Food Deserts 2

The question of how to feed cities may be one of the biggest contemporary questions, yet it's never asked: we take for granted that if we walk into a store or a restaurant, food will be there, magically coming from somewhere. Yet, think of it this way: just in London, every single day, 30 million meals must be provided. Without a reliable food supply, even the most modern city would collapse

Food Deserts 1

It may not be obvious but it is quite possible for people living in the heart of a modern, first world city, to be at risk nutritionally. The chief executive of the supermarkets' own research organisation acknowledges that old and poor people will have serious problems over where to buy food because of the growth of superstores and the lack of town centre stores.  For those who do not have their

Benefits from a Recession

They say it's an ill wind that blows nobody any good. The EU has reported the recent recession saw greenhouse gas emissions drop by a record 7.2 percent; however, how low they'll stay as the EU recovers is another matter.Conspicuous consumption and obscene wastage have slowed dramatically in the face of the recession. Experts believe that a number of factors have contributed to this remarkable

Glastonbury Mud Miracle

Just returned from Glastonbury Festival and it was another muddy one. Over 200,000 people traipsing over soggy ground creates a very sticky morass. Anyway, while seeking some late night sustenance my foot actually stuck fast and I tipped forward, putting my hand down to the ground to steady myself. Up it came, covered in brown gloop. To clean it off (hand wash facilities are quite sparse) I

Glastonbury Food Games

There is so much that I enjoy about Glastonbury and the food that is available is a big part of the whole experience.  Hundreds of different stalls, all reasonably priced and as big a variety as you would find anywhere in Britain. The only problem is the number of meals & snacks that you can fit in.This year you can get a copy of the first 'climate-friendly' organic food guide to the event. It

Fancy Dress For Food

Imagine that you are going to a fancy dress party and want to disguise yourself as something (even more?) exotic and interesting. You might raid your wardrobe and add a few specially bought props, or you might go the whole hog and hire a costume. So why not do the same with your leftovers. This works for both kids and adults.
As with all good parties, you need a theme. Taking cues from

The Water Footprint

Food for thought as the drought starts to bite. How much water has gone into the food that we waste?

People use lots of water for drinking, cooking and washing, but even more for producing things such as food, paper, cotton clothes, etc. The water footprint is an indicator of water use that looks at both direct and indirect water use of a consumer or producer. The water footprint of an

Cash for votes

£££’s means votesChoosing to support farms that look after the environment and the animals they raise in an ethical manner, is a very positive way to vote with your cash. Animal agriculture produces surprisingly large amounts of air and water pollution, and causes 80 percent of the world’s annual deforestation. It also requires large amounts of water, and livestock worldwide consumes half the

Sainsburys Feed a Family for £50

I have to say that this is actually a brilliant concept. Even if you do not follow the exact plan there are many benefits to be had, especially if are not comfortable with meal planning, portion control and budgeting. The meals are nutritionally balanced and include your five a day fruit and veg. On top of all that, to stick to the £50, you can’t afford to waste any food.There are a few caveats

Oxfam Warns Of Food Crisis

The average price of staple foods will more than double in the next 20 years, leading to an unprecedented reversal in human development, Oxfam has warned.

The world's poorest people, who spend up to 80% of their income of food, will be hit hardest according to the charity. It said the world is entering an era of permanent food crisis, which is likely to be accompanied by political unrest and

Is it time for a Nouvelle Cuisine revival?

Britain's restaurants throw away more than 600,000 tons of food each year, or 22 tons per eatery, which means that half a kilo of food is wasted every time someone eats out, according to the first detailed waste snapshot of the sector. Nearly one-third of all wasted food comes back from customers' plates, suggesting that British restaurateurs are following the lead set by their American

Boris Misses The Point

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has launched a major initiative to convert London's food waste into eco-fuel to cut landfill rates and carbon emissions.Every year, London produces  nearly three million tonnes of organic waste, mainly from food. Nearly two thirds of this waste is currently burnt in incinerators or buried in landfill, which produces potent climate change gases. £31million has

