Digging & Dreaming

Cooked - A Natural History Of Transformation

Over recent months I have been reading Cooked by Michael Pollan - a book that I picked up because I had enjoyed The Ominovore's Dilemma by the same author so much.

As a book Cooked is beautifully formed in four distinctive sections, on the premise that the fundamentals of how we cook can be directly connected to the four natural elements of fire, water, air and earth. It  explores how the power of the elements can be used to transfrom the stuff of nature into delicious things to eat and drink.

Pollan is a superb storyteller and in this book he weaves a rich narrative around the ways that we prepare food. From the traditions of barbecue to the magic of cheese making, his stories are powerful advocacy for the argument that the further away we drift from food and its transformation, the less rich our lives become. Alongside this he makes strong arguments why eating mass produced food is making us ill.

The book is superbly accessible, and the division into sections makes it brilliant to dip in and out of. It is an essential read for anyone who loves food and who values the quality of what they eat and how they eat it.

“Well, in a world where so few of us are obliged to cook at all anymore, to choose to do so is to lodge a protest against specialization—against the total rationalization of life. Against the infiltration of commercial interests into every last cranny of our lives. To cook for the pleasure of it, to devote a portion of our leisure to it, is to declare our independence from the corporations seeking to organize our every waking moment into yet another occasion for consumption. (Come to think of it, our nonwaking moments as well: Ambien, anyone?) It is to reject the debilitating notion that, at least while we’re at home, production is work best done by someone else, and the only legitimate form of leisure is consumption. This dependence marketers call “freedom.”

Michael Pollan - Cooked

Having a Souper Time

For me, as the weather becomes cooler and moves into autumn, my appetite makes a parallel shift towards warm, comforting food like soup. As soon as the evenings begin to draw in the soup pan comes out and all manner of soupy delights are concocted in our kitchen.

The first soup recipe I really fell for was a delightfully simple Minestrone by Antonio Carluccio. It is the kind of straightforward, one-pot dish that people have cooked for generations. It is easy peasy to make and reaches levels of sublime deliciousness which are absolutely disproportionate to the effort involved in its preparation. It is this recipe that still forms the basis of most forays into soup creation that occur in my house.

There are two suggestions I would offer to anyone going to have a go at soup making themselves...

Firstly, many recipes suggest the addition of pasta or beans to the pot but I would generally choose barley in preference to either of these, especially if I am going to be heating up the leftovers the next day. Barley is ridiculously cheap and gloriously filling and wholesome. It also holds together brilliantly if you are planning to eat your soup over a couple of meals.

Secondly, I would invest in some good quality bay leaves. Their addition will be the making of any soup. The ones I am currently using were picked for me by my friends Java and Jon from the banks of a river in the South of France. Unsurprisingly they smell and taste divine!

How Many Chilli Peppers Is Too Many Chilli Peppers?

Chillies are a great crop to grow and certanily one of our favourites here at Organic Allotment. The thing that we really like about them is that, if you plan things and preserve things correctly, there's no reason that you can't be self sufficient in them. Imagine that... never having to buy a bland and disappointing chilli from a supermarket ever again? Pictured above are some fiendishly hot Venezuelan peppers we grew last year and dried at the end of the season that should keep us going until summer when this year's crop will be ready. The other good thing about drying chilli is that, unlike some crops, the drying process can actually improve the flavour of the pepper meaning there is no sacrifice of taste in eating them dried rather than fresh.

These factors combined probably explain why I've gone a little crazy planting chillies this year. The seeds were planted a few weeks ago as you really need a good long season to get them to fruit and ripen in time in summer. The seedlings should be ready to be potted up in a couple of weeks then moved on to the greenhouse in early summer when the last chance of frost has passed - you could probably get away with moving them eariler if you have a heated greenhouse though. Here's a list of the different chillies we're growing:

