Hummus is a delicious Middle Eastern dip made from cooked, mashed chickpeas blended with tahini, lemon juice, and garlic.
Humus is the dark organic matter in soil that is formed by the decomposition of plant matter.
At this time of year there’s that lovely “autumn smell” in the woodlands around the village. This is the smell of the leaves turning brown and dropping to the floor, where tiny insects are ready and waiting to munch through the decaying matter, it’s their job to tidy up the mess that autumn brings. Fungi in the shape of toadstools and brackets, mushrooms and puffballs all use their underground branching networks of mycelium to help breakdown matter in the soil which makes it more fertile for the vegetation above to thrive.
It's the smells of autumn that help us come to terms with the end of summer, the prospect of shortening days and the winter to come.
Try and get out into the woods, kick up some leaves and take a deep breath and savour the musty smell. This is the smell of nature tidying up one year and getting prepared for the next. If the weather is nice and you’re tempted to take a picnic remember to choose hummus and not humus.