Morph My Food

Five students from Imperial are taking part in a competition, called ‘Thought For Food’, against 9 other leading European universities. The aim of the challenge, set up by Syngenta, is to find innovative ways to help feed the world’s predicted 9 billion people by 2050. Each team must create a project that can be implemented at a local level.
The team was selected from multiple disciplines from

Ratatouille

This classic French dish is ideal for using up vegetable leftovers. It is a simple vegetarian stew but one of those dishes that fills the kitchen with aromas that will have diners chomping at the bit.The classic recipe includes onion, tomatoes, courgettes, aubergines and peppers with garlic, olive oil and herbs. The vegetables should not be cooked so long or chopped so small that they lose their

Eat Breakfast Like a King

Each year we waste 183,000 tonnes of cooked starchy foods (rice, pasta & potatoes) – suggesting that we cook too much.Out of all the food we waste 43.45% is left over on our plates.With all this surplus of food it is not surprising that the country has an obesity epidemic. We no longer eat what we require, we eat to capacity and then some.Ironically it is often our busy lifestyles and skipping

Asparagus Tips

The British asparagus season which only lasts 8 weeks is well underway. Delicious, nutritious and healthy, what is there not to like?The first tip is how to avoid the woody ends without loosing any of the delicious stems. Simply bend the asparagus close to the cut end and it will snap at the point where the stem starts to go stringy. You can now cook the vegetable knowing that everything that

A Magic Ingredient – Smoked Paprika

Tonight saw the last of the weekends butterflied leg of lamb disappear.On Sunday it was served with creamy mashed potato, which I deliberately made twice the quantity of.Yesterday we had slices of the lamb with potato cakes. Mix the mashed potato with a beaten egg and some plain flour, shape into disks about 2cm thick and then gently fry. For a slight difference I added some chopped Rosemary

Freezer R.I.P. - Help!!!

Not technically a cooking disaster but potentially a huge waste of food - What can you do if your freezer fails?Don't Panic!
Keep the door/lid of the freezer shut.
Check that it is switched on at the mains.
Replace the fuse.
Check with friends and neighbours to see if they can store your frozen food.
Call an engineer - if the engineer is likely to be prompt keep the freezer door closed.

Food waste is a good thing…..

….if you are a Seagull.
Not that is such a thing as a “seagull”, because they are found inland just as much as the sea. Essentially, gulls are water birds, primarily pale in plumage, with a sharp, multi-purpose bill and webbed feet. They fly supremely well, and can swim and walk capably, making them ideal all-rounders.

The Gull population has been linked to man’s activities for centuries. Up

Is Organic Sustainable?

Everyone has heard of Organic produce as a healthy option but are there any benefits when it comes to sustainability?The Soil Association has probably the highest and most comprehensive standards for organic production and processing in the world. Organic farming recognises the direct connection between our health and the food we eat. As well as animal welfare issues and a ban on GM organisms

A Surplus of Poppadoms

Having had fun making the video showing how to make poppadom baskets I was left with a surplus of the things, especially as I already had the evening meal (boiled ham) planned.Luckily there were a few family over for the meal and some of the poppadoms went out as nibbles.This still left a few over for this evening.I often do a chicken and ham pie on a Monday. If we had chicken the day before I

Springwatch 2011 Update

The spring onion roots are coming on strong. They should be ready to harvest again in about six weeks. Here is the original post ‘Springwatch 2011.’Next to them are the last two of the original batch of spring onions, still happily growing on the windowsill. That is 6 WEEKS sine I bought them. OK, so I have kept them going just to make a point and have bought more in the meantime.


Microwaved Poppadom Baskets

Watch the video to see how quick and easy it is to make Poppadom baskets.


These baskets are ideal for filling with leftovers to turn them into an appetising snack.

Mix some curry paste with mayonnaise and add some shredded meat like chicken, pork or lamb.

Shred some lettuce, onion and tomato and place in the bottom of the basket with the mayonnaise mix on top.

