How did they do it?

I am starting to wander what it would have really been like to live locally all year round. September must be pretty much the easiest month, fruits, nuts, berries, vegetables, game everywhere. Can you imagine March? So much effort would have to go into pickling, bottling, drying, grinding, salting and generally preserving things for winter - I'm sure it would be a full time job (along with all the other boring household chores - like - arrgh! The washing up! I have never created so much washing up in my life, so much cooking).

September - the month of easy pickings, free food and if were lucky plenty of autumn sunshine (eating apples, cooking apples, pears and walnuts - all scavenged from the trees)

Tonight I have boiled plums, washed rosehips, picked blackberries, made stock, cooked a ham and done the most enormous pile of washing up! So much to do in the kitchen and so little time - good job I don't work Fridays!

MEAT

As pointed out by a fellow food challenger last night, what has all this meat you have been eating been fed on? Well the truth is, I don't know - I would hope if it was a cow then grass but thats not always true at all seen as some are kept in for many months of the year. I don't really like to eat a lot of meat but it has been an easy option this month, maybe for every other meal at a guess. I know that for the people who are vegetarian this challenge has been a lot harder to do and i'd quite like to give it a go - maybe for the last week.

mid-challenge pub meet tonight

If anyone who lives near Framlingham and has been following the challenge is interested in meeting up to discuss how it has been going, thoughts and recipes then we are meeting at:

The Station Pub, Framlingham
Tonight at 7.30pm in the back room

A few meal ideas

Garden Veg - plenty of caterpillars in the cauliflower (just to prove its organic!)

Well this weekend I was working at a festival, Harvest at Jimmys. I did make quiche and scotch eggs to take along but they didn't last all weekend so I did have to break the rules a bit - I shall be adding a few extra days on the end to compensate!

I have been trying to come up with some good meal ideas to share so here are a few plus some great books I have been using:

Spanish Tortilla
Make this by cutting up potatoes really small and deep frying, once they are done you can drain them on kitchen paper. Then add some fried onions and garlic plus ideally some smoked paprika (a spice so allowed!) and salt and pepper. Whisk up some eggs, add to the pan with everything else and cook over a low heat, the top can be finished under the grill.
Eat with a salad and corn on the cob.

Sausages and Mash with seasonal green vegetables
Easy option!

Pies (and a great book)
Try cheese and vegetable, chicken and leek, chicken and mushroom, beef and ale - the list goes on!
For great pie recipes and more this book is fantastic: Porters English Cookery Bible, Ancient and Modern. By Richard, Earl of Bradford and Carol Wilson

Cheesy Cauliflower
Make a yummy vegetarian meal by cooking up some cheese sauce and pouring over steamed cauliflower. Add breadcrumbs on the top and a bit more grated cheese and cook up in the oven to serve with seasonal vegetables.

Bread Book
Another good book I have been using: A Loaf of Bread by Gail Duff. Bread in History, in the Kitchen and on the Table: Recipes and Traditions

The Barn Kitchen

The kitchen in the barn - loads of space and almost outside for the last bit of warm weather

This challenge has been made easier for me as we are having our kitchen insulated so had to move the kitchen into the barn. That meant packing all the food we usually eat  into boxes, so I cant get to it to even be tempted! I love the new barn kitchen and apart from the fact there is no water in there and that its a bit breezy sometimes, I quite want to stay in there for ever - but I wouldn't be saying that in January!

menu and shopping list

Well if anyone is interested here is my menu and shopping list for the rest of the week.

Thursday breakfast: toast and jam
Lunch: potatoe skins (left over from Tuesdays dinner) with cheese and cheery tomatoes, conveniently heated up in the microwave at work
Dinner: mushroom and bacon risotto (rice is one of our luxuries) with garlicky greens

Friday breakfast: pancakes, fruit and yogurt
Lunch: baked potatoes with cheese and tomatoey sauce (tomatoes, courgettes and onions)
Dinner: sausages, mash, green beans and cheesy cauliflower

Saturday breakfast: bacon and tomatoes on toast
Lunch: scotch eggs and fruit (packed lunch)
Dinner: Festival food at Harvest at Jimmys (better be local - thats what they say its all about!)

This involves shopping for sausages, fruit, yogurt, cheese, tomatoes, bacon, potatoes and milk - not sure how I will get all this stuff as the markets not on on a Friday......


It has made me think if you worked full time that it would be VERY hard to get everything you need as no market or butchers is open after work, only the supermarket. It would mean leaving every Saturday free to visit the market, and what if you wanted to be lazy and stay in your pajamas all day!

Is it going to be expensive?

The veg rack from Framlingham market, my garden and the side of the road - looks great, healthy and cheaper than chips

I am finding that the main question I am being asked is "is it expensive?". Well the truth is I dont know yet! I am writing down costs and also where I get things from to keep track of travelling and costs. The problem will be that I dont know how much we spend normally. Anyway I have a feeling that its not going to cost more, meat is the same (I never get cheap meat from the supermarket anyway), dairy IS expensive compared to normal (yogurt and cheese) but maybe we should practice eating less to save the wallets and the waists anyway! But vegetables are cheap, and that is what we are mainly eating. Flour works out cheaper than loaves of bread as well.

