After last weeks cake-heavy post, we’ll aim for a little more balance this week – after all, it’s very important to have a balanced diet! As is so often the case, our food cravings seem to be linked with the weather, and this week has been pretty wet and gloomy. The Summery salads have been pushed aside to make room for more hearty and warming meals, and there are plenty of delicious Autumnal dishes popping up all over the place.

I am pleased to see lots of lovely soup recipes appearing recently. Homemade soup is such an easy, but filling, thing to whip up for lunch and is just perfect with a warm crusty roll. There are two soup blog posts that caught my eye this week – the first is this Roasted Garlic and Tomato Soup from Peach Trees and Bumblebees. The vibrant reds of the tomatoes and peppers are so appealing and the finished soup looks yummy.

The second soup post I found has not one, but three recipes included – each to suit a different budget. Credit Munched has treated us to a cheap spicy tomato and lentil soup, a cheerful Mexican chorizo and black bean soup and a rich and warming bacon, stilton and leek soup for those who are feeling flush. Something for everyone there.

If you’re looking for tasty Autumn dishes, then Chez Maximka is the place to go this week. She has been cooking up some delicious dishes using figs, including pork leg paupiettes with figs and a lovely butternut squash dish.

They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day and I tend to agree – especially if I was served these Bourbon Banana Bacon Pancakes from North West Nosh. Booze for breakfast? Well, we’ll give it a go, just in the name of recipe testing of course…

Even though the weather may be turning chilly and wet, there’s always room for ice cream! Sarah from Wuthering Bites tells us all about her visit to Marshfield Farm to learn about all things ice cream. There are some very interesting facts too!

Is there such a things as healthy cake? Probably not. But there are cakes that can be healthier and these carrot and pineapple muffins from Live for Food definitely fall into that category. They are packed full of fruit, vegetables and seeds, making them a wonderful healthier lunch box treat.

I just love this colourful spinach, red pepper and goat’s cheese quiche from We Dont’ Eat Anything with a Face. It is so pretty, easy to make and I bet it tastes every bit as good as it looks. Another one for the ‘must make’ list!

I’m always on the lookout for something a bit different for family Sunday lunches and I think these lamb tortillas with all the trimmings from George’s Dinner will fit the bill nicely. I’m incredibly impressed that Sarah even made the tortillas herself!

I couldn’t write a whole round up without mentioning some scrummy cakes, could I?! Well, I have two posts for you that involve some seriously good-looking cakes, The first is a beautiful wedding cake from Casa Costello. Helen decided a while ago that she would put her business, Aardvark Cakes, to one side for a bit, so this is the last wedding cake she’ll be making for a while. Just look at all those gorgeous flowers!

To finish off, here are some double chocolate cupcakes from Sweetharts Cakes and Bakes. I could just eat one of those with my cuppa right now and I just adore those ickle tiny chocolate bars!

And that’s it for another week! See you again, same time same place next week and do drop me a line if you’d like to write a Ten at Ten for us one week.