The British Christmas Stress

Over my lifetime I've lived in a few different countries and experienced different cultures. One of the common threads wherever I have lived, whenever and however it is celebrated, is the 'excitement' of Christmas. However, since moving back to the UK, I've noticed that on the island of my birth Christmas is nothing more than a stress. So much so that last year I spent Christmas on my own. And before you say 'bah humbug!' I have to say I had a really nice, relaxing few days off work, although I did have to fight for my right to celebrate Christmas how I choose to (so much for the season of goodwill!).
Here in the UK, the Christmas celebration lasts for a month. Basically, from the 1st December the whole island builds itself up for the biggest come down on 26th December. Today I visited Tesco to do a bit of last minute shopping before I drive to visit family in England. Although I have been doing my best to shop at local markets recently, in all honesty I went to Tesco because I had some vouchers to use up and I needed to fill my car up with petrol. After today's visit, however, I really don't want to go back there again. There's still two days to go until actual Christmas, but the supermarket was like some post-modernist film's prediction on utopian hell. Without wanting to cause offence to anyone, as I include myself amongst them, the whole shop was full of people who would genuinely starve if Tesco and other supermarkets like it didn't exist. Because they honestly have no idea where food comes from.

Too busy to chop?

Whilst attending a Christmas meal yesterday I heard someone say that they buy pre-cut, packed vegetables for Christmas dinner because, and I quote, 'you don't even need to chop them anymore'. Have we really got to the point where we are genuinely too busy to cut our own vegetables up? And do the people who buy these pre-packed vegetables, which I think taste like crap by the way, not question how the manufacturers manage to keep 'fresh' vegetables in a bag for so long whilst they're flown halfway across the planet?

The tardis of freezers

My freezer is like Aladdin's cave sometimes. Which is all the more amazing considering it's only a box freezer. Alongside the mushroon gravy I used to make the stew yesterday I also found a tub of the basting sauce from Chef Sarno's Seitan Briskett recipe. I added a teaspoon on cornflour, heated it gently whilst stirring continuously, and ended up with a lovely sauce to pour over vegetables.

Winter Warmer

It's freezing cold here in Wales (although I'm glad to say we have no snow in Cardiff yet). In an effort to win the battle against the freezing temperatures, I made a big batch of vegetable hotpot/stew this morning. A few weeks back I mentioned that I'd tried Chef Chad Sarno's Wild Mushroom Gravy recipe from the Planeat website with much success. I found a tub of it in my freezer, and it is a perfect base for my hotpot/stew. I simply defrosted the gravy with some vegetable stock to bulk it up a bit, and then added steamed vegetables. Whatever vegetables are seasonal to your area will do, personally I used the celeriac, potatoes, carrots and onions (fried in vinegar) that I bought at the market yesterday. This recipe will be of no use to anyone living in a warm climate, but for those of us currently experiencing winter it's a great way to warm up. And it means I've got my lunch sorted for the next few days. I've even got a little pot of pickled red cabbage to take into work with me and serve with my hotpot/stew.

My top real food market tip... Buy Bread Last!

Walking down to Roath Real Food Market on a Saturday morning has now become part of my weekly routine. I did make a schoolboy error this morning, though. As I was planning to drive to Bristol in the afternoon and visit a friend, I thought it would be nice to buy a treacle tart to take with me. So I bought this first, along with a loaf of spelt bread (really nice by the way, as was the treacle tart). I then spent the next hour trying to shop for vegetables and Christmas presents whilst balancing a treacle tart in my hand, as it had to lie flat, and trying not to crush the bread. So my tip is - buy the bread last. And the treacle tart.
Whilst I'm on the subject of Christmas presents, in an effort to find gifts that are unique and have a minimal impact on the environment, I bought my mum a lemon tree. I was smugly pleased with my purchase, until it occurred to me on the bus ride home that I'm going to have to keep the tree alive until Friday when I see my mum. Considering that the last plant I had visibly wilted the second I brought it into my apartment, and then died in front of my eyes over the course of two weeks (it's now an empty plant pot on my fire escape), I'm a wee bit nervous. Wish me luck!

Patchwork Quilts

The more I read and learn about conserving resources on a grand scale, the more I think about ways I can reuse things at home. So I've taken up quilting. I'm hoping that's the right verb, and if it isn't and I've said something offensive then I apologise and I'll explain. Rather than throw away old clothes (the ones that aren't suitable for the charity shop), I borrowed a book called 'Learn to Quilt' from the library and cut them up to make a quilt. I'm half way through my first quilt at the moment, and it's a great past-time while watching a DVD.

