Free seeds for a season of sprinkles

Sprinkles
I don't know about you but I find that the visual impact of food has a massive impact on how enthusiastic diners are about eating it?  That can be a disadvantage with some of the root vegetables, as I have found over the last few weeks.  If they are a fairly bland colour, the way swede or squash can be, it is harder to make them look appetising at first glance.  I found warm red spices helped me with roasting vegetables last week, and when sprinkled atop my risotto they were greeted with at least an open mind by my family.  This 'sprinkling' idea often works with uncooked foods too.  I find that when I cook minestrone soup, if I place a couple of bowls of sprinkles on the table for people to customise their bowl, it makes for a happier crowd of eaters.  For example, I chop celery leaves or loosen pesto with a little olive oil. 

 

Likewise when serving this Moroccan soup, I omitted the chilli from the recipe, but offered a pot of chilli jam at the table.  That way, people can make it as hot as they like, and it looks prettier.

 

 

 

Microgreens

If you a regular visitor to this blog, you will know that I have recently tried microgreens.  Last week, I drilled holes in the bottom of some inexpensive plastic tubs and placed the lids underneath them to catch any water that drains out.  I half filled them with compost, wet the soil and sprinkled some seeds on top.  The rocket seeds germinated in just a few days.  I chopped a few last night and sprinkled onto a salad.  It was a good way to get an extra kick of flavour.  I found that a plain salad dressing was best, so the sprinkles and dressing weren't having a flavour fight!  The basil ones on the left are germinating more slowly, so we will try those later this week.  Most seed suppliers will now stock microgreens (try Suttons or Thompson & Morgan online).  I was advised by another supplier to harvest the whole plant, but I found it a bit too difficult to effectively clean all the soil from the roots, so I will just snip them next time as I would cress.

 

Salad days

On the subject of salads (I seem to be obsessed with them at the moment because the weather is becoming sunnier)  I read an interesting article in Saturday's Guardian.  (http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/mar/28/how-to-grow-own-salad-alys-fowler)

Alys Fowler, one of their gardening columnists, has issued a challenge:  that anyone can grow great salads even if they only have room for a few pots.  So sure is she that she is right, that they have offered 5 packets of seeds plus a dibber tool worth £13.44 for free.  I have just completed my order, and I couldn't find a catch.  I could opt out of marketing via email and I only had to pay £2.30 postage.  The offer includes rocket (yum), lettuce, radish, peas and the dibber.  I have to admit, that my main reason for taking up the offer is the dibber tool...who hasn't always wanted a dibber?!!  Just using the word makes me feel like a proper gardener.

 

I can't wait to try the new seeds.  If you have ever been to Wagamama (http://www.wagamama.com/our-menu/teriyaki-chicken-donburi), you'll know how good pea shoots are when sprinkled on top of any food.  So fresh and fragrant.  Do leave comments about your salad or sprinkling successes below.

 

Lisa Reid



The Swede Challenge

Supermarket shopping
It has been another challenging week in the kitchen for me.  I realised that I have been trying to cut down on my supermarket visits to go only once per month, but I had only decided AFTER my last visit.  That means I have been forced to be creative with the food I find locally, but whilst running out of some store cupboard essentials such as pasta, tinned tomatoes and Arborio rice...a big ask in anyone's book!  This month I will be really organised in my monthly visit to the farmer's market so that I can buy more food to help me achieve this once-a-month goal.  That way, I am enjoying seasonal, local food and benefitting our local economy, as opposed to the supermarket shareholders. 

Challenges
So, the challenge last week to make a meal with 1/2 swede and squash to feed a family of four?  I wanted to make a risotto, but knew that it would look fairly bland, and the flavours from the two vegetables wouldn't be strong enough to make it interesting in flavour either.  I always cook my risotto in the oven.  This is a technique I learned when my kids were younger.  The results are not as creamy but it means I get 20 minutes of my day back each time I make one because I don't have to stand over it and stir.  As the oven was on anyway, I chopped and baked the two veg after tossing them in olive oil and paprika.  I then sprinkled them over the top of the risotto at the table.  This meant it looked and tasted much better: bringing out the sweetness of the veg which complemented the paprika well.

Preparing for salads
I am desperate to start eating more salads so I have begun using my sprouter.  I have started with alfalfa because they sprout in just a few days.  Seeds and sprouters are quite easy to buy now (try unicorn-grocery.co.uk), and the results can be used either sprinkled on top of a salad or used in a stir fry.  It is an easy job to soak them overnight then rinse them a couple of times a day.  I find it a great source of protein. 
A new idea I am trying this week is microgreens (try any large seed company for packets of these).  These are grown in a similar way you would grow cress at home - on a windowsill.  I am trying broccoli and rocket.  They will add a punch of flavour and loads of essential vitamins to my salad meals when cut at the size you would eat cress.

