We’re all safely settled into our new house now (humans, cats and chickens). It’s peaceful and light and just old enough to have bit of character while not being overly high maintenance and needy. And in the garden there’s a tree with the most enormous pears on it that I’ve ever seen. It’s all wonderful except sadly the oven, which makes ridiculously large amounts of noise at the same time as very little heat. Must remedy that soon and get some serious cooking done. Here’s what I’ve been reading and sometimes cooking oven permitting.
Roast carrots, fennel and sage this time last year I was waxing lyrical about the usefulness of roasted veggies and how to add extra flavour to them with additions like lemons and maple syrup. What I’ve come to appreciate since is the beauty of using just a couple of well matched vegetables rather than emptying the whole fridge into the oven tray. I’ve made these roasted carrots and fennel with sage from Green Kitchen Stories again and again, often with a cannellini bean mash
How to give your food the attention it deserves a post I wrote for the Channel 4 food website on the rewards of switching off some technology and really paying attention to what you are eating
Pear orchard muffins light muffins full of nutritious ingredients (oats, spelt, walnuts, fruit and yogurt) and with no oil or butter in the recipe. These pear muffins are the delightful combination of Sophie Dahl’s recipe and Tea’s photography and prose (I know some have poured scorn on Miss Dahl’s cooking abilities but her vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie is the best I’ve made so keep an open mind, which I know that you will).
Fagioli all Uccelletto with cavolo nero a delicious bean dish flavoured with chilli, rosemary and lemon zest. Robust is the word that springs to mind. The recipe is on Monica’s SmarterFitter blog
Good or bad, or is it just food? Kathryn Elliott’s thoughtful post on the perils of labelling food good or bad “We miss out on the richness of the food experience, the complexity of human nutrition and it muddles the picture around the food decisions we make”
Bill Granger’s meat-free meals Bill’s recipes are always reliable and tasty so I’m looking forward to trying out these meat free recipes featured in the independent, especially the vegetarian mee goreng
An Autumn Meditation on Yoga you don’t need to be a yogini to appreciate this reflection on the change of seasons and how the coming of autumn changes the foods we are drawn to and the way our bodies want to exercise
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Sophie Roberts is a registered dietitian based in Oxford, UK. She loves combining her nutrition know-how with a sustainable approach to buying and preparing food and shares her tips and recipes here at Mostly Eating. 
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there is certainly enough room in the world of food for everyone and all kinds of food. as with anything else, an open mind is key. i love the experiance of ‘new’ foods and recipes, seeing how someone else does it and understanding personal, cultural diffrences, tastes etc. i read MANY food blogs for that very reason. and my own cooking is enriched by the experiance.
A lovely round-up. Hungry now!
Nice selection. Those carrots sound delightful and I have more sage then I know what to do with. I also love Bill! I love his recipes and they always turn out great. Desserts…so so. but he is a ninja at savory!
A lovely set of links Sophie, some recipes and lots to think about. Did you make the pear muffins with your own pears. If so, that must have been extra lovely.
Hand-picked, indeed, Sophie. Thank you for this thoughtfully-curated collection of links, rich, complex & nourishing like the best food experiences :-). As you can tell, Kathryn’s post has made an impression on me.
I’m so glad you pointed out your excellent post on mindful eating. It’s one to be saved and shared with clients, colleagues and interns. I assure you I’m not eating (or peeking at Twitter) while I visit the links and write this comment. You provided some compelling reasons to make eating a single-task activity as well practical tips to modify our behavior. Thank you.
Ah, the recipes. Reading them pre-lunch is making my mouth water. They sound fabulous for autumn.
And finally, congratulations on your new home. Complete with pear tree. I hope you, the cats & the chickens soon will feel settled as well as warmed & nourished by a quiet, fully functional oven.
shame about your oven, sophie, but methinks that pear makes up for it (maybe??).
nice to hear you’re settled. love the links, thank you.
Great Links and very useful, Thank you.