In season ... October

Tantalising Halloween Food!

This issue of Local Food and Drink’s ‘In Season’ online focuses on all things Halloween – being October and all. Our writer Laura always has a Halloween themed Birthday party due to her birthday being on 28th October. So Happy Birthday Laura! (We won’t say how old you are, don’t worry.)

In Britain many people are increasingly going to Halloween parties and wear spooky costumes. A traditional English Halloween supper is "Mash o' Nine Sorts." The classic Halloween vegetable soup consists of potatoes, carrots, turnip, parsnip, leek, peas and cream. It is a Halloween custom to serve the soup to unmarried guests with a ring hidden inside. Whoever finds it will be married next. To try this recipe yourself this Halloween click here.

Halloween cakes and Toffee apples are extremely popular Halloween sweets. Toffee apples are apples with a thin layer of hard toffee. They are fixed on a stick. To make your own Toffee apples (but hopefully not have to visit a dentist afterwards) click here.

The traditional Halloween cakes are based on a recipe from the North of England. In the North the 31 October is also known as ‘Cake Day’. For some Halloween cake goodness click here.

Pumpkins – how could we forget them at this time of year!? We have tried to grow our own pumpkins in the Local Food and Drink garden – however it didn’t go too well. They are only just flowering and the pumpkins are about 10cm long by 3cm wide....looking more like lemons.

If you have had more success (or bought some) then why not crave them up for Halloween – using the insides for a tasty soup or other pumpkin greatness. Click here to Pumpkin Carving 101. Then use the insides for one of these tasty pumpkin treats – click here for pumpkin recipes galore.

Have a great October and
enjoy Halloween.

In Season .... September

In season ... September
Eating seasonally means eating food that is at its peak in terms of flavour and nutritional content, while at the same time cutting down on those food miles. Each month, Local Food and Drink brings you a guide to what's in season. The emphasis is on fresh and locally produced food and drink. September ... jam making anyone !? Plums Plums should be plump, smooth and well coloured. Ripe plums yield to gentle pressure and have an inviting aroma. Firmer plums will ripen and soften at home. If you are going to be using plums in cooking, choose ones that are just on the firm side of ripe. Keep unripe plums at room temperature to ripen. Ripe plums can be refrigerated for a few days (allow them to reach room temperature before eating). Plums freeze well; halve and remove the stones first to prevent the flavour from being impaired. Plums should be washed before use. The skin is generally sharper than the flesh and it is often best to leave it on but, for a mellower, sweeter flavour, plums can be easily skinned as you would a tomato (cut a small cross in the skin and blanch in boiling water for 10 seconds before peeling). Roasting, stewing or poaching are all excellent cooking methods. Why not try this wonderfully moist fresh plum cake recipe? Click here Blackberries Blackberries are a rich source of Vitamin C, which helps to boost the immune system and fight off the onset of winter infections and colds. A useful source of dietary fibre, blackberries can help to lower cholesterol. Blackberries are ready to eat when they become dark and plump. Use straightaway as they only keep for a short time. Use blackberries in pies, crumbles and puddings or sit with a bowl in the evenings to satisfy a sweet tooth. Blackberries can be preserved to into jelly or jam. Read on for information on jam making. Venison Much of the venison produced in the UK is from deer that roam freely, rather than being intensively farmed, resulting in superior meat. Good quality venison is tender, tasty and close textured, which means it's easy to produce great results using simple recipes. Go for park (free-range) or wild venison over farmed. The strength of flavour and fat content in venison can vary quite a bit between sources so buying from a farmers' market or trusted butcher will enable you to ask what to expect and pick up cooking tips. Cook venison as you would beef. It is best to compensate for the lower fat content, for example by using moist-cooking methods, by barding or by marinating before cooking. Try this quick-cooked venison with lime and fennel recipe – click here. Perfect preserving September is the perfect time for preserving any glut or windfall of summer fruits. Click here for all you need to know and get started with preserving!