What kind of week has it been? Clear skies and gradually turning leaves. Satisfying uses of leftovers and vegetables. A collapsed apple cake. A better tea loaf. Chewy cookies. Browned gratins. Fish pie. I think I’m turning into a series of Ruth Reichl tweets. But I think Autumn tends to do that to me: turns each snapshot of the day into a little word picture.

Recipes:

• Homesick Texan Carnitas, via Smitten Kitchen – adapted for the slow-cooker, so didn’t get as browned and crisp as it would have on the stove, but still very good.
• Fish pie – vaguely from Rosie Ramsden’s recipe, but tweaked a bit
• Sourdough – James Morton recipe from Brilliant Bread; Justin Gellatly starter
• Earl Grey tea loaf – from Bread, Cake, Doughnut, Pudding
• Dorie Greenspan’s Apple Cake from Food52 Genius Recipes – which slid out of the pan and ended up like this. Still tasted good though.

Without a recipe:

• Tomato pasta
• Chicken stir-fry
• Pizza with courgette, mushrooms and bacon
• Courgette gratin – the courgette plant is still going!

Reading:

• Chinese at home – being taught Chinese cooking by Fuschia Dunlop sounds like a pretty amazing way to learn
• Ruth Reichl has lunch at Food52. I really have to get this cookbook.
• Nigella Lawson on balance in The Pool
• How to save a cooking disaster – I rather liked the advice to chop overcooked meat finely to make Thai larb, although I’m still sceptical that a potato can have any useful effect on oversalted soup.
• GQ has a sideways look at the Great British Bake Off
• Not food, but I can’t let another week past without linking the the superlative Make a Long Story Short – tales of toddlers, family, poetry, writing and making it all work. Recent favourites: That time a McDonalds addict counted calories for a summer and did not die; Notes from the Trenches; Dear Boy: You can be unpretty here