Great new place in Flixton for milk, Waveney Valley

If anyone is up this way be sure to stop off at the new MILK SHED! For fresh unpasteurised milk and locally grown vegetables:
http://www.waveneyvalleyblog.com/2011/07/unpasteurised-milk-from-milk-shed.html

seasonal recipe website

Plum upside down cake, plain yogurt from Marybelle Dairy and wine from Shawsgate vineyard (which is only a mile or so away from our house)

we are just making plum upside down cake - check out this website for seasonal recipes www.britishlarder.co.uk

Children and the challenge (plus crackers recipe)

Todays cooking efforts - blackberry bread, a plain loaf and cheese straws

As I have discovered its not so easy when you are out and about to stick to the challenge - especially if you have children. I have decided that I am not going to enforce it on Amelie (who is 4) if she wants a drink/snack when we are out and especially at friends houses. At home its easy, we made crackers, bread and quiche and the fridge is full of fruit and juice and yogurt and cheese.

Today we are going to bake blackberry bread together after going blackberry picking and also some more crackers.

Crackers: To make crackers is basically the same as making pastry. You need to use white flour, one cup would be  good amount of crackers. Then add butter until the mixture looks a little like fine breadcrumbs. You need to use less than you would do for pastry though. Then add milk until the dough is soft but not sticky. Roll out on something flat with no oil/butter (I used the top of a metal oven dish) until it is paper thin. Really try to make sure it is thin as the thicker ones arent so good, then bake in the oven at gas mark 6 until they are browned - about 20 mins but longer if they are too thick.
Eat with local cheeses - yum!

Butter, shepherds pie and birthdays

Local Butter

Well I have now been told that I can get Marybelle milk butter www.marybelle.co.uk from Stuston farm shop and also that I can get it from Diss from a wholefood shop in Norfolk House Yard. Also there are local dairys www.dominidairy.co.uk who sell unpasteurised Jersey milk products including butter through the farm shop at Wyken vineyard. Also there is a dairy at Hollesley www.rawjerseymilk.co.uk
The problem here is that no shops in Framlingham sell it - it would be good to change that and get a shop stocking it before the end of September!


and now for the rest....... Had a delicious meal of shepherds pie with broccoli from the garden/runner beans from the side of the A12 last night and tonight. I have discovered that shepherds pie (I shouldn't be taking the credit here because my husband Dominic actually cooked it!) is even more delicious than usual made the local way. Instead of tinned tomatoes whizz up real ones and courgettes to make a delicious sauce to cook your mince, onions and peas in. Yum!

Then take whats left round to your mates house for their birthday and share it with them to avoid eating all the other tempting non-local food you might otherwise eat!
Unfortunately this is not always an option, as we were all invited out for a family birthday meal in pizza express on Friday we felt that not going would be a bit over the top - and taking our own meal not an option. So on this occasion the food I ate was most definitely NOT local!

The History of CINNAMON

And now for a bit of food history with some high mileage thrown in for good measure....

To get you thinking about food I have done a bit of research on CINNAMON. This is a spice so officially allowed to be eaten during the challenge. Now to give an idea about food production for an average kitchen multiply the distance below by 1000s to cover all the different ingredients. Once you start to think about how EVERYTHING is produced, the impacts it has on people and the environment (both good and bad) – its a bit mind boggling!

What is Cinnamon?: Cinnamon comes from the inner bark of a tropical tree in the Lauraceae family, it is dried and rolled into 'quills'.

History: Cinnamon is one of the oldest spices known, having a history of almost 5,000 years, recorded as being used in ancient Egypt, China and Rome. In medieval times it was one of the first spices traded between the Near East and Europe and was affordable to the richest and highest ranking in society. From 16^th to the 19^th centuries there were many power struggles between European nations as to who would control the spice trade in Ceylon.

Modern Production: Today Ceylon cinnamon is produced in Sri-Lanka, India, Madagascar, Brazil and the Carribian. Cassia cinnamon is produced in China, Vietnam and India. The harvesting is labour intensive as branches are cut and stripped by hand and air dried although mechanical harvesting is being developed in Sri-Lanka where almost 80% of all cinnamon is grown.

Growing Cinnamon: The trees are coppiced after 2-6 years and are then productive for up to 50 years. Most farmers producing cinnamon have less than 0.25 ha of land although there are also many big farms. Chemical are generally used to control pests unless the cinnamon is organically grown.

Travel: Cinnamon is transported by ship in bales to packaging factories. From Sri-Lanka to the UK is 5400 miles (5370 miles over our limit!).

