Blog Corner: AUTUMN HARVEST.

We are well and truly into autumn, and depending where you live in the UK, should be having some lovely sunshine and nice brisk, dry weather.

The autumn colours are amazing, and the leaves are crunching nicely.

My previous blogs have looked into the beauties of nature during this season, which is also a time for harvesting and making the most of the natural bounty which surrounds us...if we look,  and also grow our own.

 SELF  SUFFICIENCY:

 As a society, we have become dependent on most of our food coming from stores, especially the big supermarkets where everything is available under one roof, and the choices are enormous.

Goods from other countries  give  a variety of fruit and vegetables with which to experiment, often reflecting food tried out on holidays abroad.

CHANGES  and  CHOICES:

However, due to outside forces, food costs  have  been rocketing, and it makes shopping a much tighter experience.

Many of the interesting foreign fruits and vegetables are either very expensive or not so readily available due to regulations at Customs.

This gives us the opportunities to literally step up to the plate and make the most of our own produce, of which we have plenty.

Not only do we have amazing vegetables and an increasing choice of fruit, thanks to improved facilities and management for growing, but we have  home reared beef, pork, lamb and poultry which is of an amazing quality, not forgetting game such as venison, fish and dairy products.

Clearly there will be some "for"  and "against"  these choices, but these are arguments which will run and run.

The down side of most supermarket food is that in order to look good, and have a shelf life, it is laced with preservatives, flavour and colour enhancers, which in translation, means chemicals.

This can start right at the beginning of a food journey, with plants being sprayed with pesticides and weed killers which may well be absorbed into the plant, and  find their way into the food chain.

Selecting what is known as "organic " food, (supposedly free from such treatments), unfortunately comes at an extra cost, and is simply not affordable for the majority of the population, so another good reason to consider growing your own.

 FISHMONGER  SKILL:

Hopefully smaller independent shops will re emerge, after having had to close down in many instances as could not compete against the supermarket giants.

Although we may have to give up some of our more exotic and foreign inspired fruit and vegetables, we can still give our own food interesting and unexpected twists, influenced by our foreign friends.

Herbs and spices can elevate the most boring and uninspiring dishes.

Herbs can be grown cheaply and easily at home...even indoors in a high  rise flat!

 ADDING  SOME  SPICE  MAGIC:

Spices if not available locally, can be ordered online and can be very cost effective. They make a huge difference to plant based dishes plus those based on meat, fish and dairy, and also pasta.

Recipes abound, on Pinterest, You Tube and in stores.

THERAPY:

Cooking and baking can become such an absorbing hobby, especially at this time of year.

It is very therapeutic as it utilizes our senses of touch, sight, smell, and taste, together with creativity and presentation, plus it is using mental and physical activity together, which generates a feeling of well being, and achievement.

 HOME  GROWN:

Many people find that turning cooking and baking into a hobby, reduces their anxiety and mental health concerns, which is surely a win win situation?

This can relate to  a person living on their own, or a in family situation.

The difference between sitting down to a nicely presented home cooked meal, is light years away from a supermarket ready meal.

It is more nutritious, and will have less chemical additives, or perhaps none at all.

We rush all the time, grabbing instant food in order to fill a meal gap, when we should take a step back and like many of our foreign neighbours, take time to savour what should be an important part of  daily life.

CREATE  and HAVE  FUN!

Why stop at just cooking meals?

Xmas is approaching, so why not create a stock of delightful gifts, such as chutneys, jams, jellies,  slow gin or bramble vodka?

They are  very welcome gifts to receive, especially if the giver has taken time to pick an eye catching  jar or bottle and decorated it personally.  

GIFTS  FROM  YOUR  KITCHEN,  https://amzn.to/48DDhUj  is a helpful book for packaging and decorating home crafted gifts, and is available on Amazon.

 CRAFTING  CAN  BE  SIMPLE:

It is noticeable that people are beginning to look at creativity in a new way, and modern day crafts and creations are becoming very popular. Lots of examples on Pinterest.

Disappearing crafts are being revived, bringing with them a feeling of calm, and artistic  achievement,  whether it is being done as a hobby, or indeed as a  living.

 TRADITIONAL  INDIAN  ARTISANS:

Looking at an Indian video recently, I was struck by the fact that  despite the hustle and bustle of Indian life, every street  in some areas was taken up by market stalls of ancient crafts and skills being carried out successfully in the traditional way, alongside  the many  advances of that country. 

It gave a wonderful  view into the necessity and importance of keeping skills alive, and not be totally overtaken by the wonders of technology, which although amazing, do not have the same heart and soul.

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