Changing Food… One Meal At A Time!
Autumn
Jan Fullwood Food Consultant
(aka JamJarJan)
NOTES FROM A CHAOTIC KITCHEN
Welcome to daily life in a chaotic, well-used kitchen…..
A constantly busy, always evolving space: full of cooking, eating and creating (dinner, treats, mess), for work and for play, for family and friends.
Let me introduce myself and my family:
- A Food and Recipe Consultant who is ‘never knowingly under-catered’, I’ll whip up a five-minute muffin mix at a moment’s notice. I’m constantly creating, evaluating and tasting, always cooking, eating and learning something new
- Long-suffering Hub, who just wants a clutter-free kitchen and peace and quiet. Happiest in the garden. He grows, I cook and preserve
- Eldest Cheffy Son and his Pastry-chef girlfriend, who cook catering quantities of restaurant quality food at every opportunity
- Protein & carb-obsessed younger Student Son, currently at uni. Loves food, but cooking not his forte - student survival skills ongoing
We all eat to live. Let me help you live to eat.
Share my learning and experiences to make the most of your meals too.
What's in Jan's Pan?
OCTOBER 2025
Autumn has fully taken hold, and the landscape is a blaze of red and gold. As pumpkins and squashes are the food stars of the month, the Chefs used their considerable knife skills to carve a couple of spectacular Halloween offerings for the Trick or Treaters (never too old to enjoy the fun).
But pumpkins should never be just for carving, the food waste figures are shocking, so I've suggested a couple of recipes this month which make the most of this autumnal spectacular.
And now that the Chefs are back in town, we are eating incredibly well. Not only because I am making sure they are well fed and eating properly on the return from their commute and long shifts, but because all they want to do on their days off is cook. Mad as that may seem, I understand their obsession - it's actually relaxing to cook when it's not work. After years of recipe testing I totally understand that.
It means of course, that we have had to rethink our cooking schedule. For once in my life we are putting together a proper timeplan (I come from the ready steady cook style of ‘what’s in the cupboard and what needs eating in the fridge’ school of cooking) which in theory means less waste, and better use of the veg box and freezer. On their days off they take over the kitchen and create all kinds of masterpieces. There's also a steady stream of fancy leftover pastries coming through the door which are impossible to resist, so bang goes the waistline. It's worth cooking a big Sunday roast for four once again, and where Cheffy Son is involved it is just that - a BIG Sunday roast, with enormous yorkies (which he has perfected to a tee), crisp roast potatoes and not one, but four accompanying vegetables, both restaurant quality and quantity. The idea is for leftovers for the week, but the meat is piled onto the plate, with a lake of gravy to pour over, and it's hard to resist. It brings home the differences between Home Economics versus chefs’ skills. Home cooking considerations and waste management are not necessarily their focus, so we are educating each other now they are back in the fold.
So farewell empty nesting, and hello again family meals - both have their benefits, but a busy buzzing house is always my preference, and so the chaotic kitchen capers continue...
What's in Jan's Pan
Pumpkins & Squashes
Trick or Treat?
The Chefs may have had fun demonstrating their exceptional knife skills, but sadly pumpkins grown for carving are not grown for flavour. Of the estimated 39.9 million pumpkins bought this year, 22.2 million will go to waste, according to this article from the Sustainable Food Trust, The Problems with Pumpkins, reducing food waste at Halloween .
You'll be pleased to know that I roasted the smaller pumpkins and served with the classic combo of butter and crispy sage, and made my classic Pumpkin Soup , written for the Epson Printer online cookcards in their Creative Corner section of their website (lots of interesting things to be found here, and perfect for keeping younger kids entertained). Here tomato puree, apples and sage boost the flavour of a watery-fleshed pumpkin, and chilli is always a good way to lift the flavour too.
My veg box is wonderful for providing unusual squashes, and the grey/green skinned crown prince squash has a wonderful firm texture and deep orange flesh, perfect for a curry. I made Romy Gill's Pumpkin, Coconut and Poppy Seed Curry from the October issue of Good Food Magazine which was sensational with this royally-named squash.
I’m also looking forward to trying Yuki Gomi’s Japanese Kabocha, Shitake and Miso Stew (find the recipe on Instagram or Substack @yukiskitchen). I tested the recipes for her book ‘Sushi at Home’, so if you want to learn Japanese techniques then I couldn’t recommend her writing and hands on classes more highly.
Finally, for a sweet treat, the scooped out flesh can a be used for dessert dishes - pumpkin muffins akin to carrot cake, or the quintissential pumpkin pie, to recognise that Americans introduced the Halloween tradition in the first place.
So get creative, after all, a pumpkin's not just for Halloween.....
Cocoa Runners Chocolate Fair
A Chocoholics delight
An email from the Guild of Fine Food recently landed with an invite to the Cocoarunners Craft Chocolate Fair, brainchild of Spencer Hyman, who delivered the Great Taste workshop I featured back in February 2025, and what better way to spend a Saturday in October?
There were stalls of bean-to-bar craft chocolate from all over the world, with talks and tastings, and plenty of craft chocolate makers to talk to and sample their wares.
Crumbs seem to be the inclusion of choice, and featured in many a bar, but there were plenty of other interesting innovations, and memorable flavours:
Nearynogs chocolate from Ireland use many local ingredients : soda bread,Irish seaweed and gorse flower - hand collected, but not when it's windy as they're so prickly!