Carrier Bags

I've been reading Al Gore's tips on how we can individually help to solve the climate crisis in 'An Inconvenient Truth' and, although the book is a few years old now, I think there are things that some people could still learn. One of his tips is to bag your purchases in a reusable tote (I love that American word!). It is estimated that the average life of a single giveaway carrier bag is only 3 minutes before being discarded. All those resourses used up for three minutes of something we didn't really need!
Here in Wales a new law came into effect October 1st this year which means that if you want a carrier bag (plastic or paper) anywhere in Wales, at any shop/take-away etc you have to pay 5p for it. The proceeds are then donated to charity. I for one have welcomed this new law with open arms, although I stopped using plastic bags a long time ago. Firstly, it was hugely entertaining watching everybody think up ways to carry their shopping without using a bag on 1st October. I saw one man stagger out of Tesco to his car with a tower of groceries in his hands that reached to about two foot above him. Secondly, it's made the nation think about how they use plastic. I've decided to carry around a placard that says 'It's still a bag', as this is a response I seem to be giving a lot to people with comments such as 'They even charged me in McDonalds' and 'But I bought lots of clothes so I needed a bag'. My particular favourite was a lady in Sainsburys who said 'Well, if they're going to charge me they can keep their bags'. I think that was the idea, love.
I am somewhat surprised at the uproar to the new law. I'm only 31, but I can remember another time when it was normal to charge for bags. It was considered an ingenious marketing ploy when Kwik Save announced that they would no longer be charging for bags as they didn't think their customers should have to pay for them, unfortunately not realising at the time what they were starting and the effect it would have on the environment.
So even if you only make one change (and the law will soon come into effect in other countries too anyway) then carry a reusable bag with you. Especially if you're coming to visit Wales.

Tofu Bolognese Pasties

It's a bit of a culturally eclectic mix, but I experiemented with my lunches this week by making tofu bolognese pasties. Even if I do say so myself, they are delicious and even an omnivore sat next to me at lunch commented on how good they looked. The best thing is that the recipe makes 8, so you can keep them in the fridge to take to work and reheat when needed.

Pastry
450g plain flour
2tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
120g dairy-free spread
200ml chilled water

Bolognese
(This recipe will make a lot more than you need to fill the pasties, but it's handy to freeze in batches and reheat at a later date. It can be kept in a freezer for up to 3 months, and works well served with pasta or potatoes, especially baked sweet potato)
1 medium onion, chopped
320g closed cup or chestnut mushrooms, chopped
1 large courgette/zuccini, chopped
pack of minced tofu
6 soft tomatoes, peeled (prick the tomatoes, pour boiling water over them and leave for 5 minutes and the skins will peel off) and roughly chopped
75ml vegetable stock
small tin tomato paste

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.
2. For the pastry, mix the flour, baking powder and salt together in a mixing bowl. Rub in the butter and fat until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Mix in just enough water to form a dough.
3. For the bolognese filling, fry the onions until soft (apple juice or orange juice are great for frying), add the courgette, mushrooms and tofu and stir-fry for another few minutes. When the tofu and vegetables have started to brown, add the chopped tomatoes, vegetable stock and tomato paste and mix throughly. Cover and leave to simmer for about 20 minutes.
4. Roll out the pastry and cut out 8 discs approximately 15cm (6in) in diameter. Put 1 tbsp of bolognese onto each pastry disc and fold over to make a pasty shape (you can brush the edges with a little water or soya milk if they won't stick). Seal the edges, and prick a hole in the top of each pasty. Glaze with some soya milk (optional) and place on a greased baking tray.
5. Bake for 20 minutes until the pastry is golden brown.

Our last chance to save the world

The Metro published an article on Thursday about the UN climate change summit. Government ministers and the heads of influential environmental charities from more than 190 countries are represented. Rather fittingly, on the first night of the summit the lives of six Durban residents were taken by torrential rain, unseasonal weather for that area. Our thoughts of course go to the families of the six victims, and UN climate chief Christiana Figueres used the incident to demonstrate how weather is likely to get more extreme as the planet heats up.
This is our last chance to save the planet from global warming. Perhaps one of the reasons we don't act is because the biggest impact is on the world's poorest people, despite them being the least responsible. Here in the west we are causing the problem, but so far the changes have been so gradual that we can ignore them. I'm reminded of Al Gore's comments in his book 'An Inconvenient Truth. He said 'If we experience a significant change in our circumstances gradually and slowly, we are capable of sitting still and failing to recognise the seriousness of what is happening to us until it's too late. Global warming may seem gradual in the context of a single lifetime, but in the context of the Earth's history, it is actually happening with lightning speed.'
When I was at high school we watched a film called 'Two Seconds to Midnight'. The basic theory of the film is that if you think of the entire history of Earth as a 24 hour clock, so the Big Bang is at midnight on the first night and present day at midnight on the second night, then humans only arrived on the planet at two seconds to midnight. However, we have had more impact than any other inhabitants. I saw the film in the mid-90s, and it was old then. Although our attitude to environmental concerns have changed in the past 15 years, I think 'Two Seconds to Midnight' would still be relevant today. My old high school probably are still showing it on VCR.

Many cancers could be prevented

Just seen an article on yahoo http://uk.news.yahoo.com/many-cancers-could-prevented-000407948.html Apparently a 'breakthrough' study has discovered that the development of cancer can be affected by lifestyle choices. Are we really still surprised at these results? How many studies do we need to do before we stop looking at statistics and start making changes?

