Bakehouse News: September 2023

September, a month that transitioned us from a summer that couldn't decide on what climate it would resemble, to a more predictable wet autumn. We've traded the flip-flops for cardies, and outgrown the need to be summer-ready, replacing the salad with roast tatties. It was a magical month where one could experience all four seasons within a single day, heading out to the office with everything from sunglasses to an umbrella. Here's to the month that ended sitting inside sipping an Earl Grey while watching rain endlessly dance.

It's been a somewhat quiet month, so you'll be let off with a fairly light read this month. I've had an insanely busy month at work. I don't know if it's the lack of summer or getting dark earlier, but I swear colleagues have generally become more difficult people. I know there are others out there feeling the brunt. Chin up.

Being a gamer on the side, October is usually an exciting month, with tournaments and announcements galore in my favourite games. There's something about dark evenings that I find relaxing. I know, I'm weird, but there's something cathartic about the early darkness and the stars being visible on the commute home.

I've already had a pumpkin spice latte and carried out a very important tradition: the first time I see a mince pie in the shops, I buy them. Sainsbury's delivered, and I'm pretty sure it's a record this year.

Two Months Down, Post Number Eight!!!

We're on the eighth post now. I'll be honest, based on past endeavors, I did have my doubts if I'd still be going, but here we are.

Across this month's posts, I've shared the following with the world:

• The National Geographic Travelers Food Festival 2023: Feels like a while ago now, but I had a great day out exploring the culinary exotics of London. Read this to see what I got up to and maybe inspire you to pop along next time. Oh, and I won a filo rolling pin!
• My pizza recipe: I absolutely love and use it all the time. If you've always wondered how to make exceptional quality pizza at home, this will be a worthwhile read. It's simple to make and is the fundamental foundation of pizza that you can build and experiment on. You'll get the crispiest and closest to traditional that you've ever had at home.
• As an avid viewer of the Sorted Food YouTube channel, I also reviewed their food photography course, which was aptly timed for the start of this blog. There definitely weren't enough participants for a cheap and quality course, so go read about it and then sign up.

With two months of posts down, I've got more to come. There are some plans already in motion for future weeks, so stick around.

Exotic Breakfasts

You may have gathered by now, if you've kept up with my posts, that I'm a fan of the Sorted Food YouTube channel. This month they've been covering their time in Texas, which I've been loving far more than I anticipated. I got a bit inspired by the trip to San Antonio.

Being honest, Mexican food isn't something that generally appeals to me, but having half the ingredients already, I had a go at making Chilaquiles. It didn't look much like the recipes I found online, but it did resemble the one on the video. Perhaps Tex-Mex has a different style? It came out pretty well in my opinion. I had to improvise on Queso; however, the one thing I would say is that refried beans make for a heavy breakfast. I felt like I needed a lie-down before I could start my day. It was fortunate I worked from home that day; walking to the station would've been a challenge!

As though traveling to Texas, albeit culinarily, was enough, I hopped over to Jamaica. When having a stroll around Lidl, I found a tin of Ackees. I'd heard of Ackees before, but never had it. I'm only aware of one dish, Saltfish and Ackees, so that's what I made following a lot of YouTube research. Turns out saltfish isn't common in the UK. Unsurprisingly, there are a few salted Cod floating around on Amazon, but I managed to get some salted Ling from Orkney. I bought a couple of other items from Orkney: a fantastic couple of Marmalade and Beetroot Chutney. I'll drop a link below. A top tip, boil the fish off a few times; I didn't do it quite enough, very salty.

Link to Jolly's of Orkney: https://www.jollysoforkney.co.uk/

Totally Quackers

Loosely connected to food, so I'm sticking it in; I fed the ducks! I had quite a surplus of bread that I definitely wasn't making it through, and it was becoming a long and difficult month. So, I decided to do some mindfulness mixed with childhood nostalgia.

I waddled down to the local park with what I thought was a lot of bread. The ducks didn't seem to agree that it was enough, but I think half of the wildfowl in Surrey turned up once the alarm was sounded. I had such a calming and pleasant time, taking myself away from life and doing something that I used to enjoy from my childhood. If you're having a rough week, go feed the ducks; you might even make a few feathered friends. I did, even if the relationship was a little one-sided.

Sibling Birthdays

A month of birthdays, with two sisters' birthdays, one sadly deceased. Not only do I have to buy presents, its exhausting. It's great that Uncle Thomas is a favourite, but my nieces have a remarkable ability to sap the energy out of you!

One day I'll teach the girls to cook, hopefully it'll be able to hold their attention at least for a few minutes peace anyway.

As much as mocking siblings is a laugh, we genuinely get along, which is more than some other friends do with theirs. There's some sad stories about this time of year, but they still bring us together.

In Season – October

I plan on making this a permanent feature because I believe that its very important to look after our environment, and buying in season produce vastly reduces your carbon footprint whilst reintroducing you the wonderful ingredients sitting hidden in plain sight.

The below list is UK centric, but the principle doesn't change; look at where your produce comes from, if it comes from your country or neighbouring region it will have had an easier time getting to you. You don't need to cut out everything, but by being conscious of your purchases you've already done some good.

In October we're starting those hardier conditions, and fewer light hours, but there's still some treats out there to be picked up.

October UK

 (source: Royal Horticultural society

    https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/grow-your-own/in-month/october)

Vegetables	Fruit
Pumpkins	Apples
Squashes	Pears
Runner Beans	Quinces
Carrots	Medlars
Potatoes	Melons
	Autumn Raspberries
	Blackberries