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the tomato trail

September 11, 2011 by Robin Ellis

To Borough Market–as Sam Pepys might say–Saturday morning in search of the perfect tomato.

They grow them on the Isle of Wight–there’s a micro climate there.

I plan to make Ma’s Gazpacho for the London launch of the cookbook–can’t have too many launches!

 The Saturday farmers’ market in Southwark by the Thames, in the shadow of the Cathedral’s tower–

used to be great. Growers and producers arriving from all over to sell their stuff to enthusiastic foodies.  A meeting place of like minds with complementary needs.

No more–sadly.

There are still a few stalls selling produce from out of town but it is now firmly on the tourist trail–nicely situated between the Tower of London and the South Bank. More a fun fair of food–and nothing wrong with that–with stall after stall selling healthy fast food–

to eat mainly on the hoof–while checking out what else is on offer.

Quest stalled and this cook fast realising how spoiled he is by the French markets he’s accustomed to–boo-hoo…

Back to Waterloo (where we are staying) to think again–in search of inspiration now.

I suddenly remember a Sunday market in Islington and google it–of course.

There it is–still going– but “moved to Chapel Market–every Sunday 8am to 2pm.”

Sometimes you want to kiss the Internet!

Whoopee and off we go this morning.

“Freshly picked Isle of Wight Tomatoes” says the sign! Quest over.

And sold by the grower, a delightful fresh-faced young man from…Poland! (Not famed, as far as I know, for its tomato crop).

He knew his tomatoes though–they’re tasty.

Delighted, relieved, ladened down (5 Kilos)–I go to two more stalls and find the remaining ingredients.

Search over–now to make it.

Posted in Food, other sides to this life, Recipes | Tagged , | 15 Comments »

Watch out!–walnut dropping…

September 8, 2011 by Robin Ellis

Breakfast in the making

As I was climbing the first hill on my walk this morning a single nut dropped with a thud on the road in front of me–missing my head by a whisker.

I picked it up and turn it round in my hand.

It was a perfectly formed walnut–freed from its green casing.

A small opening had been made in the shell through which I could see the white flesh of the unripe kernel.

On it was written this message:

“Keep off my patch!”–only kidding!

In effect that was the message intended by the red squirrel who thought he’d spotted another walnutter.

He had and I am, but not today–it is too early by about three weeks–they are still green.

No matter–walnut harvest time approaches and the trees look promising.

From late September to early November each year I collect them in basketfuls

and hang them out a while to dry in the breeze, before storing them away, like the squirrel, for chillier days to come.

According to local rules: “When they fall on public paths or on the  roadside verges, anyone can harvest them.”

No harm in repeating their wonderful healthly qualities, confirmed in these two studies:

The original Walnut Study from Loma Linda University was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. They were the first to find that walnuts in a controlled diet reduced LDL (bad) cholesterol and heart disease risk significantly more than the diet then recommended by the American Heart Association.  In other words – they proved, scientifically, that food really can be your medicine.

In April 2000, another landmark walnut report was published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.  Researchers had 49 men and women with high cholesterol incorporate walnuts into a healthy Mediterranean diet, substituting a handful of walnuts a day for some of the mono-unsaturated fat in the diet.  Participants lowered their “bad” LDL cholesterol by almost 6 per cent and heart disease risk by 11 per cent beyond what would be expected from the Mediterranean diet alone.

and in this:- walnuts

 

Posted in Food, other sides to this life | Tagged | 13 Comments »

White Bean and Parsley Soup

September 6, 2011 by Robin Ellis

This is my version of a “serious” white bean soup from the great Italian-American cook, Marcella Hazan.

It is in my newly published book–Delicious Dishes for Diabetics–a Mediterranean Way of Eating.

The smooth and creamy consistency make it a comfort soup par excellence –and popular here with nieces and nephews when they come to visit. Meredith says it reminds her of her home town–Chicago, “the Windy City”!

