Sweetcorn Relish

We had an American themed tea tonight, in honour of that election! Made fantastic apple pie, home made burgers (see Pete’s burger) wedge chips, and worked on a new recipe for a sweetcorn relish… thankfully it was delicious, strong tasting, but complemented the robust flavour of the burger. Very well priced this, for 4 good sized jars, I used about three quarters of a bag of frozen sweetcorn, and some bits and bobs from the bottom of the fridge...

Ingredients

500g sweetcorn (I used frozen, or you could use 10 cobs)
16floz vinegar (I used a mix of red wine vinegar and a drop or two of malt.. what's in your cupboard?)
2 sticks of celery, very finely chopped
half a cabbage, very finely chopped
2 onions, finely chopped
1 red pepper, finely chopped
1 green pepper, finely chopped
three quarters of a cup of sugar
1 and half tbs mustard (I used a ready made, with chilli)
1 chilli (optional)
1 tbs salt
2 tsp cornflour, mixed to a paste with water.

Method

Mix vegetables together, add remaining ingredients (except the cornflour) and cook until corn is tender, 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the cornflour, stir and cook for a further 5 minutes.

Pack into hot sterilized jars and seal. Makes about 2 and half pints..

Today’s illustration © Lois Blackburn www.loisblackburn.co.uk

Upside-down apple tart

I’m rather annoyed I missed apple day to post this one on! http://www.commonground.org.uk being a big fan of English Apples, and any excuse them. This recipe does just that, and being homemade, it can easily be made egg-free, dairy free- and lets face it there are not many egg-free, dairy free puddings around. Cooking puddings yourself also saves money, and is very satisfying!

This one is a vegan adaptation of the Upside-down apple tart, with orange and oatmeal pastry, from ‘The Almost Vegetarian Cookbook’ (sums me up nicely) by Josceline Dimbleby

The tart can be made in advance, kept in the tin and reheated (good for parties then) The cardamom, honey and orange give a lovely flavour…

Ingredients

125g (4oz) plain flour
50g (2oz) fine oatmeal
75g (3oz) caster sugar
half tsp salt
125g (4oz) dairy free marg
finely grated zest of 1 orange
1-2 tbs freshly squeezed orange juice
750g (1 and half 1lb) apples
4tbs lemon juice
2 tbs fine-cut orange marmalade
2 tbs clear honey
seeds of 4-5 cardamon pods, ground finely

method

to make pastry, put the flour, oatmeal, caster sugar and salt into a food processor and whiz just once to mix. Add the marg to the flour mixture to the food processor and whiz again briefly, just until the mixture resembles rough breadcrumbs. Add the finely grated orange zest and with the motor running, pour in enough orange juice, whizzing very briefly, for the dough to begin to stick together. Pat the pastry into a ball, cover it with clingfilm and leave in the fridge to chill whilst you prepare the apples..

Smear the base and sides of a 19-20cm (7 and half to 8 inc sandwich tin with a little marg (don’t use a tin with a loose base) and preheat the oven to gas mark 6/200oC/400oF. Peel the apples and. Slice the apples in half and using a very sharp knife, cut out the cores. Slice the apples thinly in half moon slices, putting the slices into a bowl and sprinkling them immediately with lemon juice as you cut them to prevent them discolouring. Put the marmalade and honey into a bowl with the ground cardamon seeds, stir together and spread the mixture over the bottom of the buttered sandwich tin. Next arrange the apple slices neatly overlapping in the tin.

Take the pastry from the fridge and using a well floured rolling pin, roll it out very lightly on a floured board the size of the cake tin.
Carefully roll back the pastry over the rolling pin and place it on top of the apples in the tin. If pastry should break at all, don’t worry, simply press it together. Press the overlapping pastry edge down into the sides of the tin and pierce two holes in the top to allow the steam to escape.

Cook the tart in the centre of the preheated oven for 25mins, then turn down to gas mark 3/160oC/325oF for 30mins. Finally, turn off the oven, open the door slightly and leave the tart in the oven for a further 10-15 mins.

