A headless chicken...

Last years tulips were amazing.  

The first tulip is out in the garden.  I was almost too busy to notice it. I've been writing up recipes, teaching courses, keeping the children entertained whilst they have been on holiday, rearranging the laundry, walking the dogs, swimming, cleaning, washing, tidying, school run, gardening, cleaning the chickens out, talking to builders and occasionally sleeping.

The truth is that I've been running about like a headless chicken for what seems like weeks. Trust me, I know what a headless chicken looks like because I once blew the head off a chicken and it carried on running.   Now before you judge me, let me explain. I was 10 years old, and my mother gave me such a hiding when she was told of what I had done that I didn't sit comfortably for some time afterwards. IN my defence it was a greedy French chicken and I really honestly didn't think that the chicken was going to run and grab the lit petard ( french bangers,) and run like hell  I had simply thought that I would give the hens a fright, but that beady eyed chicken ran fixed on the banger, head forward, leaping through the air, and made a Tom Cruise like stunt grab for the mini dynamite stick. It was a triumphant last few seconds as it had out witted all the other hens who followed in hot pursuit. They clearly thought they'd missed a tasty morsel. It was victoriously halfway across the pen when the explosion happened.  All the other hens stopped dead in their tracks wide eyed and petrified, but not the one with the banger.  No that one kept on running not even missing it;s stride, despite having no head left whatsoever, it ran around the pen bumping into the fence and the walls for what seemed like an eternity.  It was probably two minutes as my brother and I watched wide eyed at a scene. It was however time enough for the never pausing for breath Madame Befera and the owner of the chickens Daniel's mother to catch us redhanded. Oh I remember well that feeling when you are in so much trouble.

Apparently it took over a week before any of the hens laid an egg, which was about how long it took me to sit comfortably again. 

So here I am sitting at my desk feeling cross that I haven't written my blog up for days but I do promise that next week I will write up all about a new vegetarian recipe book that I have found called The Green Kitchen, and about the trip to Claybrooke Mill and the trip to Bath as well as the tour of Bugbrooke Mill in Northampton. so you see I have just been so busy, too busy to write. 

In the meantime bear with me because teaching twice a week is taking a day to prepare for each class and a day of admin.  It't not leaving me much time for anything else.  But it is fun and I love it. 

Is flexitarianism the answer or a just cop out?

So you are going to eat me because I taste good?... or not because I have gas? 

I am struggling with a decision.  That is quite an admission from me the most decisive person in the world… most of the time.   I am wondering about becoming a vegetarian?

There are many reasons that go back a long way, but I’ll start with my trip to Bath over the bank holiday.  I had a crazy few days teaching a course, getting my three young children ready to go to their grandmothers for the weekend and then getting the house ready to leave.  You know leaving for a long weekend is as much work as leaving for a month, but my husband and I haven’t had a weekend away or even a day away together for over two years .. so a romantic break was so very welcome. 

I initially thought my backache was just an over doing it thing and tried to ignore it.  We were heading along south on the motorway making good time to Somerset when suddenly the pain ramped up.  I made my husband to stop and the service station and with in minutes I was lying on the service station floor quite literally out of my mind in terror and the most murderous pain imaginable. 

I’m not sure how long the ambulance took to come, but I was beside myself.  I spent the next 6 or so hours in Swindon A & E. There is some black humour in pain and terror. I can laugh about it now, but I was literally screaming in agony,  and my language was blue … although I did manage to tell the paramedic that he was the best looking ambulance driver I’d ever seen.  Gas and air and co-codamol were my only pain relief.  I passed out with the sheer pain several times. I wanted to die. 

Then in the early hours almost as suddenly as it started, it stopped.  It turns out that I had a kidney stone.  I might add here that firstly it would have been nice to know that I wasn’t going to die a few hours earlier and I am certain that the staff had a good idea what was wrong because they were pretty laid back and relaxed about my utter and absolute agony.  I also feel very angry that as junior doctor discharged me he shrugged his shoulders and wondered out loud why I hadn’t been given anything more for the pain. Now I want to know why for hours I was not alleviated. It seems unbelievable that people could listen to my pleas and despair and ignore me.  Is there any point is even asking when most hospitals are don’t seem to be held accountable for  wicked neglect and outright cruelty of the elderly and weak in recent news?   

I digress.

We left the hospital about 4am went straight to the nearest a travel lodge.  We decided the next morning to go on with our romantic weekend away.  We were both physically and emotionally shattered, but we had reservations at the Ethicurean.  I looked up kidney stones along the way and one of the main recommendations was to drink lots more water and to reduce meat, fish and salt.  Oh and chocolate.

