OCTOBER NEWSLETTER

A record pumpkin harvest; cosy recipes; a book update; plus, a little hint about A Big Thing coming next week (and to which you'll all be invited)...

Oct 18, 2024

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Hello you lovely lot

I picked the pumpkins at the weekend. From the allotment. And I have to tell you it was the single most joyful thing I’ve done this month. Not because October is proving to be a glum month (though the weather is doing its best to make that so), but because Pumpkin Day is an unsurpassable pleasure.

Especially when you have a harvest like mine this year. I planted them as baby plants poking through black, woven ground cover on my new allotment, left them too it and they’ve produced around 20 cartoon-like bowling balls of delight - bottle green, azure and livid orange.

Expect several weeks of pumpkin and squash recipes to come (squash and onion tart, then pumpkin shakshuka to name a few.) In the meantime, try the pumpkin and sage cake with thyme and feta frosting from my cookbook.

It’s also soup season, more on that below, along with a clutch of other warming recipes I’m enjoying this month. A book update too.

And finally, a little hint of some BIG news coming next week.

(TECHNICAL NOTE: There are a LOT of recipes here and they might not all fit in your email. If so, just hit VIEW ENTIRE MESSAGE at the end of the email, or head to the app or online version.)

Soups and silence

Still time to grab a copy of this month’s The Simple Things magazine which features a LOT of soup, created by me and photographed by my pal

Kirstie Young

Plus, an article I’ve written about my silent retreats in nature at The Sharpham Trust. It’s like a hotel review, but nice.

Book update

I’m writing a book. Did I mention? (If you missed it, here’s the low down and here’s an extract). Well, we’re knee deep in layouts and proofs at the moment. People are nodding patiently as I pontificate about fonts (and then wisely ignoring me). I’m preparing myself to record the audiobook in a few weeks time. I have a publicist. A publicist! It’s all very exciting. Most exciting though are the illustrations that my talented friend, Rosie Ramsden (who painted the cover), has created for the internal pages. Here’s a little hint of what’s to come…

Illustrations by Rosie Ramsden for Rough Patch

As you’ll recall, pre-orders are everything with a new book. To recap, the more pre-orders, the more likely booksellers are to promote the book, put it in the window etc. They want to see it’s a good seller before they will try to sell it. I know, don’t ask me, it’s a mad mad world but there’s no sense in fighting it so…

Pre-order my book

Thank you.