The simple makings

Serves 4

1 clove of garlic – peeled and chopped

8 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoon flat leaf parsley – chopped

1 kg/36 oz canned or, preferably, bottled cannelini /white beans – drained and rinsed

salt and pepper

250 ml/½ pint/1 cup vegetable stock –[I use organic vegetable stock cubes]

toasted wholewheat/rye bread with a little olive oil

  • Sauté the garlic in the oil gently until it colours.
  • Add the parsley and stir a couple of times.
  • Mix in the beans, salt and pepper.
  • Cover and cook gently for about 5 minutes to warm through.
  • Purée a quarter of the beans in a mixer and return with the stock to the pan.
  • Simmer for another 5 minutes.
  • Check the seasoning.
  • Serve over the toast with a swirl of olive oil in each bowl.

Posted in Diabetes, Recipes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments »

The Fig in the courtyard

September 5, 2011 by Robin Ellis

The heat wrapped figs are

Ripening fast; exchanging 

A dark green for light.

It was the first thing we noticed when we came through the gate into the courtyard here–twenty one years ago last May.

.”]

Fig in the courtyard--early nineties (sundial just visible)

The fig tree and the double rainbow put us in a receptive mood even before we entered the house.More of a shrub back then–reaching up beside the outhouse that doubled as a pigeonnier–there was no hint  of the sprawl it would become.

“]

Fig in the courtyard--today--(sundial hidden)

We didn’t know about fig trees and their prodigious ability to grow.

We would have had no problem telling the time from the sundial positioned, unusually, on the pigeonnier–if we’d known how.

Today the tree–shrub no longer–reaches eagerly towards the house, acting as an effective parasol at lunchtime.

We had it pruned this year but that has barely held it back.

The branches are groaning under the weight of the fast ripening fruit, making passageway to the house hazardous for a tall person.

The figs are the green or “blanche” variety and sweeter–to my mind–than the more romantic looking purple ones.

The heat wrapped figs are

Ripening fast; exchanging 

A dark green for light.

The green light for picking them is a particular light green–and a heaviness in the hand.

Watch out though when reaching up–you are not the only one attracted by the ripeness.

Wasps and hornets bury their heads in the sweetness leaving their tails free to sting the fingers of rivals!

Delicious they are but not worth the pain of a hornet’s sting.

Posted in Food, other sides to this life | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments »

It happens to us all…

September 3, 2011 by Robin Ellis

…and both are delicious!

Posted in other sides to this life | 11 Comments »

Grilled mackerel fillets with green–yes, green–tomatoes…

September 2, 2011 by Robin Ellis

This is quickly done and delicious–but the mackerel really does need to be fresh.

The incomparable Nigel Slater does a thyme dressing for the tomato salad (see below) and it is the clincher for this combination.

Back in May I bought a couple of  “green” tomato plants at the market in Lautrec.

The young woman assured me they would produce beautiful sweet green tomatoes.

“Really?– seems a contradiction in terms.”

“You’ll see!”.

She was right. I’ve been eating my words and the green tomatoes for a couple of weeks now!

I thanked her today at the market after buying the mackerel from the fishmonger.

She said she was pleased I liked them.

“People are reluctant to buy them–obviously not ready–not ripe, they say”.

Worth a try I say–with the zeal of the newly converted!

for 2

2 very fresh mackerel–in fillets

salt and pepper

olive oil

tomatoes for the salad–cut up or sliced as you like (of course you can use RED!)

for the dressing:

1 garlic clove–peeled and pulped with a good pinch of salt

1 tablespoon thyme leaves–chopped

1 lemon–juiced

4 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper

making the dressing:

Pound the thyme leaves with the garlic clove and salt.

Add some pepper.

Mix in the lemon juice,

then the olive oil.

Cooking the mackerel

  • Heat the grill to hot.
  • Brush the fillets with olive oil and season them well.
  • Lay some foil over the grill pan–brush with oil.
  • Place the fillets, skin side up, on the foil.
  • Place under the grill.
  • The skin will start to scorch and bubble–which adds to the flavour.

