Pumpkin to talk about

A friend has just returned from the States. I have looked after the family rabbit whilst they were away and she popped around with a thank you gift - a bouquet of gourds! Inspired by the New York stoops adorned with pumpkins and fairy lights, she knew I would like them for decoration. Hovering over the basket, however, I am tempted to see which ones are edible.

I love pumpkin flavoured everything. They are fantastic roasted, mashed, stuffed, baked in cakes, blended in soups, made into gnocchi, pasta and pasties. They are best friends with strong cheeses, nuts, herbs and spices and their seeds can be roasted for soups, salads and snacks.

On holiday last week in Palma I had the best dish ever - pumpkin gnocchi at a little place in the wall near the cathedral called Cafe Murada.

Last year I became addicted to the special edition Pumpkin Spice Baileys and this year my daughter has bought me Beanies Pumpkin Spice Coffee Granules which is rich and flavoursome without the sweetness of syrup added to coffee.

Taking the Biscuit

An autumn break in Palma Majorca revealed dappled sunshine beneath the palm trees, a wind tossed yacht loosened from its moorings and the blackest clouds chasing us along the boulevard. It was a week of sun cream with ice cream one day and brollies and steaming cafe con leche the next.

I have a kind of love affair with Palma and, despite the changing sky, it did not disappoint. The food for both my carnivore husband and my veggie self was exceptional. Eating out in Spain used to be a nightmare for me but, wow, things have changed. On every menu there were vegetarian and vegan choices. Not only that but most of the menus had numbers against the dishes with a key showing what was within. Great for those with allergies, intolerances and dislikes.

One ingredient which came up a couple of times, even in English, was speculoos. It appeared in both sweet and savoury dishes and I was curious enough to ask what it was. It turns out to be a crispy biscuit, like the ones given free with cups of coffee (Lotus Biscoff call them a saucer side biscuit). It has a caramelised almost cinnamon taste and so accompanies ice cream dishes as well as the pumpkin dish I enjoyed on holiday.

Baked pumpkin with speculoos on carrot cream with hazelnuts

The Future's bright, the present is Orange

The season is Autumn, the colour is orange. From the changing leaves and low sunshine outdoors to the flames in the fireplace indoors, the orange season, in all its glory, has arrived.

The food on our plates has also turned orange which is good news as the brighter the food, the more nutrients are on offer. We can eat seasonal sweet potatoes, carrots, pumpkins and squash as well as oranges, tangerines, clementines, persimmons and physalis. 

Physalis peruviana, (aka golden berries, cape gooseberries, ground cherries) has a papery green husk containing a small orange berry. Part of the nightshade family, it closely resembles a tiny tomato. Plucked from the husk it can be eaten and used in the same way as a tomato with its pop in the mouth explosion of sweet and sour.

Have them in the fruit bowl for a fun and easy to eat burst of protein, vitamin A and antioxidants to help fight infection.