olive oil 2-4 onions chopped 1 apple, chopped 1-2 tbsp apple cider vinegar 1 tsp sumac 1/8-1/4 nutmeg 1/4 tsp cloves 1-1 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp fenugreek seeds 2-3 c chicken broth 1/3 -1/2 c cream 2 tsp thyme Salt and pepper to taste Toasted pumpkin seeds to top 1) Place butternut, chestnuts, apple in a heavy skillet or a roasting pan ( I used my cast iron skillet) and drizzle with 2-3 tbsp of olive oil and the apple cider vinegar to achieve good coverage. Sprinkle the sumac, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon and fenugreek seeds over it all and roast for 45 min-1 hour, until the butternut is tender. 2) Sauté onions in the remaining olive oil in the bottom of your soup pot until translucent and even a little charred. Add the contents of the skillet and mix it up ( the butternut should break up easily. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes, allowing the flavours to meld. 3) Blitz until smooth, then taste test, adjusting any of the spicing or the vinegar. Salt and pepper to taste, and add cream to your taste too. I do recommend some, but how much you do is up to you. Serve and sprinkle with thyme and pumpkin seeds. I absolutely loved this and I am so glad I tried it! The roasting at the start lengthened the cook time a little, but then pulling the soup bit together went really quickly, so it's six and two threes really compared to other souping. The truly lengthy bit is peeling the chestnuts if you use fresh ones, but then I find it quite zen to settle into a task like that. The other option is to use frozen ones that come pre-peeled. In any case, this soup hit all the right notes for me (and hubby and Little Bit) and I hope it does for you too.

As mentioned in Day 80 of The Challenge Quinces are something that (aside from being seasonal! I know! So many seasonal fruits and vegetables in the autumn!) I had only really encountered in jelly or in preserves until recently. And then a couple of years ago a colleague came to work with a bucket of quinces from her garden for anyone to help themselves, and so I started playing around with them. They are like fuzzy green stones, pear-shaped wannabes when they are raw. They need a bit of cooking, usually boiling (I tried roasting one and it sort of worked) to make them edible. This is the first (or one of the first) savoury things I tried with them. As with so many other recipes, it is one I had seen the title of but then lost the recipe link before reading it, so I made it up. Ingredients: 2 onions, chopped 1 tbsp olive oil 600g of carrots, chopped 1 large quince, chopped 1 tbsp honey 2 tsp sumac 1 tsp garam masala 1 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp cloves Salt and pepper to taste Herbs de Provence 1) In a soup pot, sauté onions in the olive oil until translucent. Add carrots and quince and enough water to cover it all. Add spices and honey. Simmer for 45 min or until carrots and quince are tender. 2) Blitz until smooth (or almost. Quince won't go silky smooth like some other vegetables). Taste test and salt and pepper to taste. Serve with garlic and thyme croutons. This was very tasty but my husband said he found it too earthy and sweet. Adding the herbs at the end brightened it all up though and brought the flavours into alignment. Some lemon juice might also work. Let me know what you think!

As mentioned in Day 86 of The Challenge When I was little I didn't like tapioca because it looked like (and sort of had the texture of) frogs eggs. As an adult I don't necessarily think that comparison untrue, but I have come to appreciate other aspects of it. It was a comfort food my dad made for me. It is creamy and rich and comforting. I had only ever had it plain, but had been wanting to make it, and happened to have a tub of quince slices in the syrup produced from boiling them, so I decided to combine the two and it came out quite delightfully. Ingredients: 3/4c tapioca 1 1/2 -2 c quince syrup (no added sugar, but just from cooking the quince in water) 1-1/2 c milk 1 1/2 tsp vanilla 1/2 tsp almond extract A handful of golden raisins 6-8 slices of quince 1/2 tbsp butter 2 tbsp cinnamon sugar 2 tsp ground almonds To serve: cream, brown sugar, cinnamon sugar, whatever takes your fancy. 1) Cook the tapioca and golden raisins in the quince syrup and milk, vanilla and almond extracts, stirring almost constantly, especially as it thickens, 15-20 minutes until the liquid is absorbed and the grain is cooked and tender. 2) In a small frying pan, melt the butter. Add the cinnamon sugar and cook until it melds with the butter and starts to caramelise. Add the quince slices and the almonds, stirring to coat the quince evenly in the cinnamon caramel and the almonds. 3) Spoon tapioca into small bowls and top with the quince slices. Serve with cream, brown or cinnamon sugar, cocoa spice or plain. This was exactly what I needed, traditional comfort food, but with something else to it too. The only drawback was the almond extract, which was perfect when hot, but then was a little overpowering when it cooled. If you plan to eat this cold, I would cut the almond extract in half or skip it all together.

