The wind has begun to conduct the clouds in a new, brisk symphony. It’s easy to see where Vivaldi got his inspiration for tuning in his music with the changing seasons. For now the afternoons glow with a golden light and the last strands of summer warmth are stolen away by an ever earlier sunset. Autumn is coming.
Of course, the food is all the better for it. The first Discovery apples fill our local greengrocer’s baskets and the summer squash – UFO inspired patty pans and yellow courgettes to name but a few – have taken over many an allotment.
This summer has been one of indulgence and calm for me, verging on gluttony and laziness. It’s been wonderful but with the looming start of university and a brand new house just waiting to be moved into, I do need to motivate myself into a wholesome, happy, and healthy student (a bit of a contradiction in terms?) The light autumn chill is as good a reminder as any that I need to get my arse into gear.
So, I’m cooking vegetables. It’s a small step to becoming a wholesome individual, but one I’m willing to embark on before anything else.
Those golden squash I talked about earlier have been halved and stuffed. Piling handfuls of grated cheese onto that tender but mild tasting flesh is a must. I had a rummage around the fridge and made a stuffing of blitzed courgette, tomato, fresh herbs, garlic, bread crumbs and a liberal amount of butter, but why not fill them with a spiced lamb concoction. The cheese could be anything from a strong cheddar to mozzarella…whatever you have to hand.
I also made this gorgeous flame tinted soup made from a huge pot of seasonal vegetables – carrots, peppers, courgette and celeries were all cheered up with a couple of spoonfuls of yellow Thai curry paste.
Vegetables are only part of the story though, I also have to organise new uni house things, like setting up the internet, buying a tv license and hunting out my missing fairy lights which I’m convinced will make my average bedroom look like a magical cave where I’ll want to spend all of my time STUDYING. You might question the power of fairy lights now, but I’m telling you, when you have a room that looks like it came straight from a Pinterest Home board, what else would you want to do in it but study?
Cosmetic issues aside, it turns out that organising student housing can be a real pain in the arse, which is why I’m hoping that all of this search for a more ‘wholesome me’ works out. I want to bake cakes in my new kitchen before going on a three mile jog then embarking on a fully productive studying session.
We all know that this isn’t going to happen. I’ll make the the cake, eat it, then get lost in the vortex of procrastination…all in the surroundings of a bedroom decorated with glinting fairy lights.
Oh well, there’s nothing wrong with dreaming.
To The Table 