‘Make it short & snappy’
A quick burst of appreciation for our summer – however long it may last – and the wealth of produce we have available to us to create utterly delicious fresh and nutritious salads, smoothies, juices and desserts. Sunshine, lunch and Borough Market talks inspired.
‘Just the facts please’
- Borough Market Talks
- Website: http://boroughmarket.org.uk/boroughtalks
- Twitter: @BoroughMarket
- When: Last Tuesday of the month
- Cost: £15 – including food from stallholders and drinks
- Veg Hut (example of a great greengrocers)
- Address: 2B Chingford Rd, Walthamstow, London E17 4PJ
- Number: 020 8527 5030
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VeghutE17
- Twitter: @veghute17
- Kay’s Essex Road Recipes (example of utilising your local shops – great recipes)
- Website: https://essexroadrecipes.wordpress.com/about/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/essexroadrecipes
- Quick plug for my cousin’s farm box scheme in Finland (sorry it’s in Finnish, but the photos are gorgeous and we can provide a translation if you’re interested!)
- Website: http://www.raakatori.fi/
- Twitter: @raakatori
- Instagram: raakator1
‘I’ve got a cup of tea, tell me all about it…’
A cup of fresh iced mint tea…
Inspired by my first Borough Market talk yesterday (more on that soon), and the absolutely record breaking day we’re having today – over 36ºC did you say? I realised that when the sun is beaming out overhead and giving us this glorious summer weather it’s the greatest time to make us truly aware of the magnificent produce around us.
BBQs, picnics, alfresco dining all centre around the basic produce out there. We’re far less inclined to stick a ready meal lasagne in the microwave, we don’t want to slave over a hot stove. We want quick, we want fresh, we want light and zingy. We want dripping juicy ripe fruit, long sticks of romaine lettuce, smooth avocado, squirts of lime and lemon, ripped up bunches of basil, parsley, mint and coriander. We want to be out there in nature soaking it all up.
It’s a great time to get out there seeing the markets, talking to stall owners and getting to know your greengrocer better. Produce out on display, free of plastic packaging, able to be picked up and smelled, felt and desired.
I’ll make this quick as I too want to be out in the fleeting summer sensation. I just wanted to rejoice in the rich wealth of fruit, veg and other produce we can access at our fingertips from everywhere from Antigua to Zanzibar.
Go out and enjoy. Enjoy the sun whilst it’s here – enjoy meeting new people in the park, go on and offer them a strawberry… it’s scientifically tested that eating strawberries in the sun in the park they taste sweeter and juicier than on a miserable morning in the train station. More on that another time.