Serve with some mango chutney

Killer Bananas

Most fruit naturally produces a gas called “ethylene” which can cause other fruit to ripen. It’s an invisible gas, but the more of it there is, the quicker your fruit will ripen. If some fruit starts producing the gas then other fruit will start producing more of it and so it goes on increasing the amount of ethylene gas until the fruit is over-ripe and needs to be thrown away. Certain fruits

Coating in Breadcrumbs

This is an excellent technique for making food more appealing. You are adding extra colour, texture and flavour and sometimes disguising something that might not look so appealing. The process is relatively simple and the results are well worth the effort.The basic technique requires a bowl of seasoned flour, a bowl of beaten egg and a bowl of dried breadcrumbs. The secret is to keep one hand

Food For Thought

Here is a translation by Leslie Wilson from’ La Hotte du Chiffonnier,’ written by Louis Paulian in 1885. He records how bread was ‘recycled ‘in C19 Paris.
‘Louis Paulian, talking to Parisian chiffonniers (rag-pickers) in the early 1880s, recorded the ways they dealt with bread scraps: "If they’re clean," the chiffonniers told him, "we eat them, and if they’re too dirty, we make the bourgeois eat

Melted Easter Eggs

A scorching Easter, chocolate eggs melting all over the place. What to do?
Rice Krispie Cakes
Dark and Squidgy Chocolate Torte
Chocolate Fondant
Chilli con Chocolate
There are several different ways to melt chocolate but if you want perfect results every time there are a few basic rules which need to be observed:1.    Water and chocolate don’t mix well – make sure any equipment you’re using (

Humble / Umble Pie

Aside from the 60’s British band ‘Humble Pie’ who featured a line up from the Small Faces, The Herd, Spooky Tooth and Apostolic Intervention, the dish has an interesting tale dating back to Norman times."humble pie. Here we have a play upon words which dates back to the time of William the Conqueror. First, the pie referred to in 'eating humble pie' was really umble pie, made from the umbles -

Stone Soup

Stone Soup is a dish with a story behind it that highlights how tasty leftovers can be. It starts with a Monk who makes camp at the side of the road and is so poor that all he can find to make soup with is a stone which he starts to boil. The Monk invites passers by to share his soup but warns them that this being the third time he has used the same stone, it must be getting a little worn out.

Preserved in Aspic

In our modern day society dishes such as faggots and haggis would struggle to become popular if newly introduced. We have become very picky as to what we consider fit to eat. Back in the ‘good old days’ when food was expensive people were less fussy. In Victorian times Aspic jelly was popular, both as a preservative, forming a barrier around certain foods and as a nourishing dish for invalids.

200 Food Decisions

Food is a joy but we are becoming increasingly aware that it is also a privilege. Just because produce is apparently abundant and cheap does not mean that it will always be so, or that our misuse of resources is not having an adverse effect elsewhere in the World. 
As we understand more about the stresses that the human race is putting on the planet, and each other, so ethical eating becomes

The Mussel Myth

If you read any reference to cooking mussels post 1990 it will almost invariably tell you to not to eat mussels that have remained closed after cooking.Prior to the 1970s revered cookery books such as ‘Larousse Gastronomique’ in 1965 and ‘Italian Food’ by Elizabeth David in 1966 made absolutely no mention of discarding unopened mussels. The myth seems to have been started by the English food

Thrifty Wartime Ways to Feed Your Family Today

When war broke out in 1939, the government created the Ministry of Food to help families make the most of wartime rations. Today, in the face of rising food prices, a real obesity problem and ever increasing food miles, The Ministry of Food shows how we can all survive the credit crunch with a bit of wartime wisdom and ingenuity.

Written by bestselling author Jane Fearnley-Whittingstall to

Recycle – the opportunities are endless

Going off the food route but sticking with the need to reduce our impact on the planet there are a number of ways that you can help avoid perfectly good resources ending up as landfill, requiring virgin materials being used to replace them.Freecycle . org  Freecycle groups match people who have things they want to get rid of with people who can use them. Their goal is to keep usable items out

Sharp as Coleman’s Mustard

Jeremiah Colman was once asked to sum up the secret of his success and how he made a fortune out of such a humble thing as mustard. His reply was that he made his money from the mustard that people left on the sides of their plate. Now as a young child I was confused by this and had visions of Mr Coleman going round and scraping the remains off peoples’ plates and reselling it. Ah, bless.Instead

Can I or Can’t I?