(Careful not to overdo it though.)

Dress the tomato salad, add the cooked fillets and drizzle the fish with a little more of the dressing.

Posted in Food, Recipes | Tagged , , , , , , | 10 Comments »

Forever England!

September 1, 2011 by Robin Ellis

I have to post about this: an event today at the World Athletics Championships.

A moment of pure magic: The Womens’ 1500 metres final.

There’s an English competitor who only just qualified as the fastest loser in her semi-final.

We are already in English territory–plucky indomitable spirit, Dunkirk and all that, no real chance but–“Well done, all the same!“.

Hard to believe but her name is Hannah England!

As one of the last to qualify nobody expects her to win a medal–she’s made the final–achievement enough.

Cue Cole Porter…

“Have you heard about dear Blanch–got knocked down by an avalanche,

(Don’t worry–she’s a game girl, you know–got up and finished fourth! the kid’s got guts!)

Well, did you ever?!

What a swell party this is…!”

(High Society–Sinatra and Crosby)

Hannah is tall and blonde with a lovely smile.

She is in the leading group of about ten, as they come round the final bend after three-and-a-half laps–so theoretically in with a chance–but  a long shot, as she appears to be boxed in.

They enter the finishing straight and she side steps right, positioning herself for a run to the line.

The commentator spots her late and is bewitched. The impossible seems to be happening! She surges forward towards the finishing line and he goes crazy!

She continues to advance until, just short of the line, an expression of utter joy and astonishment spreads across her face .

She finishes in Silver Medal position–second–but it is as though she has won.

"C'est pas vrai!"

She cannot believe it. She looks to the crowd for confirmation. “Yes it’s true!”

She has triumphed and it is delightful to watch.

I feel a broad smile spreading involuntarily across my  face.

Bet your life she’s having a “swellegant elegant”  party tonight!

Posted in other sides to this life | Tagged , , , | 11 Comments »

Chocolate in the air…

August 31, 2011 by Robin Ellis

A postcard arrived from Kent today, (forwarded by my publisher, Constable & Robinson) wryly commenting on a promotion included in the package with the cookbook from Amazon:

“I was most amused to receive with your book a mailing for chocolates! They look great, too–but hardly suitable for diabetics like us. Oh well!“

My editor, Judith, pointed out, when I complained about this:

“I’m afraid the leaflet for chocolates is just one of a general mailing which probably goes out with every item despatched by Amazon, who couldn’t possibly be expected to check whether it’s relevant to the rest of the package (it may even be an automated process)”.

So a simple irony.

However two days ago I had spotted this article on a study, published online by the British Medical Journal, about the health benefits of chocolate!

Coincidence too!

It mentions that scientists at Cambridge University reviewed all the relevant evidence from seven studies involving 100,000 people.

“Five of the seven studies (carried out) found chocolate – eaten in a variety of forms, from sweet bars to chocolate biscuits and drinking cocoa – to be protective.”

Catherine Collins, a dietician at St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust, is quoted  in the piece saying:

“This paper doesn’t really say eat chocolate to improve heart health – nor do the authors conclude this either. What they seem to say is, those who don’t deny themselves a sweet treat of chocolate – white or brown – have better cardiovascular outcomes”.

Tom Sanders, Professor of Nutrition and Dietetics as well as Head of the Diabetes and Nutritional Sciences Division of the School of Medicine at King’s College London, warns that:

“The main problem with chocolate is overindulgence and calories [my emphasis]. A little bit of chocolate is OK but the mega-slabs offered cheaply are fuelling obesity in the overweight.”

In other words “moderation” is the key.

It occurred to me to post about this earlier–but I got distracted when Alice arrived with the honey!

Then I remembered an earlier post  entitled “Just no Desserts”, back in February, when I was starting out–in which I “fess up” to an indulgence:

…A  good meal needs a grace note at the end, a contrast to the savory tastes of the main dish–something to complement the coffee or tea to come. Well, all is not lost…!

