The Autumn Bluestocking - mist, mellow fruitfulness and hot chocolate!

[SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius]

Welcome one and all - as the nights draw in, pull up a chair to the fire, and the gerbils will be along soon with hot chocolate and Tunnock’s teacakes.

Tomato and feta salad (with a little sweet vinaigrette and some oregano and mint leaves) was one of my default lunches during the hot weather - the other was sliced nectarines with blue cheese. Both fulfilling the need to get liquid, sugar, and salt back into the body, while also being delicious and minimal effort.

Chick peas have always seemed to me to be a versatile inoffensive food, from hummus (gently sauté the garlic in the olive oil first to tame it) through falafels to store cupboard curry. I’d no idea they were a divisive subject.
The tomato and feta mix would probably work well with butter beans instead.

I just popped back to FWR to check on the progress of Swashy's blanket, spotted the Bluey and popped in for a moment. And saw this.
🤣🤣🤣
Also, will be trying the chickpea and feta recipe. We have vegetarians visiting soon who will need to be fed, so I need to test out some ideas.

Hello Edith, nice to see you again. Your timing is excellent: vegetarian visitors/vegetarian recipe
Swash popped in here very briefly recently, but she is sailing in other waters on her long journey, which is sad for us, but she has to go wherever feels best for her. I think she knows she's always in our hearts, wherever she goes.

I've just realised BeGreatKhakiOtter hasn't been in for a while either, but I expect she's off on some exciting expedition where that khaki waistcoat with all the pockets comes into its own
Hope you're having a good trip, Otter, and you're not too bothered by mozzies and snakes and poison spiders that kind of expedition-y thing..😧

Obviously I, and some other pub patrons with good taste, will not be affected by this product recall...

As you know, I teach soil science among other things (pause for the pedants to relive the giggles about teaching science to piles of soil ). One of the really important components of soil is humus. The first syllable is pronounced the same way as human, but I always get students who want to pronounce the word the same way as houmous/hummus. I think they've permanently removed my ability to look at chickpea paste without thinking of soil.

Tesco used to do a delicious smoked hummus - I ate it several times a week, until they stopped making it. Waitrose do a smoked hummus, but I don’t shop there very often, so it is a rare treat.

Bought ripe ready to eat nectarines this week with my groceries.

they were like bullets for 3 days.

and then. In the space of 10 seconds. They turned to mush.

That happened to me also this week. Peaches have also not been good this year.

I've been lucky with nectarines this year. I got a Lidl 'waste not' box last week with contents including about a dozen donut nectarines - all good, and 3 avocados, two thirds of which have been good - I live in hope re the last. I've eaten all the potatoes that were in it, one of the carrots and an aubergine, and might yet eat the pears, though I'll have to cook them (in spiced red wine, of course).

Does anyone want about 2 dozen slightly shrivelled radishes?

€3 well spent.

I’ve had some gorgeous peaches and nectarines this year, it’s probably getting a bit late in the season now tbf. I think most of the ones we eat in the U.K. (and I’ll guess Ireland) are Spanish; the US presumably is supplied from its side of the pond so presumably has had quite different seasonal variations.

I have that issue with bananas. I get my shopping delivered so can't pick my own and spend a week wishing they would hurry up and turn from green and hard to yellow and soft, then overnight they speed through yellow and soft straight on to brown and mush.

I have admitted defeat and moved on to apples.

ETA and I'll pass on Dean's radish offer!

Contrary to popular belief, you can store bananas in the fridge for a few days once they’ve reached sufficient ripeness. The skins will become discoloured but the inside stays fine.

I do stick them in the fridge if I catch them at the right time. I used to make banoffee pie with them, but these days I just stick one in the microwave with some sugar and butter and it's rather nice! But more of a winter thing!

even nicer with a slug of whiskey (or dark rum)

I never thought of microwaving bananas - coming to think of it, I only got a microwave fairly recently, so microwaving anything wouldn't have popped into my mind!
But now I have a microwave [-oven, inserted to placate Pedantry Corner] - how long do you leave the bananas in? in their skin?
or 'shkin an' all' as we say here

You can actually cook radishes in a casserole or soup. They come out like slightly spicy turnips though they don’t soften as much.

I peel them. Sometimes add a bit of lemon or orange zest as well as the sugar and butter. Eat the with cream or ice cream.

Fruit. Health food.

As Boily said, more of a winter thing. In the summer you need a banana split with ice cream and chocolate sauce.

I’m very fond of a banana on toasted homemade bread with cinnamon.
Other fruits which can benefit from a bit of a microwave (and cinnamon) are figs and plums.

My every day breakfast 'stewed' apple is cooked in the microwave.

Yes, that’s another good one. Especially if like us we buy apples to take out on walks and then don’t remember to eat them till they’re past peak crunchiness.

Thinly sliced radishes are good in a stir fry.

Ah - I finally got a bottle of gluten free soy sauce, so a stir fry would be nice. Monday maybe, if the radishes are still tolerably fresh. Today is chickpeas the second and tomorrow is steak and chips.

You can put all sorts of things in a soup or stir fry but whether they all improve the dish is sometimes debatable.