We had a delicious and relaxed lunch at The Ethicurean, which I am going to save to write another post about because it was lovely, but I chatted with my meat-loving husband during lunch about the possibly becoming vegetarian.  The pain still fresh in my mind the idea of having more kidney stones was (and still is) terrifying, but my husband was not keen on the idea of vegetarianism  …  at all. In fact he was really very plain speaking and it was not a romantic answer!

Despite my carnivorous husbands point of view, it is not just about health. It is also that as a Buddhist I have been struggling with the morality of eating meat.  Yet this is not straightforward either as there are opposing views within Buddhism as to whether vegetarianism is actually a requirement. Some schools of Buddhism reject such a requirement outright. The first precept in Buddhism is usually translated as "I undertake the precept to refrain from taking life". Some Buddhists see this as implying that Buddhists should not eat meat, whereas others argue that this is not the case. Some Buddhists strongly oppose meat eating on the basis of scriptural injunctions against flesh-eating in Mahayana sutras.

However it seems from what I have read that Buddha accepted any food offered with respect as alms, including meat yet there is no reference of him eating meat during his seven years as an ascetic. Nowadays various writings have been interpreted as allowing the consumption of meat as long as it is not specifically slaughtered for the recipient. It is the one area I struggle with, and although I  have pretty much given up alcohol, a burger or a bacon sandwich is a real temptation for me.  

My ten-year-old daughter was vegetarian for six months and gave up at my insistence when she became listless and grey, despite my being very careful to make sure she was getting enough nutrients and protein.  She hates the idea of eating animals and gets really upset at eating creatures that have feelings and personalities and I can’t say I feel much differently …. until right at that moment when I am presented with a delicious meal.  The carnivore in me argues that the animal is already dead, and it would be disrespectful to the animal that has been sacrificed to waste the food.  

 I believe really strongly in supporting our British farmers 

One of my strongest principles, especially being brought up on a farm, is believing with all my heart in supporting our British farmers and ensuring the welfare of animals.

On the other hand I am an environmentalist and lover of Fairtrade food so it doesn’t take much research to find out that livestock farming is responsible for almost 20% of all greenhouse gas emissions, and that nitrous oxide is almost 300 times as damaging to the climate as carbon dioxide and 65% of the total quantity produced by human activity comes from livestock, mostly their manure, and thats before we look at methane which has 25 times the global warming impact of carbon dioxide and a single cow can produce 500 litres of methane a day.  Globally cows and sheep are responsible for 37% of the total methane generated by human activity.  Oh and carbon dioxide is emitted when forests are cleared for grazing or for growing grain to feed animals. Fossil fuels are then used to transport animals and to power the production of their feed further polluting our air. 

I did consider becoming a pescatairian but that doesn’t seem to be the answer either with 300,000 whales, dolphins and porpoises killed every year as ‘by-catch’ of the fishing industries and 19% of major commercial marine fish stocks monitored by the FAO overexploited, 8% are depleted and 1% ranked as recovering from depletion it is not an environmentally safe option either. 

The over-fishing, by-catch, climate change, invasive species and coastal development have resulted in a decline in the number of marine species, such as sharks, seabirds and turtles too.  So back as square one as an environmentalist I came to the conclusion that becoming vegetarian is the answer until I read another report in The Telegraph that suggests that here is strong evidence that a major increase in vegetarianism could threaten British farming causing meat production to move overseas where there may be less legal protection of forests and uncultivated land. According to a study by Cranfield University, commissioned by WWF, the environmental group.  They found that a substantial number of meat substitutes – such as chickpeas, soy, and lentils are actually more harmful to the environment overall because they were imported into Britain from overseas. The study says "A switch from beef and milk to highly refined livestock product analogues such as tofu could actually increase the quantity of arable land needed to supply the UK."  I’ve been reading in another article that this showed that the amount of foreign land required producing the substitute products – and the potential destruction of forests to make way for farmland – outweighed the negatives of rearing beef and lamb in the UK.

I have come  to the conclusion that the solution must lie somewhere in between the two.  Flexitarianism is a semi vegetarian diet. Perhaps just eating the occasional local well cared for meat from my local butcher and seasonal sustainable fish is the answer?

But I am wondering is flexitarianism really the answer or a just cop out?  

Rococo Pop Up

Chantal Coady Celebrating 30 Years of Rococo Chocolates

Any minute now the children are going to come charging through the door starving hungry and demanding supper.  I've only a few minutes to post today as life's really hectic, and I am prepping for an Eat Well for Less class tomorrow.

