Squaring up to autumn with soda bread and a scary pumpkin

I guess autumn has properly arrived over here. The long days where the sun would slant lazily over the horizon are gone, replaced by sheets of drizzle and falling temperatures.

It won't be long til I'm moaning about the never ending kale and squash combo that seems to rock up with the fall, but for now I'm loving the changing seasons

I went down Borough market to stock up on some veggies and caught an eyeful of this early Hallowe'en visitor - how cool is he?

As a bit of marketing, it totally worked - I had to bring home a big chunk of pumpkin. It's still in the fridge though - any ideas what I should do with it?

The Borough visit also saw me come back home with a load of girolles -  I love how cheap they are at this time of year. They're so bouncy and toothsome, they don't need much doing to them to turn them into something tastyI put them in the oven with a load of peppers and that other amazing winter vegetable, the jerusalem artichoke. I love those so much - just baked in the oven for a while until the insides are fluffy and almost melting, they're delicious. Add a sprinkle of parsley on top, a little salt and pepper, and you're done.

Another thing that says autumn to me is apples! I went to see my brother and his family at the weekend, which was amazing. My niece is vegan too, and my bro made the whole family apple pancakes. Sweet, huh? And very autumnal.

As the only vegan in the family, my brother is keen for my niece to learn to cook some new, fun vegan recipes, so I've been trying to dig out some of my favourites to help her along the way.  I've sent over the tuna-less tuna and egg-less egg sandwich recipes from Crazy Sexy Kitchen for lunchbox filling, and a couple of Veggiestan favourites, including tofu scramble and Afghan carrot hotpot. If you've got any suggestions for recipes for a (relatively novice) vegan to start on, send them over. She's just learning to cook, so as simple as possible is definitely the order of the day!

Talking of as simple as possible, the change in the weather reminded me how long it had been since I last made soda bread.

Soda bread is bread for those days when you want something hot and floury out of the oven, but you just can't be harassed with all the kneading and proving. Making soda bread is just a matter of mixing a few things together in a bowl and then baking. I always use this recipe from the Telegraph and it always turns out great. There's not much to it - you can add a bit of treacle or some oats if you want, but you don't have to.

It's deliciously simple and it deserves to be served up in a very simple fashion - just toast it, add a bit of your vegan spread of choice, and enjoy with a big cup of tea in a cosy corner somewhere. Bring on the autumn, I'm ready for you.