In the spirit of ‘eating it all up’ here is a post that focuses on useful items that might otherwise end up in the waste bin. There are parts of plants that are quite edible that we often overlook such as potato skins and broccoli stalks. There are also parts of edible plants that are poisonous.
So, first the bad news, here are some of the poisonous ones:
The leaves of Rhubarb contain oxalic

BBQ Leftovers Recipes

What a weekend for BBQs. So how many of us now have a fridge full of lightly cremated leftovers? I find that this often happens when you invite friends round. Everyone turns up with twice as much as they could possibly manage and you have over catered in the first place.So, what to do with what is left? Sausages – These can be sliced up and used in a sausage casserole or as the basis for a

Rolling Menus

One of the easiest ways to use up leftovers is to plan them in advance. Using a bit of joined up thinking to link your menu for the week. The simplest way to illustrate this is with a roast chicken. Eat fresh out of the oven on day one, use the remaining meat in a pie on day two and boil up the carcase up for soup on day three. You can even go a step farther and crack and roast the bones before

Waste - Tristram Stuart

The world has a 'food problem' - rapidly rising prices, shortages, 100 million people starving, environmental depredation - or it thinks it does. This book shows that farmers, manufacturers, supermarkets and consumers in North America and Europe discard between 30 and 50 per cent of their fresh produce - enough to feed the starving in the world six times over. Additionally, while affluent

Spring Watch 2011

Here is a quick update on the spring onion roots I planted a couple of weeks ago.
After using the onions in salads and sprinkled over stir-fries the root ends were planted in a flowerpot on the kitchen window.
Making sure that they were kept moist, within a few days green shoots started to appear.
Hopefully they will be ready to harvest again in a couple of weeks. Free food!Watch out for the next

BBQ Tips - Leftover Alcohol

In the unlikely event of leftover alcohol (that doesn’t have cigarette butts floating in it) it pays to have a contingency plan up your sleeve.If wine is still fresh then you have a number of options:MarinadesWine can be used to both flavour and tenderise meat. Simply add crushed garlic, olive oil, ground pepper and herbs to red wine for a delicious marinade for red meat. Do not add salt before

Haggis - Not Scottish Shock

Haggis, the Scottish ‘Great chieftain o' the puddin'-race,’ is a classic example of the need to utilize ingredients that has become a legend in its own right. It is made from a sheep’s pluck (the heart, liver and lungs) minced with onion, oatmeal, fat and spices, then boiled using the stomach as a container. This came about from the necessity of cooking the innards quickly after slaughter as

Kitchen Tips - Dry, lumpy or stuck?

Another in an occasional series. Dry marshmallows, lumpy sauces, greasy gravy? Fear not and read on.1.    If a loaf of un-sliced bread or baguette has gone a little stale and dry, moisten the crust with a little water and place in a hot oven for 2-3 minutes. Bread going stale is a chemical reaction (retrogradation) that occurs slowly at room temperature. Gentle heating reverses the process.

Are you 'avin a bubble?

Somebody is 'avin a laugh, surely?
Instead of making the delicious traditional dish of Bubble and Squeek from 'fresh' leftovers we are now able to pay over the odds for a ready meal alternative.
Cooked, chilled, packaged, sent to a distribution centre, picked, palleted, sent to a Supermarket, stored, sent out to the shop floor, carefully rotated to the back of the shelf, eventually bought by you

Easter is coming, time to empty the freezer.

Easter can be a nightmare for the cook in the family. There is the pressure to produce a feast, unexpected guests and then a mountain of leftovers.  After the Easter Weekend tons of food worth millions of pounds are thrown away.Preparation - In the weeks leading up to the big weekend start to run first the freezer and then the fridge down to a bare minimum. When it comes to festive food the one

Hash and Stovies

Teaming up meat scraps with potatoes is a classic combination, so it is not surprising to find them as a basis for favourite dishes wherever the two are found together. Hash is a traditional, cheap and quick to make meal dating back centuries. The term probably originates from Norman times, being a derivative of the French ‘hachis’ meaning chopped. Today Hash is made with diced meat, browned

Cold meat and how to disguise it - Hunter Davies

A light hearted look at scrimping and saving. Lots of hints and tips for hard times from history.


