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As mentioned in Day 18 of The Challenge As previously mentioned, it is plum season. We spent a couple of days making two types of plum jam and a plum and apple chutney, so we decided to use the immature chutney to marinate a couple of pork chops, which we then slow roasted over veg. Served with its veg and juices, with a cider on the side it was beautiful. Ingredients: 2 pork chops 4 carrots, sliced 3 potatoes, in chunks 2 red onions, chopped 1 apple, chopped 8 plums, chopped 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar 2 tsp cooking sake 1 red chilli, chopped 4 big cabbage leaves 2 tsp black sesame seeds 1) Line a deep oven proof dish with the cabbage leaves. Add potatoes, onions and carrot to the dish, reserving 1/2 onion. Place pork chops over the top. 2) Stew plums and apples in a small amount of water. Add sake and rice wine vinegar, chilli and the remaining half onion. 3) Spoon the plum and apple over the pork. Sprinkle the sesame seeds over the top. 4) Roast covered at 150°C for 2 hours, then uncover for the last 20 minutes. Serve with crusty bread for the juices. We were very happy with this. No tweaks! The pork was tender, the veg absorbed the flavours and juices. Extra juices are great mopped up, or save them for a risotto!

So I have this habit of taking traditional things and doing my own take, usually the same but just with more veg, and all from scratch , no tins or boxes allowed except tomatoes or tuna. This was similar. A creamy pasta sauce, but replacing some of the cream or milk with pumpkin purée, and a dash of vinegar. Super tasty, lighter than the regular version, but smooth and velvety, bursting with flavour. We spiced it differently to normal, of course, and added veg. It would have been beautiful with bacon and parmesan too, or other veg like asparagus, courgette, aubergine etc., but was still excellent without. Ingredients: 250 g pasta 2 TBSP butter 2 TBSP flour 3/4 c milk, warm 1/2 c pumpkin purée 1 TBSP balsamic vinegar 1/4 c white cooking wine 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp nutmeg 1/2 tsp cloves 1 tsp cayenne 3 red onions diced half a head of garlic, minced 2 peppers, 1 red 1 yellow, diced Black pepper to taste 1 TBSP olive oil 1) Cook pasta according to instructions. 2)Make a roux with the butter, flour and milk: melt butter in a saucepan. Add flour and stir it in until it forms a uniform mass. Add the milk a little at a time, stirring after each addition to avoid lumps. Add the pumpkin purée, spices, wine and balsamic adjusting quantities to taste and consistency. Stir, pepper, set aside. 3) Heat oil in a pan. Sauté veg in the olive oil. 4) Toss pasta and veg together, pour sauce over it, and serve. Optional cheese to grate over the top. Filling and tasty, velvety but with a bit of a tang to bring all the flavours out. It is an incredibly chameleon-like meal, able to shift to fit the mood, your fridge, tastes or dietary requirements. I hope you enjoy! Note: When in doubt as to how to make flat flavours pop more, add acid not salt. Vinegar, lime or lemon juice or wine depending on what it is.

Do feel free to adjust this and the sugar to suit your tastes.) 2 tbsp of orange zest 2 egg yolks 6 egg

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!

The Proto-Pesto then went in the freezer to await the end of the festive season, with all its traditional

