Israeli potatoes - really?

As you may have noticed, due to the change of season here in the UK I have been a bit (OK, a lot) obsessed with local, seasonal produce recently. One of the great things about following a plant-based diet and writing this blog is that it instigates discussions and ideas sharing with other people. Only the other day I was talking to one of my friends about buying British. Like me, my friend tries to buy local whenever possible, although she does admit that pineapple is a weakness for her. With all the will in the world, I don't think we'll ever be able to grow descent pineapples here. My friend had noticed, however, that our local Co-operative is selling potatoes from Israel. Really?????? Although we may not have the most exotic choice of fruit and vegetables in the UK, the one thing we can grow really well and in abundance is potatoes. So why do we need to import them from Israel?

Woo hoo! New food!

I'm so happy this week. Salad crops are starting to come into season in the UK. I've been eating salad all week - fresh tomatoes, cucumber, peppers, and I bought some amazing lettuce and spinach at Roath Real Food Market yesterday. It's so nice to have a change in diet. Don't get me wrong, I love winter vegetables, but it does get a bit tiresome by April.

Mixing it up

   I've been trying to think of new ideas for lunches that I can take into work. When you're trying to only eat seasonal, local vegetables you can find yourself eating the same things over and over again. So I've looked back through my recipes and adapted some of them. Here's one of my favourites. The recipe is for Summer Risotto, but you can use pretty much any vegetables as a substitute. I made some this week using pumpkin, butternut squash and mushrooms.

Ingredients
100g (3½oz) asparagus, trimmed
350g (12oz) risotto rice (or short brown rice)
125g (4oz) broad beans
1 small onion, finely diced
1 litre vegetable stock
150ml (¼ pint) dry white wine
½ lemon, juiced (I substitute this with a splash of vinegar as we don't tend to get many lemons growing in South Wales)

Boil the asparagus and beans in water for 3 minutes. Drain and plunge into cold water and then drain again.
Using a little of the vegetable stock, fry the onion until transparent. If you're using mushrooms, add them here as well. Stir in the rice. Add 1 ladle of hot stock and cook until absorbed. Keep the stock simmering on the stove and add it a ladle at a time until absorbed. When most of the stock has been used, add the asparagus and beans, white wine and lemon juice. Simmer for a few more minutes.


The trick with risotto is to add the stock gradually. I once saw a TV cookery competition where a chef did not follow this advice, and his colleagues and customers were not best pleased.

Scrubbed but not peeled

   Scrubbed but not peeled. That's how I like my vegetables. It's a simple tip, but one that can provide you with more food and therefore save you money. My mum also used to tell me that there are lots of nutrients in vegetable skins.

Chewy Carrots

Due to work commitments, I was unable to make it to the real food market last week. As a result, by mid-week my kitchen was empty of food. So I went to the supermarket. As I needed some snacks to take to work with me, I thought I'd buy some carrots to nibble on. Unfortunately, I was unable to get organic, but they did have British carrots, so I bought a bag. I now understand the difference between supermarket and fresh produce. It's no wonder people say they don't like vegetables if that's all they think there is on offer. I'd never realised before that carrots can actually be chewy! Needless to say, I'm off to the real food market this morning to buy some carrots that taste like carrots. And all I have to say about the supermarket-bought carrots is - Urgh!