To serve: slide a knife around the edges of the tin and carefully turn the tart out on a flat serving plate. Serve tart warm with dairy free custard or cream…

Today’s illustration © Lois Blackburn www.loisblackburn.co.uk

Egg free chocolate cake

An absolute delight this one, its rich, dark and very chocolaty. You would never guess that its egg free and dairy free! Just a bit more washing up to do, but always worth it…

ingredients
650ml (22fl oz) boiling water
115g (4oz) creamed coconut
50g (2oz) cocoa powder
400g (14oz) self-raising flour
1 x tsp baking powder
large pinch of salt
225g (8oz) light soft brown sugar
200ml (7 fl oz) sunflower oil
a couple of handfuls of desiccated coconut (optional)
dark chocolate broken into chunks (optional)


method
Pour the boiling water over the coconut and stir until it dissolves. Cool
Sift the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl and mix with the sugar. Make a well in the middle, then pour the oil and coconut mix. Beat everything together to make a smooth batter. Add a handful of desiccated coconut if you like it, and break up a handful of dark chocolate and add chunks. mix.

Pour the mix into a greased and lined 3 pint loaf tin, and if you like coconut, sprinkle another handful of desiccated coconut over the top.. and bake at 180o/350oF/gas mark 4 for 1 and a quarter hours (unless you have a really knackered oven like me, in which case it maybe half an hour longer!) You will know its ready when its well risen and just firm to the touch. (the first time I baked this it was slightly underdone, and was more like a hot pudding, it was delicious with custard/cream/icecream!) Leave to cool in the tin, for 10 mins, then turn out onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely.

An ancient illustration, found in an old sketch book © Lois Blackburn www.loisblackburn.co.uk

Leek and Potato soup

A delicious soup, rich and creamy, a real comforter. This one is a ‘Tom Norrington-Davies, from his great book ‘cupboard love’. I swapped all the dairy ingredients for soya equivalents, which worked very well, the milk curdles a bit (but it is prone to in the dairy version to) but mix it all in and problem resolved.

Ingredients (for 4-6 people you need)

3-4 leeks (about 400g untrimmed weight)
2 garlic cloves, chopped
200ml milk
2 large, floury potatoes, peeled and diced
1 tsp salk
300ml water
2 springs of tarragon, stripped from the stalk and chopped, or half tsp of dried version

method

use as much of the leeks as you can. Trim away only the very roughest part of the green top and the little beard of the root and outermost layer if necessary. Leeks can be muddy, and the easiest way to wash them is after you have sliced them up. Just put the slices in a colander and run them under a tap. It doesn’t matter if they break up a bit.

The soup is very straightforward. Braise the leeks and garlic in the milk over a gentle heat until soft, then add the potatoes. Don’t worry if the leeks appear to curdle the milk, the soup will come back together. Add the salt and about half the water. Simmer gently until the potatoes are about to fall apart, then add the remaining water. Bring to the simmering point and mash gently. If you want to use the tarragon, add it just before serving. If the soup seems thick, loosen it with more milk or water, then check the seasoning.

Today’s illustration © Lois Blackburn 2008 www.loisblackburn.co.uk

Fruit pie

Pies = a little bit of heaven


And at this time of the year, can cost next to nothing. With blackberries to pick and apples in season to scrumpy (or ask nicely for from a friendly neighbour)
Here’s a recipe for you to play with what ever fruit is in session… blackberry and apple like me, or apple, raisins and cinnamon or rhubarb and lemon…. The list goes on..

Ingredients

6oz short crust pastry (make your own for economy, or cheat like me and get it out of the freezer)
1 and half lb of fresh fruit
4 oz sugar

method

place the fruit in a pie dish with sugar spread on each layer, finish with a layer of fruit piled high in the middle, add a little water, cover with pastry.
Bake just above centre in a hot oven (425o-450oF) gas mark 6-7 for 15 mins, then lower the temp a little for about 20mins until the fruit is cooked. Dredge with sugar and serve hot or cold… with custard, with icecream, with cream, with a cup of tea, the choose is yours.

Today’s illustration © Lois Blackburn. www.loisblackburn.co.uk for more.

Porridge of sorts

I love hot porridge, everyone has their own way (my dad’s a proper Scot adding salt!) Its fantastic economical food, really filling and good for you. If you haven’t tried a cold variety, you maybe pleasantly surprised. All you need to do is get yourself organised the night before, then grab the bowl out of the fridge in the morning.. and add toppings of your choice…

Ingredients
Porridge oats
Water or milk, or soya milk or even apple juice (I use plain old tap water)
Raisins or other dried fruit (optional)

Method
Mix in a bowl porridge oats with the liquid of your choice, I make it to a slightly runny porridge consistency. The oats will soak up the liquid overnight, so play around with quantities to suit you… you can always add extra milk/cream in the morning.. I like to add raisins or other dried fruit, such as apricots to the mix, they will plump up during the night, and add extra sweetness to the porridge. Put into the fridge overnight.

