Friday 6 February 2009

Sustainable Eating Challenge Part III

OK, so far it has been a bit of a roller coaster ride. The first day I was pretty ecstatic trying out new recipes, such as the spelt pancake with apple and honey, but when it came to trying out the split peas which I had in a stew in the evening things starting looking a bit bleak. The thought of only being able to eat split peas for a month is something I hope none of you have to consider!

However, things quickly started looking up again when my unleavened bread and my biscuits came out of the oven - I could do this thing! A day or so later things again were not looking good, the excitement of pancakes and biscuits had past and the reality of not being able to eat chocolate for the next few weeks had hit - the North of England sadly isn't known for its cocoa plantations!

Again though, things picked back up - I discovered an unlikely comfort food: mashed potatoes (and other vegetabls) with fried eggs. Quick to make and tasty, it makes all things well again! Added to this is the discovery that maple peas are actually really nice and that they go well with butter, barley and vegetables. My liking of apples has also increased, and today I found some British pears which will make a positive addition to the diet.

I also decided to get some yogurt today. I don't normally have much dairy, but as my diet is quite constricted I thought this would help give me more variety.

It has also been the case that I have had to buy more non-organic food than normal - it would seem that often organic food is imported whereas its non-organic counterpart is more easily available from this country.

NEWS JUST IN: While I have been writing this blog my carrot and honey cake has finished cooking and it has turned out beautifully. The need for chocolate has been staved off for another day! I can make this, one day at a time!

(Part I and Part II are here)

8 comments:

  1. Yes, you can! (:P sorry, couldn't help it, hihi) but I mean it. you'll rock this challenge and discover some interesting recipes along the way! and who knows what other things? enjoy your cake! (I can't believe carrot cakes actually exist! I guess all you have to do is make one and there it is!)

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  2. Hahaha! :)

    Well, I am certainly discovering new recipes, that much is true. As to the other we will see!

    Have you never heard of carrot cake? Wow! If you want I can give you the rough recipe of mine (although it is different to normal ones and I don't tend to bother weighing ingredients!)

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  3. I sure heard of carrot cakes, but only in jokes! :P Thanks, I'd like the recipe! (when you'll have time)

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  4. Really? tell me a joke about carrot cakes then!

    OK, this is the recipe (I have adjusted it for your location). Please note: amounts of ingredients are just estimates!

    1. Heat oven to 200'C
    2. Grease a baking tray
    3. Put a large chunk of French butter in a bowl, cut up.
    4. Add a few large dollops of French honey
    5. Add a pinch of salt
    6. Add some boiled water to make the above ingredients melt and so it becomes a liquid
    7. Add a French egg and mix it in
    8. Grate a couple or so French carrots and throw them in
    9. Tip a load of French oats in and give it a good mix
    10. Pour some French spelt flour in and mix it up (if you can't get spelt use ordinary French wholemeal flour)
    11. Either add more of the above two or add more water so that it isn't too liquid or dry
    12. Pour it into the baking tin, spread it out and whack it in the oven
    13. Take it out when cooked (Note: an easy step, but a crucial one!)

    Enjoy!

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  5. LOL! Thanks! The joke might not be as funny as the recipe with all French ingredients, but this is how it goes (I tried to translate it from Hungarian):

    A little rabbit went to the pharmacy and said:
    - Good morning, do you have a carrot cake?
    - But this is a pharmacy, little rabbit, we don't sell carrot cakes! - answered the pharmacist ladies.
    - No carrot cake? - asked the little rabbit with a sad face.
    - We're sorry, but no.
    The next day the bunny tried again:
    - Good morning, do you have carrot cakes?
    - Little rabbit, we told you yesterday, we don't sell carrot cakes!
    - Oh, that's too bad. - and he made a very sad face again.
    The pharmacist ladies felt very sorry for the little rabbit, so they decided to surprise him the next day. When he arrived they offered him a carrot cake they had baked for him. Then the little rabbit looked at the cake with wide innocent eyes and said:


    - Carrot cake? Eeeeeeewwwwwwwww!!!

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  6. Thank you,

    ummmm...

    don't trust rabbits?

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  7. This is great! You are inspiring me to give it a try. I live in a REALLY REALLY small town, and a restaurant has just opened that serves the food they grow on their local farm! I think it is great. I would certainly like to try this...I might wait until I can get my garden going this spring ;o) that might make me a cheater though....

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  8. That is great having a resturant like that - I haven't been able to eat out coz I don't know places like that here. I might be able to get chips and mushy peas from the local chip shop as there is a fair chance they will be from the UK but that is about it!

    Having your own garden is far from cheating, in fact you get bonus points if you get your food from your own back yard! I wish I'd had that chance with my diet - and I could have grown herbs to flavour things more too.

    I wish you all the best if you do have a go, and I'd be very interested to hear how you get on

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