As mentioned in Day 93 of The Challenge I saw a recipe title for pomegranate and chestnut chicken stew, but we're in lock down and I don't have pomegranates, and lost the recipe so couldn't really follow it (this seems to happen a lot...), so here is my own adaptation. It was scrumptious and I highly recommend it. The tart rosehips balance out the sweet chestnuts well, and the acidity tenderised the chicken. It was also quick to assemble. Ingredients: 2 tbsp olive oil 2 chicken legs 3 onions, thinly sliced 1 - 1 1/2 c rosehip purée (for more info on rosehips see here or here) 500g chestnuts, parboiled and peeled 1/2c pomegranate juice 2 large carrots, chopped a handful of potatoes, chopped some mushrooms, chopped 1 tsp thyme 1 tsp rosemary salt and pepper to taste 1) In a heavy bottomed pan, brown the chicken on both sides. Put the onions in around the chicken and let them cook gently with the chicken. 2) When the chicken has browned, spoon rosehip purée over the chicken, tuck other stew ingredients in around the chicken, and pour in the pomegranate juice and enough water to just cover everything. Season. 3) Bring to a simmer on the stove, then place in the oven at 180°C for about a half hour - 40 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and tender. We had this with crusty bread. The leftover sauce and juices, thickened slightly, worked well as a spaghetti sauce the next night. The flavours were well balanced and delicate yet rich. I cannot recommend this enough!

As mentioned in Day 84 of The Challenge This is one of my favourite tarts (and for any of you who've been paying attention, I make a lot of tarts). The first time I made it was just before we were going to go away on a trip for a week, so I made mini tartlets and brought them with us so as not to have the onions rot while we were away. Sitting on our (very short) flight all I could smell was the onion wafting down from the over-head compartment... Maybe not my most socially conscious move ever, but by then it was too late. Anyway, they made for a really tasty picnic lunch on our adventures and I've been making this tart, in normal or mini form, ever since. Feel free to omit the tomato or bacon, add spinach, cut the cumin and replace it with some nutmeg or add cheese. All of these options work! Ingredients: 1 pie crust (for pie crust recipe, see here) Half a dozen onions, sliced 100g bacon, sliced 2 tbsp butter 1/4 c flour (scant) 2 eggs 100ml milk 200ml cream (I don't always use cream, sometimes I do it with just milk) 1/2 - 1 tbsp cumin 1 tomato, sliced salt and pepper to taste 1) Line a pie dish with the crust and poke with a fork. 2) Melt butter in a frying pan and fry the bacon with the onions until they are translucent. 3) Mix flour, eggs, milk, cream and cumin. 4) Spread onions and bacon on the pie base. Pour the egg and milk mix evenly over the onions. Place tomatoes on top. Salt and pepper to taste. 5) Bake at 190°C for 25-30 minutes. Serve hot or cold, as a main or a side. It holds its own either way, and I love it! Great finger food for little bit too!

As mentioned in Day 91 of The Challenge We first discovered this in out Taste of Persia cookbook by Naomi Duguid a few years ago, but it has since made it into our repertoire. I make it with all sorts of different ingredients, switching up both the toppings and the herbs which are mixed into the yogurt. In this iteration we used thyme, but I like it with mint too, or a mix or herbs. It is also topped nicely by some sumac in addition to the herbs. The topping used here was beets, but carrots, spinach or other vegetables work too. Sometimes I crispy fry the onions instead of sautéing them, thus adding another layer of texturing. Really, this is one you can play around with and make your own. As with many of the recipes I've adopted over the years, it started out Persian, but I don't know how recgonisable it would still be to a Persian. That doesn't stop it being good though! Ingredients: 1 large beet, chopped 1 kg Greek Yogurt 2 tsp thyme A pinch of salt pepper to taste 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil 1 onion, chopped A handful of almonds 1) Drain the yogurt through a cheese cloth for at least an hour. Mix with thyme, 1 tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper. 2) Roast the beets at 180°C for 20-30 minutes until tender. Dry toast almonds in a pan until lightly browned. Sauté onion in remaining olive oil until translucent. 3) Spoon thickened, seasoned yogurt into two bowls and top each with the beets, onions and almonds. Serve. It is as simple as that. It is a beautifully simple lunch, very satisfying, light and yet filling. I love this and only don't have it more often because I am too lazy to think ahead and drain the yogurt sometimes...