In the morning take your bowl out, give it a stir, add more liquid if you like, then whatever topping you fancy. You could add some grated apple, banana, fresh fruit, jam, cream. My favourite quickly dry frying some flaked almonds and adding those, with some soya cream if I have any open in the fridge….

Today’s illustration © Lois Blackburn www.loisblackburn.co.uk

Rich tomato sauce

Pete’s favourite tomato sauce, you can use it with pasta, or meatballs, lasagne, etc etc. its simplicity itself, but rich and tasty. Keep an eye out at your food suppliers for offers on tins of tomatoes, if your anything like me you’ll never have enough in your larder.

3 tins chopped tomatoes
6 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
4 good slugs of olive oil
salt and pepper

Heat the oil in a saucepan on a medium heat, throw the garlic in, let it sizzle for a minute, (be careful not to brown/burn it) throw in your tins of tomatoes, and stir until it comes to the boil. Turn it down to a simmer, and allow to reduce slowly. (about 45 mins) the sauce will be really thick and rich. Add plenty of seasoning to taste.

Today’s illustration ‘tomato’ © Lois Blackburn. Please go to www.loisblackburn.co.uk for more examples.

Spiced lentil soup with coconut

Red lentils are fantastic, very economical to buy, full of iron (great for adolescents, menstruating or pregnant women) provide slow-burning complex carbs, high levels of proteins, vit B1 and minerals.. This recipe is an unusual twist on a lentil soup, having a mix of the sweet pepper flavour & ginger, spicy chilli and creamy coconut. Great for a autumn day. This is inspired by a recipe in Sarah Brown’s Vegetarian Cookbook.

Ingredients

Half cup of red split lentils (soaked for 10mins in hot water, then drained)
1 tbs oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
half tsp chilli powder
half tsp grated gingerroot
quarter tsp grated nutmeg
1 medium red pepper, de-seeded and diced
1 medium green pepper, de-seeded and diced
1 and a quarter cups of veg stock
2 and half cups of coconut milk (you can used creamed coconut to make it, blended with water)
salt and pepper

serves 4-6

method

1. heat the oil in large heavy bottomed saucepan and gently fry the onion and spices for 3-4mins
2. add the peppers and lentils and continue to fry for 4-5mins, stirring now and again
3. pour in the stock, bring to a boil the simmer gently covered for 10 mins
4. stir in the coconut milk and continue to simmer covered for 35-40 mins, let it cool for a few mins
5. puree the soup, season then re-heat if necessary

today’s illustration ‘peppers’ © Lois Blackburn, please visit www.loisblackburn.co.uk for more examples

Blackberry and apple crumble

Last night I made another blackberry and apple crumble, a staple of this time of year. It seems impossible to go out for a walk right now, without coming home laden with blackberries. I’ve just had a neighbour offer me apples from their tree to, so I’m sorted! My crumbles are all different, depending on what ingredients I have at hand, I recommend you do the same… see whats in your store cupboard, what around for free, and then experiment. Here is a basic recipe for you to play with:

Ingredients (filling)
3 large Bramley apples (or whatever you can get hold of for free)
150g caster sugar
pinch of cinnamon
a good punnet of blackberries

topping
50g/2oz butter or marg (butter crumbles are lovely, but marg works just fine)
110g/4oz plain flour (or I like a mix of flour and oats)
55g/2oz caster sugar
seeds such as linseed or flaked almonds (optional)

method
1. preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas mark 6
2. peel, core and cut apples into slices of chunks
3. add a splash of water to a pan, the sugar and cinnamon and gently sauté the apples until slightly cooked
4. add the blackberries to the apples and stir gently
5. to make the topping, lightly rub butter or marg into the flour (or flour oat mix) add the sugar an rub into crumbs.
6. spoon the apples and blackberries into a shallow, ovenproof dish, sprinkle over crumb mixture
7. cover with seed or flaked almonds if desired
8. place in the oven for about 20-30 mins or until light golden brown.
9. serve with icecream, or cream or yogurt or custard!

It freezes well, allowing you to take advantage of the glut of fruit.

