Autumn love

Now that's a cheering sight on a cold morning! Beautiful fresh veggies that were in the ground this time yesterday, a rainbow of goodness defiantly standing out against the greyness of the sky.

And this is what attracted me back to the market after a long leave of absence. Apples! I will go miles for a good English apple in season, and the varieties you get at the market are very hard to beat.  Favourites so far are Laxton Superb and Cox's Orange Pippin.  I love mixing up the varieties, they are beautifully fragrant, staggeringly tasty and look pleasingly rustic in my fruit basket.

This stall just makes me want to make soup. So far, I have made 4 pans of various soups, and the novelty still hasn't worn off. I like how there is always some left for the next day, and probably still enough for lunch the next. It also inspired me to make this.

Mmm, Shepherd's pie. Is there anything better to eat in Autumn than creamy mash that has been made crispy under the grill? Not the prettiest dinner in the world, but one of the nicest. I have also been cooking with apples, mainly crumbles, I highly recommend Blenheim Orange apples for this, mixed with pears. Gorgeous.

The other lovely thing about Autumn is the cosy nights out where it's dark early, which is good excuse to light the candles. I never saw a prettier makeshift bar than this one.

Candles in glass jars, candles in old fashioned stands, candlelight making the bottles gently glow, random twigs in a plain cream jug. The shutter speed has made the barman look a bit like a luminous ghost, which I actually rather like! It was a room in North East London where the ever wonderful Matthew Robins was recording his new album. It is called Noah's Ark and will be an absolute cracker, I love that they recorded it in front of a live audience. He's definitely worth checking out at the Barbican this Christmas and is also doing the puppets for Katie Mitchell's Beauty and the Beast at the National Theatre, which should be pretty intriguing.

Love the mirror balls too. They go nicely with my other musical love affair of the moment, which is this.
Click there, get lost, and feel like dancing round your room. Seriously, I love it!

Consider Autumn well and truly embraced.