An Introduction

‘Not another cookbook!’ you cry. Well, this one is about autumn and some of its champions, with recipes to sustain us on into winter’s mean months. It starts when the swallow’s shadow flickers over the waters, away from the din of absurd contraptions that blow leaves from A to B.

In these pages is an assortment of modest dishes for the frugal, with big hitters for those who might relish wiping their shiny chins. There are recipes for those in a hurry and others for those moving at a more leisurely pace. Find soups to warm the extremities when frozen hands feel they might smash like china, and slow-cooked succulence for returning walkers moving towards the pumpkin glow of home at dusk. Overall, this is a book to accompany the browns, oranges and yellows of falling leaves - the first frosts, bigger coats and log fires - and to encourage joyful activity instead of 4pm gloom.