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Meet Beth

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local milk is a journal devoted to home cookery, travel, family, and slow living—to being present & finding sustenance of every kind. It’s about nesting abroad & finding the exotic in the everyday. Most of all it’s about the perfection of imperfections and seeing the beauty of everyday, mundane life.

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A long time ago in a different life (or at least i A long time ago in a different life (or at least it feels that way) I was riding in a car at night with @whereissionnie to meet up with @ruthielindsey and @1924us for bonfires and general cabin shenanigans outside of Nashville. 

I remember the drive so well. It’s a conversation that always stuck with me. We talked about trauma and crisis. And I don’t know much, but I shared the only thing I know, a thing that has served me well through the natural undulations life is bound to bring.

And that is simply sometimes you have to cling to the mast. You aren’t doing anything but surviving but that’s the most important work of all. Because the storm WILL pass. And you‘ll be left standing.

And when it does you can mend the sails. Untangle the ropes. And get on with the business of sailing.

I’ve learned to give myself permission to do nothing but make it through. To sleep a little too late. To dance in front of the mirror and feel myself even when I look ridiculous. To load and unload the dishwasher and allow that to be a great victory. To dress like a cartoon character in nothing but white t-shirts and denim shorts.  To eat mac & cheese from a box and frozen chicken nuggets sometimes. To not respond to text messages. To flail and get back up over and over. To ask for help. A lot.

And also permission to feel it all. Rage. Grief. Joy. Hope and hopelessness. And sometimes all within the span of a few minutes. 

And most of all, whether navigating calm waters or stormy ones, what matters more than anything is the crew you’re doing it with. Surround yourself with solid people.

People that challenge you with compassion. And humor. People whose strengths buttress your weakness. People that don’t judge you. That believe in you even when you think they’re maniacs for doing so.

I know a disproportionate amount of us have had rough seas this year. Cling to the mast in the storm. Choose your crew wisely. No storm ever lasted forever. But there never was a last storm in the world. Accept that they will come and be prepared.

An Autumn Fruit Crumble & Seasonal Recollections

Cook

10.15.2019

Seasonal Recollections & An Autumn Fruit Crumble with Sarah Hemsley from A Slow Gathering on Local Milk Blog with Beth Kirby

Hello there! My name is Sarah, and I live in Surrey, England, with my family. I’m a home cook and baker guided by seasonal eating. I find inspiration in my modest, edible garden and foraging in nearby woodland. I share my food and nature adventures on my blog, A Slow Gathering.

I would like to share with you my favourite Autumn fruit crumble and the humble ways in which it has been a cornerstone of childhood Sunday dinners. This recipe is a consistent favourite in my own baking repertoire.

Sunday dinners in England with homemade crumble for Autumn

The Sweet Nostalgia of Autumn

Childhood memories awakening with the fiery hues of the changing landscape. Recollections of squeaky new school shoes kicking through crisp leaves. Drying puddle soaked socks on the radiator and threading old shoelaces through freshly varnished conkers. Wisps of smoke from garden bonfires that permeate the damp air and an excitable gasp, hearing that first firework crack abruptly in the blackened stillness of the night sky.

It’s a season that puts roses in your cheeks, as my Gran would say. With the last lingering light of summer and the ensuing darkness of winter fast approaching, bringing with it a yearning to hibernate and seek warmth and solace indoors. Gathering our loved ones around a candlelit table, shutting the door on the gusty, leaf swirling winds and drizzle, reviving our windswept souls with the joy of simple, home-cooked food, hearty suppers, and homely puddings.

Food can fortify and nurture our senses with echoes from the past. Recalling lost memories with each devoured spoonful, and savouring familiar aromas that waft temptingly from the kitchen.

Floral flatlay photography stying with accessories for fall

Fall floral design and arrangements inspiration

A Sunday Night Favourite

As a child, I spent a great deal of time outdoors. Riding my bike along the pavement outside our house or playing hide and seek with neighbourhood kids, staying outside until dusk, paying no mind to the encroaching chill of the dwindling daylight. The skies turned blush pink, the street lights flickered awake, and our mums would call us home for dinner. As I climbed the steps to the front door, the most beguiling aroma of cooking would greet me. It warmed my frozen bones with a blast of hot steamy air from an open oven door, enticingly scented with roast chicken, rich onion gravy, and the sweet fruity hint of an autumn crumble bubbling inside.

