Autumn The Season Of Food, Reading, Arts, & Sports & Recipe For Kabocha Pumpkin Muffins

Aki Kinu 秋来ぬ (Autumn has arrived)

This is known as Kigo a word or phrase that is used in Japanese poetry to associate with Japanese seasons. In Japan people honour the changes in the seasons with foods, customs,and celebrations. It is a season filled with delicious food, gorgeous scenery, arts and creativity. After the hot humid heat of the Japanese summer, people look forward to the cooling breezes and clear blue skies that the new season brings.

Kouyou 紅葉 is a word that describes when the leaves change colour and like the viewing of cherry blossoms in the spring, autumn is a time when people take the time to look at and appreciate the changing leaves. Especially the vibrant momiji 紅葉 (Japanese maple trees.)

Autumn has become connected with a number of leisure activities in Japan.

読書の秋（”Dokusho no Aki”）
meaning: Autumn Of Book Reading

It is said to have been prompted by writer Natsume Soseki’s quotation of a Chinese poem in his 1908 novel Sanshirō: “Autumn is here, let us read by the lamplight.”

With the nights drawing in people find it easier to sit and read. There is dokusho shūkan (“Reading Week”) in Japan between 27 October and 9 November. Schools across Japan encourage students to participate in more reading activities. It is often a time of new book releases to encourage people to visit book stores.

芸術の秋（”Geijutsu no Aki”）
meaning: The Autumn Of Art

It is the season for both artists and art enthusiasts to appreciate art and encounter artistic inspiration. Art exhibitions and events are held all across the country with many art galleries and museums opening for free on November 3rd, the national holiday known as Culture Day in Japan. This gives time for people to pursue Japanese art from ikebana and ceramics to tea ceremonies and dancing.

スポーツの秋（”Supotsu no Aki”）

meaning: The Autumn of Sports

Also Koraku no Aki (Fall the season of athletics, or activities outdoors).

The root of this is tied to the Tokyo Olympic Games held in the autumn of 1964. The first Health and Sports Day was held on October 10th, 1966, two years after. It was selected as a national holiday called “体育の日”(“Taiiku no Hi”) meaning health and sports day. Beginning in 2020, Health and Sports Day was permanently renamed Sports Day (スポーツの日, Supōtsu no hi) which is held on the second Monday in October and exists to promote sports and an active lifestyle.

At this time many schools choose this day to hold their annual sports day or Field Day (運動会, Undō-kai) events. With the cooler air it is also the perfect time to go walking or hiking to enjoy the autumn foliage.

During the heat of the summer people loose their appetites so when autumn comes people refer to it as;

食欲の秋 Shokuyoku no Aki

meaning: Autumn The Season Of Appetites.

Being a time of harvests it is when many foods are at their best. Known as “shun”(旬), which means enjoying ingredients at the peak of their freshness. During this time there is an abundance of seasonal produce at the markets like:

Chestnuts (Kuri) 栗

These are a favourite in Japan over the autumn season. They are sometimes also referred to by the French name of “marron”, particularly when used in Western-style desserts. One of the most popular being Mont Blanc (or Mont-Blanc aux marrons) which is a dessert of sweetened chestnut purée. In Japan they are small individual sponge cakes covered with spiraling vermicelli of chestnut puree, and topped with a candied preserved chestnut.

Chestnuts are often cooked with rice in a dish called kuri gohan in the autumn and is a popular dish to eat for Kiku no Sekku. (See a previous post for recipe).

You may see them being roasted and sold by street vendors, the perfect treat on a chilly autumn day.

Matsutake mushrooms 松茸

Matsutake are one of the most sought after mushrooms, few ingredients generate as much anticipation in Japan as this variety which have a pungent earthy aroma with a meaty texture. They grow wild under pine tree forests and are rare and expensive, with some going for ¥14,000.00 around £70-£80 just for one single mushroom making them one of the most expensive ingredients in the world.

Sweet Potetoes (Satsumaimo) 薩摩芋

When autumn comes you will often find many cafes using sweet potatoes from drinks in Starbucks to desserts. You may even hear the melancholy music from the yaki-imo trucks ringing through the streets selling hot baked sweet potatoes.

Persimmons (Kaki) 柿

An orange edible fruit that grows on trees that are in season from October and January. Kaki are rich in vitamin C (approximately 20 times the amount of lemons! Plus Potassium, β-carotene, and fibre

When driving through the countryside you might see orchards of kaki or even strings of them outside peoples houses They are strung up drying into a sweet snack called hoshigaki.

Kabocha pumpkins 南瓜

Kabocha is hard on the outside with knobbly-looking skin. It is shaped like a squat pumpkin and has a dull-finished, deep-green skin with white stripes and an intense yellow-orange colour on the inside.

Most kabocha is harvested in summer and autumn, but turns sweeter in autumn and winter after a post-harvest ripening period. Highly nutritious, it is rich in beta carotene, potassium, fibre and antioxidants, and can be stored for long periods.
These are one of my favourites as they are so versatile for savoury and sweet dishes and after many years of recipe testing I decided to share with you my recipe for kabocha muffins. I think they are the perfect treat to enjoy on an autumn walk or with a warming drink while reading a good book.

Kabocha pumpkin muffins 南瓜マフィン

You will need some paper muffin cases and either a muffin tray or silicone holders for them to fit in so the muffins keep their shape.

You will also need two bowls, a steamer and a blender or food processor.

Turn on your oven to 200 degrees centigrade to warm.

ingredients:

You will need to steam 1/4 piece of Kabocha pumpkin.

Wet:

3 tablespoons of apple purée

1/3 cup neutral oil (I use melted Tiana coconut butter)

1/2 cup light colour agave

2 tablespoons milled ground flaxseed 

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1/3 cup boiling hot water

Dry

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon of pumpkin spice

(or spice of choice think a blend of cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and allspice)

1/2 cup of unrefined caster sugar

Extras

You could sprinkle in some extras I added some succulent sultanas you could also add in chocolate chips or chopped walnuts into the batter mixture.

Directions

After steaming your pumpkin scoop out the flesh and put it in a blender. Blend until smooth with the apple purée then transfer to a bowl with all the other wet ingredients and whisk together.

In a large separate bowl sift in your flour and baking powder and baking soda and spice then add the sugar. Mix to combine.

Then add your wet ingredients to the dry along with any extra nuts fruit or chocolate of choice.

Fold in the mixture gently and do not over mix otherwise your muffins will not rise.

Spoon the mixture into your paper muffin cups which are sitting in a muffin tray ( I used silicone cups) Fill the cups as much as possible.

I also pushed in a small piece of uncooked pumpkin to the top of the muffin, added a sprinkle of sugar, flaked almonds and a dusting of spice to the top before baking.

Then place in the oven for around 20 minutes

Take out the oven and leave to completely cool. You can dust with powdered sugar to serve with a warming tea. Hear I chose a delicious earthy Hojicha tea latte.

As the days grow shorter, the leaves start to change and the air gets cooler why not embrace the spirit of Japan’s autumn traditions?

Try cooking seasonal dishes, spend time curled up under a blanket at home with a good book, or going for a walk on a crisp autumn day, making the most of this beautiful season.