The Colour Collaborative: September - Earth

There are lots of different ways interpret earth colours, once you start to think about it. They can be the colours of the landscape - browns, greys, yellows, oranges and greens. The colours of nature, subtle and muted. Or you have your pigments - ochre, sienna and umber, raw or burnt - those tones are fiery, saturated and heavy with colour. But the earth colours that I'm really savouring right now are the ones that were dug up out of the earth and turned into lunch. September is the month of abundance and harvest, of enjoying the last of summer while taking stock and gathering in for the autumn and winter ahead.

I think this is summed up rather well by the humble squash, in particular this fabulous Harlequin squash.

It has provided colour and variety in our lunches this week. Roasted and tossed in a salad with goats cheese and pumpkin seeds one day, then blended with chillis and eaten in a soup with rye bread the next.

To make a salad for two, peel and dice one small squash. Tumble onto a baking tray and drizzle with oil and season. Roast for around 30 mins at 180°C/350°F. 

Put some salad leaves on a plate and add the squash, some crumbled goats cheese and a handful of pumpkin seeds. I made a quick dressing from a little balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Eat while it's hot.

For the soup, peel and chop one onion and one squash. Saute for a minute or two then add one clove of garlic and one chilli, chopped. Cook a little longer then cover with vegetable stock and simmer for around 20 minutes. Puree in a blender until it's smooth then taste and season. Serve with a dollop of creme fraiche.

It doesn't have to be a Harlequin squash, any sort would do. Simple, versatile, thrifty, tasty and colourful, it's the best kind of seasonal food.

Don't forget to check out the other great 'Colour Collaborative' blogs for more of today's posts, just click on the logos below ... 

What is The Colour Collaborative? All creative bloggers make stuff, gather stuff, shape stuff, and share stuff. Mostly they work on their own, but what happens when a group of them work together? Is a creative collaboration greater than the sum of its parts? We think so and we hope you will too. We'll each be offering our own monthly take on a colour related theme, and hoping that in combination our ideas will encourage us, and perhaps you, to think about colour in new ways.