My memory of an autumn fruit crumble began then, a Sunday night favourite, usually made with apples, as we had so many apple trees in our garden. Achingly sweet and warming. My sister and I would sit cross-legged on the floor with our bowls of fruit crumble and watch a Sunday night BBC drama on TV, usually an episode of ‘Miss Marple.’ Our cheeks glowing pink from the heat of the fire and the contentment of the crumble. Sitting ever so still, quietly filling our bellies, desperately trying not to scrape the bowl too loudly as we guzzled down the very last bit. We shooed away greedy cats trying to lick the leftover cream from the bowl, which would undoubtedly give the game away that we had finished, prompting Mum to say, “Ok now, bedtime you two.”

With a bittersweet taste, we’d eat that last spoonful, knowing that Monday morning and back to school was only a sleep away.

Food and prop styling with fruit for a fall pear crumble

Homemade autumn crumble with pears recipe

Then and Now

I now see that same sentiment etched onto my children’s faces. That Sunday night feeling. I feel it still myself, but from a mother’s perspective; packed lunches to make, uniforms to iron, swim kits to wash.

It’s one of those typical Autumnal Sunday afternoons. The rain has poured in fitful spurts throughout the day, broken occasionally with a burst of sunshine. The dark grey clouds, incongruously too bright, make the rain droplets on the trees look like sparkling diamonds and the puddles like large oval mirrors.

I sit by the window looking out at the darkening evening skies, while tree branches reach out and scratch an unnerving tap-tapping on the window pane. My husband has taken the kids to the park, and I’m wondering if they’ll make it back before the next deluge. Shortly, I spot my daughter’s head bobbing up the driveway. She’s been allowed to cycle back from the park ahead of the others, and the thrill she feels with this new independence is palpable. She has roses in her cheeks.

A New Crumble Story

Later, I sit and help my son with his homework while I pair up grey school socks ready for the week ahead. The oven is warming, I’ll pour a glass of wine, put the radio on, and begin peeling potatoes for roasting. There’s an abundance of pears in dishes on the kitchen table, I’ve bought too many I think, lamenting the lack of pears on our own little tree again this year. So a fruit crumble seems inevitable. My eldest will hear the chink of jars from the baking cupboard as I retrieve flour and sugar, and she’ll want to help, so I’ll let her. She’s already an expert crumble maker. There’ll be a dusting of flour over everything, but that doesn’t matter. 

I head outside into the diminishing light of the evening, the winds are getting wilder, but it’s invigorating stepping out after the steamy heat of the kitchen. The grass is sodden. I steer past puddles and try to avoid stepping on slugs, remembering too late I’m still wearing my slippers. I go to fetch the few kitchen towels still barely clinging on to the washing line and the muddied one lying on the ground, but get distracted and decide to pick some flowers for the table; Japanese Anemones, Sedum, Pyracantha berries, Acer leaves and some faded heads of Hydrangea. 

After dinner, I clear the table, put the last bit of the autumn fruit crumble in the fridge, thinking I might have it for breakfast with yoghurt tomorrow, and wash the dishes that won’t fit in the dishwasher.

From upstairs, I hear the giggling chatter from children getting into pyjamas, negotiating five more minutes playtime before bed, bickering over borrowed books, and suddenly remembering that ‘thing’ they had to do for school the next day. I turn around in time to catch the cat with her head in an empty crumble bowl, licking what remains. She lifts her head in alarm as I shoo her off the table. I just catch sight of a blob of cream on her nose as she jumps down and scurries away, “ Caught you,” I think, and I can’t help but smile.

Fall dessert crumble with pears

Sweet autumn dessert for cooler weather with seasonal fruit

The Art of Making a Fruit Crumble

The perfection of a crumble is in its humble simplicity and the ease in which it can be adapted and meddled with. My recipe for Autumn Fruit Crumble can be followed concisely, or it can be used as a guide. 

Some alternatives; Swap the ground almonds for oats or seeds, the vanilla for ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg or cardamom, and lemon zest and juice instead of orange. Use whichever seasonal fruits are to hand; apples, pears, plums, blackberries, rhubarb, quince, and peaches are all befitting bedfellows to a crumble topping. 