Gardening
Where I turned the soil over at the allotment a few weeks ago, the weeds and grass have rotted down to make lovely loam.  A quick rake over and a cover of plastic sheeting is allowing the soil to warm up ready for seeds to go in.  In my garden at home I have planted a couple of herbs - marjoram and fennel, and a new one on me: hyssop.  (An impulse purchase I have to admit!)

If you have any ideas what to do with hyssop, suggestions welcome please!

Lisa Reid

Time to get inventive?

Thoroughly bored

I have to say that my usual enthusiasm for all things local-foody has been waning over the last week or so - hence the lack of posts.  It is a tricky time of year:  spring has well and truly arrived so I feel in the mood for lighter foods, but my habits with the local vegetables on offer are stuck in a wintry rut of stews and broths.  I remember seeing an article by a food writer at this time last year, which extolled the virtues of slipping the odd veg from further south in Europe into the shopping basket, but I reckon I am more stubborn, and inclined to view my conundrum as a challenge. 

Cookbook inspiration
Initial inspiration came from my shelf of cookbooks.  I first made some really interesting spicy meals using my favourite Indian cookbooks.  A few carrots and a cabbage stir fried with spices was a great side dish.  You will have seen my biryani recipe on an earlier blogpost, so I repeated that with more winter veg.  That was two delicious weekend Indian feasts under my belt, and I was feeling my old enthusiasm returning but I wasn't out of the woods yet.

Meat-free Mondays
I have been itching to join in with the campaign for 'meat-free Mondays'.  My initial glance in the fridge made me waiver a bit, as there were onions, carrots, cabbage and a very large swede.  Yikes - back to the cookbooks, but without the excitement of Indian spices available because we had eaten Indian foods two days running.  Good old Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall came up trumps with his Everyday Veg book.  I made some rough puff pastry before I went to work, picked up some salad items in my lunch hour, and made up pasties when I got home.

 

He advised root veg with parsley and possibly cheese for the filling, with plain flour in the pastry.  I like to include wholemeal flour wherever possible, so I went for a third of that and two thirds plain.  To the root veg, I added parsley from the freezer and a lovely spiced mustard we picked up from Abbey Leys farmers market, plus olive oil instead of melted butter.  My kids were thrilled to be having these pasties again.  I had a bit of pastry left over with which I made a mini pasty - hoping to have it for lunch.  No way!  They were fighting over that last one at the table.

Deconstructed coleslaw

 The last time I made these pasties, I served deconstructed coleslaw with them.  Some members of my family don't like coleslaw, so I just serve the bowls of chopped or grated ingredients separately along with mayonnaise and salad dressing so they can make their own up at the table.  Being inventive with flavours seems to make them try a greater variety of foods.  I bought my oldest son two inexpensive dressing bottles for Christmas, and he keeps us supplied with one plain and one spicy at all times!

So, back to the meal in hand - the results were delicious.  A moist filling with a light pastry. It wasn't quite the 'rough puff' which Hugh prescribed due to my choice of wholemeal flour, but it was very light.

OK, that is my levels of enthusiasm back to normal.  Now, a glance in the fridge today reveals 1/2 swede and 1/2 squash to feed a family of 4.  What will I do with those?  Watch this space!!

 

 

Energy saving in the kitchen

Things are hotting up in Su Williams's kitchen this week - literally.  Su, along with lots of other volunteers in Lymm, helps to run Low Carbon Lymm - a not for profit group.  They are having an open day on Saturday at the Village Hall to help local people gain control of their energy bills.  Sometimes I am a bit sceptical about 'green' ideas, thinking that they involve lots of capital to get them going.  Richard, who is co-ordinating the event, assures me that there will be a very wide range of ideas represented, and it is not just an event to promote greener energy.  When we look at the press at the moment, we could be forgiven for thinking that the worst of this recession is over.  However, I have spoken to 2 friends this week who are either being made redundant or unable to find contracts for their work.  Even if the optimism we find in the press is correct and overall the country is on it's way out of it, it is likely to take several years before our wages return to pre-recession levels in real terms simply due to the increases in the costs of living.  Energy prices have increased enormously, and by reviewing our consumption regularly we can help ourselves to effectively manage costs.

So, back to Su in her kitchen.  She will be taking her banana breads...

...in order to demonstrate how we can all reduce energy consumption in the kitchen.   I'll be giving her a hand, but I'll also be taking the chance to visit the other stalls there to see how I can save money. 

There will be refreshments available, and if you have kids around at the weekends there will be a couple of things to keep them occupied while you browse.  Hope to see you there 10-3!

Farmer's markets: good value or just good fun?