This is a dish that was inspired by something similar-ish we had on our trip to Ticino in the autumn. It was creamy and sweet yet savoury. I wanted to recreate that and so made it up as I went along and am very happy with how it came out! I had whey left over from making ricotta (that I used in the White Lasagne) so I used that as the cooking liquid. Whey itself is salted and a little acidic while also still being dairy, so it brought some of all of that to the dish. It was less creamy and rich than making risotto with milk (which was desirable, given the caramel chestnuts), and less acidic than using white wine, and less salty than store bought stock. Instead it brought a lovely balance of all these flavours. If you don't happen to have extra whey on hand, I would use some milk and maybe a dash of lemon juice at the end. Given the season, the chestnuts were frozen, but they worked well nonetheless. Ingredients: 300g Arborio rice 2 onions, chopped 1/2 head of garlic, chopped 2 tbsp olive oil 1 l whey 0,5 - 1 l water 1 tsp sumac 1 tbsp butter 1 c parmesan pepper 250g chestnuts 2 tbsp butter 1/3 c ground almonds 1/3 - 1/2 c sugar 2 tsp molasses 1 c water 1 c milk 1/4 tsp cloves 1/2 tsp ginger 1) Heat oil in a heavy bottomed saucepan and sauté onions and garlic for 3-4 minutes, then add rice. Stir until rice begins to go translucent as well. Add whey. Stir almost constantly (this is what allows the rice to release its starches, and keeps it from burning). 2) In a separate saucepan, melt the butter and stir in chestnuts, allowing them to cook through slowly for about 2 minutes, add the almonds, sugar, molasses, spices and water and cook, stirring regularly. Add milk when the caramel has started to form, and taste test for sugar. Remove from heat and cover 3) Once all the liquid is absorbed by the rice, add the water gradually, not adding more than necessary. Add sumac and pepper and stir. Once the rice is cooked and has thickened, add the butter and cheese. Stir. 4) At this point, either add the chestnuts into the risotto and stir it in, mixing thoroughly before dishing, or serve the rice and spoon chestnuts and caramel over the top. Depending on how vigorously you stir, the chestnuts might start to fall apart, but this is ok. The consensus on this from my sister, hubby, Little Bit and myself is that it was a success. I thought that the caramel chestnut concentration could be higher, and that the proportion of those could be increased by half. My sister and hubby didn't think so. Beyond this though, it was well balanced, creamy and very very tasty! I highly recommend this to anyone who can be bothered stirring a risotto and is in the mood for comfort food.

Feel free to skip the shrimp, or substitute for something else, but it was a worthy addition.

As mentioned in Day 58 of The Challenge Did I mention that it's pumpkin season? We have bought a few (I won't say too many) again. I love pumpkin soup and we have it every year. This time though, instead of the traditional creamy spicy pumpkin soup, we went for chunky with a different range of flavours, still warming, but differently so. Ingredients: 1/2 pumpkin (or 2 small ones which is what I used), chopped 2 onions, chopped 1 head of garlic, chopped 1 red pepper, chopped 2 sprigs of fresh thyme 2 sprigs of fresh oregano 1 tsp garam masala 1/2 tsp Aloha Spiced Cacao 2 tsp zathar 2 tsp urfa biber (Turkish black chili) 3 c vegetable broth 1 tbsp olive oil Salt and pepper to taste 1) Heat oil in the bottom of a pot and sauté onions until translucent. Add garlic and peppers, and cook for a couple of minutes before adding pumpkin and broth. Throw in herbs and simmer for 20 minutes. 2) Add spices and simmer for a few more minutes, then taste test and check vegetables for tenderness. Dead simple, warming and tasty. Perfect after a walk in cool autumn weather!

My second foray into using watermelon rind as an ingredient went well. I really enjoyed trying Watermelon Rind Chutney, so decided to see how it would work as a jam. The rind does have a mild flavour, but a little bit of spicing and it worked out nicely. As with the chutney I did have to partially blitz the jam as the chunks of rind did not disintegrate at all with the cooking. The watermelon rind also appears not to have any pectin so I added some home-made apple pectin to help it firm up. All in all it worked out very nicely and I am very happy with it. Ingredients: Rind of 1 medium watermelon, diced 1 1/2 c sugar 2 c apple pectin 1/2 tsp cloves 1) Place the watermelon rind pieces in a pot and cover with water. Place over medium-low heat and simmer for about an hour until the pieces of watermelon rind are tender. 2) Add other ingredients and stir. Using a hand blender, partially blitz the jam mixture to desired consistency. Taste test and cook down until thick. 3) Boil clean jars and lids for at least 15 minutes. Fill with jam while the jam is still bubbling, wipe the neck of the jar clean and seal. Place upside down to cool, sealing in the process. I am very happy with this jam, tried out on fresh home made English Muffins. The cloves added a much needed depth of flavour to the jam, and the flavour of the watermelon rind itself came through nicely. So happy to have more jam for my cupboard!