My solution, surprisingly, is CHOCOLATE–with a high proportion of cacao.

One square eaten with a small cup of coffee (and maybe a dried fig) is the perfect  finish to a meal for me.

I have got used to 90% cacao chocolate (but we worked our way up from 70%).

The idea is catching on. 

This site positively encourages the consumption of high cacao chocolate:

10 Reasons to Eat High Cocoa Content Chocolate —[always with the mantra “in moderation”]

21.30/9.30pm—Excuse me–as I reach for my second square of the day!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Posted in Diabetes, Food, other sides to this life | Tagged , , , , , , | 10 Comments »

Cannellini bean, tomato and courgette salad

August 30, 2011 by Robin Ellis

I’ve been neglectful of the tomato patch and it has got out of control.

I’m too ashamed to show a photo of it!

I didn’t do a proper job on the staking and when tomatoes get riper they get heavier and need strong support.

My efforts to put things right yesterday were comical, and I decided to let them go their ways and be grateful for what they offer.

I apologised and promised I’d do better by them next year!

Mother Nature’s been in a forgiving mood and the yield has been sweet and generous so far.

I collected enough ripe tomatoes to make this salad.

It’s based on the wonderful Riverford Farm Cook Book with some rocket added.

a handful of rocket

1 jar of cooked cannellini [white beans]–rinsed

3 courgettes–sliced into 1/2 centimetre–ie not too thick and not too thin!– strips

a generous handful of cherry tomatoes

a generous handful of basil leaves

1 clove of garlic–peeled and pulped with a pinch of salt

3 tablespoons olive oil

salt

more olive oil to brush the courgettes and to annoint the warmed beans

Heat a griddle  to hot.

Warm  the beans through in a little water.

Drain and moisten them with a tablespoon of olive oil.

Add them to a large bowl in which you are going to mix the salad.

Brush the courgettes with oil and grill them on both sides until tender and nicely charred.

Add them to the bowl.

Add the cherry tomatoes–halved if they are on the large side.

Combine the basil, garlic, a pinch of salt and the olive oil in a food mixer and whizz.

Add this to the salad and turn it over carefully.

Lay the rocket in a wide bowl and gently empty the mixed salad into it, and  turn the salad again.

You can serve this tepid or at room temperature.

Posted in Food, other sides to this life, Recipes | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Honey trade: “neighbourliness” in action–or “la rentrée” (first day back!) gifts

August 29, 2011 by Robin Ellis

"Rentrée" gifts

I’m sitting searching for a new recipe for the chicken we’ll eat tonight when I hear a car draw up.

Life in the country is never predictable–especially when you hope it might be for a few quiet minutes!

The bell outside the courtyard gently rings and footsteps slowly crunch across the gravel.

I put down the cookbook and reluctantly rise to greet the visitor.

There is the lightest knock on the front door.

There stands our neighbour Alice, holding a small rectangular box with 2 kilos of her honey in it.

Honey box

She says it’s only fair she shares some with her “second pair of hands”.

Meredith helped  with the recolte [harvest] of her honey on Monday.

“The honey’s runny–better keep it a plat [flat],”  she says of the harvest. “there was more last year–but not bad nevertheless….”

A spoonful of the honey with a tablespoon of the organic cider vinegar from Thursday’s market will help shore up our health as the seasons change.

Of more interest to me is the small basket of tomatoes, aubergines and courgettes that Alice holds in her other hand–could make a wonderful ratatouille.

Ratatouille basket

“These are probably the last”, Alice says, “in spite of constant watering things have dried up–so enjoy these while you can”.

Too right, Alice–superb! Merci beaucoup!

(And I did nothing to deserve it!)

Talk of the season change persuades me to try the chicken cooked with dried porcini mushrooms (bought last November in Tuscany) tonight.

Recipe to follow–if we like it!

Posted in Food, other sides to this life | Tagged , , , , , , | 10 Comments »

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