Autumn harvest

As the glorious summer fruit season recedes there is still plenty of work to do with bottling, pickling and preserving all those left over fruit and vegetables. How about making tomato chutney or pickling some onions?

Autumn colours are more subtle but harvest time is a period of abundance and vitality There's a smooth transition from summer to winter crops - with freshly picked nuts and blackberries from September, and the best of the season's apples and pears.

By Halloween the tough skinned pumpkins and squash are ready, just in time for a sumptuous and filling pumpkin soup. Roasted root vegetables make a perfect accompaniment to a Sunday roast or suffice as a vegetarian dish in its own right.