Food & drink
English wines are a bit of a guilty pleasure, in that they may only be possible as a result of climate change. It's only since temperatures have soared that we've started to see Vineyards in Sussex, let alone produced wine that anyone wants to take seriously. But they're also part of the solution, because now we can make wine to rival the New World and France, a delicious glass of white clocks up far fewer transport miles now we can grow it on our doorstep. And you can celebrate the best in homegrown vino at a festival taking place this weekend...
Continue reading >>
Food & drink
The days are already getting shorter, darker and gloomier and for some us this means the start of several months of feeling distinctly SAD. So it's generally around this time of year that I start looking for pick-me-ups. I've not yet fired up the energy lamp, but this may be because my daily cuppa is doing the job so nicely: I've been trying organic Matcha, (a rather magical brew that has 137 times the antioxidants of standard green tea) by Teapigs, and it's really putting a spring in my step...
Continue reading >>
Food & drink
Knowing how great they are at making fruit taste fantastic, I can't wait to find out what magic Innocent have worked with vegetables in their new 'veg pot' range. As with the drinks, I'm expecting oodles of fresh, vitamin-packed goodness that's ludicrously easy to eat. What's most impressive is that Innocent have not gone down the rather obvious soup route, but have instead devised actual meals and squished them into handily-sized pots. Follow the jump to see what's on the menu...
Continue reading >>
Green News
We love smoothies round here, so I was happy to find out that there's a new type, OKÉ, that's made from all fairtrade fruit. What's more, even though the drinks have distinctly exotic flavours (mango, orange and pink guava as well as raspberry, blackberry and banana), none of the ingredients are air-freighted. The drinks are also from a very trustworthy source, as the range was created by AgroFair, pioneers of fairtrade fruit. The drink's launch coincicdes with some good news for fairtrade announced earlier this week...
Continue reading >>
Green Challenges
So, the un-chilled, day old lentil dahl I was so worried about turned out to be very tasty (it's true what they say about some foods gaining flavour after being left to sit for a bit) and most importantly, I lived to tell the tale. I won't be nearly so worried about heating up leftovers in future, especially if they're full of garlic and spices.
Today will be far less of a challenge, since I'm now in the habit of boxing and chilling everything before I bring it into work. Being home alone last night, I cooked up a big pot of organic pasta which of course I couldn't finish. So I've brought it in for a tasty lunch today, with the help of the trusty office microwave. I'm starting to notice how much money I'm saving too, having not had to visit the cashpoint more than once this week to get food. I'm liking this!
Green Challenges
I've chosen a great week to scrutinise my diet, what with a family health crisis over the weekend that's had me hospital-hopping all over the South East, and a house move at the end of the week thrown in for good measure. But not one to be put off by the sort of life changes that even calm, stable types can't deal with, I have continued in my no waste quest with mixed results.
The problem has mostly been the sheer amount of takeaways that have been involved, i.e. every meal I've had since Monday...
Continue reading >>
Friday fun
There are lots of fruits in season this month that make terrific jams and jellies: Apricots, peaches, greengages and blackberries are all packed with natural sugar that will taste scrumptious on your toast for months to come.
I've collected together a few recipes for making jam with ripe, homegrown August fruits that you shouldn't have to travel far to find.
Follow the jump for the recipes
Continue reading >>
digg this | del.icio.us this
| 
Stumble It!
