wholefood kitchen

Introducing (Paul) Webb & (Chris) Barnes, London based urban beekeepers. Alongside their day jobs as designers, these fine chaps  have set up an entrepeneurial Bee Hive Rental business which makes Bee guardianship available to your average urban home (and garden) owner. For a reasonable monthly outlay, they’ll set you up with a couple of backyard hives, take care of employee wellbeing and productivity, and hand over a healthy portion of homegrown honey every year. The rest of the honey is gathered and sold under its relevant London postcode, so others can benefit from locally grown honey. And there are real potential health benefits with this – it’s been suggested that eating local honey can help reduce the symptoms of hay fever as it contains traces of the pollen sufferers get exposed to, thus building up a tolerance. The clever clogs are also in the process of developing a BeeBox app which will help monitor Bee activity, and limit unnecessary intrusion. Nothing like keeping the workers happy. For a full interview with these two, check out this recent article on the Indie Farmer site. For more information, check out the Barnes & Webb website.

Teia makes a grab for a little Shepherd’s Pie I prepared: the base (concealed) made up of well-cooked Puy Lentils with Kombu, some white Onions, Carrots, and Shiitake; the topping a simple Mashed Potato with chopped Basil.

Our little one. Loving this corn on the cob business.

A baguette picked up fresh that morning from the local Boulangerie, with a smear of sea salt infused butter; slices of Comte cheese; Proscuitto Ham; a lambs lettuce salad with a reduced Balsamic and Olive Oil dressing. A simple, delicious brunch/lunch.

After cooking a big batch of Chickpeas, I stopped off at a local Londis store, where the owners had a range of homemade chutneys on sale. This inspired the creation of a simple, tasty Chickpea Curry with Onions, Aubergines, Tomato Paste, Garlic, Cumin and Garam Masala. Served here with Steamed Rice, Blanched Kale, Yoghurt and Fresh Coriander; and a dollop of two chutneys I bought from the store: Yoghurt, Garlic, Chilli and Coriander; Coriander, Chilli and Garlic.

Pancakes for Nicky’s first Mother’s Day brunch, made with Stoneground Flour, Baking Powder, separated eggs (with whites beaten with a pinch of salt and folded in at the end), Soya Milk, a splash of Maple Syrup and Blueberries, served with Maple syrup and fresh Raspberries, Blueberries and Strawberries.

Teia samples her first pancake, made with Egg Yolk, Rice Flour, and Soya Milk. Sugar-free Dalfours Mixed Berry Jam serves as a tasty, sweet spread. The first pancake was cut into ‘rollups;’ pancake number 2 was cut into bite size squares, which went down much better. Fun to grab handfuls and play around with too.

A bowl of Mexican style Black Bean Stew with Sour Cream and Spring Onions, Sour Cream, and some natural Tortilla Chips.

Proving the maxim that a few basic meal staples can inspire a sequence of meals of different guises, the croquettes which appeared the night before in Mexican dress, reappear here in a warming early Spring meal. This time, the panfried Red Lentil and Millet Croquettes are served with a rich Mushroom gravy, Sauteed Asparagus Spears, and some wilted, Garlicky Spinach.

A Mexican inspired Black Bean Stew with Sour Cream and Guacamole, a side of Red Quinoa, Milllet and Red Lentil Croquettes and blanched Leeks.