Jamie & His Bacon

I watched Jamie Oliver's programme on pig farming on TV last night. Although he drives me round the twist with his 'mockney geezer' routine I appreciate what he's trying to do.

The vast majority of people in the UK probably have no idea of the realities of meat & dairy farming and the effect many of their common practises have on the farming industry, the environment, animal welfare and on the health of those consuming animal products. My reaction to learning about this issue was to become vegetarian and later vegan as I don't see any way of being able to feel sure that the animal products available in the shops are ethically produced and safe to eat. I also just love eating vegetarian and vegan food.

Maybe veganism isn't for everyone though & I respect Jamie Oliver's approach too. If people do want to eat meat and dairy products at the very least they ought to be able to make informed choices, to know where their meat/dairy products have come from, how the farm animals were cared for and/or slaughtered and that the produce is safe to eat.

Right. I'm off my soapbox now.

A Little Light Refreshment

There's nothing like a cuppa & a slice of cake to pep you up on a dreary friday afternoon. I found this great vegan vanilla & raspberry spong cake in my lovely, local independent health food shop Bumblebee:

http://www.earthnaturalfoods.co.uk/default.htm

It was made by the equally lovely people at Manna, a veggie & vegan restaurant in Primrose Hill:

http://mannav.com/

Both worth checking out if you're ever in the area.

A Trip Down Memory Lane

I was walking down Oxford Street today & noticed that a certain bookshop there has closed due to the Tottenham Court road refurbishments. The frontage had been pulled away revealing the old Dillons sign from before the company was taken over. I used to work for this company and have very fond memories of times spent and friends made there. When companies are taken over it can sometimes feel like an almost Stalinist erasure of the past takes place so I couldn't help smiling to myself to see that old blue logo asserting itself again after all these years.

Wonderful Libraries!

I'm a bit of a Patrick Hamilton groupie. It's funny how his writing sems to go in and out of fashion over the years and consequently in and out of print. Although a few of his novels have been republished in recent years his first novel, 'Monday Morning' seems to have been forgotten somehow. Not holding out much hope I thought I'd try to get hold of a library copy and amazingly my fabulous & tiny local library has managed to track down an original 1925 edition for me from their fictions stores. The poor, precious thing had been locked up in a stack somewhere for years just sitting and going mouldy. Apparently London libraries have a huge range of 'out of print' fiction in stores which has been divided up between their branches alphabetically by author. The librarian there shares my love of Patrick Hamilton & 30s writing in general and we both got a bit overexcited by this find.

My Reading

I've been making the most of my local library in the last few months & trying to read a few more things that I wouldn't normally pick up.

I decided to have a go at Clarissa Dixon Wright's autobiography. On the surface she shouldn't be my cup of tea & I'm certainly not her's (she doesn't have much time for vegetarians, feminism or socialism) but I've actually really enjoyed reading her story. She's very upfront about her failings (a lifelong battle with alcoholism) but unrepentant about who she is & what she stands for and I like & respect her for that.

Much more my usual thing is Katie Roiphe's 'Uncommon Arrangements'. Working in Bloomsbury for eleven years certainly gives you an appetite for learning more about literary London and I've become especially keen on writing from the early part of the twentieth century. This book is fascinating! It reminds me a lot of Virginia Nicholson's 'Among the Bohemians' which I loved. If you like this period I really recommend both books.

Beautiful Moomins

Aren't they fantastic! I was given these by a Finnish friend of Paul's Mum. Thank you, thank you! They're so lovely I can't decide where to put them to give them pride of place.

Pumpkin Ziti

Here's the first thing I made with the cashew ricotta. A lovely baked pasta dish that was supposed to feed 6-8 but is due to disappear much faster than that. Eating ziti makes me feel like I'm in 'The Sopranos'. It's hard to imagine that parmesan could beat the toasted breadcrumb, walnut & sage topping. Today I'm thinking that being vegan is just great!

Cashew Ricotta

When I mentioned eating ricotta made with cashew nuts in a vegan cafe in Camden a few weeks back several lovely friends sent me recipes so I could try making it myself. It's easy to become weary of fake dairy cheese. The manufactured ones are pretty hit and miss & are sometimes full of strange ingredients so it seems like a good idea to try to make some of my own. I'm happy to report that this one is just great! It's made from just a few ingredients: cashews, tofu, olive oil, lemon juice, salt & basil but really has that lovely, creamy consistency & taste of ricotta. Can't wait to get cooking with it.

Winter Apple Loaf

This is my new favourite bread. The recipe is courtesy of Dan Lepard's column in the Guardian. It had onion, apple & lots of toasted pumpkin & sesame seeds. Makes a great veggie bacon sandwich.

A Trip to St James Park

We had a trip up to Newcastle after Christmas to watch the Toon. We won't dwell on the fact that Liverpool beat them 5-1. Doesn't seem to have put Dad off his pie.

Boxing Day Walk

Had a lovely walk through the woods near Welburn on Boxing Day. We got to warm our cockles with sloe gin afterwards that my cousin very kindly gave us.

How to Kill Your Husband

One of Mum's friends got her a Kathy Lette book with this title for Christmas. Haven't seen her so tickled in ages ; )

A Flurry of Babies

One of the nice things about being in Malton for Christmas this year is being able to catch up with old friends and finally meet the babies who's births I missed while we were travelling. This happened in the pub you understand. Well, it is Christmas!

Au Revoir & Good Luck

Typical isn't it. I just get back to the UK get to see my lovely friends again & then they decide to move to Israel on me. Hmmph! Only joking Max.

Had lots of fun at Max's leaving do & not only got to say goodbye to him but also to say hello again to some lovely friends & ex-colleagues that I haven't seen properly since we got back from the trip.

Here's wishing you lots of luck & happiness in your new home Max. xx