It seems that I am trying to fit two pints into a pint jar. The problem is that I am succeeding, and so truthfully I have even been too busy to catch up with my friends or even to phone some of them back.  So I was really disappointed when an invitation came from Chantal Coady to a pop up shop celebrating 30 years of Rococo Chocolates last week and I was too busy running classes here to be able to go.

Luckily Chantal mentioned that I could catch up with her yesterday on the last day before her pop up  is dismantled, and the Marylebone High Street shop moves to opposite La Fromagerie and the Ginger Pig on Moxon Street. I took off from Northampton train station in the snow to London with my daughter Isobel, for a really indulgent foodie day out.

I really shouldn't wear my Uggs when it is wet outside, because I arrived with wet toes at the shop just before midday, but I soon forgot about my cold feet as the exhibition was full of humour and art and I was given a glass of Champagne.  I met Chantal's family, and her beautiful mother Sybil who had taken many of the photos.  It was easy to see where Chantal gets her warmth and artistic flair from.

I loved reading all the bits giving glimpses into the past.  My favourite thing was Chantal's exercise book with a chocolate egg drawn on it.  It seems she set out as a determined young woman who has gone on to change the world of chocolate forever pretty early on in life. The thing that I love most about Chantal is her core belief in fairness. Rococo has a joint venture with the Grenada Chocolate Company, a small, solar-powered tree-to-bar maker and I met the farmers on the Grococo plantation last month.  Seeing how this belief actually translates into the lives of real people I have to say that the word amazing doesn't even begin to cover it  .. but that is another blog post ...

I was looking around the exhibition both smiling and marvelling as Isobel was chattering away to anyone who would listen to her.  I really felt that a pop up exibition caught some of the past three decades.  It was art and personal snippets mixed in with memories from  the business celebrating achievement.

From what I can see Chantal's vision has not only been realised, but it is now being mimicked all over the chocolate industry but when I mention the explosion in ethical chocolate far from being threatened by copycats there is a pride in Chantal's eyes. She talks about the amazing chocolate revolution going on and how people have realised the power of social change through food.  Just this afternoon I heard that the latest creation, a passion fruit dark chocolate pod with a whisper of rosemary has won gold in the chocolate academy awards.  Trust me it was exquisite. ( You can listen below to my reaction when I ate one!)

I spent the rest of the afternoon with my youngest daughter talking about food, people and life.  We bought some sausages from The Ginger Pig opposite, and had a really fabulous lunch at La Fromagerie.

As the young waitress bought over our food I spotted a really beautiful tattoo on her arm, she told me that it is the chinese symbol for impermanence. It seemed so appropriate. There is such celebration to be had from impermanence. Nothing ever staying the same. On the one hand impremanence grabs my throat and i have to swallow emotions knowing my children are growing up, and I am growing older.  On the other hand it is a sign of great power and joy in the world.  If nothing ever stays the same then things can be improved and made fairer in the world. It is this impermanence that has given Chantal, her family and the whole Rococo team the belief that things can improve not just for themselves, but for the farmers who grow the beans, year on year  ..  changing the world one delicious bite at a time.

 Oh .. I can hear the children, they are home ...   time to cook those Ginger Pig sausages.

listen to ‘30 years of Rococo Chocolate ’ on Audioboo

Lulu Sturdy of Ndali Vanilla

Today is international Women's Day.

I have written a piece about a woman who has inspired me .. but I want to sleep on it before I post.  So if you can bear with me for a day  I will tell you all about the most incredible person who founded the Ndali Vanilla cooperative.

I've seen Lulu's amazing ability to empower the people around her to change their lives. 

Wednesday 13th March 2012 

Oh It's been full on for a few days now. It has taken me a a while to get back to my computer. 

Yesterday I was making banana muffins and chatting to the people on the sourdough course about the importance of buying fairtrade bananas whilst showing them how to use the new Fairtrade Ndali vanilla powder.

I went to bed late and dreamed of smoke mingling with the heady smell of vanilla and I can hear the voices of the Ugandan farmers and their children laughing.  Now I am awake.

Right now it’s 5 am.  I can’t go back to sleep despite my eyeballs hurting. I am so tired but I can never sleep well until I have done what I set out to do.  It has always been this way.  At times I have considered it a dammed curse, and you would think that I would stop setting myself things that I must do, but it doesn’t work like that.  A task will set itself in my mind and I must finish it, and I set to telling a story on international woman’s day about a person who has changed not just my life, but hundreds of lives.  She is one of the most extraordinary people I have ever met. It is now five days later and I must finish writing about Lulu Sturdy of NdaliVanilla or my words will stay in my head and stop me from sleeping.

