Flapjack is really simple to make yet delicious, and everyone seems to make it slightly different.  Some people like it with maple syrup, others with golden syrup; some people like it crunchy and others like it chewy.

Maple & Pecan Flapjack

I reckon that “plain” golden syrup based flapjack can be a bit one dimensional so decided to mix things up a little; golden syrup based with just a hint of autumnal flavour brought by the addition of maple syrup and chopped pecans.  It’s just on the border between crunchy and chewy but I love it.

Why not try it and let me know what you think?

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I’ve only just finished rounding up September’s seasonal food blogging event “In The Bag” and it’s already time for the October edition - doesn’t time fly!

This time around is the Halloween edition featuring pumpkins - either cooking with them or carving them, we would love to see what you get up to.

The host for October is Julia from A Slice of Cherry Pie.  Here’s what she has to say:

This month we’re getting spooky for Halloween and we’ve filled the bag with pumpkins. We want you to come up with a spooky dish made with pumpkin and, if you’re feeling really creative, carve it too once you’ve used the flesh. Or you could skip the dish and just carve a pumpkin. I can’t wait to see the spooky gallery!

Entry Details
Make a dish using the ingredients and/or carve a pumpkin, and blog about it then send an email with ‘In the Bag in the subject line to asliceofcherrypie AT yahoo DOT co DOT uk by Sunday 9th November with the following information:

• your name
• a link to your post
• the name of your dish
• a picture of your dish

Rules
Here are the loose rules - but ultimately remember the objective is to have fun whilst highlighting seasonal food:

1. Participants should attempt to use all the ingredients ‘in the bag’ for that particular month, but may leave one out if they prefer. The dish should be based around the seasonal ingredient, with it acting as a central ingredient.

2. Participants can include any “extra” ingredients that they see fit.

3. Entries should include a link back to the host for that month, and the post should be tagged “In the Bag”.

4. Entries can be written any time during the month, as long as the URL is emailed to that month’s host before the closing date.

5. Particpants from outside of the UK are most welcome to join in and substitute an item from their own local seasonal produce if necessary.

‘In The Bag’ is a food event run monthly by ‘A Slice of Cherry Pie’ and ‘Real Epicurean’.

So the story goes like this: a blog posts a list of 100 food items that they feel every person should try at least once in their life.  Hundreds of people around the world then copy the list marking the things they’ve eaten (or would never eat), and I read about it from one of those then decide to give it a go.

Prickly Pear (#51 in the list)

So, following below is the original list with my little comments alongside.  You can copy the list to your blog, too, following the simple rules below (taken from the original post - well worth checking out).

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This is a roundup of all the recipes submitted for September’s seasonal food blogging event, “In The Bag” - where the featured ingredients are fruit and nuts.

If you don’t know what that is, basically it’s no exaggeration to say that this is the article to check out if you want some inspiration on how to use fresh, seasonal and autumnal produce, submitted by food bloggers from around the world.

Click any image in the gallery below for more information including a link back to the original recipe.  You won’t be disappointed!

If you enjoyed this and would like to submit a recipe for October’s “In The Bag” or just view what everyone else comes up with, make sure you check out this month’s host Julia at A Slice of Cherry Pie, where an announcement will be made shortly…

Despite the unexpected but welcome sunshine this weekend Autumn is definitely on its way.  In season are various types of fruits including plums, blackberries and apples, with chestnuts making their annual appearance, too.

With this in mind, what better subject matter for our seasonal food blogging event “In The Bag” than the classic combination of fruit and nuts?

Apple Tree

All you have to do is create a recipe using your choice of whatever is available locally, blog about it, then email me the link (to scott [at] realepicurean [dot] com ) before the 7th of October.  Now who can’t manage to do that?

Details follow below.

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