As mentioned on Day 79 of The Challenge Fondue is traditional here, and as old as our dear Alps. There are many different ways of making, from varying the cheeses and number of cheeses, to changing the cooking liquid - wine, cider, beer, water - or adding other ingredients - herbs, saffron, truffles, tomatoes. This is my favourite variant, pretty much the one I learnt from my father. I always make my in a cast iron enamelled caquelon as is traditional here. Always drink something either hot or acidic and non-carbonated -wine, juice, tea, NOT coke or water- with a fondue to avoid a stomach ache. As for what to dip, whatever takes your fancy and goes well with cheese. Traditionally, it tends to be bread, potatoes and pickles, but nowadays anything goes. We tend to also dip apples, charcuterie, tomatoes and onions. I have friends who dip pineapple as well. The choice is yours! Calculate about 150-250g of cheese per person (take into account who you are cooking for and what kind of appetites they have). I usually split the difference and make it about 200g per person. I make my fondue with local Swiss cheeses as much as possible, but when living in the UK I did make some half-way decent fondues with cheddars. The trick really is to balance mature and creamy cheeses to get the right texture and taste. And as with any recipe, taste and tweak as needed to suit your preferences. And for anyone not aware of the rules, it a man drops his dippable in the fondue, he buys the next bottle of wine, if a woman drops hers, she owes each of the men at the table a kiss on the cheek. Ingredients (for a 3 person fondue): 3 cloves of garlic 200g Gryuère, grated 200g Appenzeller, grated 200g Vacherin Fribourgeois, grated 1 -1 1/2 tbsp corn starch 1 1/2 -2 c white cooking wine (to be adjusted as needed) a shot of Kirsch Pepper (lots and lots of pepper) For dipping (your cubes need to be pretty big, about 2-2.5 cm): Crusty bread (eg baguette), half a loaf, cubed with a bit of crust on each cube 1 apple, cubed 300-500g of baby potatoes, boiled until al-dente (they need to be cooked, but not fall apart when you stab them) 1 onion, cut into eighths to make large sections for dipping charcuterie of your choice pickles Methylated spirits -(the kind you would take camping) for the flame under the caquelon - sterno gel does not burn hot enough. 1) Using your hands, mix your cheeses and corn starch thoroughly. To a certain extent, how much corn starch to use needs to be gauged by feel. The cheese needs to be coated but not feel gritty. Add a little more if it seems necessary. 2)Using your thumb or the heel of your hand, crush the garlic in the bottom of the caquelon and rub the bottom and sides of the pot all over with it. Most recipes then tell you to discard the garlic, and I suppose that if you are allergic to it that is what you should do, but as a normal human, I recommend leaving it in. The garlic cooking in the cheese magma is beautiful when you happen across it and a real treat! 3) Light your methylated spirits (being careful not to light the table on fire as you do so) and place the caquelon over the flame. Pour about half the wine into the caquelon and allow it to heat gently over the flame. Once it is a little warmed, add the cheese in handfuls, stirring well. 4) Add the kirsch, and pepper generously. Stir with a wooden spoon in a figure of 8, making sure to stir the bottom of the pot as well. As the cheese melts, add the rest of the wine. Make sure not to add too much though as you don't want it swimming. You want just enough for the cheese to melt smoothly. When it is ready, it is ready NOW. Don't let it sit as it will burn on the bottom. Dip any combination of dippables you want, and enjoy. (Tip: the bread is less likely to fall off the fork if you stab in crust last onto your fork). When all the cheese is gone, scrape up the crispy bit on the bottom, the religieuse, and share it out. It is arguably the best bit! EDIT: We have recently started dipping lightly steamed broccoli. Not what you might call traditional, but it works!