Today’s illustration ‘blackberries’ © Lois Blackburn www.loisblackburn.co.uk for more

Baba ghanoush (aubergine and Tahini dip)

This is a delicious vegetarian dip, that you can serve with pita bread, salads, and particularly good accompaniment to falafel. If your not keen Tahini, or just want a change, you can use mayonnaise in the mix instead. Although out of season aubergine are not that cheap, this recipe makes a large bowl full, so you can be generous with portions, and compared with shop brought its economical… plus you can adjust it to your tastes.. a little bit more garlic?

1 large aubergine
3 tbs Tahini (sesame paste)
juice of 1 lemon
salthttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif
1-2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbs finely chopped parsley (flat-leaved if possible)

Prick the aubergine with a knife or fork, and cook in a hot oven (if your oven is on for another recipe, this is a good way of saving energy- cook up more than one dish at a time) or under the grill, or over a flame till it’s very soft inside and blackened on the outside. Peel and chop the flesh, and mashhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif in a colander, letting the juices run out. Beat the Tahini with a tbs of water and the lemon juice, then beat with the pureed aubergine. Add salt and pepper and garnish with the parsley.

todays illustration, aubergine, tahini and lemon line drawing © Lois Blackburn. To view more go to www.loisblackburn.co.uk

Focaccia bread

Focacini (small Focaccia breads)

When the cost of bread in the shops, just keeps rising, why not save a few pennies and make your own? Its economical, (if you save money by buying olive oil in bulk) you can add experiment adding extra’s to your own taste, (such as sun dried tomatoes or herbs) one of my sisters just brought me some ‘Zahatar’ seasoning, (brought in Israel) which I used in the dough and sprinkled on top, tastes delicious.. and great therapy making the dough. All you need now is a good bottle of wine and some tasty cheese, or butter beans in tomato sauce, or humus, or roasted veg or….

200ml/7fl oz cup lukewarm water
75ml /3fl oz olive oil, plus extra for brushing
1 and half tsp salt
1 and half tsp sugar
2 tsp dried oregano (or Zahatar if you can get it!)
450 g /16 oz / 3 cups very strong white flour
2 and half tsp instant or fast acting dried yeast.

Makes 4 small or 1 large


Pour the water and the olive oil into the breadmaker bucket, followed by the salt, sugar and herbs. Cover with the flour and sprinkle the yeast over. Set the breadmaker to the dough programme. When the cycle is complete, turn the dough onto a floured board and kneed until smooth. Divide the dough into four and pull out/roll the dough into round of about 1cm thick. Place them on a greased baking sheets and cover with a clean tea towel. Leave to prove until doubled in size. Use your fingers to make dimples on top of the dough. Brush with olive oil and (and you can add more herbs at this stage such as rosemary)
Bake in pre-heated oven 200oC /400oF /Gas mark 6 for 10- 15 mins. Transfer to cooling rack, and brush with more olive oil whilst still warm.

Todays illustration cheese and wine © Lois Blackburn. For more go to

Butter Beans in Tomato Sauce

(Gigandes Plaki)

Lovely beans indeed, think a huge boil full of giant baked beans, with lots of extra flavour. They work beautifully at room temperature. If you can source some dried butter beans, this is a very economical dish indeed, and all the family will love it! This is adapted from Rick Stein’s Mediterranean Escapes….

500 g butter beans, soaked overnight
250 ml olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic gloves, finely chopped
1kg ripe tomatoes, skinned and chopped, or 2 x 400g cans of chopped toms
1 tbs tomato puree
1 tsp sweet paprika
a good pinch of ground allspice
2 fresh bay leaves
1 tbs chopped dill (I like a bit more…)
2 tbs chopped parsley
salt and pepper

Drain, rinse the beans, then cook them in a pan with enough water to cover them by about 5 cm. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer until soft. This could be 45- 1 half hour depending on age of beans and how long you’ve soaked them. Watch them to make sure they don’t get to soft.
Meanwhile, heat 150ml of olive oil in a pan, add the onion and garlic, cook till soft not browned. Add tomatoes, tomato puree, paprika, allspice and bay leaves and simmer for about 25 mins, until sauce has thickened. Remove and discard bay leaves, transfer to a food processor and blend to a smooth sauce. Return to the pan, add salt and pepper. Drain the beans, keep hold of the cooking liquor, add the beans to the sauce, with about 150ml of cooking liquor, with salt to taste. Simmer for another 30 mins. Stir in remaining olive oil, dill and parsley and serve at room temp.

