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As mentioned in Day 41 of The Challenge Vegetables stewed with prunes and warm (rather than hot) spices served over couscous. What better for a rainy autumn afternoon? Especially not knowing how well the friend coming to lunch tolerates spice... Ingredients: 3 red onions, chopped 2 tomatoes , diced 3 carrots, chopped Half a head of garlic, sliced 6 celery sticks, chopped 400g chickpeas 400ml vegetable broth 1/2 c tomato passata 100 g prunes, pitted and chopped (or apricots could work) 1 cinnamon stick 1/2 tsp ground cumin 2 tsp tandoori powder (I like the light heat and the warmth of this spice, but you can use paprika if you'd rather) 1 tsp of Aloha Spiced Cacao (or cocoa powder) 3 tsp urfa biber or chilli flakes Salt and pepper to taste 1) Put a heavy oven proof dish in the oven without its lid, and heat to 180°C. 2) Chop your veg and add to the preheated dish. Add spices and stock, replace in the oven and allow to cook 1 - 1 1/4 hours until vegetables are almost tender (I like the carrots and celery to have a little bite left) and flavours have blended. Taste test and serve over couscous. Super simple, tasty and easily adapted to different veg, chicken or different levels of spice. It diffuses a lovely smell through the house, and on a cold afternoon warms you from the inside.

As mentioned in Day 42 of The Challenge I love chestnuts and always have. They are a marker of the season. I used to only get them at Christmas markets in little paper cones, roasted and so hot that you burn your fingers trying to peel them. And then I discovered that you could buy them and roast them at home, and even cook with them. It isn't quite chestnut season yet, although it was last week in the southern part of the country and it got me hankering for some chestnuts. This is a soup that I first tried out of my Taste of Portugal cookbook by Edite Viera, and then at a friends' place for a St Martin's Day dinner, and I loved it. The recipe from my cookbook I found at once too bland and starchy though, so I have played around since, and was very happy with today's soup! Ingredients: 1 Tbsp olive oil 1 red onion, chopped 1 white onion, chopped 2 carrots, chopped 1 celery stick, chopped Half a head of garlic, chopped 750g chestnuts (as they aren't quite in season yet, I used frozen ones) 1 tsp thyme 1 c chicken stock 2 c milk 1/2 c lemon juice 1 tsp urfa biber per bowl chives for sprinkling Salt and pepper to taste 1) Sauté onions briefly in oil in a soup pot. Add other veg and sauté for a few minutes more, allowing the veg to char a little. 2) Add a small amount of water (approximately 1/2c) and add the chestnuts. I allowed them to cook like this in the water until it had cooked off then, waited a few minutes before adding more liquid. This allowed the chestnuts to roast a little, releasing a delicious flavour reminiscent of cold hands and paper cones in Christmas markets. 3) Add thyme and salt and pepper, stir then add the stock and milk. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 30 minutes. 4) When the vegetables and chestnuts are tender, blend until smooth and velvety. Add the lemon juice and dish into bowls, garnishing with chives and urfa. This soup is silky smooth and velvety. It had just the right starch and sweetness, balanced by the deeper notes of the garlic and urfa and rounded out by the veg and the lemon juice. It is filling, so if you plan on serving this as a starter, ladle up small portions or people won't be hungry for the next course! Perfect as a lunch though. It pairs well with crispy bacon crumbled over the top or with bread on the side, but works perfectly well without either.

