Late summer eatings

We went to an artisan food fair in Knutsford today - I'll share some pictures later this week. But the whole weekend has had a seasonal feel in terms of food and flowers. Like these broad beans. Our crop was very disappointing - so we bought some extra and ate them with a light mustard dressing, Parma ham, parsley and toasted sourdough bread.

I always have a recipe or two snipped from a magazine and stuck on the side of the fridge. I filed the baked cheesecake one that's been up for a while and replaced it with Claudia Roden's Orange and Almond Cake. I also baked the cake. It has no butter or flour in it but can be a little bit sharp (you boil 3 oranges and blend them, peel included, into the mixture). So it's nice with a little bit of syrup drizzled on top - and maybe a dollop of Greek yogurt on the side.

I've mentioned before that our gooseberries haven't made an appearance this year. And now the bushes are being devoured by caterpillars (that's the last time we have nasturtiums - they're irresistible to cabbage whites and they lay eggs everywhere).

So yesterday we picked up a punnet from Ramsbottom market. Compote or crumble - yet to decide.

These are the teasels I collected last week with Joe. Still drying out in the kitchen and a bit lethal-looking. They remind me of the Autumn Fair we used to have each year at my primary school. I loved it - the whole being in school at night time, the corn dollies we used to make, the cake stalls and bric-a-brac... maybe that's when I started loving autumn so much.

Jay went to the shops with Joe and brought me back some huge sunflowers wrapped in brown paper. They're now on the mantelpiece brightening up the living room.

It's cooled down a bit over the weekend too. The temperatures are definitely more bearable (but I'm still sleeping on top of the bed covers).