Cauliflower
Whilst the past couple of months have seen a nationwide shortage of cauliflower causing a spike in the cost of one head to up to $7.99, we can now all rejoice as supply is back and these little beauties are in the finest during the Autumn months. Cauliflower is such a versatile vegetable, yet most of us just think about steaming or baking the florets to put alongside our roast meat. Yet, think a little outside of the box and you find a whole array of great recipes for this one ingredient. Some of my favs are cauliflower pizza bases, cauliflower puree (to replace cheese on lasagna), cauliflower steaks, cauliflower rice, cumin coated cauliflower salad and cauliflower soup.
Needing some inspiration – why not try this super delicious spicy cauliflower soup tonight and keep your eyes peeled this week for a Roasted Cauliflower and Mushroom Soup that I am just finishing some final tweaking with the view to publishing it this week in The Illawarra Mercury.
Pears
Now is the season to pick up super crispy and delicious pears. Try a few different varieties as they can be used for different purposes depending on their texture, sweetness and size.
Two of my favourite uses of pears is to slice them into discs or slithers and scattering through my salads or dice them and add to my morning porridge for some natural sweetness.
For a super simple pear salad, cut the pear into fine slices and add to a base of fresh rocket, shaved parmesan and a handful of walnuts topped with a tangy balsamic dressing. Delish.
Bronson also suggested using the pears as a ‘cracker’ alternative to have with some cheese and a glass of vino. Sounds divine.
Fuji Apples
Fuji apples are enjoying a late season this year, making now a perfect time to pick some up for the kids lunchboxes, or to add to a delicious apple crumble. I also love to dice these apples up into small pieces and add them to my favourite muffin recipe for an added element of texture, taste and nutrition.
Check out my whole food version of apple crumble here….
Stone fruits
Bronson assures me now is the time to get your hands on some super delicious stone fruit. Think golden peaches, white nectarines, sugar plums. Again these little gems can be popped into school lunchboxes for a great snack, sliced and scattered in salads or even stewed up to make your own homemade jam. So many options. 
Figs
Figs have to be one of my all time favourite fruits, yet I find it difficult to justify the high costs of these little parcels of pure perfection. So you can imagine my delight to hear that these little babies round out the top 5 picks for awesome autumn produce, meaning they are abundant at the moment resulting in you being able to buy more of these gems for less.
Oven roasted figs drizzled with maple syrup for dessert tonight anyone?
Or how about fig, prosciutto and goats cheese salad on a bed of rocket for a delicious side dish, or why not stock up and make up your own fig paste for your next cheese board. So many options.
Buying and eating in-season produce is not only good for your health, but it is also extremely beneficial for your wallet too. Fresh produce grown in season are more likely to have been grown outside in natural conditions, with minimal storage time and less ‘intervention’ meaning we get max nutrients (more bang for our buck) and due to the abundance in supply during peak season, the costs per kg reduces significantly. Not only that but eating seasonally also allows us to obtain a wide variety of nutrients from different foods rather than just sticking to the same fruit and veggies all year round and variety in our foods is absolutely paramount to our overall health and wellbeing.
If you need further inspiration, check out this video with Bronson from Roaming Fresh. This guy is seriously passionate about his fresh produce and it’s contagious.