• Sunnybrook, Dulce Italiano and Marconi Rossa are all sweet peppers. I have had less success growing these in the past as the weather had tended not to be warm enough to ripen them to a sweet red. However, the results are so good when they do ripen that I always make space for a couple of sweet pepper plants every year.
• The Cayenne pepper seeds I'm planting were given to me as part of a seed swap last year. They are famously hot and pungent peppers taking their name from a river in Guyana. They are well known as a high-yielding variety and are perfect for drying.
• Purple Venezuelan grow on a plant that is almost entirely purple (including the leaves that have a lovely purple tinge). The final chilli is medium in heat but also has a pepper taste not disimilar from the Szechuan Pepper that is common in North Chinese cookery.
• Bartletts' Bonnet is an unusually shaped pepper that looks almost like a squashed bell. It is also very unusual and I have only seen it available on the brilliant Real Seeds website.
• Nigel's Outdoor is from Real Seeds as well and is unusual in being one of the only chillies that will tolerate growing outside in the UK.
• Early Jalapeno are a classic chilli that produces medium green bullet shaped fruits. The seeds are easy to get hold of and the peppers are the kind that are typically used in Mexican cookery.
• Bialka Shipka is a rare Eastern European hot pepper that tends to be light green in colour before it ripens and that is fiendishly hot.
• Ring o' Fire is one of the most popular hot peppers for home growing. It is no dissimilar to Cayenne and can be bought from the Organic Gardening Catalogue.
• Padrón peppers are one of my absolute favourites as they remind me of many happy visits to Spain. There these small green peppers are served fried with olive oil and sea salt. Most taste sweet and mild, though some are particularly hot and spicy, so eating them is a kind of culinary Russian Roulette.

So that's an idea of all the peppers we're growing this year. I'd love to know what fellow growers have currently got in their propagators and greenhouses. And if you haven't planted your own peppers yet don't despair. It's a bit to late in the year to plant any now but there are plenty of great nurseries selling chilli plants so it's still possible to spice up your growing season.

 

Day 14 - Tuesday 22nd November - INIFAT and Havana

Today we started off by visiting a community food project in the suburbs of Havana. The project is run by a retired couple called Vilda and Pepe and is situated in the ground floor of their house. The focus of the work that they do is looking at food preservation, in particular food drying in the sun, and thinking about how these dried foods can help improve the health of Cubans. Especially how using dried herbs, which are very uncommon in Cuba, can help improve people’s food choices, health and well being.

Vilda and Pepe in Havana

It was fascinating to hear about the work that the couple were doing nationally and internationally, including their own cookery show on Cuban TV for many years! They also travel all over the world talking about their work – though now prefer for people to visit them so they are not diverted from their main project in Havana by being constantly out of the country. Vilda also told me she had visited Manchester and that she studied for her Masters degree in Aberdeen!

Food dryer out in the sun

Pepe explained that he had originally been a mechanical engineer and that Vilda had been a chemist. Their project Proyecto Communitario Conservacion de Alimentos was founded in 1996 during the special period. He went on to explain that Cuba had a very interesting culinary history – culturally the country had many more influences than most other countries but their food culture has always remained a little weaker in comparison to other Latin American and Carribean countries. Traditionally their diet is an unhealthy one with lots of salt and sugar, and lots of fried food. Pepe and Vilda’s project was founded with an aspiration to help find a more healthy diet in Cuba. It is now a project that works in partnership with many other community food projects, in particular parcelas and patios, to change the Cuban food culture.

Dried herbs and spices at Pepe and Vilda's

The project uses traditional technologies to preserve food, with a basis in permaculture design in the structure of what they are doing. They work directly with local communities and also develop and deliver distance learning programmes on the internet. The three main methods of preservation that they are using are:

• The heat of the sun – sun dried food.
• Vinegar.
• Fermentation.

They also use some processes with sugar, but much less. None of the processes that they use include chemicals. There is no real tradition of using dried herbs in Cuba so much of the ideas that they are presenting are new to local people. However, dried herbs are an easy and cheap way to add flavour to food.

Another area of interest for Pepe and Vilda is the development of Cuban flours. There is no tradition of / climate for growing grains on the island so as a consequence most of the four and grain that is used on the island is imported. They have done a great deal of work developing flour from Yuca, that they feel could be an alternative to the imported flour that Cubans currently rely upon.

In the afternoon we had a lecture on harvest and post harvest food hygiene that was very difficult for me to understand! A lot of very specific language that was unfamiliar to me.

Then for the evening we went to the Old Castle in Havana to see the cannon being let off – a tradition dating back to the Spanish colonization of the country when the cannon used to signify the closing of the harbour gates each night. The castle is beautifully preserved and was well worth a visit. Including the historical pageantry that was put on as part of the event.

Then back to the hotel to start getting ready to move on as Tuesday was my last night at INIFAT.

Winter Baking - Focaccia

On days when we aren't out on the plot we're quite keen on a bit of baking in our house. Today was one of those days and the weather felt suitably cold outside to inspire a bit of bread making - the perfect activity for a winter morning when you're pottering around the house. Today I decided to have a go at making focaccia which is relatively simple to make and deliciously tasy to eat.