I read an interesting tweet this morning that made me reflect on my morning spent at a farmer's market yesterday.  It was by a student claiming the need to buy unethically sourced fish because he couldn't afford the alternatives.  I totally agree that ethically sourced foodstuffs are often pricy, but it's what we do with them that makes them affordable.  Whilst at the monthly farmer's market at Abbey Leys yesterday I didn't just pop in quickly and buy the foods I needed to feed my family at face value because, like the student, I can't afford to.  I first wandered round the market and talked to the farmers about their produce.  There are some great bargains (and I love a bargain!) but they aren't always foods that we have experience cooking.

My first bargain was on the Little Heath Farm Shop stall.  I wanted to cook a casserole for Sunday tea.  I bought some stewing beef but supplemented it with ox cheek.  I have never used this cut of beef before, but it was fabulous after slow braising with vegetables.  I spent £9, made tonnes and will freeze the rest to feed 10 more people on Thursday in a pie (it being Great British Pie Week).  In total it will feed 14, so that is a lot less than £1 per portion.

I also visited a stall for Gazegill Organic Farm.  They had a variety of food for sale, including fish.  I bought a piece of Coley.  It wasn't cheap at £4.19, and I won't be able to just cook it to serve as it is for my family of 4.  However, if I make it into a fish pie or fish cakes, it will easily feed us all, and my conscience is intact.  The farmer's market is only on the first Sunday of the month, so I froze it to eat next week.  At just over £1 per portion, I view that meal as good value too.

Now all work and no play would make Jack (or Lisa!) a dull boy, so after we had bought all our essentials at a good price, I allowed each of my boys to pick one treat each.  One chose a stunning jelly

and the other chose garlic in chilli from a new stall, which we ate as a nibble instead of crisps later that evening.  You'll need to ask my husband about the 'snoggable' claims!

I took a final walk around the stalls before I left so I knew what to buy next time.  I'll be able to look up recipes before I return...its the 10th anniversary so I'll definitely be back to show my appreciation to these hard-working farmers and all they do for our local economy.  Great fun and great bargains, what more could a girl ask for on a damp Sunday morning?

Lisa Reid

I'm so excited, and I just can't hide it!

Sometimes I have to pinch myself:  I live in a beautiful village with a thriving centre which has outlets that I really like.  That was my feeling prior to last summer, anyway.  Since the summer opening of a micro-brewery by Lymm Brewing Company and its bar - the Brewery Tap, I just can't believe how lucky I am.  You may guess from reading blog postings, that I love most kinds of food and drink, but I am a proper northerner in that I love a pint of real ale.

I now take every opportunity to organise nights out in the Brewery Tap because I just think it fulfils most things I want in a local pub.  There is a great atmosphere, it is in the middle of Lymm, has a wood-burning stove, and great ale.  I popped in for a breather from the kids at half term last week and found they now do a 'beer paddle'.  This essentially is three 1/3 pint glasses in a wooden paddle to carry them back to your table.  How ingenious is that?  Now I don't need to stand at the bar for hours trying to work out which of the lovely ales I will try because I could try most of them in 2 paddles. 

The Tap doesn't serve food, but when Nancy's Deli is open a few doors down, she happily supplies her food to eat with your pint.  (Tip: try the tractor wheel pies, you won't be disappointed)  Now here I am chattering on about ale, but they also have all the other drinks you usually find in a pub.  I would tell you about those, but I only have eyes for the brown stuff in a pint glass!

My favourite excuse to visit is to take my whole family down at about 5pm while a casserole is in the oven at the weekend.  We take a few card games, have a nice drink, and a breath of fresh air before settling down in front of the box after the casserole is consumed at home for a lovely family film. 

If my ramblings haven't convinced you to visit, then perhaps the fact that they have just won Gold at the CAMRA Winter Ales Festival might?

Lisa Reid

Manchester Museum

I found myself at Manchester Museum a couple of weeks ago on a stormy Saturday.  I had dropped my son at a museum event for a couple of hours.  That left me plenty of time for a quick browse round the exhibits and a coffee at 8th Day Co-operative just along the road.

I was taken by surprise as I approached the museum entrance, because it has a beautiful allotment just in front of the doors.  Like lots of people, I think that having the space to grow food means living outside of cities, perhaps in suburbia where you find small gardens, if not in the countryside.  This crafted space disproves that theory, and in the middle of winter too.  Not only is it a practical environment for growing food, but it looks good, collects rainwater, has a wormery and houses a noticeboard.  I would imagine that in better weather, people love to go out there to eat their lunch on the edge of a raised bed and supplement it with some of the salad leaves which are in abundance.

 

 

You'll have to excuse the photography on this blog post, because it really was horrendous weather!

There were obvious gains to be had from being in an urban environment, since there was no frost damage to any of the plants, and the celery was looking quite happy despite it being February.

Seeing this space renewed my drive to grow food in my small allotment, which is probably not much bigger than this.  I hope my efforts are half as tasty as their rocket, which I picked to go with my snack at 8th Day Co-operative café.