Five Ways to Use Autumnal Leftovers

A wise man or two once said: ‘Waste not, want not’ – and this season, we’re going to have to agree with them. We haven’t even arrived at prime Christmastime, which is when the UK wastes the most food in overindulgent feasts, and already we’re faced with a sticky situation: what to do with those autumn leftovers?

I’m talking about the apples, pumpkins, squash, and other fruits, veg, and food items you may have bought to get into the autumn spirit. Well, Halloween’s over, Christmas time is almost here, and you’ve got a whole host of ingredients sitting around in your kitchen.

No worries! In this blog post, we’ve rounded up five ways to use up your autumnal leftovers, and they don’t involve throwing ingredients into a pie and calling it a day (although there’s nothing at all wrong with pie, to be fair!). Read on…

Squidgy Pumpkin & Ginger Loaf

If you’ve got pumpkins that weren’t good enough to carve – or, on the flip side, if you’ve saved the scoopings from this year’s decorations – then this sticky loaf cake recipe is perfect for you. This easy-to-follow recipe calls for a number of ingredients you’re sure to have stocked this autumn, including black treacle, golden syrup, ground ginger, brown sugar, and butter.

The loaf cake takes 15 minutes to prepare and an hour to cook. The resulting loaf can be cut into 10 to 12 slices. Et voila! Delicious, warm, gingery cake. Enjoy it with butter and a steaming cuppa.

Treacle Sponge Spotted Dick

If there’s one thing people love, it’s a good, old classic dish. Well, as luck would have it, this treacle sponge spotted dick recipe combines two old-fashioned favourites into one delicious dessert. Chances are you have a little treacle sitting in your cupboard somewhere. Whether you planned to make treacle toffee or another autumnal treat and you forgot, it’s no worries – this recipe will make excellent use of that leftover treacle.

With ingredients that you should already have – including golden syrup, butter, and suet – this recipe takes a little bit of time to cook, but the wait is well worth it.

Apple and Blackberry Charlotte

Hands down, apples are one of THE most ‘autumnal’ fruits around, whether you eat them fresh or make delicious toffee apples, so you’re bound to have some in your house right now. Whip up a cosy autumnal pudding using these tasty fruits, along with juicy blueberries, in this apple and blackberry Charlotte recipe.

This recipe does require a bit of effort, but come on – take a look at the picture; what a work of art! Getting the pudding mould to crispy perfection is just as satisfying as sitting down with a slice after all your hard work in the kitchen!Butternut Squash Soup

Craving something on the savoury side? This comforting butternut squash soup calls for seasonal butternut squash you may have bought alongside your Halloween pumpkins. Ready in just an hour, this recipe is also easy to whip up when you feel like warming your belly during the colder months.

The recipe includes salt and freshly-ground black pepper as seasoning, but for an extra spiced flavour to take this dish up a notch, we recommend adding a chopped garlic clove, a tsp ground cumin, and a tsp coriander for a truly cosy, autumnal soup. Throw in some spring onion as garnish for a fresh crunch.

Hot Mulled Apple Juice

We’ve suggested an apple recipe already, but if you’re looking to turn your leftover apples into drink form, or you have apple juice sitting at the back of your fridge, this hot mulled apple juice recipe is perfect for you. This drink makes a cosy treat on a cold autumn day – and if you’re trying to avoid alcohol, this makes an excellent alternative to mulled wine.All you need for this 15-minute recipe are apple juice (you may have some in your fridge, but if not, learn how to make your own here), cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, and other ingredients you’re sure to have in your pantry. This is a warm, spiced drink that you’ll want to keep topping up!

So that’s it for autumnal leftover recipes! Have any recipe suggestions of your own? Tried some of the recipes in this blog post? Comment below; we’d love to know what you think.

Until next time…