Outside the first autumn leaves have started to fall to the ground, mostly lemon with a little lime, the wet pavement underneath speckled like a kaleidoscope. As the air gets cooler, the colours will get warmer, until the autumn winds dry them out and all colour fades away. But, for now, the riotous show that colours our lives each autumn, is still a promise. Soon the leaves will be all the different hues of red and orange, mirroring the colours of my favourite vegetables at this time of year.
It was so silent when I got up this morning. Grey sky. Heavy clouds promising rain. Everything was just so still, the birds quiet, the tree out front unmoving and my window boxes still too. Then, as I sat down at my computer, the scaffolders arrived a few doors away and loud noises clanged and bashed into a skip, then, absolute silence again. It’s an underwater day.
Photo by Matt Alaniz – unsplash
Ayurveda & food
Ayurveda recommends eating seasonal ingredients. This week I have a delicious array of autumn vegetables to play with – courgettes, leeks, mashed potato squash, rainbow beetroot, rainbow carrots, red onions, sweet potatoes, tender stem broccoli, watercress and white potatoes. I’m creating lots of small plates with these vegetables that I will put up as the weeks go by – one of my sons took me to a restaurant that serves small plate dishes, and I have been inspired. The great thing about small plate food is that you can cater for all tastes in one meal — meat eaters, non meat eaters, as well as the taste and quality needs of the different Ayurvedic constitutions.
In Ayurveda we learn that different people can have different constitutions, and each one needs a slightly different approach to food.
What is your favourite food?
I’d love to know what your favourite foods are, perhaps you’ll let me know in the comments. Do you have any types of food or ingredients you just don’t like? I thought it would be nice if I wrote my cookbook next year taking this into account. I want to make sure that I write a book that you’ll enjoy reading and get some benefit from, as I’ll be sharing the first draft with you in serialised form. Perhaps you would like me to include the Ayurvedic approach to nutrition, explain how to strengthen immunity, heal digestion, all three or, something else?
My favourite food is vegetables I’ve grown, simply steamed and served with lots of butter and sea or rock salt, and a good sprinkling of chopped parsley. I also love putting fresh fish on top of this, with lemon squeezed. The taste of the lemon, butter and salt is, to my pallet, just perfect.
Recipe
Courgette leek & watercress soup
This soup is simple, like most of my recipes, but you can make it more elaborate simply by layering other tastes through sauces and toppings . For instance I have some sliced truffles marinated in oil which I might use as a garnish next time, drizzling the oil over the surface along with some of the truffle pieces. Or, you could toast hazelnuts then crush them with some oil and cardamon, using this as a topping.
Ingredients
1 leek sliced
2 cloves garlic chopped
1 good sized courgette chopped
1 bunch of watercress chopped
1 good sized potato chopped
6 cups of stock
Rock salt
1 teaspoon crushed black pepper corns
3 teaspoons caraway seeds crushed
2 tablespoons ghee or butter or preferred oil
1/2 cup chopped parsley
Lemon zest of one lemon
Method
Sauté the first five ingredients in the ghee/butter/oil with the caraway seeds and black pepper until the leeks are soft, then add the stock and simmer for about 30 minutes. add the parsley and lemon zest and season with the rock salt.
As I reach the end of this letter the sun is starting to come through. I can hear one bird in the tree out front. I love the way the the wet leaves glisten and the sun slides into my sitting room across the carpet.
Joy dots
Sun in my sitting room
Leaves and raindrops
Teapot
French markets
Warm tea
Chipped mug
Sun reflections on wall
Puddles
Warmest wishes, till Friday,
Lucy x