The Autumnal Christmas Chronicles Preamble thread

[RainbowZebraWarrior]

Hi, and welcome to the Nigel Slater appreciation society Christmas Chronicles Premable thread.

The thread will start proper in late October where we begin our annual journey of reading the Christmas Chronicles in real time. It is a cosy, heartwarming event that one can dip in and out of as life allows. Think flickering candles, woodsmoke, delicious recipes, the odd home made tipple, and bucket loads of touching Nigel-esque anecdotes. It is a veritable Hyyge of a thread.

This thread is to see us through until that time. You will find me, like a squirell, checking on my store of candles at the back of the cupboard.

It's also worth noting that Nigel's new book; A Thousand Feasts is out on 26th September. (with a deliciously Autumnal cover)

@Gettingannoyednow that crumble is the food of the gods!

Haven't read back in the thread yet, will save that for cosiness later! Have a good Sunday afternoon and evening, everyone. ☺️☺️

Oh and your crumble looks so good! I'm going to make again this week but just a basic one with tinned peaches. I like the idea of being able to make an easy pudding on a whim even when I don't have fresh fruit in, so I'm trialling a few store cupboard cakes/crumbles/etc.

I'm jealous of your organized spice drawers. But, I now have a job for next week

I'm just putting my feet up, have lit an Argan oil candle, and am catching up whilst also browsing Waitrose weekend newspaper. I'm sort of looking for inspiration for this evenings dinner, but I already know that I'm craving hot, salty, Japanese fried chicken.

Speaking of salt, Waitrose inform me that Maldon now does a Cinnamon Vanilla salt. Apparently, it is delicious atop a cappuccio or a crumpet. No thanks. I could imagine it working with a caramel brownie, perhaps, but not on my coffee or my crumpets. Im not acthally too fond of sweet things.

@Taytocrisps I am imagining Victoria Beckham in your kitchen clutching your spices (a posh spice holder)

I'll get my coat..

Have so enjoyed reading everyone’s messages, and the beautiful photos of landscapes, mushrooms (fascinating info from @EphemeraleEudemonia), yummy puddings, beautiful knitting, shiny conkers (a lovely gift from your DD @RainbowZebraWarrioreven if it caused you some anxious moments), the amazing immaculate glove drawer and spice collections, in fact everything, too many to mention! @MontyVerdi, hope things go well for you tomorrow, it’s awful having to face going to work when you’re dreading it. And hope everyone who’s not well, under the weather or a bit down feels better for logging in to this kindly thread. DH and I are having a bit of peace and quiet after a busy couple of days, he has just put his feet up and said, “It’s like heaven with the door shut”!

Those hydrangeas are a beautiful colour!

I have an individual portion of crumble in my freezer, and I will probably defrost it this week.

My Nigelesque "write down what you eat and make it be less in quantity but more in deliciousness" diet plan is proving illuminating, and it's no wonder I'm fat, as my food between meals habits are not what I had thought.

I think I'm going to plan delicious elevenses and afternoon tea breaks into my day to control the quantity and mindlessness of the eating.

My spice storage is very effective, but not remotely aesthetically pleasing. The plastic baskets have a jumble of spices, with the baskets themselves going in alphabetical order with allspice - coriander in the bottom one, cumin-nutmeg in the middle and everything else in the top one. The little tubs of Waitrose Cooks Ingredients spices are stacked separately. The fourth basket at the very top is for baking stuff like icing nozzles and food colouring.

Vanilla, black pepper and oregano are used so frequently they just get left loose on the shelf.

Inspired by @imp2007 i found cut some hydrangeas and they are now beautifully adorning the dining table along with the last thistle!

@EphemeraleEudemonia wow, I'm very impressed by your knowledge. I'd love to go for an autumn forage alongside you!

We’ve had one of those idyllic autumn days. A long blustery walk around Corfe Castle, the home for slow cooked beef and a glass of red in front of the fire.

The weather this afternoon was ideal: cool enough to need a coat without sweltering on a good walk.

Now it’s hammering down and perfect hibernating weather.

We changed to the winter duvet last night too. I haven’t slept so well in months!

I’ve just seen a reminder to get the raspberry gin made too. That’s on the list for this week!

I’ve put the winter duvet on this morning, @Champere, looking forward to sleeping cosily tonight. That reminds me, @Greaterthanthesumoftheparts, the hydrangeas in the garden are looking a lovely rusty pink, must bring some in before the wind and rain gets going tomorrow. Just now I’m dipping in and out of ATF, trying to make it last, not read it in big gulps. Easy dinner tonight, had pot roast brisket and vegetables with gravy in the freezer, left over from last Sunday, so had that with Yorkshire puddings, spinach and the last of the beans from the garden. Tempted to make a crumble after seeing the pictures earlier today, but didn’t get round to it.

