Massive thanks to Time Out for the scoop and @tbex for bringing it to my attention. For more info, see capitalgrowth.org.

You can find the recipe here and I’ve handily pasted it below. All credit to Hugh (and those are his pancakes in the picture – not mine!):

Sweet potato pancakes

A delicious way to start the day. To make a more indulgent weekend breakfast, add a few rashers of crisp bacon. Makes about 12 pancakes.

180g plain flour
3 tsp baking powder
½ tsp grated nutmeg
½ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp salt
300g cooked sweet potato, mashed
2 eggs, lightly beaten
60g butter, melted and cooled slightly, plus a little more for frying
Butter, honey and toasted walnuts (optional; bake a handful or two of shelled nuts at 180C/350F/gas mark 4 for six to eight minutes), for serving

Sift the flour, baking powder, nutmeg, ginger and salt into a bowl. Beat together the sweet potato, eggs and butter in a separate bowl, then fold in the flour mixture, stirring just until combined – the batter will be quite stiff. Heat a frying pan over a medium-high heat and add a small knob of butter. Rub off any excess with a wad of kitchen paper. Drop the mixture into the pan in large tablespoonfuls, pressing them down gently with the back of the spoon to form a nice round. Fry for about four minutes a side, until browned on both sides. Serve spread with butter, trickled with honey and with the toasted walnuts scattered on top, if you’re using them.

MY COOK’S NOTES:

1. I peeled and cut the sweet potato into inch-size chunks and boiled it before mashing it – I think this is the fastest way.

2. If you can get your hands on good maple syrup, the kind they are so proud of in Canada, it’s even nicer on these pancakes than honey.

3. The batter is super-thick so I kept playing with the temperature – it was tricky to get them not to cook too fast on the outside and not all the way through.

4. He says the recipe makes 12 pancakes. I only made seven. 12 would have been very small pancakes. Plan accordingly for the size of the group you are feeding.

5. I didn’t serve with nuts but I most definitely did serve with crisp, streaky bacon. Mmmm!

Look what’s in now: foods that are ugly but delicious – celeriac, brussels sprouts and parsnips. Oh, do I know some amazing ways to make these tasty! I will share…

Here is what else is in season this month so you can plan your menus to save money and eat deliciously. Lists come from BBC GoodFood:

Fruit
At its best: bramley apples, clementines, cranberries, dates, figs, pears and quince

Veg
At its best: beetroot, brussels sprouts, celeriac, celery, chestnuts, globe artichokes, jerusalem artichokes, kale, lamb’s lettuce, leeks, lettuce, parsnips, peas, potatoes, pumkins, salsify, swedes, sweet potatoes, swiss chard and turnips

Coming in: cauliflower

Meat
At its best: duck, goose, grouse, guinea fowl and venison

Fish
At its best: crab, mussels and oysters

Nearly every week we get a bunch of bananas and we try to eat them all up but every couple of weeks we’ve got two brown bananas left. E and DSD are more squeamish than me about them and won’t eat even remotely brown bananas. So I found this great recipe for banana muffins and I can nearly guarantee you’ve got everything in your house already to make it. This is nice because it feels a bit healthier than banana bread (which we all know is really cake). Probably not that healthy but easier to convince yourself it is, for what that’s worth.

This recipe is from Jill Dupliex, Saturday Kitchen

Ingredients
75g/3oz melted butter
250g/9oz self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
pinch of salt
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground nutmeg
115g/4oz caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large, ripe bananas
2 medium eggs
125ml/4fl oz milk
10 walnut kernels (optional) (VM NOTE: I used pecans and they were nice too)

Method
1. Heat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5. Melt the butter and allow to cool. Mash the bananas well. Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg together in a large bowl, add caster sugar and stir through.
2. With a fork, beat together the eggs, vanilla extract, melted butter and milk in a second bowl. Add the mashed banana and stir through.
3. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add the egg mixture, stirring roughly with a fork (don’t over mix) until it is a lumpy paste.
4. Set paper cases into the moulds, or grease the moulds well with a little extra oil or butter and spoon in the mixture until almost full. Top each one with a walnut kernel if you like.
5. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the muffins come away from the side of the pan when touched. Rest the muffin tray on a wire rack for five minutes then remove the muffins and leave on the rack for another five minutes before serving.

(The muffins in the picture are not mine, sadly!)

Here is Helen’s pizza:

Here is ours:

The combination of my unextraordinary camera and yellow kitchen doesn’t help matters but it’s clear who is the expert.