One of the joys of focaccia is that it doesn't require too many complicated ingredients to get started. In fact, if you've got a basically stocked store cupboard you will probably already have most of the things you need in the house. To make two large loaves you will need:

• 500 g strong white bread flour
• 10 g sea salt flakes, crushed
• 2 x 7g sachets of fast action dried yeast OR 18g fresh yeast
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
• fine sea salt, for sprinkling

And here's what you need to do to make your bread:

1. Place the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl and stir in your dried yeast. Make a well in the centre of the bowl and add the olive oil along with 300ml of cool water. If you are using fresh yeast you will need to crumble this into the water before adding it.
2. Use your hands to gradually mix the flour and liquid to create a dough. Massage the dough for 5 minutes then very slowly add about a further 100ml more water.
3. Work the dough in the bowl for around 5 minutes. Stretch it using your hands then fold the stretched dough into the centre. Turn the bowl 80 degrees then repeat the stretching and folding process.
4. When the 5 minutes is up, tip the dough out onto a well-oiled work surface. Knead well for a further 5 minutes.
5. Oil your mixing bowl and return the dough to it. Cover it clingfilm and leave to rise at room temperature for about an hour and a half or until the dough has increased to about 4 times its original size.
6. Gently tip your dough out onto a floured work surface (you need to try and keep as much air in the dough as you can). Divide the dough in two and put each half in a baking tray. Gently press out the dough, pushing it into the corners of the tray.
7. Leave the dough to rise again at room temperature for an hour or until it has doubled in size.
8. When it is ready place the trays into a pre-heated oven to 220*C / 425*F / gas mark 8. Just before doing this drizzle with a little more oil and sprinkle with fine sea salt, then bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
9. The focaccia is ready when it can be tipped out of the tray and the bottom is brown. Sprinkle with a little more olive oil and serve hot, or allow to cool and serve the next day. Once cooled wrap in clingfilm and keep for 24 hours - just before serving, sprinkle with olive oil and reheat in a 220*C / 425*F / gas mark 7 oven for 5 minutes.

Florence Fennel - a Tricky Customer

Florence Fennel is a tricky crop to grow. Although it looks beautiful on any plot and tastes equally special, it isn't ideally suited to growing in the UK and as a consequence will bolt at the drop of a hat as soon as conditions turn against it.

The first thing to consider is that Fennel is very sensitive to shortening days so I tend to plant mine after midsummer to aim for an autumn crop. I start them off two seeds to a pot in the green house sometime around mid / end of June. Once the seedlings come up I let them grow on for a week or two until they are big enough to identify the strongest and thin accordingly. As far as planting out is concerned, slugs love the rich, young seedlings so I wait until they get to a decent size before moving them outside. If they are maybe 8 - 10cm in height they will have the best chance possible of outgrowing the jaws of our slimy friends.

Fennel likes to be planted in well drained, rich soil and they also need to be watered thoroughly as they grow. This is not a crop that can miss a day's watering in hot weather! Mulching around the plants can also help to preserve moisture and is well worth the extra effort. When it gets to about September some people earth up the developing bulb but I normally forget to do this and have never had any problems as a result. By early October you should have a bed full of juicy bulbs ready to be picked. Unless it's an exceptionally hot year we will never get big fat bulbs like the ones grown in hotter climes but you can get a perfectly satisfactory crop that looks and tastes gorgeous.

The plants will not tolerate any frost so all need to be picked before the weather gets too cold. They also don't store brilliantly so are definitely best eaten fresh. And if they do go to seed don't despair - the flowers can be a dramatic and beautiful addition to your plot.

Getting In A Pickle

I love eating capers and, despite trying on a number of occasions, I have never managed to grow them here in the UK. However, several different people have told me that it's possible to make an alternative to capers by pickling the seeds from our own nasturtium. As I have nasturtiums growing all over my plot that normally seed like crazy I decided that I could afford to sacrifice a few of their seeds to an experiment in pickling.

First stage of the process is picking the seeds. You need to take these off the plants when they are fresh and green. Try to take the ones that are as young as possible. Certainly avoid any that have already fallen from the plant as the likelihood is that they are already too old and tough to be pickled.

Once they have been thoroughly cleaned your seeds need to be soaked in brine for 24 hours. To make the brine you need to add 50g of salt per pint of water - you will need to make enough brine to cover all the seeds that you have cleaned.

After this your seeds need to be rinsed and packed into sterilised jars and covered with boiling spiced vinegar. I spiced my vinegar using garlic gloves, pepper corns and bay leaves but there are plenty of other options out there - take your pick based upon your taste preference. As soon as the seeds are covered the lids of the pots need to be sealed. Then all that you need to do is leave the jars for three weeks to mature then they're ready to eat. It really is as simple as that!