The Big Bread Experiment - Genius!

I just caught the first episode of BBC Two's 'The Big Bread Experiment' on On Demand. What a brilliant idea! I think bringing the community together to create great, fresh food is fantastic. Congratulations to the inspirational women in Yorkshire who have started the bread revolution, and also to the volunteers restoring the mill. I would definitely love to get involved in a project like that in Cardiff.

Scavenging for food at Heathrow Airport

The travelbug is in Austria this week, so I apologise for any spelling errors. I'm having to use a German keyboard, and the spell check is trying to correct me in German so everything is coming up in red!
Admittedly, Heathrow Airport is not on my top 50 list of favourite places on planet Earth. It is, however, a useful place to pass through if you need to get to an awkward destnation quickly. Which is how I found myself there on Saturday morning. The awkward destination being Innsbruck, where I was headed to visit family.
I thought this would be a good opportunity to see how difficult, or easy, it is to stick to a plant-based diet whilst in transit. I appreciate there are thousands of vegans out there who do this on a regular basis, and are probably telling me to shut up right now. But for me it was an interesting experience. It actually reminded me of when I first turned vegetarian, before the days of labelling foods for dietry requirements and before most people really understood what vegetarianism was. I remember many a trip where my staple diet would be fries, salad and bread, and I would constantly have to tell people that no, I don't eat fish, and I can't just pick the chicken out or eat around the beef.
So there I was in Heathrow airport, having to read every single ingredient again. I must point out here that, unfortunately, I was flying from Terminal 1. The larger terminals at Heathrow do have some excellent fresh food outlets, and I can't wait for them to make it onto the UK high street. I settled on a carrot, houmous and salad leaves on wholemeal sandwich from Boots, a fresh pear and filling my water bottle up from the water fountain. The sandwich is made by a company called fresh! (I believe the exclamation mark is an essential part of the name). The blurb on the box (which is recyclable by the way) promises 'no gunk and no junk', and I have to say it was a really tasty sandwich. The only downfall is that the houmous did contain tahini. On that note, does anyone know the correct spelling for houmous? I've come across a few different variations so far.
Extra brownie points go to Caffe Nero, where the lovely barista was more than happy to make me a latte with Alpro Soya, which I might add was one of the tastiest lattes I've ever had.
For the benefit of anyone else who is travelling through Frankfurt airport in the near future, they have a lovely fresh food outlet. The vegetarian options are still quite dairy-based, but there's a lot of fresh fruit and juices.

Magic Sprouting Beans

OK, so maybe they're not exactly magic, but they're still pretty impressive. One of the common arguments against a plant-based diet is that you don't eat enough protein and calcium. I must add at this point that most comments I receive like this come from omnivores with very bad eating habits. Like all nutrients, however, you can easily get enough protein and calcium from plants, you just have to do it right. Plus, plant-based protein is also much healthier for you. Green vegetables such as kale and brocoli are great sources of calcium, and beans, lentils and seeds will also provide essential nutrients. Which is where my magic sprouting beans come in. A few years ago, a friend took me to an organic farm shop in Devon. This was the first time I had been in such a place, and to me it was like Aladdin's cave. There, she introduced me to organic sprouting mix, a dry mixture of beans that you soak in water for 3-5 days until they're soft enough to eat and begin to sprout (hence the name). I immediately found a new favourite food, and when I returned to work abroad the next week I made sure I had a packet in my backpack. There are different contraptions you can buy that are specially designed for sprouting the seeds, but personally I prefer the jam jar method. Simply soak the beans in water and drain, then leave to stand out of direct sunlight. It's recommended you put a piece of muslin cloth over the top of the jam jar, but I discovered last week that a j cloth also works well. A clean j cloth, of course.
On my return to the UK, I couldn't wait to but another pack of sprouting seeds. After all, they'd proved to be an easy to transport snack whilst I was travelling. Imagine my horror when I couldn't find them anywhere in Cardiff!. Some shops did stock ready-sprouted mix, chilled in the fridge, but I didn't fancy the look of them, and would probably had to eat them up in an incredibly short time before they went out of date.
At this point I could leave you in suspense and make you wait until my next blog to discover if I was ever reunited with my magic sprouting beans, but I'm not that cruel. I'm pleased to say that a couple of months ago I was browsing in Beanfreaks in Cardiff (you can order online too) and was overjoyed to find they stock organic srpouting mix in their basics range. I was that excited that I think I actually did let out a small whoop of joy, and for that I apologise to anyone who was in the shop with me. I now put them on my salads to take to work with me, and chuck them in stir-fries to make them a bit more interesting. I've also discovered through (accidental) experimentation that it doesn't matter if you sprout them a few more days than you intended, they're still edible. Although the ones I put on my lunch today were so far gone that Alan Titchmarsh could have presented an episode of Groundforce on it.