Choco del Sol have a fabulous range and their happy beans do what they say on the tin, it's well known that cacao releases endorphins and is good for you.
Pump Street chocolate, based in Suffolk sell a selection of tasting bars, perfect for someone like me who can't decide and wants it all.
Most notable was the first bean to bar chocolate in Norway, Fjak, who were star of the show with their innovative Nordic flavours. Norwegian brown cheese was the standout flavour. Whey is caramelised and dried to give an acidic tang from the cheese with a rich toffee note.
Juicy tasting Cloudberry brings back memories of skiing in Sweden, and Cinnamon roll and Blackcurrant Crumble bring the warmth of a Norwegian bakery. Finally traktkantarell - chanterelle mushrooms - give an earthy note and irresistible umami to the chocolate. Their
70% dark Tanzania Women’s Lot chocolate is made exclusively with cocoa from three women-headed farms in Tanzania (no, not three headed women - focus, please!)
Another favourite was Beancraft, based in Bradford-on-Avon, who have gathered lots of Great Taste stars along the way, and their Speculoos stood out for me. In one of our after dinner tastings (a regular feature of our evenings, on account of being married to a chocoholic) we detected very christmassy notes of mince pie and juicy fruit - truly complex and more to tease the tongue than you'd first expect from a simple bar of chocolate. They sell at Frome market if you're ever down Somerset way.
It's a shame that good chocolate is (rightly) so expensive, as it makes it such an occasional treat, but remember that these makers use quality ethical ingredients that ensure growers are supported and paid as they should be, and means you should savour every tiny mouthful. A world without chocolate is one not worth considering, so treat yourself, and help these makers continue their art. After all, we all deserve a little chocolate therapy.
These products are available online at
Go on, treat yourself.
What's on Jan's (Sevillian) Plate?
If you want a little winter sunshine, then Seville is the perfect short break. Known as the 'frying pan of Europe' as temperatures reach such a peak in the summer, so go in Spring or Autumn when we sun starved Brits need to warm our bones and boost our Vitamin D.
Another bucket list destination, enabled by the compensation for our delayed flights from our other bucket list holiday in Borneo earlier this year (see march archive). We were lucky enough to go at the beginning of October, when temperatures were still reaching 34C at the peak. It was my ideal holiday; a mix of relaxation but with plenty to explore, see and do, with the laid back late starts and late nights suiting an owl like me down to the ground.
The main draw was, of course, the tapas, but Seville is an incredibly beautiful city with its Moorish architecture and shady gardens to explore during the day, before hitting the buzzy bars and restaurants in the evening. The food markets are also a dream, full of local produce, with bar stools and tables alongside specialist stalls to sit and sample the food. From beneath the Setas de Sevilla (mushrooms of Seville - middle top) to Feria market with its traditionally tiled stalls, and across the Puente de Isabel II to Mercado de Triana for its artisan Spanish specialities.
Tinto de verano, a much lighter version of Sangria, was our tipple of choice, especially after the lunchtime drinking sessions of sherry and red wine in the heat started to take their toll.
We grazed our way round the City, eating a lot of cheese and meat, particularly the Iberian ham, so the plate of roasted veg featured in the middle bottom picture was a much needed antidote.
Fantastically fresh fish and seafood feature on menus too, and the Crunchy Octopus we had at Vuela, an unassuming tapas bar hidden away on a back street, was a treat not to be missed. (middle left). Go early or make sure you book.
Desserts weren't so notable, and bakeries don't seem to be a highlight of the tourist trail, but we did indulge in a traditionally cheerful pile of churros with chocolate (it would be rude not to).
From being serenaded by student singers at night around the Cathedral, finding flamenco displays in the stunning Plaza de Espana and lunching on croquettes and burrata by the Guadalquivir River (bottom left) watching the paddle boarders and kayaks float by, it was a holiday to remember, and I can't wait to return, perhaps in the spring this time to see the orange blossom on the namesake orange trees that adorn the city parks. Viva Seville!
What's in Jan's Airfryer
Crispy tofu
For our latest experiment we crisped up tofu in the airfryer, and found it gave a good all round crisp without having to stand over a pan and turn each individual cube to crisp all six sides.
We dusted it in cornflour, added a pinch of ground Szechuan pepper and some salt and sprayed lightly with oil then cooked on 200C for around 10 minutes, shaking occasionally until it reached the desired golden crispness.
We served this sprinkled over our favourite miso noodle broth to boost the roast beef (of which there wasn't much leftover, thanks to Cheffy son serving up the Sunday roast). There's a recipe for this on my Instagram @JamJarJan.
We used the Tofoo Co smoked tofu, which helps to boost the flavour of this otherwise bland foodstuff (it's all in the flavourings), but Sainsbury's So Organic Super-firm Tofu is also a great product. Always use the firm tofu for frying, silken tofu is not suitable, unless you want a sloppy mess. This is much better suited for tofu scramble or vegan dessert should you be so inclined.
Tofu may not be to everyone's taste, but as a rich source of nutrients and a source of complete protein it provides great health benefits, so it's well worth adding to your diet (we discovered it during Cheffy Son's vegetarian phase in his teens).
Another product worth trying is the Taifun Organic Smoked Tofu, which has added almonds and sesame seeds, available at Waitrose and Ocado, which gives added texture and flavour and is a good start for the uninitiated.
By experimenting with flavourings who knows, you may just come to love it....
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