Looks aside, the pizza turned out lovely. I think we used too thick a crust (all of my baking proportions have been off since I bought yeast in a can instead of sachets) and not enough potatoes. But on the plus side we added goat cheese which was brilliant.

We ate it with simply cooked spinach (see above). I’m sure my mother is very proud!

This is a great recipe to file away. It’s delicious and with the exception of fresh rosemary, you’ve probably got everything on hand already (and if you don’t potatoes and onions are cheap.)

I wrote about some of our pumpkin-cooking adventures in this post and I will include loads more ideas this year.

Here is what else is in season this month so you can plan your menus to save money and eat deliciously. Lists come from BBC GoodFood:

Fruit
At its best: bramley apples, cranberries, figs, pears, plums, quince and tomatoes

Coming in: clementines and dates

Veg
At its best: aubergines, beetroot, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cavalo nero, celeriac, celery, chestnuts, garlic, globe artichokes, kale, lamb’s lettuce, leeks, lettuce, parsnips, peas, peppers, potatoes, pumkins, salsify, swedes, sweet potatoes, swiss chard and turnips

Coming in: jerusalem artichokes

Meat
At its best: autumn lamb, duck, goose, grouse, guinea fowl and venison

Fish
At its best: crab, mussels, oysters and salmon

Fruit
At its best: apricots, blackberries, broadbeans, damson, figs, gooseberries, peaches, pears, plums, raspberries, redcurrants, strawberries, tomatoes

Coming in: bramley apples, cranberries, quince,

Veg
At its best: aubergines, beetroot, broccoli, cabbage, cavalo nero, celeriac, celery, courgettes, fennel bulbs, garlic, globe artichokes, kale, lamb’s lettuce, leeks, lettuce, parsnips, peas, peppers, potatoes, radishes, sorrel, spinach, sweetcorn, swiss chard, watercress

Coming in: brussels sprouts, pumpkin, salsify, swedes, sweet potatoes, turnips,

Meat
At its best: autumn lamb, goose, grouse, guinea fowl, lamb

Coming in: duck

Fish
At its best: crab, halibut, oysters, salmon, tuna

Coming in: mussels

Wikipedia informs us that the courgette contains useful amounts of folate, potassium and vitamin A and 100 grams of the stuff also contains 19% of the recommended amount of manganese.

So…what should we cook with courgettes?

James Ramsden’s mum says: Courgette Bread

Ingredients:

• 3 beaten eggs
• 400g caster sugar
• 250ml sunflower oil
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 500g plain flour
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• A pinch each of nutmeg, allspice, and salt
• 400g courgettes, peeled and grated

Method:

Whisk the eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla thoroughly. Mix the dry ingredients and tip in the wet, stirring to form a smooth batter. It will seem quite stiff but the courgettes loosen it up. Now fold in the grated courgettes and tip into 2 greased loaf tins. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for an hour and a quarter. Leave to cool for 10 minutes before turning onto a cooling rack. Makes two loaves.

Jamie says: Beautiful Courgette Carbonara

Ingredients:

• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 6 medium green and yellow courgettes
• 500g penne
• 4 large free-range or organic egg yolks
• 100ml double cream
• 2 good handfuls of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• olive oil
• 12 thick slices of pancetta or smoked streaky bacon, cut into chunky lardoons
• a small bunch of fresh thyme, leaves picked and chopped, flowers reserved (if you can get hold of flowering thyme)
• optional: a few courgette flowers

Method:

Carbonara is a classic pasta sauce made with cream, bacon and Parmesan and is absolutely delicious. Try to buy the best ingredients you can, as that’s what really helps to make this dish amazing. I’m using a flowering variegated variety of thyme but normal thyme is fine to use. When it comes to the type of pasta, you can serve carbonara with spaghetti or linguine, but I’ve been told by Italian mammas (who I don’t argue with!) that penne is the original, so that’s what I’m using in this recipe. Before you start cooking, it’s important to get yourself a very large pan, or use a high-sided roasting tray so you can give the pasta a good toss.

Put a large pan of salted water on to boil. Halve and then quarter any larger courgettes lengthways. Cut out and discard any fluffy middle bits, and slice the courgettes at an angle into pieces roughly the same size and shape as the penne. Smaller courgettes can simply be sliced finely. Your water will now be boiling, so add the penne to the pan and cook according to the packet instructions.

