I love autumn, it truly is my most favourite time of the year. Cold enough to snuggle up, wear layers and stay indoors, but still mild enough to invite people over for dinner (and wine) and guarantee they’ll come (by January you have to promise me an insane feast to get me to leave the house). Also I think food is at its peak. Spring and Summer are strong contenders, I know, but I love nothing more than the flavours, colours and textures of autumn. Pumpkins, squashes, mushrooms, orchard fruits, cabbage, kale, game… It combines a lot of my favourite things, including a natural desire to slow cook everything and fill the house with warm and spiced smells.
A ‘Get Well Soon’ Heavenly Fish Pie
This week I’ve decided to attack a classic; the family favourite fish pie. A lot of us already know how to make this crowd pleaser of a dish, so what is different about my recipe and why have I chosen to write a blog post about it?
On the surface, my reasons are simple. My auntie is poorly, and has been struggling to eat for some time. Part of her illness means she is currently struggling to chew, and has thus far survived on lattés and rice pudding (zero nutrients, which isn’t helping!). She’s starting to look frail and immediately I knew I wanted/ needed to do something.
Cauliflower cheese topped cottage pie
I’m back!
I’ve been away from here for a shockingly long time and my excuses are many – I really need to learn multitask. The main reason though is a good one though, I swear, I’ve written a book! (Chances are you’ve come via Instagram and you probably already know that, but just in case…). Yes, a book, a real life cookbook. I’ve wanted to write cookbooks for years now, it really is a lifelong dream come true, and I’m beyond thrilled to say it’ll be released on 9th June this year. It’s called ‘Stirring Slowly – recipes to restore and revive’, and it’s all about comforting, calming cooking – food that will make you feel good from the inside. No faddy diets or overly fussy recipes, just proper home cooking that will reconnect you to the kitchen. You can preoder it on amazon already, or just have a nosey at the (gold foiled!) cover:
Stirring Slowly: Recipes to Restore and Revive
I’m sure over the next few months I’ll be including more on Stirring Slowly, cheeky extracts and pictures, behind the scenes stuff, but for now a recipe that could easily have made it into the book. A comforting and warming classic, with a twist.
I’ll often ask Pete if there’s anything he fancies for dinner during the week and this week brought a new dish to our household: the humble cottage pie. By new, I just mean for us, it’s not something that frequents the Hayden dinner table, especially as I tend to opt for lamb (shepherd’s) over beef (cottage). Happy to oblige off I went, adamant I’d make him something incredible (and better than the one he gets from his favourite lunch spot – Fuzzy’s). The result was a classic cottage pie, with a cheesy cauliflower mash on top – a combination of 2 of Pete’s favourite dishes. Serve with a little English mustard and you’re winning.
Ps Exciting times, the website is about to get a make over. Please bear with me while it undergoes some changes.
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