Credit has been crunched, banks hammered, the economy battered, prices up, hopes down. All classes are being urged to economise, make do and mend, spin things out, avoid waste. It has been ever thus. In times of War, General Strikes as well as Economic Disasters, Governments as well as agony aunts,

Sir Peter Percy's Pie

During my training as a pub manager I was taught how to run a profitable food business and part of that tutoring took place in Canterbury in Kent. The pub where I was placed played host to a large number of foreign tourists as well as the locals.
On Sunday lunchtimes there was always a traditional roast dinner on the menu with a choice of beef, turkey, pork or ham, with all the trimmings. On

The Unpalatable Food Facts

We are throwing money away. In Britain the average family bins upwards of £400 worth of food each year. Annually we dispose of the equivalent of £8 Billion of food, a third of all we consume, and this only applies to domestic use. We then have to pay our councils to get rid of it, adding to our tax bills.

Food waste that goes into landfill decomposes anaerobically and creates tonnes of methane

Makeovers for Leftovers - Toppings

Toppings are another great way to decorate a dish and have the added advantage of acting as a stretcher to make the food feed a couple more mouths if required. Crumbles are often overlooked yet they are simple to make for either sweets or savories. Savory crumbles are ideal for vegetarians and can be flavoured with cheese, or nuts, or herbs.
Cobblers, or scone toppings are another variation,

Coping with unexpected guests

You are all set for a meal with friends and extra guests suddenly pitch up. Don't panic, here are a few tips to make the meal stretch a bit further.

·         Add a drained can of beans to a casserole.·         Throw a salad together to serve with the meal.·         Is there any garlic bread in the freezer? ·         Put together a bread basket or rolls.·         Add a starter or some nibbles? A

Waste Not, Want Not

Beautifully photographed book that uses leftovers as ingredients for fresh dishes.



The authors come up with a whole range of new incarnations for yesterday's food. Some are reasonably familiar, others more challenging and creative. Ideal as a source for inspiration.

I Love Fat Birds

Unwanted fat left over from cooking can be a bit of a problem. While a certain amount of fat is actually essential in your diet it is very calorific. I loved beef dripping on toast as an adolescent, when I stayed skinny as a rake while hoovering up any food that came my way. My metabolism is not quite up to the same speed these days.
For businesses that cook with fat it is even more of an issue

The Family Meal Planner

All you need to know about planning ahead for your meals. A well thought out book that includes batch cooking, storecupboard meals and seasonal (and thus cheap) recipes. Thoroughly recommended.


The Good Food Family Meal Planner will help you to save time and money and reduce waste - three of our biggest and most timely concerns.

Most cookbooks are arranged around type of dish or ingredient,

Saucy Secrets

How many half full jars of sauce are cluttering up your fridge or cupboards, going claggy and ‘orrible before being disposed of?Cut down the number that you need and enjoy fresher sauces by making your own using mayonnaise as a base. Once you taste the fresh versions you may never go back, especially the Tartar Sauce.Seafood/Thousand IslandMayonnaise, tomato ketchup, lemon juice and a dash of

So why do we waste food?

Who in their right mind would set out to waste food?  So why does so much of it end up in the dustbin?A physical survey of domestic food waste by WRAP (the Waste & Resources Action Programme) in 2007 found that on average every household in Britain was throwing away a third of the food that they bought. Some of this was inedible, such as animal bones & egg shells, but not included were drinks and

The Use-It-All Cookbook - Bish Muir

A very handy book to help you with ideas for using up the contents of your fridge before it spoils. Make a note of what you have and use the A-Z guide to find a delicious recipe.