One thing I would say is that it be handmade. Forgo throwing it all into a food processor. The art of making a crumble, much like pastry, is the delicate finger rubbing of butter and flour. Lose yourself and enjoy the moment, it is as slow and comforting as the pudding itself. Notice how the mixture feels between your fingers and add more or less flour accordingly.  

My recipe is for a more buttery, crumbly mixture, so add more flour if you prefer a more dusty topping, a tablespoon at a time until the consistency feels right.

Food photography for a crumble with many substitutions for fruit and crumble toppings

Floral design and arranging for fall

 

Print
An Autumn Fruit Crumble

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Serving Size: 6

An Autumn Fruit Crumble

Ingredients

    crumble
  • 125g chilled unsalted Butter, cubed
  • 175g Plain Flour
  • 75g Ground Almonds
  • 100g Golden Caster Sugar + 1 Tbsp for sprinkling on top
  • fruit
  • 4 large pears
  • 6 plums
  • Vanilla - 1 Tbsp of vanilla paste or seeds from 1 bean
  • Zest of half an orange
  • 1Tbsp of fresh orange juice
  • 2 Tbsp golden caster sugar

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 180ºC / 350ºF
  2. First make the crumble. In a large bowl add the flour, ground almonds and butter and slowly rub together until the butter is well mixed in. It should resemble lumpy course sand. Stir in the sugar and put the crumble mixture into the fridge to keep chilled.*
  3. Peel, core and chop the pears into chunks, then stone the plums and, leaving skin on, chop into quarters. Add to a 1.5 litre pie dish.
  4. Stir in the sugar, vanilla, orange zest and orange juice.
  5. Remove crumble from fridge and cover the fruit in the pie dish making sure all the fruit is covered.
  6. Sprinkle over the extra tbsp of sugar.
  7. Put in the pre heated oven and bake for 45 minutes.
  8. *Crumble is even better from the freezer so consider making batches in advance. Just add the frozen crumble to any fruit base.
    The frozen crumble may clump together so just break apart into smaller lumps.
3.1
https://localmilkblog.com/2019/10/an-autumn-fruit-crumble-seasonal-recollections.html

 

By Sarah Hemsley | A Slow Gathering

 

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tags: almonds, autumn, baking, cook, crumble, crust, dessert, fall, fruit, homemade, oats, pear, plum, recipe, sarah hemsley

10 thoughts on “An Autumn Fruit Crumble & Seasonal Recollections”

  1. Catherine Gallagher says:
    October 16, 2019 at 7:47 pm

    Hey-for those of us in the States, please use measurements in cups and tablespoons…hello!

    Reply
    1. beth says:
      October 17, 2019 at 6:45 am

      Hey Catherine! Here are the conversions for you:

      – 1/2 cup of butter
      – 1 and 1/4 scant cup of flour
      – 3/4 cup of ground almonds
      – 1/2 cup of Golden Caster Sugar

      Reply
  2. Patricia Rupert says:
    October 17, 2019 at 1:56 pm

    Thanks Beth, I needed that!

    Reply
  3. Isabella says:
    October 19, 2019 at 11:27 am

    Absolutely gorgeous! I can’t wait to try it.

    Reply
  4. Catherine Gallagher says:
    October 19, 2019 at 12:12 pm

    Thank you Beth! I so appreciate the conversion to cups….and am making this for my family tonight.

    Reply
  5. braddie granes says:
    October 30, 2019 at 7:08 am

    Autumn recipes are my favorite. I keep on trying in free time. Thanks for adding more to the list.

    Reply
  6. Annalisa Benanchietti says:
    November 1, 2019 at 4:25 pm

    Poetic, romantic, elegant…really nice pics. Will try the recipe after translating in Italian…

    Reply
  7. Kim Daniels says:
    November 10, 2019 at 7:16 am

    Beautiful simplicity at its best. I am inspired to make this lovely, homey dessert.

    Reply
  8. Hannah Lagoski says:
    November 21, 2019 at 10:08 am

    Is there a vegan substitute for butter you would suggest?

    Reply
  9. Mimi says:
    November 21, 2019 at 8:12 pm

    As a vegan myself, I would suggest using vegan “buttery spread” or solid coconut oil.
    Hope this helps!

    Reply

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