The view from Bristol!

This is a big day for our project! We're trying a new idea --- having our usual email of recipes and news written up by one of our circle other than me. Chris P. in the UK is the first to jump in. Enjoy!--- Eve

Greetings Mindful Cooks!
This guest post comes to you from Bristol, UK, from where, in 1497, John Cabot sailed to become the first European in North America and, in the 1800s, Isambard Kingdom Brunel made his name as an engineer. We mustn’t forget, however, that this city’s wealth is founded on the appalling trades of tobacco and slavery.

Bristol is home to Concorde, street artist Banksy and one Archibald Leach. You many know Archie, raised 5 minutes’ walk from my door, as the magnificent Cary Grant. Bristol, recently named the best city to live in the UK, became European Green Capital in 2015 and is fiercely independent. We hold the UK’s longest-running vegan food festival and are proud to have our own Brizzle dialect and Bristol Pound currency.

OK, cultural primer over, let’s get back to the subject. ?

If your locale is anything like mine, right now you’re in the middle of a glorious glut of autumn squash. So Stephen’s recipe for pumpkin hummus, served at the Portland Fall Potluck, couldn’t be more seasonal. On this island, where garbanzos are chickpeas, we don’t really have canned pumpkin, so may I suggest roasting a squash at about 180C for 30 minutes, letting it cool then adding a cupful or so into the mix, as a delicious alternative.

Roasted squash may be my favourite thing about autumn. Although, being British, I’ve never successfully made a pumpkin pie. Any tips, folks?

This group is about thought as well as food. Donna, in Portland, has shared with us a short video of Thich Nhat Hanh providing an important reminder about the Consciousness of ‘Things’ which, Donna adds, “contains everything we need to know to end suffering. This is his gift to our world. May his gift thrive and grow!!” Here’s another brief video, about Infinity Energy, that Donna enjoyed too.

Christel, still our only member in Germany it seems – we must change that! – sent us a piece about vegan alternatives to bone broth. I’d never heard of this growing trend, so this was an interesting insight. Vielen Dank, Christel. (Although secretly, I’d rather make your gorgeous-looking Colourful Miso Soup)

That’s all from Bristol for now. Are you inspired to write your own guest post? Then please do get in touch with Eve. It would be great to hear from lots of our other voices.

Happy cooking,

Chris