Autumn Cookbook

Aw, autumn. It is such a beautiful and colourful season. Let's go for a stroll. We walk through a park. The fiery trees make such a wonderful view! People are sitting and chattering on benches. Children are jumping into huge piles of yellow and red leaves, searching for chestnuts. Everyone seems to have a great time! We carry on. We walk along the river. There is a slight fog. The lanterns along our path look amazing in it. We pass a painter working on his very own vision of autumn. A bit further someone is taking photos. The birds are tweeting. We walk into a calm street. We look into the windows of the shops we pass. The decorations are inspired by autumn and Halloween. We turn into another street. It's a bit windy, but it doesn't matter much, we enjoy the walk. But suddenly it starts raining! And we have forgotten an umbrella! Oh no. We cover our heads with scarves and run home as fast as possible. Soon we reach it. But what can we do now? We are cold and hungry. Let's go and eat something until we find something to do. You say call for pizza? Well, I like pizza, but we had it yesterday. So, what? Let me think a while. Why... yes! Why not cook something warm and delicious? We go to the kitchen. I take a notebook from a shelf. Here I keep the recipes I find. Oh, here are some fitting. Not too difficult and effective.

1. Harvest Soup Bowl

Warm and satiating! Just the thing we need on a cold afternoon! Fry 2 chopped onions and a full pan of mushrooms (preferably chanterelles and boletuses). Boil a chopped carrot and parsley. Add mushrooms, cook together for a while. Then let it cool a bit and mix with a blender. Add salt, pepper and some cream, and mix with a spoon.

2. Pumpkin Spice Soup

This is an easy one, but good indeed. You need to cut the pumpkin into small pieces, then boil until soft. Add salt, pepper, a pinch of nutmeg and a bit of cream. Mix it all with a mixer.

3. Mushroom Omelette

Mix well some eggs with milk, some flour, and a pinch of salt (it should not be thick at all). Add some already fried mushrooms (like champignon), mix them with the egg-dough. Fry the omelettes.

4. Candy Pumpkin Latte

Prepare an ordinary latte (or any other favourite coffee), add 2 scoops of creamy ice cream on top, decorate with pumpkin candies. Simple, but delicious.

5. Courgette Bread

This one is my favourite. You need 3 big cups of grated courgettes (pattypan squashes are also good), 2 carrots and 1 onion (both also grated), a piece of cheese (grated), 3 to 4 eggs, salt, pepper, a bit of oil. You have to mix all the ingredients together, then bake it until it's ready, brown and crispy on the top. The name "bread" isn't maybe most fitting, but the product is delicious! It goes great with regular bread.

6. Chilled Eyeball Custard

Something scary, fitting for Halloween. Prepare green jelly. For the white part you may use custard, but I would rather recommend a mixture of jelly and whipped cream (related 1:1), for I must admit I don't quite know how custard would freeze. Pour a layer of jelly and let it freeze. Then - a layer of custard or jelly with whipped cream. And so on until the top of the glass. Somewhere in the middle, place an eyeball jelly so that it's visible from the outside.

7. Grey Cloud Cake

Grey... A bit depressive. Just as late autumn may be... Cut a 1/5 kg piece of butter into 2 cups of flour. Add 3 egg yolks and 3/4 cup of sugar. Knead, wrap in a sheet of foil and put into a fridge for an hour. Then pin it out on a table sprinkled with flour (so that the dough does not stick to it). Cut it into cloudy shapes. Bake them. Make the frosting. Dissolve sugar in water, until thick and white. Add a grey food dye and vanilla aroma. Put the frosting on your cookies.

8. Ghost Pancakes

A simple idea for a Halloween breakfast. Mix 1/4 kg of flour, 2 eggs, 1 cup of water, 1 cup of milk, a pinch of salt and sugar. Drop some oil into a pan, pour the first ladle of dough. Fry the pancakes. And while the first side is frying, draw eyes and mouth on your pancake, sprinkling cinnamon on it. And so on with the rest of them. Serve with maple syrup. Yum!

9. Marzipan Sugared Slorg

I assure you this is not an ordinary dessert. It tastes incredibly good, and is simply exquisite. It is sure to satisfy even the most demanding taste. Grate almonds very fine, add powdered sugar (the proportion is 1:1). Add a few drops of water and knead the dough. Wrap it, and put into a cool, dry place for four days. Then unwrap, and shape into slorgs (or anything else you want). You may put a nut or a piece of a dried fruit inside some of them, if you like. Sprinkle them with sugar. If you bake them a few minutes, they'll get a crispy shell.

10. White Chocolate Ghosts

It's a fun snack for Halloween. Chop white chocolate into small pieces. Boil some water in a pot. Put the chocolate into a glass, and the glass into the pot. Turn down the fire (we do not want to break the glass with too much heat). Wait until the chocolate is molten. Then, with a spoon, shape ghosts on a plate. Put green candies as eyes. Wait until the ghosts harden.

So, what to choose? You point to this and this. And I would add... maybe this. Ok, so let's start! Isn't cooking fun? We have a great time despite the bad weather. So, everyone, don't be afraid of the kitchen! Go ahead and try to cook something by yourself! It's way more satisfying and gladdening than buying something ready made. Bon apetit! :)