Hello everyone,
Apologies for my recent absence, have been having Internet usage issues but these will hopefully soon be solved! I am popping in to give a little update and tell you a couple of recipes I have enjoyed recently. I still haven't been in any of the big supermarkets, but this doesn't include our local little Co-op which I have been in a few times. The main reason that this has been necessary is... tuna! I can't find it anywhere else apart from corner shops, and they do not stock dolphin-friendly sustainably fished tuna like the Co-op does. Some things this supermarket does well. However the amount of waste they produce rules them out as a permanent solution so if anyone knows where to get tuna please do let me know!
I'm now beginning to enjoy not going in the supermarket. I've found that I've stopped thinking about a lot of foods that I can't get easily out of the supermarket, and I am now trying to phase out foods I know are not available in the winter without getting them from abroad. Tomatoes, for instance. The ones grown in hot houses here produce the same level of Co2 as the ones driven over from Spain. There are a few hot houses in England that pump the gas back in to feed the tomatoes and so are virtually carbon nutral but I am going to have to find out which ones and how to know your tomatoes came from there. Do we need to eat these foods that are not naturally available to us at this time of year? I am thinking not. It's wonderful to eat seasonally, to let your diet change with the weather. Sal took me to the restuarant Mal Maison in Leeds a couple of weeks back and they had a locally-sourced seasonal menu. It was beautiful. Who needs a tomato?
OK and so to a couple of recipes using just such foods. The first includes smoked salmon which I did get from Co-op but there's no reason that you couldn't get some from a proper fishmonger, I just happened to have some in the freezer. It's a variant on a Slimming World recipe, so good for you too! The second recipe I sort of invented so hope you like it!
Season Salmon Pasta
Ingredients
Smoked salmon (as much as you want)
Leeks
Courgette
Brocolli
Onion and garlic
Whatever other seasonal veg you enjoy!
Pasta of choice
Creme fraiche or natural yogurt
Method
Cut off the brocolli heads and set them to one side. Chop up the remaining stalk into small bits. 80% of this veg's nutrients are located in the stalk and it is delicious so fry it up with the onion and garlic, yummy. Next chop up those courgettes and leeks and throw them in with the onion et al. Fry until they're as soft as you like them to be. Boil water and add pasta. Just before the pasta is ready, throw in the brocolli florettes and finish off cooking the pasta. Drain it then add the veg into it, along with your smoked salmon (cut up into strips). Then stir in a big dollop of creme fraiche or natural yogurt while it's over a low heat to warm it through. And that's it! Tasty.
Buttery Butternut
This is bloody lovely comfort food. It's autumnal and flavourful.
Ingredients
One butternut squash
Garlic
Butter
Feta
Cous cous
Veg of choice (I used courgettes, cabbage and leeks)
Method
Slice the butternut squash in half length ways. Scoop out all the seeds and stringy stuff then put a knob of butter where the seeds had been. Squish up some garlic and rub it all over the rest of the squash (not the skin, obv). Stick it in the oven for a good hour at around 200 degrees. When it's getting close to done, fry up the garlic and other veg (or boil, if you prefer) and set them aside. Oh, if you like things spicy, throw a little fresh chilli in with the veg if you like. Boil up the cous cous, it doesn't take long, 5-10 minutes. Dice up some feta and throw it in with the cooked cous cous. Then pull the cooked squash out the oven and fill the buttery hole with cous cous and feta. Serve it with a big helping of the veg. Bloody yummy.
So I hope that you maybe enjoy trying one or both of those meals. I will keep an eye out for more delicious tips!
Thanks for reading my possums,
Ash