My first batch are just about ready so I'll let you know what they're like as soon as I've tasted them.

Wild About Salad

A couple of weeks ago I was over in Lancaster for my Permaculture course. As part of the lunch that we share a fellow student bought in an amazing foraged salad made up entirely of leaves and flowers that she had found growing wild on the estate where she lives. The salad was delicious and inspired me to think about being a little more creative when I'm making salads at home. The one in the picture above is the first example of this newfound creativity.

I'm not quite as confident as Robin who created the salad I ate in Lancsater but taking inspiration from hers I decided to add common lettuce we are growing with more unusual leaves. On that basis this tasty little bowl contained mixed Italian Lettuce leaves, Radicchio, Sorrel, Nasturtium leaves and flowers and Calendula petals. Needless to say, the salad was absolutely delicious and went down a storm in my house! In fact, I'm already planning what I'd like to add to my next one. I particularly love the taste and look that flowers and petals add so any suggestions on other edible flowers would be much appreciated.

Local Food Part Two - Formby Asparagus

Few culinary events are as hotly anticipated in our house as the beginning of the asparagus season in Formby, Merseyside. Formby is world renowned for the quailty of its asparagus and as soon as April ends and May starts we eagerly wait for our trips to buy veg Bury Market in the hope that Brian, our veg man and all round veg growing extraordinaire, will announce that the first asparagus of the year is there. Brian is based out at Hesketh Bank near Southport and is lucky enough to have access to one of the remaining asparagus farmers in Formby, meaning that this beautiful delicacy makes it from the Merseyside Coast to the market in less than twenty four hours. You certainly wouldn't get that kind of service from a supermarket!

The coastal area around Formby was, until the mid-nineteenth century, regarded as a "sandy waste", useful mainly as rabbit warren. Following the construction of the Liverpool, Crosby and 'Southport Railway in 1848, considerable supplies of fertiliser in the form of 'night-soil' from Liverpool became available as a sewer system had not yet been completed in the city. This enabled local farmers to "improve" and bring into cultivation the previously uncultivated sand dune area, particularly suitable for their chosen crop - asparagus. This went on to develop into over 200 acres of asparagus beds, with asparagus becoming a very important local product, the quality of which made Formby well known nationally. Cultivation decreased after WW2 and is now continued on only two farms in Formby, with the support of the National Trust who own much of the land around this part of the coast.

The season for asparagus is tantalisingly short, around 6 weeks in most years, but to me Formby asparagus is a great example of what local food can be. It represents local, seasonal food at its best; something so tasty and fresh that once you have eaten it pale, out of season imitations just won't do anymore. It also represents the role that local food can play in cultural identity, with Formby asparagus being key to the heritage and identity of its local area. And, on top of all this, it shows what heroes people like Brian are, and the farmers who work hard to maintain and promote these culinary and horticultural traditions, playing a huge part, almost wholly unsung, in making collective cultural heritage and identity stronger and securer for us all through the sensitive preservation of local food traditions.

Oh... and did I mention?... It tastes realy dang good too!

The Problem with Rhubarb

We grow alot of rhubarb on our plot. A large, healthy bed of it was left by the last plot holder and we never had the heart to do anything dramatic with it as it's right next to the pond and the frogs and newts love the cover of the large, shady leaves during the summer months. The bed contains seven very healthy crowns that produce a hearty crop each year.

"So what's the problem with this?" I hear you ask. Well, the major problem is that nobody in our house actually likes eating the stuff! My Dad will take a little off us, as will be best pal who lives round the corner from the plot and some colleagues at work but, apart from that, the majority of our yearly haul normally goes to waste.

Over the last couple of weeks this year's crop has started to come into its own and I got thinking about my dislike of rhubarb...

"Do I actually not like it?" I asked myself. "Or do I think I don't like it after some horrible experience as a child eating soggy, overcooked rhubarb?"

On reflection I realised that my dislike was probably based upon the latter, and that's the reason why 2011 is the year of the rhubarb in our house. I'm trying as many different recipes as I can to see what this versatile crop has to offer and to see if I've actually not been being a little bit unkind in my prejudice against it.

Last night I started with Stewed Rhubarb with a Vanilla and Yoghurt courtesy of Jamie Oliver. I'm not normally a fan of Mr O and his recipes but this stuff is really good and was a great treat after a long day (though I have to admit I served it with custard rather than yoghurt!) So a rhubarb recipe I actually like? Who'd have thought it? Next I'm planning to have a go of making Rhubarb Chutney using a recipe from Monty Don's book, "Fork to Fork", which is, incidentally, a wonderful book for anyone who's interested in home grown, season food.