LookLocal challenge: week 3

Spanking fresh courgettes, flowers still attached

For one reason and another, I have not quite managed to document my “LookLocal” challenge in as detailed a manner as I intended to.

I meant to take a closer look at provenance (does “local” always mean just that, or does it mean “British”, can you ever just assume provenance) of the foods sold at markets/independents and supermarkets.

In terms of the cost of shopping locally, it is difficult to say if shopping this way would cost you more or less than shopping at the supermarket. It all depends on your current shopping (and cooking and eating) habits I guess and how much food you throw away.

Prices at farmers’ markets particularly can seem high; then again, good food normally does cost more than that of a lower specification/lesser quality and cheap does not necessarily mean good value.

Like with everything else in life, it is a lot about priorities, what you care about and how you choose to spend your money.

But, “LookLocal” has been an education!

There is much to take in and consider and I quite understand that many of you feel overwhelmed by the very thought of reducing your reliance on the (let’s face it) convenience of the supermarket.

The commitment needed to shop locally does mean sacrifice (with a small “s”) and that you take on more responsibility.

In fact, confronting and thinking about some of the issues around local food such as provenance, cost, quality and consistency add to the challenge.

The idea is simple enough and provided that you don’t live in a “food desert” the process of shopping locally is not difficult, but on balance is doesn’t make life easier if that’s what you are after.

A lot I have found depends on whether you have easy access to good, independent retailers and whether or not the local (farmers’) market takes place weekly or only monthly.

Products which I have found difficult to buy are yoghurt, staples such as tinned sardines, pasta, grains and flour to name but a few.

Fruit & veg by and large are more interesting at markets: fresher, strictly seasonal and you can find produce that is simply not popular enough to justify a place on the supermarket shelf.

On Sunday I spotted purple kohl rabi at our local farmers’ market, alongside chard, summer squash, red & white currants and tiny courgettes with the flowers still attached.

Shopping at your local (farmers’) market also offers to opportunity to make the most of seasonal gluts: right now, courgettes, tomatoes, squash and cherries to name a few.

If you can, buying into gluts (when produce is at its peak and prices low), then tucking in at once and preparing some of the produce for storage is a very satisfying way to shop and eat. It firmly keeps you connected to the seasons and although it takes a bit of planning + organisation at the time, it buys you free time later on when you can dip into a well stocked cupboard/fridge/freezer for a quick & easy meal.

Seasonal gluts don’t impact on supermarket products and prices to quite the same extent as they do on markets; seasonal factors are simply less important to supermarkets who buy fruit & veg from around the globe all year round.

There is an upside though to shopping locally and below I have tried to summarize why it’s definitely worthwhile to try and “LookLocal” most of the time.

And remember, buying local food does not need to mean a wholesale change in philisophy or approach. More likely, it will be a journey of many small steps, taken one product (for example meat, or fish or fruit & vegetables) at a time.

So here’s the upside of “LookLocal”:

1. it helps raise the importance of good food

2. it connects you with your local community

3. buying local = voting with your money = supporting independent retailers, small producers and British farmers

4. it offers an opportunity to re-connect with food, the seasons and the food chain

5. buying seasonally can (re)inspire your cooking

6. shopping locally feels like giving food (and shopping and cooking) back its integrity

I plan to investigate the issue of “provenance” more and give you some price comparisons next week, along with some recipes + simple ideas on how break the supermarket habit.

Let me know how you are faring in your “LookLocal” challenge: I do value your comments and observations.

Best,

Monique

Razors, crabs & samphire

A seafood “extravaganza” … 

With razor clams, fresh crabs + samphire from Mark White aka MarkyMarket “your man at the market”. Market in this case being Billingsgate (fish) and Smithfield (meat). 

markymarket@hotmail.com 07939 526 202 or follow Mark on Twitter @markymarket. 

I think I may calling Mark on a lot when I embark on my “Look Local” campaign on the 1st of July. My quest is to shop locally and avoid the supermarkets for fresh food – and I’ll be reporting here on how I get one. 

If you want to find out more visit the Women’s Food & Farming Union London branch’ website www.wfulondon.org.uk . 

I hope you will join the “look local” campaign for the opportunity to (re)connect with your local community + retailers, support British farmers +_ growers and help to reduce our collective carbon footprint. 

Back to the goodies: 

On Friday we ate the steamed razors with candele lunghe (literally “long candles”) 50cm long tubes of pasta which you break/smash into pieces over boiling water. 

I sweated the garlic in olive oil in a pan large enough to hold the razors, then added the chilli and a glass of white wine and brought that to a simmer. Added the razors and just as the shells were opening after a couple of minutes (a sign that the shellfish is cooked) chucked in 2 handfuls of samphire. 

Mixed with the cooked candele lunghe (which were roughly the same size as the razors) they made a delicious “hands-on” meal. 

Fingerbowls with plenty of lemon + large napkins a must! 

Candele lunghe with razors

 

Delish! 

And on Sunday I used the crabs (ready cooked to make life easy, but you could buy live ones + boil your own) to make crab linguine. 

For 2 generous portions you’ll need: 

250g of dried linguine (I like de Cecco – widely available) 

2 small crabs, the brown (which has the most flavour) + white meat picked out of the shells 

1 clove of garlic, very finely chopped 

3/4 tsp dried chillies (or you could use small fresh red chilli, finely chopped) 

juice of 1 lemon 

handful of flatleaf parsley, finely chopped 

seasalt, freshly ground black pepper 

2 tbsp of olive oil 

Linguine with crab

This is what you do: 

1. Mix the brown + white crabmeat and any juices from the shells 

2. add the chilli, lemon juice, garlic, parsley and olive oil 

3. cook the linguine until al dente (c 10 mins) 

4. stir into the crab mixture but don’t re-heat 

4. check the seasoning + serve immediately 

Yummmmm! 

