January 10, 2008 • 9:07 am
(Sorry, couldn’t resist it.) I am very much enjoying Channel 4’s Chicken Season so far and have booked the sofa for Friday night for the Jamie show.
One of the most interesting bits for me however has been watching the supermarket and farmers’ PR reactions.
Yesterday, for example, I received a letter from Judith Batchelor, Brand Manager for Sainsburys, directly referencing the Chicken Out programme, seeking to reassure me, and enclosing two leaflets clarifying their egg and chicken labelling.
Of course, if she’d bothered to pull up the Nectar card data she would have seen that I only ever buy organic eggs and chicken anyway. But then that would have irritated me because it would have reminded me of their ability to monitor my food intake….
I’m now adding another concern to the moral maze that is my trip to the supermarket. What type of eggs/chicken are in pre-prepared items?
Filed under: Branding, Environment, Food, Guilt, PR, Politics, TV
November 23, 2007 • 12:24 pm
Writing about http://caseyleaver.wordpress.com/2006/10/04/tomato-soup-for-the-soul/
A different tomato soup – and one which I am trying not to spill over my keyboard as I type.
Incidentally I was reading Lindsey Bareham’s A Celebration of Soup the other day, and she claims to have over 20 versions of pumpkin soup – there surely must be more. Mine never turn out the same twice for a start!
- 6 (or so) fat over-ripe vine tomatoes
- A good slug of olive oil
- Sweet smoked paprika
- Salt & Pepper
- 1 bottle of passata
- Chilli oil
- Glass of good red wine
- Water – splash
- Beef stock (condensed in bottle) – glug
Roast the tomatoes in a good slug of olive oil in a medium over for 20 minsa of so (I did mine while I happened to be doing some tray-baked sausages). Then transfer to the hob and add all the other ingredients to taste. Bring to a simmer and then hand blend and serve.
I ended up unable to wait for the soup so I served it with a roasted sausage and onion baguette each! But I have brought the substancial left-overs into work.
Which reminds me:
Bubble and squeak and homemade chutney are back on the menu as part of a campaign launched this week to urge people to return to the values of wartime food rationing and cut the mountain of food waste emerging from the nation’s kitchens. (more)
Quite right too!
Research by the government’s waste reduction agency, Wrap, found that one third of all food bought in Britain is thrown away – of which half is edible. Wrap will claim that this discarded food is a bigger problem than packaging, as the food supply chain accounts for a fifth of UK carbon emissions and decomposing food releases methane, the most potent of the greenhouse gases. Wasted food is estimated to cost each British household from £250 to £400 a year.
The reason this came to mind is that when this recipe specifies over-ripe tomatoes – that’s because it was either soup or the bin… You (better housekeepers) can of course use fruit or veg at the peak of its perfection!
Filed under: Book, Cooking, Environment, Food, Recipes
Writing about web page http://www.myvillage.com/pages/fashion-hints-tips-clothes-swap.htm
How would it be if I organised a clothes swap party?
The idea is that you bring along items of clothing that are in good nick but that you don’t wear/don’t want/don’t fit any more.
And you come away with items of other people’s that you like better.
It’s environmentally friendly (reuse) and a cheap way of getting new clothes.
I’ve
wanted to do one of these for ages – like a cross between a posh bring
& buy and a jumble sale – only with no money changing hands.
I was thinking that this might be a cool thing to do in the Sutherland Staff Lounge
We
could get wine from the Bar, snacks from Bar Food and the ladies’
toilets (with a full–length mirror) are just next door for changing
purposes.
According to my online research I ought to:
- invite as many trendy people as possible in a range of sizes
- bring luggage labels so that people can make notes of any stains, tears etc. and attach them to items of clothing
- not limit it to clothes but include accessories and jewellery as well
I think we would need some rules though. What happens if:
- 2 or more people want the same item?
- The ’seller’ has second thoughts
So – who’s up for it? My spare room is available for friends who aren’t local.
Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under: Environment, Fashion
January 26, 2006 • 9:59 am
