Autumn garden is on its way so we have been harvesting, cutting, digging and generally tidying up for the coming season. Love this kind of work.

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• Peel, chop, rub with oil and roast up the butternut squash until soft – about 45 minutes at 190 – 200C.
• Heat butter over a medium heat in a large pan.
• Add the onion, carrot, garlic, ginger stir into the butter then add the spices (I buy spices from the Indian Supermarket not the regular one as they’re cheaper and nicer).
• Fry gently for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly so the spices don’t stick and clump.
• Add the hot stock and the roasted squash.
• Simmer for a while (about 20 minutes should be enough but not ruined if you leave it longer).
• Remove from heat and blend until smooth.
• Add Yeo Valley Greek Yoghurt to serve.
• Eat with lashings of bread and butter.
• Keep sleeves out of soup.

*and by this I mean Amanda asked me and she is popular. Not only that but it is her birthday. And she is my hero, you need no more reasons but I thought you should know.

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I love to potter around in the kitchen, not necessarily making elaborate meals but the kind of comforting everyday food which I hope my children remember fondly when they’re grown. One of my all time favourite foods is soup and my absolute favourite soup is Spicy Butternut Squash Soup*. It is sweet, spicy and tastes delicious with creamy sour Greek yoghurt stirred through. As it was one of those days I made a simple loaf of bread although I forgot to halve the salt in the recipe so it was a bit salty for my tastes.

With bobbly cooking apples being left outside homes for the taking and blackberries weighing down the hedgerows it would have been rude not to make them into a crumble. I couldn’t make crumble and not make ice cream to go with it so some simple vanilla was easily whipped up in time.

Ah, more days like these please.

*Do you want recipes? I always wonder what you think of them.

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My sister in law gave me some John Lewis vouchers for my birthday and I had been trying to come up with something both frivolous and useful to spend them on. After seeing this post on Daily Candy I was googling Cuisinart frozen treat makers when I realised it was the same as this one from John Lewis. Although I wish they did it in different colours and that the description reflected the product a little more accurately* I am very happy with my choice.

There was much debate about what our first ice cream should be. The influence of our local ice cream makers, Jude’s whose ice cream is enjoyed by all on sunny trips to the zoo, won out and blackcurrant was selected. We managed to find enough blackcurrants left on the bush in our garden which has been protected from the birds and children by our rampant raspberry.

Without the prospect of hanging around for hours getting the ice cream out of the freezer to churn making our own ice cream is a quick job, especially when you have helpers.

We used the double blackcurrant ripple recipe from River Cottage although with about 100g less blackcurrants and didn’t do the ripple (because we couldn’t wait that long!). Our ice cream machine delivered a wonderfuly smooth ice cream in under half an hour. It was noisy when churning but as it is quick I can overlook that issue. The ice cream is sharp yet velvety and creamy, perfect in a cone.

And although my children did their very best to make a mess it all came out in the wash.

*for example: described as ‘finish – white’ but pictured and delivered as black. Described as ‘automatic mixing arm’ when in fact the arm is static and the bowl rotates. I expect better from you John Lewis…

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Anyone who has ever watched Masterchef will know that Gregg Wallace loves his pudding. The gleam in his eye leaves you in no doubt that puddings give him intense pleasure. It’s no great surprise that he has penned a recipe book devoted to pudding in all its glory.

With 120 recipes you are seriously spoiled for choice and you could be kept in pudding for years with this book alone. It is simply laid out and grouped into themed chapters. The recipes use the minimum of instruction which makes them easy to follow. My one niggle is that there are only photos for about 1/3 recipes and I do so love to see what I’m aiming for. Despite the lack of visual enticement I am still dreaming of jammy bakewell tart, chocolate pots, earl grey sorbet and hot fudge sauce.

With in-laws who don’t consider it a meal until pudding comes out I already know this book is going to be my inspiration for their visits!

And a Mama with her feet up? Why she must need some company.

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It was with some trepidation that I set of for the village hall for my first meeting. I had obviously left it a little late as the seats were all but full. I slotted myself in at the back and clung to my iPhone as if it were a life line. The plan for the evening was that the chef would demonstrate how to make pakoras, a chicken curry and a vegetable curry then hand out samples to the meeting. Crucially, the samples were to have been pre-cooked and kept warm in the hall oven. You have guessed of course that the chef cooked for 60 odd women from scratch. And it took a loooong time.

It took on a more amusing tone as the organisers became more and more flustered by the amount of time it was taking. Luckily my neighbour took pity on me and chatted as we watched and waited. The pakoras were ready quite quickly and absolutely delicious (I may have embarrassed myself by having thirds).

When the curry was finally ready I gobbled down a cup like I had been starved all night, well it was very difficult waiting… I’m not entirely sure what I made of the WI. It may have a younger membership than the existing WI but they were still a good decade my senior in most cases. I also kind of want the traditional crafts to be revitalised rather than cast aside completely. So I’m not sure what I’ll make of future meetings but I’m pretty sure these guys won’t be back.

