My Perfect Autumn Weekend: Anna Jones
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Issy Croker
FRIDAY
Friday nights are for pizza. I have a pizza oven in the back garden, so I fire that up for my friends and their children. The kids tuck in and watch a movie while we decompress over excellent wine. I always love this sparkling red from my favourite wine shop, Shop Cuvee, and have just discovered this delicious white, Kaufmaus.
A night in with good TV or a book is what’s called for after a busy week. Recently, I enjoyed Living Every Second – a look at the life of my friend Kris Hallenga. She was the most defiant, boundless, bold and outrageously person. Watch it. It might just change your life.
On my reading list is A Garden Against Time by Olivia Laing. I want to be a gardener but this escape into someone else’s garden is the closest I'll get. Next is Matrescence by Lucy Jones. Becoming a mother has been the biggest shift in identity for me and this book charts how deeply motherhood changes us. My top book of 2024 is All Fours by Miranda July. It also looks at motherhood and the next stage of life... but from an otherworldly perspective.
Autumn is all about comfort in what I eat and what I wear. For lazy days, it's my Sunspel tracksuit but I also like my L.F. Markey trousers and my cosy Babaà cardigans. I have a navy Sandro wool coat that must be 15 years old but I never tire of it; I dig it out year after year. I also have a huge Patagonia puffer for extra cold days and standing on the sidelines of my son’s football matches.
@Leos.London
SATURDAY
The morning starts with pancakes for my boys. At this time of year, I love lighting candles for breakfast. It makes breakfast feel like more of an event. I like theThe London Honey Company beeswax ones.
I try to squeeze in a yoga class, although this rarely happens in reality. If I do commit, I love my friend Naomi Annand’s classes.
My Saturdays are punctuated by great food. I go to E5 Bakehouse for brunch with my family. It’s buzzy and the food is great. I always order the daily special and I’ve never been disappointed. To walk off the food, I’ll stroll down the canal to Victoria Park.
I’m biased but 46b makes the best coffee. It’s my local but Dom and Ava really know what they're doing. If I need a sweet treat, I always have a Dusty Knuckle’s morning bun.
I like an early dinner these days. When booking a Saturday supper with friends, I always opt for Rochelle Canteen, Café Cecilia or Toklas. We spend a few hours catching up over great food and wine, then I like to be home and in bed by midnight. If it's not a dinner out, my friends and I go for a swim and a coffee – the lido in winter and the reservoir in summer. A glass of fizzy red wine at Leo’s is also my idea of a good night out.
Other places I love to eat include Lucky & Joy, Oren, and Koya. For a treat, it's Brat or Spring. Elsewhere, Wilsons and Sonny Stores in Bristol are great and I love Landrace in Bath.
@Leos.London, Citizens Of Soil
SUNDAY
Sunday mornings are a big deal in our house. The radio will be on and I’ll make us coffee and a big breakfast. On the menu are herby omelettes or breakfast tacos – I’ve been craving those a lot recently.
I’ve lived in Hackney for 25 years – it has the best food and people. As a family, we head out on the bikes for a few hours, exploring Hackney marshes first and then onto Walthamstow marshes. You can cycle for hours without seeing a road – it’s magic. I love east London but if I could, I think I’d move to the coast.
To warm up after a morning outside, I'll pop into Hackney's community sauna. Then, we get home mid-afternoon for a sit down on the sofa under a blanket, watch some telly or a movie and have a big dinner with my family. It’s a cliché, but I feel better when the autumn air is on my skin; it makes coming home and hunkering down all the more satisfying.
I love a busy house. My ideal weekend includes my husband John and my two boys, Dylan and Esca, but Sundays are the perfect time to get the whole family together for a meal: my mum, my dad, my sister, my brother and their kids. I grew up with a large extended family so, to me, a full house is a happy house.
In the autumn, my oven is in constant use. I start roasting veg again – big trays of jewel-coloured roots, the last of the corn, broccoli and cauliflower. My cast-iron pots don’t tend to leave the hob, they're always full of a warming soup like thisspiced tomato soup with lemon and herb flatbreads, from my latest book Easy Wins. I always look forward to autumn’s apple season too. Right now, I can’t stop thinking about this double ginger and apple cake. I’ve also been dreaming up a pear version.
As the seasons change, I switch up my cookbook rotation. This year, I’m enjoying using Tenderheart by Hetty McKinnon, Kin by Marie Mitchell, Love Vegetables by Anna Shepherd and Make More with Less by Kitty Coles.
Now October is here, I make good use of the harvest. I love Abel & Cole for organic dry store refills, dairy, eggs and seasonal veg. It’s all great quality, organic and mostly comes in returnable packaging. For next-level vegetables, I love Natoora and my local Growing Communities. For spices, it’s Rooted or Diaspora Co, and I love Two Fields and Citizens of Soil for olive oil. My favourite ingredients to cook with right now are early citrus like the green miyagawa satsumas from Natoora and the first of the Amalfi lemons.
If I am venturing out for a Sunday roast, I stay local. The Spread Eagle in Hackney is always a great shout – it does a great vegan roast dinner with all the trimmings.
Follow Anna Jones at @WE_ARE_FOOD & her cookbook Easy Wins is available here.
The Dusty Knuckle
@We_Are_Food
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