Sourcing local food

Sourcing local foods
One of the challenges will be to source all this local food without travelling miles to get it. I believe it can be done as I have not gone further than Hacheston as yet and my kitchen looks quite healthy! The list below is not exhaustive, there are many more places to get local food but it is a very good start.

• The Market in Framlingham on a Tuesday/Saturday for vegetables, fruit, cheese, rape seed oil, meat, fish and more
  
• Hall Farm Butchers, Framlingham
  
• Leos Deli has some cheeses, honey and more
  
• The Co-Op has a great range of local food
  
• Friday Street, on A12 on turning to Snape
  
• Alder Carr Farm, Needham Market
  
• The Railway Farm Shop, Sternfield, near Saxmundham
  
• Emmerdale Farm, Dunwich Road off the A12
  
• Farm Cafe and shop at Marlesford on the A12
  
• Garnetts Farm shop, Hacheston (stocks local flour)
  
• Country Market. 9.15am-11am at the United free Church, Framlingham
  
• Huttons Butchers, Earl Soham
  
• Eat Anglia, Earl Soham
  
• Creaseys Butchers, Peasenhall
  
• Clarkes Butchers, Bramfield
  
• Fish from Aldeburgh huts, Southwold Harbour and Friday Street
  

Websites delivering local foods:

• Suffolk Providore (10% off the first order for those doing the local food challenge) www.thesuffolkprovidore.co.uk
  
• Tastes of Anglia www.tastesofanglia.com
  
• Local Food Direct www.welovelocalfood.co.uk
  

The day before the first day....

This post was intended to be the day before the first day, but here it is, just a little late......

A few thoughts before day one of the challenge......
Whilst out buying and collecting local foods I realised that what we will be lacking is 'easy food'. No ready made bread, crackers, oatcakes, cereals – all those things you take for granted that make busy lives juggling works and kids possible.
Already before day one has started I am behind. Arrgh – organisation is looking like it will be very useful! I am planning on making quiches, pasties, bread, crackers and cheese straws. The one missing ingredient here is butter. The only local source I can find is just north of Norwich from Nortons Diary and just out of the 30 mile range. Now I am not being too fussy, I would like to use it anyway but I need some butter right now and the local stuff is not cheap (£2.10 a pack) so perhaps it will be one of my luxuries.....



I hope these recipes and ideas will be useful:
Breakfasts: try pancakes, bacon and tomatoes (or the full English!), homemade toast with local jam or honey, fruit, yogurt, eggs (omelettes, fried, scrambled, poached, yummy!). Oats I am trying to find out if we have a local source.....
Butter-free pastry (American recipe but cant be too hard to work out measurements!):
2 2/3 c. flour (about a cup of whole wheat pastry flour, and the rest all-purpose flour)
1 tsp. salt
2/3 c. oil (organic canola, or half canola, half macadamia nut oil)
6 T. skim milk
Mix the flour and salt in a bowl. Put the oil in a measuring cup, then add the milk without stirring. Dump that in the flour and mix briefly. Do NOT refrigerate. Shape into 2 balls. Flatten one ball and roll out between two sheets of wax paper. If it breaks apart, just smush it together - this crust is easily repairable. Remove the top sheet and turn the pastry over into the pie pan. Fill the pie, then repeat with the second layer. Cut vents in the top, then brush with a tiny bit of milk and sprinkle with sugar. Bake the pie at 400 for the first 10 minutes, then reduce to 350 or 375.
Yeast: don't want to use dried yeast of unknown origin, then make your own:
San Francisco Sourdough
125g strong plain flour
2tsp sugar
225ml warm water
Put the flour and sugar into a bowl and stir in the warm water. Cover the bowl and leave it in a warm place for 2 days or until it is bubbling and risen. This is enough to make up a loaf using 750g strong. Plain flour.

A Seasonal Recipe: Blackberry Bread

180ml warm water

30g fresh yeast/15g dried yeast

500g wholewheat flour

½ tsp salt

½ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp nutmeg, freshly grated

1 egg, beaten

150ml warm milk

2tbsp honey

45g lard or butter, cut into small pieces and softened

250g fresh blackberries

Put the water into a small bowl and sprinkle in the yeast. Leave fresh yeast for 5mins and dried for 15mins. Put the flour into a large mixing bowl and mix in the salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Make a well in the centre and out in the yeast, egg, milk, honey and lard/butter. Mix to a moist dough. Add the blackberries and carefully mix them in. Knead the dough in the bowl, taking care not to squash the blackberries too much. Cover the dough with a clean cloth and leave it in a warm place for 1 hour, or until it has doubled in size. Heat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. Turn the dough onto a floured work surface and knead it again. Form it into a loaf shape and put it into a 1kg/2lb 4oz loaf tin. Bake the loaf for 40 minutes, or until it sounds hollow when tapped and the top is just browned. Turn it onto a wire rack to cool.

More recipes to follow (crackers, cheese straws, traditional delicious pies, scotch eggs)