Is what people eat anybody's business?

I read Kirstie Allsopp's "twitter row" about eating today.  For those of you who missed it, this is what was said:

Just saw a guy have a glass of coke, a cappuccino, a croissant and a ham & cheese sandwich for breakfast #OurNHSistoast #worldgonemad

— Kirstie Mary Allsopp (@KirstieMAllsopp) September 28, 2016

So what happened next?  Predictably the world went mad.  Most of the responses were negative.  How very dare she comment on this?

Kirstie Allsopp Twitter Photo

Grilled halloumi with herb vinaigrette

Halloumi is a great quick meal, there is something surprisingly deliciously salty about the squeaky cheese.

Chickpea and Spinach Curry

I make no claims to be an authentic Indian chef, but this is going to university time of year and it's also coming to the end of the month.  All of us could do with a decent curry recipe which costs pence and tastes great whether you're a meat eater, a vegetarian, a vegan, gluten free etc.

Game stew

Now autumn feels like it's properly here.  I love summer but the first flushes of autumn with stews, pies, traditional puddings are like the coziness of coming home.  Autumn, season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, at the end moving into winter, the crisp cold, maybe snow.  The older I get the more I look forward to every season and everything it brings.

The dried mushrooms in this massively add to the flavour.  Without them, it wouldn't be the same, it wouldn't have the depth of flavour so I really would give it a go.

This was going to be a game pie and it would be fabulous to make into a pie filling if you prefer.  I was just too lazy and my son liked the smell of it so he wanted to taste it straight away (it was a hit with the 6 year old too!)

Chicken Salad

A lovely chicken salad with crunchy apple and celery.  It's so filling and delicious.

My top 10 apple recipes

The apples on my tree are reaching their fantastic crisp ripeness.  There is nothing like a delicious crisp apple straight from the tree.

But apple trees can be prolific, even small ones but the joy is that apples are so versatile.  Great in salads and in cooking.  Here are a few ideas.

A cheeky antipasto of figs with blue cheese

I've just come back from Italy and the figs are just starting to ripen.  It made me think about blue cheese with fruit, sweet, sticky honey and the bitterness of walnuts.

Is it an antipasto?  Is it a dessert?  Is it a snack?  I suppose it could be any?  Either way it works.  Add some crusty bread or rocket to make it into more of a meal.

What's in season in September?

Ah September... as we drift into this month summer starts to fade and become a distant memory.  If we're lucky in the UK we'll still have a few warm days but generally the cardies are going on and someone in the family starts looking wistfully at the heating controls.

But this month is also a season of bounty.  Everything from home gardens to hedgerows are groaning with produce.  The wild blackberries are still bountiful and what better than apples to have with them?