Today’s illustration ‘tomato’ silk/batik painting © lois Blackburn, please go to www.loisblackburn.co.uk for more..

whinberry, (whinberry, bilberry) muffins

Oh what beauties we found on our walk today. Dark blue/purple plump little berries, also known as Black Whortleberry, Burren Myrtle, Dyeberry, Huckleberry, Whortleberry...free food, great fun to pick, all the children helped, eat and dyed their fingers pinky purple. Here's a recipe to show them off..

makes 8

115g/4oz/1 cup plain flour
15ml/1 tbsp baking powder
pinch of salt
65g/2half oz/half cup of soft light brown sugar
1 egg
175ml/6fl oz/3quarter cup milk
45ml/3 tbsp veg oil
10ml/2tsp ground cinnamon
150g/5oz/1 and quarter cups whinberries

1. Preheat the oven to 190oC/375oF/Gas mark 5. Grease eight (or more) muffin tins.
2. with an electric mixer, beat together the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, egg, milk, veg oil and cinnamon until smooth.
3. fold the whinberries into the flour mix
4. spoon the mixture into the prepared tins, filling them about two thirds full. Bake for 25 mins, or till golden brown
5. leave to cool in the tins for 10 mins, then transfer the buns to wire rack to cool completely.

Todays illustration is 'whinberry'© Lois Blackburn, www.loisblackburn.co.uk

Shirl's Loverly lentils

I've just received this recipe from one of my 'foodie' friends, sounds lovely, I’ll be trying it out soon…thanks again Shirley...

“As promised my recipe for lentil soup is coming up - Proper comfort food, it seems to be loved by all children who eat it.”

Shirl's Loverly lentils
splash of olive oil
1 leek or onion
4 or 5 medium potatoes
2 or 3 carrots
2 sticks celery
Handful green beans (fresh or frozen)
Cup of peas (fresh or frozen)
8oz red lentils (rinsed in cold water)
1 and 3/4 pints stock made with 2 teasp marigold swiss vegetable vegan bouillon powder (the reduced salt one in purple container is best)

I use a cast iron casserole dish to cook this soup on the hob, but any large pot with tightly fitting lid should be ok. You can alter combination of veg or increase amount of lentils - just keep the same ratio of lentils to stock.

Chop all veg into chunks of whatever size you like. Warm olive oil in saucepan and gently fry leek / onion. Throw in rest of veg and sweat for few minutes with lid on. Add lentils and stock. Give it all a stir and put the lid back on. Cook over a medium heat for 25-30 mins. Stir at regular intervals to stop it sticking to bottom. The final soup is rich thick and gloopy with soft chunks in it. Serve on its own or with fresh bread.


ps. todays illustration is red lentils, a monoprint © Lois Blackburn www.loisblackburn.co.uk

lentil soup

There are so many versions of lentil soup, this is a truely delicious version, very cheap, very healthy (no fat in it at all, lentils are full of protein, iron, full of fiber, vit B1 and minerals.) and so, so easy to make.... Not really what you think of to eat in August I know, but we are having a British summer...

1 large onion, chopped finely
350g (12oz) of red slit lentils
1.75 litres (3 pints) of good quality meat, chicken or veg stock (if vegan or vegetarian)
1 tsp of ground cumin (I like to use cumin seed and freshly grind it in the pestle and mortar- get a wonderful taste and aroma)
juice of a lemon
salt and pepper

In a saucepan, put the lentils, onions, stock and salt and pepper, and simmer gently until the lentils have disintegrated. (about half an hour will do, but I like a longer time for mine) Add water if soup needs thinning. Then stir in the lemon juice and cumin, and more salt and pepper if needed.
delicious.

The best beans

I love my pulse recipes, delicious, filling and a real money saver. This one is an adaptation of the wonderful Gennaro Contaldo’s recipe for Zolfino Beans. I’m afraid I haven’t been able to find Zolfino beans, so used instead Cannellini beans (or failing that haricot beans) using dried pulses, you’ve just got to remember to soak them the night before….

350g Cannellini beans 3tbs olive oil
2 garlic cloves 3tbs white wine vinegar
4 sage leaves about 1.4 litres veg stock.

Soak the beans overnight.