If only I could show you their faces!

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We spent some time making our own pasta for ravioli. I am slightly spoiled as I have a pasta making attachment on my Kitchen Aid so there was no real elbow work from me. My trusty helpers were there alongside me each standing on a stool (although I’m inclined to think Monty would be better off in a FunPod).

Although cooking with Mama is undoubtedly thrilling they wandered off to the garden before long. I spied them raiding the strawberries which is of course exactly what they are there for.

I’m figuring that all things considered there is more than enough room for the odd one of these on a hot day…

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Giggling and rolling around on Mama until she becomes a little less amusing and they drift off once more. This last week I have been taking Tana’s Kitchen Secrets out with me for some sneaky meal planning in between dive bomb attacks.

I was sent a copy by the publishers and I am finding it a very pleasant read. As she says in the introduction, it is a book of recipes for the food lover who wants to expand their repertoire. You won’t find the usual round of basics but a selection of recipes which are satisfying rather than showy. The lay out is nice and simple with instruction seemingly kept to the bare minimum. Each recipe has a kitchen secret which is an informative nugget of advice such as how to cook dried pasta well or how to know when a cake is cooked. In general I found the secrets a little superfluous but that’s not to say they aren’t helpful. The styling and photography are gorgeous which has a good deal to do with my endless flicking each afternoon.

The majority of recipes make me want to try them. Only minutes after opening the package I was rifling through my cupboards looking for ingredients to make her healthy cous cous. Although I didn’t have exactly what was needed a few substitutions still make for a delicious side dish and a speedy one at that. As a non tomato eater (I know, how do I survive?) there are a few dishes I have to discount out of hand but not many which earns the book big brownie points from me. There was only one recipe which had me recoil upon reading it and that was the cauliflower cheese, for me it was just plain wrong. The narrative is nice and light hearted although peppered with references to Gordon which felt odd.

For the experienced cook it is a great springboard of fresh ideas which can be followed or adapted as you wish. For the less experienced cook it is a guiding hand showing you that everyday food can be delicious and effortless.

Now the publishers have very kindly said that they will send copies of the book to two of my readers. I know this is running across several blogs at the moment but I figured you wouldn’t mind as it is always nice to receive something useful.

In order to enter you simply need to comment on this post, if you can’t think of something to say then why not tell me your go-to weekday supper? What ever you do please leave your email address in the email field (it won’t be published) so I know how to get in touch with you if you win. It is open to UK entrants only (or at least the prize can only be sent to UK postal addresses). The giveaway will remain open until 9am Monday 21st June 2010 after which a winner will be chosen at random and notified by email. Your details will not be shared with anyone unless you win then I will need to pass your address along for your book to be sent.

It is not open to Housewife Confidential family members so Monty, I’m afraid you’ll have to share with me.

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Since my passion for good fresh food awoke in my early twenties the local farmers’ markets have been a staple of ours. When we were a foot loose couple we would travel around the county to shop from the market weekly but since having children we mostly stick with the twice monthly market in Winchester. The last few months we seem to be busy every farmers market Sunday and I have been missing our ritual. For once we were home today and so were rewarded with baskets brimming with locally produced seasonal bounty.

My heart soared when I saw piles of fat broad bean pods (fava beans for my American friends) which are an annual delight. As quickly as they entered the kitchen they were podded and ready to go into a lunchtime frittata with some goat’s cheese and parmesan. I think we may have a summertime replacement for our Saturday Tortilla (an aside, look at the difference in quality between those photos, I heart my EOS 500D!).

As well as a plentiful supply of food for the week Mr Kat treated me to a mixed bunch of roses from The Real Flower Company. I have a soft spot for their roses as besides selling the most beautifully scented roses I know they also did the flowers for my wedding bouquets. I adore their roses and as extravagant as buying cut flowers is I can’t resist Roseby’s blooms. Imagine how wonderful it would be to get a posy every month for a year!

There is something so balancing about a visit to the market and I hope we are able to bring it back into the centre of our week.

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This was the very specific description of the cake Milla wanted her birthday candles on. I figured that if she was going to have a chocolate cake it may as well be big and gooey so I made a fudge cake using the recipe from Leiths Baking Bible. Despite accidentally leaving out half of the sugar and baking a little long (late night baking) it came out very well and I’m pretty sure the birthday girl was very happy with her cake.

Not only was there late night baking but late night sewing also. Something about the eve of my little ones’ birthdays gives me the need to toil into the wee hours. As I mentioned on Bambino Goodies, we made a dress using the Mango Dress pattern from ManiMina which was a little unclear in places but did produce a super birthday dress. The fabric is gorgeous organic cotton by Could9 which I got from Saints & Pinners. As soon as Milla saw the Sandpiper fabric she said, “Maybe it could be a dress for me?” and really how could I disagree? As it happens I had bought a metre as I loved the print so much which was perfect paired with a fat quarter from the same range for the top.

How she has grown so much in just three years is still a mystery to me. I can’t wait to see what three brings!

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