We have the first roast dinner of the season cooking (veggie) and it smells good. Ds1 is en route to America to stay with family, it’s 40° where he is going 😵‍💫

Can I join please? I've been following for about a week and am loving all the positivity. I bought my first St Eval candle (Winter Thyme) yesterday and have ordered The Christmas Chronicle. I'm just along the coast from you @Champere . I went for a walk this morning along the beach, got a bit sand blasted but felt good. Did roast pork for lunch with home made apple sauce, followed by apple crumble. I'm afraid I'm not knowlegeable enough to go mushroom foraging.

Hello! I've been following for a week or so, what a beautiful thread this is. I'm feeling very envious, as I'm not in the UK and it's still very warm here. Although it's lovely to be able to still be hot, I am missing the Autumnal vibes of the UK that we just don't get here. I want to be cold enough to wear my DMs and my cosy jumpers! I did however, persuade DS8 to make a crumble with me today, inspired by you all, and it was delicious. I have ordered ATF, my mum will bring it out when she visits in 3 weeks! I might have to get her to bring the Christmas Chronicles too.

This may have been shared before, but I just wanted to post it as I think it's important for us as human beings to realise that it's normal to not feel joy all of the time.

www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/food-and-drink/nigel-slater-i-m-happy-but-i-ve-only-just-realised-it-1.4068262

That’s a delight, Rzw
waving to the newbies and the lurkers.

First roast dinner and a homemade crumble with windfalls that was very autumnal and delicious

Thought this might make you smile. I thought I'd try to recreate that lovely card.
I realised after I'd put the books back on the shelf that I should have photographed them lying flat on each other and then turned the picture rather than trying to prop them up.

I was also sad that my Nigella book is missung perhaps somewhere in the garage in a box. 🙁

Totally normal and fine to not feel joy all the time, but I also think some people may need to seek it out more to redress previous deficits and make their lives feel more balanced. Horses for courses and all that.

Michaelmas hop harvest as last thing left ungathered, and some woad seeds planted early (in greenhouse) to see if they'll take early.

Dinner (spag. bol.) was fab. and I've leftovers in the fridge for tomorrow. The apple cake burnt a bit though. I'm sure it turned out perfectly last time I made it <scratches head>. I'll either cook it at a lower temperature/lower shelf next time, or I'll bake it for a shorter time. It still tasted good though - crispy on the outside but moist inside. I was planning to take some photos but we were both starving and tucked into the spag. bol. And you probably don't want to see a photo of burnt cake <hangs head in shame>. The washing up took forever though - even with a dishwasher. I've a piece of cake in the fridge and I'll have it for break tomorrow. I froze a few slices. This is the recipe Spiced toffee apple cake recipe | Good Food (bbcgoodfood.com)

I've just remembered that I have a book somewhere, with Christmassy extracts from fiction books. I must dig it out between now and Hallowe'en. It will make for a nice read in the run up to Christmas.

I'm getting drawer envy with all these beautiful spice and globe drawers! @EphemeraleEudemonia I am in awe of your fungi knowledge!

Hope everyone is well today. I'm mostly in bed today as my body has conspired against me. My EDS and Plantar Fasciitis have flared up and my back has decided to join in by going into spasm. It's my own fault. I'm not really capable of walking around the city for two hours, but I do it occasionally for DD.

I've just posted this on the Poncestastic thread. It's the website / blog of Gillian Monks (the author of Merry Midwinter) and thought it may be interest.

https://www.gillianmonks.com/blog/

@RainbowZebraWarrior So sorry you’re laid up today, and hope you soon feel better and able to get up and about again. Nice to see some new names joining on the thread - @Els1e and @PinkSkiesAtNight, welcome to this lovely warm corner of the internet. Cool, cloudy and windy on the coast this morning, the winter duvet was welcome last night. Time to get out the thermals, I think, even though it’s a bit earlier than usual. Just the thin thermals though, saving the thick thermals for the really cold weather. Winter drawers on!

@Greaterthanthesumoftheparts they look gorgeous! Beautiful Autumnal colours x

Hope you feel better soon OP. Just been for my daily lunch hour walk. Very lucky as I work in St Albans and near to the Abbey so I can potter about the grounds. Got soaked in a very brisk shower so will be soggy at my desk for the rest of the day.