As mentioned in Day 40 of The Challenge This was an experiment. We have made the bloomer before, but as it requires you to roll out the dough into a rectangle the roll it up into a loaf, we decided to try it with nettle pesto spread on it. With black sesame seeds sprinkled on top it was a tasty snack but might need some tweaking. Certainly an idea to pursue though. Ingredients: 6 c flour 15 g cake of yeast 1 tsp sugar 1 1/5 -2 c lukewarm water 1/2 c pesto/nettle pesto 2 tsp salt water 2 tsp black sesame seeds 1) Dissolve yeast and sugar in the lukewarm water. Place flour in a bowl and make a well in it. Pour in the yeast and water mixture and gradually incorporate the flour into it. 2) Knead the dough for about 10 minutes to form a smooth elastic but heavy dough. Leave to rise covered with oiled cling film in a warm place for 4-5hours or until doubled in size. 3) Knock back and then knead for 5 minutes then leave to rise for 2 hours again, until doubled in size again. 4) Knead briefly, then roll out into a rectangular sheet about 1/2 cm thick. spread pesto on it up to 3 cm from the edge, then roll into a loaf. Preheat the oven to 230°C. 5) Leave to rise again for a half hour, and then seal the edges. Brush the top of the loaf with salt water and sprinkle the sesame seeds over the top. Cut slashes into the top of the loaf. 6) Bake the loaf on an oiled baking tray for 25 minutes then lower the temperature to 200°C and bake for a further 20 minutes. This was tasty, and an interesting idea, but the nettle pesto had too strong a flavour for the bread. It was better once the bread had cooled and the pesto's flavour had mellowed. The bread itself is tasty, but the pesto spread idea needs tweaking. Maybe a regular basil pesto, or a red pesto? PS: We used some of this loaf to make a savoury pesto bloomer French toast for dinner with kale and onion salad and some cheese and it worked surprisingly well. I do recommend trying this. This was the first time I've made a savoury French toast, but I will do so again! We had it with various condiments, both sweet and savoury, ranging from maple syrup and rhubarb jam to BBQ sauce and mustard, and they all worked delightfully well. If you try the bloomer, I do recommend trying out the French toast as well!

As mentioned in Day 39 of The Challenge We haven't had this one in a while, but the local farmer we frequent had beets again so with autumn cool coming on, this was the perfect choice. Ingredients: 4 large beets, chopped 3 carrots, chopped 2 onions, chopped 3 potatoes, chopped 1 tbsp olive oil 1 litre of beef stock 1 c apple cider vinegar 2 tsp thyme salt and pepper to taste 1-2 tsp sour cream per serving 1) Heat oil in a large soup pot and sauté onions until translucent. Add carrots, potatoes and beets. Stir allowing them to sauté for about 5 minutes. 2) Pour in broth and cider, just to a little over the level of the vegetables and add seasoning. 3) Simmer until the root vegetables are tender, then blend to desired smoothness. i like it almost fully blended, but it is also good chunky. 4) Taste test and adjust vinegar or seasoning. Serve hot with a dollop of sour cream. Not too heavy, but warming and autumnal, with a rich colour and rich flavour highlighted by a vinegary tang, I love borscht.

As mentioned in Day 38 of The Challenge This can be vegetarian, as this was, or with ham and bacon, but either way it's tasty and satisfying, while also being easy and quick to assemble. Ingredients: 2 c peas 1 tbsp olive oil 2 onions, chopped 4 potatoes, chopped 2 carrots chopped. 2 tbsp lemon Salt and pepper to taste 1) Sauté onions in oil in a saucepan. Add potatoes and carrots and sauté for a minute longer, then add the peas and enough water to cover the veg. 2) Bring to a simmer and cook until the potatoes and carrots are tender. Blitz to desired smoothness. 3) Serve into bowls and drizzle the lemon juice over the top and season as desired. Simple and satisfying especially served with crusty bread and some cheese.

As mentioned in Day 39 of The Challenge Pancakes are an easy classic. For whatever reason we decided to have pancakes and bacon for dinner, but to give it a veneer of respectability we made the apple cinnamon pancakes. Ingredients: 1 1/2 c flour 2 1/2 tsp baking powder 3 tbsp sugar 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon 3 tbsp melted butter 2 eggs 3/4 - 1 c milk 1 apple, grated 1) Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl, then add wet ingredients one by one, mixing after each addition. 2) Melt butter in a heavy bottomed skillet, and drop a large spoonful of batter into the skillet. Wait until the bubbles have come to the top of each pancake and popped, then flip them. When the second side is golden brown, serve up. We had ours with bacon and maple syrup, quark and cinnamon sugar, and a fresh cheese on the side. I've never tried this before, and was happy with how they turned out. I highly recommend trying these, both with the apple and with the cheese, but step up the amount of apple. It was more prominent in the batter than in the cooked pancakes. It made a tasty, very adult dinner.

