The Trough

Andrew and the homemade fig tool

On my way to the studio this morning I noticed a man holding a stick to the crown of a tree, gently twisting it. Andrew was harvesting gorgeous, bloated and ripe green figs.

His stick was a home made and well used length of timber with a securely tied fig sized plastic cup at one end. You place the cup under the fig and twist until it comes loose.

fig tool in action

I wasn’t convinced that these would be unlike the milky and unripe nuggets I usually come across, but I persevered in asking for a taste. The Cypriot way is to snap off the top and break it in half before inhaling it. They were sweet and heavenly and completely distracted me from Andrews detailed description of their annual harvesting ritual. He could see that the fig had transformed my day. He knew that I understood his passion for the edible jewel he’d given me and gave me another for the journey.

I’ve been looking at places to live. Most new builds I’ve visited are being designed without defined eating spaces. Lounge and dinning room homogenized into a space for the sofa and the one way conversation of the television. The Table is the western tool used to catalyse communal eating, providing personal space, distance and a plinth for the daily feast. Of course no table is complete without chairs.

The kitchen table

It was hardly surprising that the humble table was mentioned in the introduction to a day of talks about food. I had got up at 6am to travel to Oxford, the title of the talks was instantly captivating, ‘Thought for Food: the Ethics of Eating’.
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Didn’t make it to this but was excited by the thought that it had happened. see the Guardian

Things like ‘political low tide Mayonnaise’ and hundreds of people eating wonderful food together at harvest time in the city. Wonderful. I will be there next year – with a camera that works!

I found this through the most recent discussion on Radio 4’s food programme, discussing the history of the feast. I’ve since seen the same thing has happened on Sydney harbour bridge. looks fantastic! http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/8324527.stm

cooking

What a taste! Juta used bright orange palm oil, shrimp powder and ground pumpkin to make a rich spinach stew. It was strong slightly bitter-sweet tasting and very moreish.  we had it poured over yams and plantains.

My plate

There are a few more pictures here.

Chicken of the woods

We chanced upon a feast in a tree – finding sorrel and chicken of the woods lying before us during our walk. We had left with only cheese and bread to fill us for the over night journey and ended up with a mighty and magical feast before us hanging from this tree.

Oak laden with orange fungi

The dinner was made from the fungi, some spec, fresh peas, cheddar cheese rinds and sorrel and was the most fulfilling I have eaten – full of satisfaction.  There are some more pictures here.

Dinner

A law? What a way to get us thinking about the meat we eat.

I’m really interested to see how this project, by John O’Shea, will develop.  When I’ve bought it up in conversation it has initially sparked agreement, and then, on further consideration, worry of what that actually means for each of us.  I can’t help but think of of the scenes from ‘Our Daily Bread’ depicting mass production of animals for meat and how that would be changed if we took responsibility for even one.

Quoted from http://www.meatlicence.org.uk/?q=node/1

*DRAFT Meat Licencing Act*

It is against the law to purchase or consume meat, in the UK, without an appropriate licence.

Every citizen in the U.K., wishing to purchase or consume meat, is required, by law, to obtain an appropriate licence.

It is through a specific and supervised engagement in the act of killing an animal, that citizens will obtain their meat licence.

Licences are available in 3 categories:

1. Seafood & Fish, 2. Poultry and Game, 3. Quadrapeds

17.4.2009 (Beta Version 1.6)

Aside from the there are a great selection of videos and conversation going on. I’ve learnt about what a prokarytarian is, but struggle to believe it’s possible but… I like this video about automatic pizza.

What’s cooking grandma is a great site by Human Beans for those of us without grandparents. I’m not sure everyone else’s family has the same taste as mine, I think tradition can be an acquired taste.

There are some great quotes from each cook that hint at how the stories were passed on, 50 year old books and grand children helping out in the kitchen. It’s like story telling I suppose, you just have to be there to watch and learn through osmosis. The site has lots of traditional recipes, but not so many to overwhelm you.

Every chef has been named by their grandmum names: nana, grandmother, grandma, gran… They have a very relaxed approach to making their dishes, not worrying to much about its presentation but more on the satisfaction of the food. They lead you through each recipe with those soothing, wise voices.

It’s great to see the family’s appreciation afterwards. Yum.

http://whatscookinggrandma.humanbeans.net/

A good bunch of parsley, thyme and mint

So I thought I’d test out a few of these Tudor recipes over the weekend. One of which was a sauce vert, a little like salsa Verde and though it tastes great and was also quite strong it was used to mask the strong flavour of (not so fresh) fish.

You use a good handful of chopped green herbs (I used mainly parsley with a little of what ever else I could find).

Add some cider vinegar to a small bowlful of white breadcrumbs and leave them to soak for 10 minutes.

Start bashing the herbs with a pestle and mortar with a squashed clove of garlic. Then mix in the bread crumbs with a bit of salt. It turns into a gooey paste.
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I took so much in from this visit that I’m not sure where to begin. To begin with we walked along the entrance track to the main gates. It was the bank holiday friday and we were surrounded by tourists. Its not often you get the chance to feel like a visitor in your own city, but we were stood in the rain with cameras around our necks and looking at leaflets about Henry and his eight wives.

Making pastry

We walked towards the kitchen and saw the usual plastic men, flame styled flickering lighting and plastic fishes flopped over barrels (apparently they are made of thermo-plastic that you can just microwave and drape in the desired form to make them look realistic). Sound effects of bubbling stews and synthetic smells of beef.  We arrived in the pastry production area, surrounded by dark green ceramic and eggs.

We spoke to the chefs, who explained a million and one things about their findings. The had previously been involved in reenactments and had been hired by the palace for their enthusiasm to learn so much about the subject.

During Tudor times they used pastry as a cooking vessel more than edible treat. They would remove the ‘lid’ of the pie and continue to cook from the base until the pastry broke, when it could then be fed to the pigs. I suppose metal could leave quite the flavour if it were used to cook with. It does make me wonder why they didn’t just use ceramic?
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mmm, rabbit

A friend from Italy was here with her very sweet baby. My goodness he must be 8 months or so now. With her, she carried a packet of Coniglio Plasmon in a small bottle. Unfortunately I didn’t have my trusty camera at the time, but I managed to grab the packet.
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