I was writing the Vanilla chapter two years ago for my recipe book Prepped when I contacted Lulu and I asked if she might send me a bundle of Vanilla to use for the recipes and I would send back the photographs in return.   The vanilla that arrived was exquisite. Dark plump sweet and rich, this wasn’t like any kind of vanilla I’d seem before.  It is the most intense vanilla I had ever had with complex notes of liquorish, caramel and a whisper of smokiness.

I was thrilled that she sent such a lovely bundle. I had changed direction and returned to food as a career, with three young children and started at the bottom of the heap again. I‘d been remindedthat I was an unknown in no uncertain terms and a kindness to someone setting out on a journey is never forgotten.

Green Vanilla Beans are a cash crop. 

Over time I discovered that Lulu had turned to vanilla as a product that grew well on the rich loamy soil of the plantation she inherited unexpectedly in her late twenties. I mentioned if I could ever help with anything to ask.  Then in May last year Lulu asked for some advice on social media and invited me to visit her in Uganda when the vanilla was being harvested. I’m not sure that many husbands who come home from work at night and sit down for supper expect to be asked if he can stay at home and look after the three little ones whilst the wife flies off to West Uganda to harvest vanilla, but I am married to a man who is happy for me to be who I am.  Luckily I married a man who understands me and so in June I found myself on my way to Uganda.

I was so nervous about getting on a plane to going on my own.  I had very little confidence travelling alone.  I’m not sure where I left if but somewhere between getting married and having children I had simply lost me.  But from the moment I landed it was as though I could feel another heartbeat.  Uganda is alive.  I’ve heard others tell of this feeling in Africa.

The thing that stuck me the most when I first saw Lulu was that she has the most intense blue eyes. I knew she had had a huge challenge as a young furniture maker finding herself with such an inheritance, but she calls is Serendipity, and to keep the estate she started the Ndali Fairtrade Vanilla Company.  Easy words to read but I hadn’t really processed what starting to grow vanilla from scratch in Uganda actually involved, let alone managing to get it back to the UK and for wale in the supermarkets.  I found out just what an amazing person she as I spent the next week with Lulu meeting the farmers finding out more about the processing.

It was in that week that I got to understand how our momentary decisions affect the lives of others, and I saw how farmers not only become custodians of the land they farm through sustainable practices, but I also the reality of peoples lives being changed though being paid a fair price.   It is Lulu, who has facilitated this.  It is the actions of Lulu that has literally empowered the people.

You see in the UK most business men and women have first and foremost a commercial aspect to them. But somehow Ndali is much more than this.  It is not a cold-hearted capitalist business.  Yes Ndali buys fairtrade vanilla and processes it, but Ndali is a family.  Lulu runs the business like a mother.  She nurturing, loving and fair and she has an instinct, not to do things for people, but to facilitate them and so enabling them to be doing the best for themselves. She is strict sometimes and seriously fun other times.   The commercial aspect of actually selling these beautiful pods is simply what enables Lulu to do this. Things have not always been straightforward for Lulu.  Many of the challenges that she has faced over the past 12 years would have sent most people scurrying back to the safely of the UK, but Lulu is an extraordinary person. It’s difficult to describe Lulu’s attitude to life in words but she has an understanding and acceptance of herself and the world that seems to give her a quiet strength, far beyond anyone else’s that I have ever met.

When the new machine to grind the very best Vanilla pods into fine crystals arrived everyone was really excited.  You see there was more than one reason to celebrate this machine.  The powder is a new process …  but more than that one of the reasons that the vanilla is so exquisite is that the farmers now have the confidence to leave the pods to take longer to ripen, through being part of the cooperative.  Before the cooperative the famers cash crop of vanilla was an easy target for gangs to rob, and so they would harvest the barely ripe vanilla early  to secure their crop.

Now the Vanillin crystals literally explode out of the pod, and so Lulu invented the Ndali Vanilla powder, which uses the whole of the pod.  She started off grinding them using a coffee grinder in her kitchen to produce what can only be described as the champagne and truffle equivalent of vanilla. It’s now available in Waitrose priced at £5:99.  One tsp is the equivalent on one pod.  Which brings me back to my muffins.

It’s easy to forget that we all have the ability to make a difference in the world. Life can take over and it’s easy to loose what is essentially a really child like belief that things should be fair in life.  But what I really love in the end is that now I am home again Lulu carries on empowering people, because by using her vanilla this empowers me to change the world every time I bake a cake too, and I am part of the movement to change the world one bite at a time.

Ndali Vanilla Powder is available at Waitrose.