As mentioned in Day 40 of The Challenge I love making my own pasta. My pasta maker is one of my favourite kitchen toys. I started making fresh pasta a few years ago with my dad, for lasagne or carbonara or ravioli. I got my pasta maker as a house warming gift and love pulling it out. For a long time I stuck with traditional fresh pasta, made with flour and eggs, then last year I started replacing the eggs with different vegetables. It gives the pasta a cool colour, and impregnates it with flavour without losing any of the richness. It works with pumpkin, carrot, beet, sweet potato, each with its own profile and different sauces or dishes to match them to. Some work better than others for the texture, so sometimes, the addition of one egg is necessary. Seeing as it's pumpkin season, I decided to use some roasted pumpkin for the pasta. I only started using nettles this year. I've heard for years about how good it is nutritionally, and it grows all over around here. I've been curious, but only got around to it this summer. I made the pesto earlier this summer and froze the extra, so for yesterday's dinner we made the pasta and simply heated up the pesto, sautéing it with onions before mixing it with the fresh pasta. Skip the parmesan to make this recipe vegan. Ingredients: Pumpkin pasta: 1 1/2 - 2 c roasted pumpkin, mashed 3-4c flour 1 1/2 tsp sage Salt and pepper to taste Nettle pesto: 4-5 c nettle leaves, de-stalked and washed ( I recommend gardening gloves!) 1 head of garlic, peeled and crushed 1 tsp olive oil 1/2 cup walnuts 1/2 c olive oil 1/2 c parmesan (for this one I added 1/2 c roasted beetroot, but it is just as good without). 1 tbsp olive oil 2 onions, chopped Parmesan for grating 1) Put flour in a bowl and create a well in the centre. Put the pumpkin in the well and gradually mix the flour into the pumpkin to create a soft, elastic dough. Knead in crushed sage and salt and pepper to taste. 2)Dump it out onto a clean, floured surface and knead for a few minutes. Make sure it isn't too sticky as otherwise it will gum up the pasta maker, or it will get sticky when cooked. If it seems to sticky, knead extra flour into it. (If you don't like all the kneading make sure the dough is floured on the outside and pass it through the first setting of the pasta maker a few times. It will work the dough for you.) 3) Once the dough is ready, cut off a piece the size of half a fist and pass it through successively higher settings on the pasta maker. Different machines have different settings, but just to give you an idea, I stopped at setting 5 for this one - thick enough to have some bite, thin enough to be delicate and not clumpy. 4) Once you have it to the desired thickness, pass your sheet of dough through the fettuccine cutter and the hang to dry on a pasta tree, rack or the back of a chair. Just make sure the surface is clean and that the pasta won't stick. At this point you have the option to dry the pasta completely and store it, or to cook it right away and have fresh pasta. 5) To cook the fresh pasta, bring a pot of water to the boil. Put pasta into the water a couple of portions at a time. Cook for a couple of minutes and drain the pasta. Be careful! Fresh pasta cooks much faster than dried, so it won't take long. An extra 30s and you will be eating mush. 6) Meanwhile for the pesto, heat 1 tbsp of oil in a frying pan. Sauté the garlic and add the nettles. Traditionally the garlic is left raw, and you can for this too, but I like the softened sweeter flavour of the garlic to contrast with the nutty flavour of the nettles. To not be stung by nettles they need to be either steamed or sautéed, so I figure, kill two birds with one stone. 7) When the nettles are wilted, tip them and the other ingredients into a blender or a mortar and pestle and grind until it forms a smooth paste. Taste and adjust any seasoning. 