So that was the summer that was and what an amazing summer it’s been.

We’ve had fantastic weather. As we’ve seen over the past weeks in this ‘Secrets of Surrey Street’ column, this bought rewards and challenges to the market traders.

Everyone enjoys the sun and atmosphere has been great on Surrey Street but there were days when it was so hot people decided to stay home and chill in the garden with an iced drink.

Then there was the produce to keep fresh in heat strong enough to bake bananas in their skin. It has been an eventful season and now, the traders will be looking ahead and preparing themselves for the long, colder months ahead.

Before winter brings ice that will have to be cleared before stalls can be set up and winds biting enough to chap exposed skin, we have the Autumn.

This week, we officially moved into my favourite season of the year in many ways. It’s not cold enough to be unpleasant but chilly enough to make you want to snuggle in winter woolies with a mug of chocolate. For me, the market has come into its own this week.

I love Autumn comfort eating - soups, stews, risottos, pastas. There is just so much amazing produce out there at this time of year; courgettes, squashes, peppers, mushrooms, apples in all sorts of varieties. It’s mostly British too, hearty and nutritious and gives you a good boost of vitamins to help fight the lurgies doing the rounds.

Last week, I was on my stall struggling for the first time to keep warm all day. In front of my eyes all day were the most tempting bowls of long orange and yellow peppers.

I imagined they’d be really sweet so bought them, along with courgettes, tomatoes and onions. I thought of mushrooms but remembered the tip I had a few months ago from the lovely family who run the Chinese produce stall.

They advised never no more than three or four items in a stir fry or you won’t be able to get the individual tastes. So, I chose three vegetables to accompany my peppers. I fried them up with a hint of garlic, herbs and seasoning and then stirred in a pot of marscapone cheese. Simple, warming and really tasty with pasta.

It went down well with the family too so I’ll be doing it again very soon.

I’d love to know your recipes inspired by Surrey Street. I’ll be compiling them into a book so please do send them in to me at milnesarah@me.com.

 

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