Do you have to throw away that single carrot? How can you make that cold chicken tasty? Can you use that half pot of yoghurt at the back of the fridge?
The Use-It-All Cookbook is packed with ideas for using your

Shopping Techniques - Damage Limitation

Most of us have constraints on the amount of time that we can spend on planning our shopping. Here are some simple techniques to help avoid waste.
Step One: Shop regularly.This way you are not pressured into over catering for ‘just in case’ situations. You will also have a better idea of what is lurking in your fridge if you left it there the day before.
Step Two: Buy small packsLoaves of bread

Leftover Makeovers - Victoria Shearer

Never again sit down to a warmed-over meal of the same old leftovers.
With more than 100 scrumptious recipes, this book offers a revolutionary approach to the world of meal preparation and leftovers.
Begin by choosing a core recipe, which makes enough to thoroughly satisfy and have leftovers. Each core recipe is followed by one or more original recipes that turn those leftovers into an entirely

Over Salting and Burnt Rice - Remedies

1.    Over salting is a simple mistake, especially if you are reducing a liquid, or adding salty ingredients like bacon. As a rule, always add the salt at the end of the cooking process, tasting as you do, but if you have added too much do not despair.  Add some extra water and a raw, peeled potato and cook for an extra 20 minutes. The potato will reduce the salt. Other ways to disguise saltiness

The Story of Lobby - Part 2

Liverpool is not the starting point of the Lobscouse story, merely a stopping off point. Here it can be traced back to Norwegian sailors who had a long tradition of trading with Northern English ports. The Norwegians have a dish called Lapskaus, virtually a national dish, that uses the weekend's remaining food, usually carrots, potatoes, pork sausages in slices or beef cut small and which is

Lazarus Vegetables

I'm afraid there are all too many of us that have found something similar to this lurking at the bottom of our vegetable store....


This poor specimen was once a lovely parsnip but if there was an RSPC for vegetables then I would be looking at a life time ban for neglect. All it is fit for now is compost.......or is it?

Pop it in a galss of water and leave for 24 hours and.......



As if by

The Perfect Shopper

‘When I go shopping I am in control. I know what I want, stick to a budget and that is all that I purchase.’
There are very few of us who can honestly say that this statement applies to them. In fact retailers spend a lot of money researching what influences our shopping habits and we are open to any number of strategies that target our distinct personality types.
That plastic reward card in

Eating with our eyes

All food experts will tell you that we eat with our eyes. Rightly or wrongly, we make up our minds if we are going to like something within a few seconds of first catching sight of it. And of course, you don’t get a second chance to make a good first impression.
If what you serve up doesn’t look good then it has to taste twice as good to get people to enjoy it, if they even try it in the first

The Story of Lobby - Part 1

Who would have thought that a traditional German dish made from leftovers served with pickled herrings and beetroot would have resulted in the colloquial name for Liverpudlians? All this and more can be found in the history of Lobby, a traditional Staffordshire favourite.Lobby is a classic leftovers dish. It is basically meat, animal bones and onions, boiled in a pot with some water. Whatever

Margaret Atwood - the Amoeba's Tale

Here is the gist of Margaret Atwood's tale

At midday an amoeba is sealed into a test-tube full of food. The amoeba feeds and divides in two every two minutes. By midnight all the food is gone, the test-tube is full of amoebas and they start to die from starvation. At what time would the amoeba realise that there was a problem? (That is if they were capable of rational thought.) Well, at two

Cooking Disasters & How To Avoid Them - No1

A big cause of food waste is the dreaded cooking disaster. Not only does the food go in the bin but you have wasted all the time and effort of preparing it. Here is No1 in a series of tips on how to avoid and get around these events and a few other food saving techniques as well.

Don’t tell people what you are serving until it arrives at the table. If the food doesn’t turn out as expected invent

Salad days

As the salad season starts avoid committing your lettuce and spring onions to a messy death in the crisper drawer of your fridge. Simply keep them in a glass of cold, clean water on the windowsill and they will stay crisp and fresh.
Always buy spring onions with the roots still attached. This not only keeps them fresher for longer, but when you are ready to eat them you can plant the root ends in

About the Author

I don’t know why I have always had a more intense fascination with food than most of my peers. Even from an early age one of my favourite programmes was the Galloping Gourmet, Grahame Kerr, cooking with a passion and exuberance that I immediately identified with. My mother fed us a great variety of home cooked meals including stuffed ox hearts and sheep’s’ tongue stew so I was lucky to be exposed