8) Sauté the onion in a large pan, and then add the pesto to it to warm. Add the cooked pasta, and if it looks dry, a couple of spoons of the pasta cooking water. Grate cheese over the top, salt and pepper to taste, and serve! This came out beautifully! possibly some of the best pasta I've made. It was almost better without the pesto, just with butter, much as I like this pesto. It is a little labour intensive, but it is a labour I love and truly enjoy, especially with a buddy. The turning certainly provided a show during Little Bit's dinner! In case you want to try making these but don't have a pasta machine or pasta tree click on the links to get one of your own! As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Day 37 of The Challenge (I lied. We cooked tonight rather than eating leftovers before leaving on our trip). We roasted the last of our Georgia candy roaster pumpkin this evening, and had 250g of chanterelles left. It was either pumpkin pasta with a mushroom sauce or risotto. We opted for the risotto, and the pumpkin pasta will have to wait (although not to long. I do so love it and it had been a little while since I pulled out my pasta maker). This was creamy and filling (and orange) and very tasty. Ingredients: 250 g of Arborio rice 1 1/2 c roasted pumpkin in chunks 3 onions, chopped 1/2 head of garlic, peeled and chopped 250 g of chanterelles 3 tbsp olive oil 1 c of milk 1 1/2 - 2 c of water, broth or reserved mushroom water (like from prepping a chanterelle tart) 1 1/2 tsp sumac 1 tbsp lime juice 2 tsp thyme 1 tsp sage 1 tsp urfa biber (Turkish black chilli pepper) salt and pepper to taste Parmesan for sprinkling 1) Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a frying pan and sauté onions. When they go translucent and then begin to char a little on the bottom, add in the garlic and then keep them moving. 2) Heat the rest of the olive oil in a saucepan and add the rice. Stir until translucent then add the water/mushroom water/broth. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is absorbed. Add milk and stir. 3) Once garlic is soft, add the chanterelles, the thyme and the sage and lower the heat. Cook gently, allowing the mushrooms to give off their liquid. 4) As the rice cooks and absorbs the liquid, add the pumpkin and stir. Add sumac, and once the milk is absorbed, add lime juice and urfa biber. 5) When the rice has thickened and cooked, add the mushrooms and onions to the rice and mix. Salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle desired parmesan over the top. Super tasty. I love making risotto and find them relatively quick and easy once you figure them out. They are endlessly adaptable too. The flavours played off each other beautifully in this tonight. It would have worked with bacon, but I wouldn't go so far as to say that it lost out by not having any.

As mentioned in Day 35 of The Challenge This is a recipe which I very much enjoy, but full disclosure here, it isn't mine, it is my husband's. I had never had it before moving in with him, and he has developed and tweaked it and made it truly his own in the years since. I am always delighted when he decides to make it again, and it is too good not to share. As with almost everything I make (I seem to say this a lot), it is endlessly variable, with different vegetables being able to be included or substituted. Here's the one he made me this time, so moreish just before a night shift, I ended up not wanting my midnight lunch. Ingredients: 500g long grain rice (we used a wild rice mix) 500g kidney beans, cooked (or others of your choice. Traditionally it would be with black eyed peas, but those are hard to obtain here) 200g bacon cut into chunks 200 g cabbage chopped 2-3 chillies, sliced 3 onions, chopped 2 carrots, chopped 2 tsp chilli powder 1 tbsp olive oil Salt and pepper to taste 1) Fry onions in olive oil in a pan until translucent. Add bacon and stir. Once bacon starts to give off juices, add cabbage and carrot. Add any other herby notes here if you so desire. 2) Cook rice as per instructions. Reserve any cooking liquid from the beans and the rice. 3) Once the rice is cooked, add it to the bacon and veg mix with beans. Add any reserved liquid or about 1/2 c of water and stir. 4) Simmer and spice to taste. Serve hot. Very simple, minimal dishes but very versatile, tasty and filling.

