Harvest Festival….

Ever wondered about the origins of harvest festival? They are believed to date back to ancient Britain and are usually when nature’s bounty is ready to be harvested having soaked up all the summer sunshine, thanks were then given for a good harvest usually during the full moon closest to the autumn equinox and it’s usually a Sunday. In fact this year the Sunday nearest to the Harvest Moon is October 5th!

As children in school we were all invited to take along fresh produce for the Harvest Festival Assembly which was then distributed to the elderly. How times have changed!! It progressed from fresh produce to tinned items, and from there to envelopes decorated with harvest foods drawings with money inside!!

Crucially, a good harvest ensures plentiful foods to survive the harsh winter months ahead (which is quire ironic when you consider the sell by dates on everything!) and then the collected produce was distributed to those less fortunate.

When you consider the variety of colours, flavours as well as textures in the pictures above it certainly makes you appreciate exactly how lucky we are to have such an incredible range of foods to choose from. If you’re not sure how to create fabulous meals using them, then there are plenty of ideas both on here and also the internet. Many people are talking about the Mediterranean way of cooking and there are many cookbooks to choose from or why not utilise your search browser and search for “Mediterranean recipes” and you will find lots of choice of colourful recipes to whet your appetite.

It’s also the best time to fill your body with all those wonderful colours, flavours, nutrients and vitamins that have soaked up all that amazing sunshine we’ve been so lucky to have had. Remember, the season of germs (coughs, colds and flu ) is fast approaching, so get your immune system in tip-top condition ready to fight them off!!! Not sure which ones deliver the best sources… 5 A DAY

It’s also a fabulous time to get organised and make more of your freezer!! Stock it up while it’s cheap and plentiful ready for use in the darker days. Soup,Stews and Casseroles

Striving for success without hard work, is like trying to harvest where you haven’t planted.

david bly

As a final chuckle…..

Did you know, Big Knickers were called Harvest Festivals?? Why? Because all was safely gathered in!!!!