The lush green of summer has turned to yellow, orange and brown, the spice jars are down from the shelf, the deep casseroles and baking dishes have come out to play Nigel Slater
One of the good things about autumn is the produce: apples, pears and feijoas, pumpkins, leafy greens and the start of what I call ‘root season’. There is such a wealth of ingredients and ideas around that it is hard sometimes to know where to start – well that is if you think about these things as often as I do. For this month’s #whatsonyourplate challenge I am featuring three things that are good to try this season.
Preserving
With all the apples about, I thought I would have a go at this apple and sage butter from Kylee Newton’s The Modern Preserver. It is so simple to make, but don’t get involved in another task and forget the cooking apples (did I do that?). The result is a lovely spread for good bread at breakfast, or perhaps on a scone too. I just made one small jar and think it could be good as a filling for a Victoria sponge along with some mascarpone.
I also made a batch of feijoa chutney from In a Pickle by Kirsten Day. I have made other pickles with feijoas in the past, but this recipe was new to me, using the whole fruit along with apple and onion. I used apple cider vinegar and brown sugar and also added a few raisins. We will test it out in a couple of weeks. If you don’t know what a feijoa looks like when you cut it open, see below. You can see what they look like whole in Monday’s post.
Meatballs all the way
Last week I wrote about the pork, pumpkin and sage meatballs I made from Steffi Knowles-Dellner’s Lagom which were really delicious. This week’s meatballs (yes….it is something we often eat…) were the beef and courgette (or zucchini) meatballs from Julia Turshen’s Now and Again (you can find the recipe if you scroll down here). I made half the quantity that the recipe calls for, and cooked them in the oven. It really pays to dry off the courgette to prevent too wet a mixture. The tahini dressing really makes the dish, and of course goes well with lamb meat balls too.
Below you can see the mixture in progress, the finished product, and the salad with mesclun, tomatoes and feta we had along side them. There were also new potatoes and the leftover sweetcorn and red capsicum side dish from the salmon burgers we had on Saturday. I’ve made these meatballs a few times as you can tell from the state of the pages in the cookbook so yes I will make again!
I have so many ideas of what to cook next, that I am not sure where to start. There are several things that appeal in Molly Baz’s book, and with the long Easter weekend ahead I should have some time. In the meantime, I stumbled across this the other day if you like cooking and want a smile…. A Love Letter to Cooking from MyaHatesTomatoes.
This well be entered in the What’s on Your Plate blog challenge hosted by Canadian bloggers Widow Badass and Retirement Reflections. This goes live on the first Wednesday of each month and you can join in too with a food related post, just by adding yours to their linkup.
*Footnote – yes courgettes again….. 🙂
Thistles and Kiwis is a Wellington, New Zealand based blog written by Barbara, who likes cats, summer, good food and pretends to garden.
You can find Thistles and Kiwis on Facebook, and also on Instagram @thistlesandkiwis. If you want to get in touch, email me on thistlesandkiwis@gmail.com or lofgren@thistlesandkiwis.org
Thistles and Kiwis 
Thanks for the beef and zucchini meatballs recipe, with the tahini dressing, it sounds lovely and we have an over-supply of zucchinis this year.
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It is a really simple but tasty recipe.
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Your food pictures are so darn good! And the meals you make delicious. In summer or autumn it’s fabulous to use the bounty to the max and try new things. Bernie
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Your food pictures are so darn good! And the meals you make delicious. In summer or autumn it’s fabulous to use the bounty to the max and try new things. Bernie
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Thank you!
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Glad my comment made it — I thought perhaps it kicked me out before it went thru. Bernie
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Thanks for showing us what a feijoa looks like. I had never heard of them. Any chance you can describe the taste? That apple and sage butter sounds utterly delicious.
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Feijoas have a curious taste….sort of like a floral pear….very hard to describe!
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I know flavors can be hard to describe. Thanks for the effort.
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So many good things in this post! I will have to give that apple and sage butter a try come fall. Thanks for joining in!
Deb
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I admire your appetite for new dishes. I am stodgily conservative but we don’t have a great many opportunities to buy novel ingredients.
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I love messing about in the kitchen which helps I think.
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I’m reading this eating the leftovers of last night’s Swedish meatballs for brekky. I literally love everything you’ve mentioned this month & can’t believe I still haven’t cooked anything from Lagom.
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🙂
There are a few things in Lagom I have tried and so far have not been disappointed.
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A mouthwatering and inspiring post. I enjoy trying out new recipes.
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You are entering my favorite time of year. I love everything fall. The apple butter looks delicious. Actually all of your food looks delicious. There are so many wonderful things to make with apples. We are into spring weather it was 86 degrees F here yesterday. That’s actually very warm for this time of year. I am trying to enjoy the good in each season.
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What a delicious way to celebrate autumn! You know I never tried a feijoa when I was in NZ, what are they like? And I have Kylee Newton’s book too, that apple butter might have to go on my list…
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Feijoas are strange – a little gritty in texture, and taste like a floral pear perhaps. Quite a distinct flavour. The apple butter is good and very easy,
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Oh wow I’ve never seen feijoas before. I assume they are like a tomato if you use them for chutney? I love the overall vibe of Autumnal foods this post. Thanks for sharing
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The feijoa is a fruit but not like tomatoes – really hard to describe the taste – sweet, and floral and a bit like pears…but quite unique.
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They sound really unusual – I will look out for them, especially when I go to New Zealand next
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You can only get them at this time of the year, however you can get feijoa flavoured things all year round.
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👌👌
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So delicious! You make me want to spend more time in the kitchen.
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