Drain and place in a saucepan with the garlic, (I leave them whole, squashing them slightly) sage leaves, olive oil and vinegar. Cover with the vegetable stock, bring to the boil and reduce the heat. Cover with a lid and simmer gently for 2 hours or until the beans are soft. If you find there’s a lot of liquid left, drain it and reduce it by cooking it in separate pot, then add it back to the beans.

Cannellini beans are an excellent source of Iron, Magnesium and Folate.

Today’s illustration is a monoprint ‘haricot beans’ © Lois Blackburn. Please visit http://www.loisblackburn.co.uk for more images.

hummus or humus

What a necessity! It delicious, cheap and easy to make, it goes with so much (filling for jacket potato, pita bread, sandwhiches, dip for veg, or sauce for falafel… children love it and its very healthy!

Ready made hummus will cost you about £1.00 for 100grams in the shops. To make it yourself, will cost you a fraction of that, and you will feel you can be very generous with it, as you will make a big tub! : Your main ingredients are chickpea’s and tahinni, In Unicorn, http://www.unicorn-grocery.co.uk/ 1kg of organic dried chick peas costs £1.35, Tahini (useful in so many recipes) £2.02 in my local ‘The Organic Shop’. These quantities will make a very healthy amount of hummus) If you decide to buy your chickpeas in a tin, you can still make dramatic savings… plus making it yourself, you will make it to your taste.. a little more garlic? a little more lemon? you decide.

I like to add the ingredients as I blend, tasting as I go, and add more garlic or tahinni or lemon…I can’t say I measure ingredients, but do it by feel, however if your new to making it here is a guide:

250g (9oz) chickpeas, soaked overnight
juice of 2-3 lemons
2 or 3 garlic cloves, crushed
6 tablespoons Tahini
4 tbs olive oil
1 tsp paprika (optional) (some people use cumin)

Boil the chickpeas in fresh water until very soft (50mins upwards, depending on the age of them) add a little salt when they begin to soften. Reserve the cooking water and blend the chickpeas with a little of the cooking water. Make a smooth paste. Add two tbs olive oil and the other ingredients (except the paprika) and more cooking water if necessary, to make a soft creamy texture.

To serve, spread the hummus on a plate, sprinkle with remaining oil and the paprika.

And I hope you don’t mind smelling of garlic!

A note about the illustrations, 'chickpeas' mono print please go to http://www.loisblackburn.co.uk/ for more, and 'beer tea trifle bovril' an arthur+martha collaboration. http://www.arthur-and-martha.co.uk/ This is part of a collection called 'scotch terrier, bulldog and a moggy' investigating stereo types of the people British and Israel I hold © to both images.

economical food resources

Ok, where to buy cheap, ethical, seasonal, delicious ingredients and culinary goodies?

Here are some of my favourites…have you any to add?

‘Unicorn’ Manchester’s co-operative grocery. http://www.unicorn-grocery.co.uk/ it offers wholesome and organic (vegan) foods. Its really well priced, and ethical principles remain at the core of the business. Everything from Fruit and Veg to dried foodstuffs, inc pulses, grains, nuts, fruits and spices. I go when I’m in town, and buy in bulk!

‘Eighth Day Co-op’ http://www.eighth-day.co.uk/ as well as a great shop, there’s a wonderful café. Well worth a visit if in Manchester.

For supplies of Chinese and Thai foodstuffs, try any of the groceries in China Town, Manchester http://www.manchester2002-uk.com/shops/chinatown.html Great for large slabs of Tofu, rice, fresh herbs etc.

If your after basmati rice, spices, fantastic Asian vegetables and herbs and much, much more, visit Ayres Road, Old Trafford, or the Curry Mile, Rusholme, Manchester.

For seasonal organic food boxes, delivered to your door, I can recommend http://www.abelandcole.co.uk/Home.aspx

And just down the road from me, my friendly local ‘The Organic Shop’ New Mills, Derbyshire.

For fish, there’s a great fish market in Manchester at The Arndale. www.arndalemarket.co.uk
And if your short of goods to cook all of this in, or need the oven or the kitchen sink… sign up with your local Freecycle Network http://www.freecycle.org/ all for free!! You just need to organise picking the wonders up.

Todays illustration is from an ethical ABC, go to http://www.loisblackburn.co.uk/pages/editorial/ethical%20abc.htm to see more...image © Lois Blackburn