A few weeks ago we visited the Pumpkin Farm near Warsaw. It was a beautiful trip: the sunny weather and the many kinds of colourful pumpkins invited us to look at them, take photos and buy them. It was a very nice time. We got back with a couple of colourful pumpkins which for a few days decorated our balcony. Slowly but surely, I used up my pumpkin supply preparing soups, salads and muffins. Of course, I also had to have my favourite risotto with pumpkin. I added a bit of curcuma to make the colour of the dish stronger. We had a real autumn dish on our plates.

Ingredients (for 4 people):
200 g of arborio rice
1l of vegetarian bouillon
1 big onion
2 cloves of garlic
1.5kg of pumpkin (before peeling)
half a teaspoon of curcuma
200ml of dry white wine
3 tablespoons of butter
3 tablespoons of parmesan
3 tablespoons of almond flakes

In our home only I like Brussels sprouts. The rest of the family says that they eat them only because they have to. I decided to prepare Brussels sprouts in such a way that my children couldn't complain. The children didn't want to believe it, but it turned out that this vegetable can be tasty. If your children turn their noses up at Brussels sprouts, try serving them with almond flakes, chili pepper and parsley. Maybe they will like them just like my children did? Such a salad with Brussel sprouts could be a side dish at dinner or a swift and yummy snack.

Ingredients:
0.5kg of Brussels sprouts
2 cloves of garlic
a piece of chili pepper
4 tablespoons of almond flakes
2 tablespoons of chopped parsley
1 tablespoon of butter
2 tablespoons of lemon juice

When the stalls were buckling under the weight of all the fruit and vegetables, I prepared a couple of small jars with spicy apricot jam. I regret that I prepared so little, because the jam was so yummy and now it is only a memory. Next year I have to make lots of jam, or hide it cleverly and serve it when the autumn is finished and we need to cheer ourselves up. This jam looks like summer in a jar. It is strong, a bit spicy and sweet and sour. It was excellent with fresh bread and goat cottage cheese. I recommend it for winter breakfast.

The recipe for this jam comes from the magazine "Moje gotowanie" ("My cooking").

Ingredients:
750g of apricots
0.5kg of yellow tomatoes
chili pepper
50ml of lemon juice
50g of brown sugar

The autumn indicates that the winter is coming. Winter is my bête noire season. I don't like extremes in the weather, whether that be heatwaves or too much snow. But the short days and lack of sunlight are the winter symbols which I dislike the most. Now I try not to think about it, because I want to feel good about the beauty and flavours of autumn.

If I think about autumn, I see colourful plums. I can eat them constantly. I like them in cakes, but they are also excellent in desserts, salads and jams. A few weeks ago I promised to make an upside down cake with plums, and today I decided to deliver on my promise. The cake was fluffy, moist and sweet, just the way we like it.

Ingredients:
280g of flour
125g of brown sugar
80g of butter
250ml of milk
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
a pinch of salt
8 plums
120g of brown sugar

October and November taste of pumpkin and plums. During the rest of the year we hardly eat pumpkin. Occasionally I buy a butternut pumpkin when I would like to eat some pumpkin soup. Thanks to Halloween and jack-o'lanterns, pumpkin salads, pancakes, muffins, tarts and soups reign in my autumn kitchen.

I remember sweet pumpkin soup cooked with milk from my childhood. I honestly don't like it. In my home I prepare spicy pumpkin soup with coconut milk. This time I prepared pumpkin soup with tomatoes and orange juice. My soup was really spicy. My lesson for today is: always check how spicy your chili pepper is before you add it to your meal 

Ingredients (for 4 people)
half a pumpkin (about 2.5kg before peeling)
1 tin of tomatoes
1 chili pepper
2 cloves of garlic
1 small onion
1 tablespoon of butter
juice from one orange
1l of vegetable stock
150ml of sweet cream (optional)