Tomato update - 15.09.08

This is my last tomato update of the season - let's face it, there's only so many blog entries you can get from growing something that's as easy as tomatoes are!

Still, if fortunate enough to have a couple left, why not keep some of the seeds and store ready to sow in January or February? All you need to do is put them into a metal sieve and rub under the tap until the jelly has come off around the outside of each seed. Once you've done this leave to dry before labeling and storing for next year.


These ones here actually came in my veg bag - really lovely plum tomatoes which I always think are quite hard to find in the shops. Looking forward to seeing how they turn out next year!

Stoate's Organic

I never expected to enthuse about flour packaging, but here I go; how nice is this flour bag? Hope the flour's half as a good :)

Art, ice cream and the Savoire Fayre

It's not often I go to private views anymore, but I did last night, and mistakenly thought it to be another small-scale party in Hackney. Oh contraire - it was in a building now owned by a proper artist (Yinka Shonibare) - complete with ice cream van no less! Even more astounding was the olive oil ice cream they were handing out. Quite strange... but not unpleasant. I'd give you details of the maker, but all I know is that her name is Kitty.

Feeling a bit sore today...

Still, on a perkier note, if in town this weekend head to the Savoir-Fayre, taking place tomorrow at Hackney City Farm. Run by my lovely friend Lynn Chambers. The idea being that you "spend less time spending" - learning skills such as bicycle maintenance, crochet (always a fave of mine) or even how to make your own yarn. Fun fun fun.

How to make Limoncello

Sadly, my lovely friends Nico and Willow have just yesterday left London to move to Stockholm (albeit by car in a Fiat 500, complete with cat!)

Fortunately we saw them before they left at David's birthday party, at which point they presented us (oh alright, him) with a bottle of home-made Limoncello. How rad? Well, we tried it last night and it is absolutely delicious, but better yet, they've posted the recipe and instructions up on flickr.

Give it a go!

Mmmm cheese

Yum! Snapped this morning at the Italian cheese stall on Broadway Market. My personal fave is the creamy young Gorgonzola, on the back right-hand side. It's absolutely amazing, you should try it!

tomato update - 15.07.08

Today we finally got to eat the first ripe tomato, and let me tell you it was bloody good. Unfortunately it's not displayed in this pic, as we were so eager to get stuck in and I didn't think to take a picture of it until it was gone :(

Next year, I hope to grow more - two plants isn't enough!

A little thrift goes a long way

So Gordon Brown has urged us all to stop wasting food, has he? Shame he hasn't offered any thoughts on how. Still there are plenty of books around to offer sagely advice and tips, and with recent trends towards growing your own veggies there are more available then ever. One book that I thought was very good on the subject was by Rose Prince, The New English Kitchen. She does also now have a book out called The New English Table although I haven't had a chance to check it out (sounds too familiar to its predecessor!)

Anyway, I digress. One great way to start is by making your own bread, as I'm sure I've harped on enough about before. I've found that actually it really isn't that time intensive to make a fairly decent loaf, and for some reason it seems to out-last a shop bought loaf by far (although to be honest with the smell of freshly baked bread in your house you won't need to worry about it hanging around long enough anyway).

Does anyone else have any good suggestions out there for being thrifty with your food? Perhaps this could be the beginning of thrifty pick of the week....? Sure there's bound to be some thrifty tips on here to get you going in the meantime.

And while we're on the subject of thrift, thanks to a weekend fishing trip we've now re-stocked our freezer on mackerel (for suitably smug picture see above)