April order fast approaching

It's nearly time to place the fourth food buying group order, which is a bit exciting!

I thought I'd do a quick post to explain to anyone who is interested just how easy it is, and maybe a bit about just how positive an effect it's had on our lives.

To order, simply send an email to holly.young@hotmail.co.uk to tell me you are interested. I will reply with an order form as well as log in details to the Essential Trading web site (or get a paper catalogue to you). From here, you have a browse from the comfort of your sofa, fill in the order form - which does all the maths bits for you - and email it back to me by Monday 2nd April. We are trialling giving you the option to order via text this month too.

I will check the order then email you back to confirm prices. The food will then be delivered to our house in Weston-super-Mare on Thursday 5th April, you can pop round that evening to collect it, or you can arrange an alternative mutually convenient time. Please bring cash on collection to pay for your order.

Simple!

So, what are the benefits?

• We are definitely spending less money. In part, probably because we are not tempted by supermarket 'offers' that we only end up throwing away. Also, because we are buying in bulk.
• We are definitely using less packaging.
• We are eating better. Yes, this has meant more time cooking but if that's something you enjoy then welcome to the world of creating delicious wholesome meals!
• We haven't had to endure the supermarket. I can't begin to tell you how much more enjoyable my life is just from not entering Tesco. It may sound really silly, but I enjoy my time on this planet much more because I am spending it doing far more enjoyable things than pushing a trolley around a very large box!

Ok, preachy ranty bit over. Whatever your reasons for wanting to shop differently, welcome aboard!

Packaging

Landfill in Calgary - Courtesy of D'Arcy - Flickr Creative Commons

Yesterday was 'Rubbish & Recycling day': due to good work by the council our recyclable waste is collected weekly but the black wheelie bins containing non-recyclables is only collected fortnightly. This has improved recycling rates in the county, all good stuff.

While I lugged the boxes out to the roadside ready for collection I noticed our green recycling bin was only a quarter full and the wheelie bin was empty. We only had half a bin bag to get rid of from our kitchen bin. This is great, we haven't really put any effort into reducing waste, over and above the normal that is, with a little bit of effort I think we could probably get to effectively zero waste.

Undoubtedly the biggest factor contributing to this improvement has been the food buying group, buying in bulk has reduced all the silly little bits of packaging that small quantities inevitably lead to, and with either Fair Trade or organic the producers and vendors have usually reduced packaging to that which is necessary.

The veg box we share with Becky & TCO helps too, it is slightly surprising to find that the natural state of a cucumber is not to grow covered in shrink wrap plastic...

Beans and pulses

Ok so what else can you do with beans and pulses? Nina Thomas-Bennett inspired me last night! I am going to sprout them!! It seems this is a favourite with her little people and from the conversation between Mark and Ollie its a man favourite too :). So how do you do it? Nina did give me clear instructions last night, however, I have slept since and forgotten so had to search the good old web. I found a useful link on Youtube which shows it really is so simple I cant believe I forgot.

All you do is soak the beans or pulses in water overnight drain then rinse daily. They show a fancy sprouter but you could just use an empty jar and poke lots of holes in the lid (not so big that the pulses etc can escape) It takes around 3 -4 days or leave them till they are as big as you fancy then eat.

Here is the link, not because you will need it, because the hosts made me giggle ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-1V4vtV8Yo

Happy sprouting.

Cat and Mark

P.S. Thanks Nina :)

Recipe Blog: Oatmeal and Honey Cake

Actually Oatmeal and Honey cake is a bit of a misnomer because what I thought was oatmeal I later realised was oatbran, so my version of this recipe, which I found in the 25 Easter Bakes leaflet that came with the March edition of Cook Vegetarian, is actually Oatbran and Honey Cake.

It's very easy.

Turn the oven to 180C or Gas 4.  Grease and base line a 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin.

Melt 100g butter with 100g honey and add 150g regular or jumbo rolled oats, put to one side.

Mix together 50g oatmeal/oatbran, 100g light brown muscovado sugar and 150g self-raising flour (second confession, I only had white bread flour so I used that plus two teaspoons of baking powder).

Melt 200g butter and stir it into the dry ingredients, together with four medium free-range eggs, beaten.

Pour into the cake tin.

At this point the recipe says to sprinkle the butter and oat mixture on top, I tried that and it kind of dolloped, so I carried on dolloping, let it sink into the cake mix and then stirred it about a bit.

Bake for 45-50 minutes until the cake is golden brown and a skewer inserted into it comes out clean.

Two questions - do any of you actually beat the eggs before adding them to a cake mix?  Ever?  I tend to crack them straight into the bowl and threaten them gently with a fork.  Do any of you insert an actual skewer into cakes, or do you all just grab the nearest slim-bladed knife to hand?

Veggie burgers are go!!

This first month of my avoidance of supermarkets has left me with a store cupboard full of beans and pulses. I have to admit I don't really like whole beans or pulses :( and have mainly used them in soups which I then puree or make into hummus. I then had a brain wave why not make veggie burgers. I have paid good money in the past for dry mix variety and found that they are a bit tasteless and also that you don't really get much for your money. Feeling like I needed to use what I had rather than add to the bulging cupboard I embarked on making my own recipe!!! A scary prospect and not enthusiastically embraced by my meat eating son.

It was however a resounding success!!! So here it is! I did not measure precisely.

Veggie Burger

Equal amounts of (about 200g of each)

Adzuki beans

chick peas

Cannelloni

yellow split peas

Green split peas

Spelt grain

Smoked paprika

2 clovesGarlic

1 Onion

tsp fennel

jerk seasoning (it was there!)

4oz Gram flour (can use plain flour)

Semolina (optional)

bunch Parsley

salt and pepper to season

Method

Soak all the pulses/beans overnight.

Drain and put in a bowl

fry the onion, fennel and garlic

add to the pulses

add the seasoning and parsley and either mash or blend till fairly smooth (I like a bit of texture but no whole beans)

Add flour and mix

Make into patties and roll in the semolina (it just gives a crispy coating)

Fry in a medium pan on both sides for around 6 mins per side (depending on how thick you made the patties)

Enjoy eating with... well anything :)

We made about 13 in total and we are going to freeze the leftovers uncooked to see how they cook from frozen. I will let you know how we got on.

Cat and Mark

A bit about Essential Trading

We chose Essential Trading because they specialise in wholesale organic, fairtrade and vegan products. There are others that do the same - Suma in particular was recommended - but Essential is based in Bristol, and it just feels right to support a local organisation.

While browsing their catalogue, I came across some very interesting products indeed, most notably these (expensive, granted) products from a company called Zaytoun
.
I won't delve in to my views on the Israel/Palestine 'situation' but lets just say I felt genuinely excited to see these products. Not that I can necessarily afford them!

There are of course much more mainstream products available, but am I the only one who feels a little bit of joy at buying fairtrade and organic baked beans?! Maybe... but happy browsing all the same!

If you would like access to the Essential Catalogue and have not yet joined our growing food group, please email me holly.young@hotmail.co.uk to join us :)

New Order Form

Hello!

Well, with major thanks to Keynsham Food Co-Op for sharing their order form and process, we now have a simpler way to place our next order. And I've gone all hi-tech on you by creating a video. OooOoh!

Click here to be taken to the video showing you how to fill in the order form nice and simply!

We are always looking for new members. If you would like to access the Essential catalogue and maybe place an order with us, please email holly.young@hotmail.co.uk or leave your email address in a comment below and I will forward you the details.

It's food that's good for you, good for your wallet, good for the planet and good for your conscience as we make a docation to Weston-super-Mare Foodbank with every order too!