wholefood kitchen

The word of the day: eat/food

E kai ana te pēpi i ngā rīwai.
The baby is eating the potatoes.

E kainga ana ngā rīwai e te pēpi.
The potatoes are being eaten by the baby.

Kainga tāu āporo.
Eat your apple.

He kai pai te kūmara.
Kumara is good food. (Kumara is good/healthy food.)

Courtesy of kupu.maori.nz

Panfried Salmon, Poached Eggs, Sauerkraut & Caramelised Red Onion Chutney. A taste explosion!

A snapshot of ingredients assembled by David Rosberg in preparation for his Sugar-free dessert demonstration, part of the Parks for Life Theatre Kitchen event held on Sunday. Note the ‘Here’s one we made earlier’ fruit pie sitting in the background, di rigeur for any respectable cooking demonstration.

£1 for a bag of smiles. False advertising if ever I saw it. I have nothing against Iceland, the country, but Iceland the chain store is another story. Iceland preys on the confusion between ‘price’ and ‘value’ which exists around food. Perhaps the cost of organically and locally grown foods is simply the real cost, reflecting the time care and attention required to produce food which is truly nourishing to us. Unlike processed, packed, frozen foods which are ‘dead cheap’ simply because they are in fact, dead.

Francoise Auvray and myself on stage and in action at Sunday’s Parks for Life event in Springfield Park, Clapton put together by Hackney Council in partnership with Growing Communities. Francoise composed two delicious recipes, variations using common ingredients to make a Summer Vegetable Barley Soup, and a Warm Barley Salad. Along the way there was plenty of room for discussion with MC Andi Oliver about principles of Macrobiotic Cooking – the dreaded ‘M’ word – which we ended up replacing with ‘Big Life,’ the original meaning of the word. Much more palatable. I later teamed up with David Rosberg who put together some delicious sugar-free desserts, making some important observations about the use of refined sugar, and creating a stampede of children when samples were handed out at the end of the demonstration. We were joined on the Theatre Kitchen stage by representatives from Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen restaurant, the Fifteen Foundation, and supported throughout the day by Sarah and her wonderful team from the Shoreditch Spa. An inspiring day, providing contact with a collection of people and organisations committed to bringing healthy food and knowledge of cooking into the wider community. Also, a load of wonderful cooking tips from enthusiasts and professional chefs. Watch this space for more Wholefood Kitchen forays!

A snapshot of a week spent with family and friends in the French countryside, making use of a well-stocked kitchen and the abundance of food available in the local markets of Perigord. A vivid illustration of the true delight it is to share the preparation, cooking and eating of food with loved ones. There will more of these images to follow, with more detailed descriptions of what we prepared.

The family kitchen.

Fresh figs and Apples from the Orchard combine in a stewed fruit for breakfast.

A light lunch of Blanched Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad with Fresh Chives, Pasta Salad, Tomatoes with Mozzarella and Pesto and a selection of dried meats.

A delightful combination of BBQ’d Rascasse served with two risottos (heavy on the parmesan) and served with a raw fennel Salad, steamed and sauteed samphire, a cucumber pickle and delicious garlic Aoili.

A puff pastry Nectarine Pie.

A BBQ of homemade Beef burgers and Chippolata served with a Thai Mango Salad, Potato Salad and a Lambs Lettuce Salad.

Potato & Eggplant Gratin, Salami, Prosciutto and a Cucumber, Carrot, Sorrell & Sesame Seed Salad, served with slices of crusty Baguette.

Lunch Platter of Bruschetta with Dried Meats, Tuna & Anchovy Spread, Tomatoes and Olives.

Roasted Loin of Pork on Puy Lentils, Braised Turnip with Rosemary and Baked Squash.

Le pique-nique: Lentil & Goats Cheese Salad, Goats Cheese, Anchovy & Tuna Spread,  Cherry Tomatoes, Olives and crusty Baguette.

Yours truly is 40! And to celebrate, Nat baked me a divine Banana cake, made with Banana, (of course) grated Zucchini, Pecans, Brazil nuts, Honey, Rice flour, Eggs, Vanilla, Baking powder, Mixed spice & Cinnamon. Sugar-free cake-makery at its very best.

An introduction to Brill, which is aptly named: simply brilliant! Patted in Rice flour and panfried in Olive Oil and Butter, served with  Potatoes boiled with Mint, and sauteed Zucchini straight from the garden. Served with some leftover Beetroot Salad, and  green Salad with Zucchini flowers and a lemon Tahini dressing. A wonderful light summer fish meal.

Haricot Bean & Tomato Stew with Greek Yoghurt, Beetroot & Carrot Salad with Pine Nuts, Smoked Mackerel, Avocado & Sauerkraut. A scattering of chives from the garden.

Join me, in conversation with Francoise Auvray, at the upcoming Springfield Summer festival at Springfield Park, Hackney, on Sunday 22 August. We will be doing a live cooking demonstration of simple, healthy dishes using Barley, Vegetables and Herbs, and talking about a few principles of wholefood cooking. Francoise and I did a practice run in her kitchen, and shown here is a taste of what will be on offer. More details to follow!