Monique

Ban the Supermarket Challenge

Ban the Supermarket Challenge

Join me and avoid buying fresh foods from the big 4 for one  month!

This is why you should:

It’s about

• supporting local retailers, making shopping much more of a family and community experience
• re-connecting with local producers of good honest food, paying attention to the massive influx of imports and avoiding them
• forcing us all to really consider the broader farming issues behind our previously all-too-easily purchased products
• raising awareness of the need to collectively ‘do our bit’ for the country’s ‘carbon footprint’

 And … it is about stripping away the convenience, ease (and let’s be honest, the laziness) of food-shopping.

Come on, you know it makes sense and it with longer, warmer days and an abundance of fresh fruit + veg around it won’t be as difficult as you may think.

I’ll be charting our family’s progress here and share my experience and tips on how to make shopping locally easier.

Here’s to looking local!

Monique

Favourite lunch this week: smashed peas, dill and Feta

I made this for Tuesday’s Women’s Food & Farming Union London’s meeting and it was very well received.

If you like fresh, zesty and texture this is for you!

Really quick and easy to make and works a treat with frozen peas until fresh peas are in season (June).

You could try substituting the dill with mint (but use less because mint easily overpowers everything else) or do half -and-half.

Blobbed onto toasted sourdough or Ryvita pumpkin seed crackers or scooped up with individual little gem lettuce leaves…

No picture I am afraid: I was in too much of  a hurry to take one when preparing for the WFU meeting and so greedy to eat the left-overs the next day I forgot…

I can tell you it looks beautiful: pea-green (obviously) with flecks of dark green + bright white.

Waitrose sell bags of ready washed pea shoot which would make a lovely garnish, but why not grow your own? A lot cheaper and fun.

Serves 4 as a starter

You will need:

150g peas (podded weight if using fresh)

1 garlic clove, green shoot removed and chopped very finely or use a garlic press or pestle & mortar

4 tbsp finely snipped fresh dill

100g Feta, crumbled

25g freshly grated Parmesan

2 tbsp lemon juice

2.5 tbsp olive oil (I have just opened a bottle of 2009 oil from the Fattoria La Vialla estate in Italy – very grassy + peppery, delish!)

This is what you do:

1. blitz the peas in a food processor: pulse for short burst, you want the peas to retain some shape. If using frozen, don’t bother defrosting the peas first.

2. tip into a bowl

3. add all the other ingredients and mix lightly until paste-like

4. check the seasoning: you’ll probably want to add some freshly ground black pepper but won’t need to add salt because the Feta and Parmesan add enough

5. now you are ready to tuck in but have a good sniff (or lung full) first: Spring on a plate!

Bon appetit!

Monique

Women’s Food & Farming Union

The WFU has formed a new branch strategically orientated close to the political and media centres of power in London!

In a ceremony held on Friday at the Farmers Club near Whitehall, Lady Sara Apsley was appointed as the official London Branch spokeswoman. 

Speaking to a large audience at the branch’s inaugural meeting, Lady Apsley, herself an already credited and nationally-famed campaigner for farming issues, rallied the crowd by saying that, “While the work on the ground and in the countryside is being completed on a day to day basis by our dedicated farmers, it is our duty as women to get behind them and enliven a nation. To truly speak for Britain and it’s food production, and to get the job done of converting consumers into a healthier and more patriotic way of life, which includes food shopping, as well as appreciating the countryside and it’s issues.” 

The WFU was formed more than thirty years ago, when a group of feisty women joined forces to prevent the British apple market from being decimated by foreign imports. “We fought back in order to protect our local farmers and producers,” said Teresa Wickham, one of the original WFU founders present at the launch.  “And we’re still fighting today,” said Wickham in her speech. “The WFU is the key organisation of women actively working to link the producer and consumer, a distinction that has allowed us to build up a special rapport with shoppers and household decision-makers. Publicly as a national entity and privately as women we are dedicated to engaging UK consumers, families, the media and the government and about food and farming issues.” 

In her enlivening tribute to the WFU’s steadfast legacy of active campaigning, Lady Apsley rallied the audience to,”Show your support for our farmers and for those in the countryside.”  In further raising the call with the London branch’s newly enlisted members she vigourously added, “Now, let’s get out there and start upsetting the apple carts!” 

Sarah Chase, Head of PR and Marketing for RURAL TV who along with original WFU founders Teresa Wickham and Elizabeth Browning, first conceived the idea of a London Branch commented, “Many of us in London, myself included, find that we are in an age and an area of disassociation.  While many of us here have ‘country’ backgrounds we see all around us children, women, men and whole families who carry tragic misconceptions about what it means to be rural, to live in the country and to be involved in the farming community.” 

Teresa Wickham added, “The WFU sees London as a strategic move into an urban environment, which has the advantage of being a place of both public and political interest.” 

When asked to explain the goals of the branch, Sarah Chase stated,”In London, this branch can effectively work to inspire our nation to support our farmers, to help consumers, politicians and the media understand where their food comes from, to examine the broader issues and policies that drive production and to each do our own part as individuals to look local for our food and to live more conscientious, healthier and ultimately more sustainable lives.”