The everlasting pumpkin

I love Halloween but this is the time of year that pumpkins are in the shops in abundance. I love pumpkins, the orangey-ness of them. I always have loved them and always will. I used them a lot as photography props but I also eat them afterwards.

As a food item pumpkins aren't that popular or fashionable in this country so shops seem to stock them with the intention of children carving them for Halloween decorations and for this reason they are really cheap.

I bought this large pumpkin from Waitrose for just £2. I know £2! But it serves so many purposes. Out of that one pumpkin I will create the following recipes:

• Spiced pumpking fold over (this recipe is in the River Cottage Veg cook book)
• Pumpkin, Carrot and Coriander Soup
• Pumpkin Pie (probably savoury this year)
• Pumpkin and chickpea stew

And those recipes will also last more than one serving which is great.

I also use the pumpkin seeds to make a nice snack. I put them on a roasting tray, sprinkle them with salt and paprika and roast them until they are a nice golden colour.

It's old fashioned thrifty cooking at it's best.

But then I do look forward to November because after a while I do get sick of too much pumpkin!

Here is Betty and Bert modelling with said pumpkin:

Make do pie

I hate to see food go to waste, it's criminal so before going shopping again I try and make whatever we have do. We have some funny meals this way but also some of the best. It's weird how it works out.

So my make do pie is a trusty favourite.

In it goes onion, garlic, pots, carrots, cheese, herbs and anything else I fancy with a nice pastry crust.

It's rather scrummy!

When do you put the central heating on?

I think it is safe to say that the Summer is now over and that Autumn is here. Whilst the skies are still blue the temperature is well, shall we say, crisp. The temperature has dropped quite noticeably even in the day time now.

Last night I was on the sofa watching telly wrapped up in a blanket. Jon said "you can put the heating on you know". This led to a discussion as to the eco properties of doing so coupled with the admitting that it is 'no longer summer' effect.

At the moment it is only just nippy so I am happy to close the windows and doors and pop a jumper on or cover myself with a blanket but what I want to know is when is it acceptable to pop the heating on? Is September too early? Have other people turned it on yet? Am I just getting old and feeling the cold now?

It's funny as I grew up in a house with coal fires whereby you only made a fire in the depths of winter as it was so messy and such a faff to do so, therefore I am more used to wearing a jumper than just turning the central heating switch. It has however, become very convenient to do just that. At what point do you stop making life hard for yourself and flick that switch?

Maybe little animals have it right with hibernating - all that energy they save.

I do love the Autumn and Winter though - long walks in woods and coming home to a homemade soup - bliss"

Image credit: http://middlechildcomplex.tumblr.com/post/16467408759

It's a good job we're not digging for victory

Well it's a blooming good job we are not digging for victory is all I can say! If we were we would starve!

Of everything we planted not much has survived the amounts of rain we have had or the amount of sluggy visitors we have had in the garden too. Normally we grow a mass of courgettes as we love them, last week we had one and then it got eaten by a slug. Even the rhubarb that was doing well, yesterday got eaten by a rabbit who had managed to sneak her way in past the defences! The only thing that is doing well this year is the apple tree but I won't say too much about that as I don't want to jinx it!

I want a small holding!

Last Sunday we went to Holt Hall in Norfolk to the Smallholders event run by the Norfolk Smallholders Training Group.

We were blessed with a warm sunny day which was quite surprising considering the wet weather we have been having lately. I really wanted to go but I was a bit apprehensive as I thought that it would be full of real country types who would frown on us turning up in anything other than a beaten up 4x4. I didn't know whether to wear my wellies or not as the are flowery! It really was nothing like that. The people at the gate were really friendly and nice and it was really cheap to get in too - only £5 which I think is good as I have paid in the past £15 to go to a Country show. There were very few wellies in sight, mainly trainers which in hindsight was a little of a mistake as the ground was a bit muddy in places!

The show wasn't entirely what I thought it was going to be. I thought it would be more of a show aimed at people who have or want a small holding so I thought there would be tools and equipment and advice etc. There was this to a certain extent but not as much as I thought it was going to be. The show was more aimed at people who already have small holdings or cottage industries selling their wares, which was equally lovely. It was in essence a large farmers market which was OK by me as we bought some lovely breads and veggies.

I loved looking around all the animals. I soooo want an Alpacca and a goat! It was a great show and I am glad we went. It was really inspirational seeing all the providers and what the have produced. It certainly gave us a lot to think about so we had to go for a lie down on the beach after!

Materialism vs Spiritualism

We recently had a mini break in Glastonbury. I love Glastonbury so much for the chilled out vibe, the scenery, abundance of vegetarian food.. need I go on!

Photo credit: http://glastonburyzodiacpilgrimage.co.uk/

Following on from my last post the time in which we went was during my really busy work period where I had more money than sense and it was burning a hole in my pocket!

If you have ever been to Glastonbury, you will know that the streets are lined with shops many of which are new age, hippy shops (I never know what the right term is!) and in those shops are trinkets and statues and bits and bobs that cater for pretty much every religion and practice known to man. Now if I had to define my religion I would say that I am Christian as I do go to Church (not very often I have to admit, a couple of times a year), I do believe in God and I do pray. However, I also believe in other religions. I believe that there are elements of other religions that are important too. I am very into Buddhism and Hinduism too, although I am not practicing in these areas, I do find them fascinating and live by some of the principles. I find religions interesting and inspiring. So these shops are fascinating to me. I have a few Buddha statues in my house already but I was looking at more in the shops.

Jon came out with a little nugget. I am not sure if this is because he was trying to stop me from buying more "tat" to fill up the house or whether he had an epiphany. I can't quote it exactly as I can't remember it now however it goes along the lines of...

"why do you need to spend your money on statues of deities in order to believe or confirm your beliefs. Surely being religious is more about spiritual beliefs and it shouldn't matter how many statues you have in your house. At the end of the day it is just 'stuff'. Having 'stuff' isn't going to make your life better or enrich it. Isn't it better to give that money to the church or a charity than to buy 'stuff'. Isn't that materialism rather than spiritualism?".

That kind of struck a chord with me. Needless to say I didn't buy any ornaments. Instead I bought a couple of books which had enriched my life. Jon can be quite enlightened although part of me wonders if he was just being tight lol! Either way it is kinda eco. We don't need stuff!

Being eco is not for the busy!

I am sure that being eco is for people with lots of time! I hate to say it but for me it is kinda true. Life got really manic at one point and work was busy busy busy. It was at this time that I found that I was just getting through. It was quicker and easier to go to the supermarket for the household shopping. Can you believe it! As sad as it is it really is true. I simply didn't have the time or the inclination after a hard days work to then spend the time going round lots of little independent shops. As for the garden, well I pretty much gave up and am sorry to say that all the salad has gone to seed.

That is just how it is. I can't say that I am happy about it or enjoyed it per se but equally I think it was kind of important to be this way to appreciate how hard it is for working families. The convenience and time saving just simply takes precedent.

I even found that cooking went out the window. We went out to eat or got take aways. We were actually spending the money we were making at work on feeding our selves because we didn't have time to make healthy cheap food. It is insane when you look at it like that. We were basically working to buy the things that we couldn't do because we were at work.

And you know what, the more money I made the more I spent. The more I wanted to spend too. When I don't have so much it is not a case of can't spend it is a case of not really being bothered as I get my feel good factor from the cooking, gardening and craft activities.

It really is all very nuts!