To make your creamy carbonara sauce, put the egg yolks into a bowl, add the cream and half the Parmesan, and mix together with a fork. Season lightly and put to one side.

Heat a very large frying pan (a 35cm one is a good start – every house should have one!), add a good splash of olive oil and fry the pancetta or bacon until dark brown and crisp. Add the courgette slices and 2 big pinches of black pepper, not just to season but to give it a bit of a kick. Sprinkle in the thyme leaves, give everything a stir, so the courgettes become coated with all the lovely bacon-flavoured oil, and fry until they start to turn lightly golden and have softened slightly.

It’s very important to get this next bit right or your carbonara could end up ruined. You need to work quickly. When the pasta is cooked, drain it, reserving a little of the cooking water. Immediately, toss the pasta in the pan with the courgettes, bacon and lovely flavours, then remove from the heat and add a ladleful of the reserved cooking water and your creamy sauce. Stir together quickly. (No more cooking now, otherwise you’ll scramble the eggs.)

Get everyone around the table, ready to eat straight away. While you’re tossing the pasta and sauce, sprinkle in the rest of the Parmesan and a little more of the cooking water if needed, to give you a silky and shiny sauce. Taste quickly for seasoning. If you’ve managed to get any courgette flowers, tear them over the top, then serve and eat immediately, as the sauce can become thick and stodgy if left too long.

BBC GoodFood says: Baked Parmesan Courgettes

Ingredients:

• 8 small courgettes , halved lengthways
• 4 plum tomatoes , chopped
• 2 garlic cloves , crushed
• 1 chilli , deseeded and finely chopped
• 1 tsp finely chopped rosemary
• olive oil
• 4 tbsp breadcrumbs mixed with 6 tbsp grated Parmesan (or vegetarian alternative)

Method:

Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Scoop the seeds from the middle of each courgette half with a teaspoon so that you have 16 ‘boats’. Put in one large or two smaller ovenproof dishes and season. Mix together the tomatoes, garlic, chilli and rosemary with a slug of olive oil and season.

Pile the mixture into the courgettes then cover the dishes with foil. Bake for 30 minutes or until tender, then remove the foil and scatter the breadcrumb mix over. Drizzle with olive oil and bake for another 20 minutes until golden and crisp.

Method:

Today we got our first Abel & Cole order. It was already unpacked by E before I got home so it didn’t have that ‘Christmas morning’ feeling and to be honest everything looks smaller than I expected, but no matter! I’m excited to have new veg to play with. We’ll see if we use it and it is worth the price.

Running total: £28.91

18th August – £20.13 Abel & Cole order – fruit and veg, milk, eggs and bread
17th August – £5 on 2 x 500g steak mince, £1.50 on 2 x 750g tomato sauce
16th August – £1.80 on stirfry stuff for dinner, £.98 on cereal
15th August – nothing!

I discovered this somewhere around the blogs so I went to check it out yesterday. I quite fancy the idea of an allotment. We moved into a flat in February with no outdoor space whatsoever and although we’ve attempted growing some herbs and chilies in our kitchen, it’s just not the same as having a proper garden. I’d really like to try growing veg! Plus kids just naturally seem to love gardening and it is so valuable for them to see where food comes from.

So, excited by National Allotments Week, I promptly got on the intrawebs and found my nearest allotments which are in a fancy part of Hampstead. They are surprisingly budget-friendly and I asked to be put on the waiting list (they all have a waiting list, wouldn’t you know). But then I got a sad note saying they’d actually completely closed even the waiting list earlier this year because 40 people were waiting. The next closest allotments, in the next borough over, have waitlists too but I admit I’ve become a bit demotivated.

However, dreaming of my very own patch of land in London and growing my own fruit and veg like some sort of domestic goddess got me inspired enough to do the next best thing and sign up for Abel & Cole’s weekly fruit & veg box deliveries. I’ve heard they are very good. I’m just hoping I didn’t get us in over our heads with the £15.95 box – that’s seven seasonal vegetables with potatoes and three fruits every week!

If you’re keen to sign up with Abel & Cole, I searched high and low for a voucher code but came up empty handed. They do promise that if you order a weekly box of summer fruit & veg you’ll automatically get the fourth free.

As for National Allotments Week, the idea is to “to promote the awareness and availability of allotments both locally and nationally and to show the public and the local authorities the strength of support and interest for the heritage of allotment culture.” Unfortunately I can’t see any actual events or activities listed on the site.

Do YOU have an allotment or a proper garden? Soooo jealous!