As mentioned in Day 18 of The Challenge As it was plum season, we somehow managed to buy several kilos of plums in a very short time period. In addition to eating them plain, they made their way into a variety of dishes. The plum jam was one batch, then the next day, starting with plums, apples and ginger in one pot, I split the jam and the chutney into 2 separate batches after passing it through the food mill. Play around with the sugar and spicing. I like my jam more fruity and less sweet. The compromise there though is that then it may be a little runnier, but I'll take it. If you like your jam sweeter or more gelled, add more sugar. Boiling for longer will also firm up the jam a little. Just be careful you don't boil it too long! One batch of marmalade I made a few years ago ended up a bit caramelised as the door bell rang just before it was ready. Plum Jam Ingredients: 2 kg of plums, halved and pitted 750g sugar 2 tbsp dried orange peel 1 cinnamon stick 2 tsp ground cloves 2 c water 1) Place plums in a heavy bottomed pan. Add water and bring to a simmer. Stir in other ingredients. Put a saucer in the freezer. 2) Stir occasionally to prevent the jam from sticking. As it thickens you'll need to stir more consistently. 3) Taste test to check for sugar and spicing. I go light on sugar, you might want to use more. 4) Drop some of the hot jam on the saucer from the freezer. If after a minute if starts to solidify and the top wrinkles and pulls tight, it should gel nicely once cool. If not, then boil it a bit longer or add sugar (or both). 5) To sterilize jars: boil clean jars and their lids for at least 15 minutes. Fill them with the boiling jam immediately on removing them from the boiling water (canning tongs make this so much easier and makes it less likely that you'll burn yourself, but you can do it with a spoon or a spatula and a dish cloth). Fill to just below the rim, wipe the grooves clean and screw the lid on tight. As the jars and contents cool, the centre of the lid should be sucked down and the jars will be sealed properly. Place the jars upside down on a clean cloth. Label when cool. (The part about putting them upside down is from my German Oma, I don't know what's behind it but it works. ) Plum and Apple Jam: Ingredients: 1 kg of plums 3 apples 1 large knob of ginger, peeled and minced or cut into julienne strips 4 cloves (2 tsp of ground cinnamon or 1 cinnamon stick. I didn't as I wanted this jam sufficiently different from the plum jam I had made the day before, but it works both ways) 500 g brown sugar 1) Place plums and apples in a heavy bottomed pan. Add water and bring to a simmer. Put a saucer in the freezer. 2) Stir occasionally to prevent the jam from sticking. As it thickens you'll need to stir more consistently. 3) Once the apples are soft, strain the jam through a food mill or push through a strainer. You can then either keep the skins and the pulp, as I did, or toss it and have jelly instead. Personally, I like the bits. 4) Stir in other ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes. Taste test to check for sugar and spicing (I tend to go easy on the sugar, so you might want to use more.) 5) Drop some of the hot jam on the saucer from the freezer. If after a minute if starts to solidify and the top wrinkles and pulls tight, it should gel nicely once cool. If not, then boil it a bit longer or add sugar (or both). 6) To sterilize jars: boil clean jars and their lids for at least 15 minutes. Fill them with the boiling jam immediately on removing them from the boiling water (canning tongs make this so much easier and makes it less likely that you'll burn yourself, but you can do it with a spoon or a spatula and a dish cloth). Fill to just below the rim, wipe the grooves clean and screw the lid on tight. As the jars and contents cool, the centre of the lid should be sucked down and the jars will be sealed properly. Place the jars upside down on a clean cloth. Label when cool. (The part about putting them upside down is from my German Oma, I don't know what's behind it but it works.) Plum and Apple Chutney: Ingredients: 1 kg of plums 3 apples 1 large knob of ginger, peeled and minced or cut into julienne strips 2 red onions, minced 2 red chillies 1/2 c apple cider vinegar 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar 1 c brown sugar 1) Place plums and apples in a heavy bottomed pan. Add water and bring to a simmer. Put a saucer in the freezer. 2) Stir occasionally to prevent the jam from sticking. As it thickens you'll need to stir more consistently. 3) Once the apples are soft, strain the jam through a food mill or push through a strainer. Add the pulp and the peels to the strained fruit. 4) Stir in other ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes. Taste test to check for sugar and spicing. 5) Drop some of the hot chutney on the saucer from the freezer. If after a minute if starts to solidify and the top wrinkles and pulls tight, it should gel nicely once cool. If not, then boil it a bit longer or add sugar (or both). 6) To sterilize jars: boil clean jars and their lids for at least 15 minutes. Fill them with the boiling chutney immediately on removing them from the boiling water (canning tongs make this so much easier and makes it less likely that you'll burn yourself, but you can do it with a spoon or a spatula and a dish cloth). Fill to just below the rim, wipe the grooves clean and screw the lid on tight. As the jars and contents cool, the centre of the lid should be sucked down and the jars will be sealed properly. Place the jars upside down on a clean cloth. Label when cool. (The part about putting them upside down is from my German Oma, I don't know what's behind it but it works.) In my experience, these keep for several years if properly sealed. These batches all came out very well. My husband swore that each successive one was the best I'd ever made and then declared that he couldn't choose a winner. We always have far too much jam as I can't resist buying home-made jam at farmstalls, and I make some every year, but it is like money in the bank. With jam in the cupboard, breakfasts are safe for a while to come! Jam is so tasty stirred into porridge, spread on bread, waffles, pancakes or used in cooking... I'm also enjoying taking advantage of fruits in season as the appear.