It's not clean, it's not dirty, it's food - enjoy it

Let me preface this article by stating candidly that I have NO qualifications whatsoever related to nutrition and diet.  I know and respect some qualified dieticians, who talk a lot of (common) sense and I now know that if I parted with less than £30 I could be issued with a certificate proclaiming to the world that I am a trained nutritionist.  So much twaddle.
Check that out folks, there are no regulations governing people who call themselves nutritionists.

However, I have been around for more years than I am now prepared to admit on a regular basis, have cooked for myself, my family, our Scout group and many more besides.
I am fit, healthy and a sensible weight.  My children are (touch wood) rarely ill, extremely fit and active and enjoy a wide ranging diet.

We eat what we believe to be a balanced, but thoroughly enjoyable diet which can range from bowls of raw vegetables, salad and nuts to a plate full of tartiflette.
We have never denied the children the opportunity to try things or imposed arbitrary rules.
When they were younger, they had free access to the sweetie and biscuit tins and consequently never regarded them as guilty pleasures and never over indulged. When they were gone, they were gone and there were simply no more until I topped up the tins again.

But this all started running around in my head when I recently met a young man, in less than ideal circumstances, (for me, not him) and what truly depressed me was the diet he told me he was following: no sugar, no carbs just protein and leafy green vegetables

This excluded not only bread, cakes, rice, potatoes and the like but also a great deal of fruit and vegetables too.

He claimed it made him feel healthier and fitter, but refused to elucidate on how he feels when everyone is enjoying a slice of birthday cake or a celebratory drink?

What about a meal out with friends? Apparently there is only one item on an Indian restaurant menu that he can choose and he has that without any accompaniments.

Smug or envious, superior or left out?

This strikes me as food purely consumed as fuel.

Okay, so he claims to like steak, peanut butter and cheese, but surely there is more to life?

We hear so much about balanced diets and about our work life balance, and surely this can includes the balance between fuel and flavour, enjoyment and abstinence

We are beset as a nation with eating disorders and obesity issues, one the one hand we have the problems of body image and the associated horrors, yes horrors, let's not mince words of amnesia and bulimia

On the other hand we have a growing tide of obese people, suffering from a myriad of weight related health problems from heart disease, diabetes, joint pain, and the psychological impacts.

This doesn't even begin to take into account the restrictions being overweight can place on every day life; consider the school children unable to take part in PE lessons without fear of ridicule or self hatred.

Of course, everyone is entitled to their own food choices, vegetarians, vegans, religious constraints, the Atkins diet or simply refusing, as President Bush did, to eat broccoli.

What that young man consumed was really none of my business, Beyond the fact that he chose to share it with me.
This week I was enthralled by Grace Victory's BBC programme and have to applaud her research and fantastic presentation skills as she exposed some of the myths being peddled to vulnerable, body conscious individuals - and we are not just talking neurotic, middle class teenage girls. This is an issue that crosses all divides.
In particular I was struck by her interview with the charming Eve Simmons

It is a sad testament to our woeful lack of education and fundamental understanding of food and its place in our lives that allows these charlatans to prey on the vulnerable and get rich in the process.

In my view, we should be celebrating the breadth of choice of food available to us, never before have we had such a wide variety to select, to try, to experiment with.

And yes, the growth of food banks is alarming, but the cost of food represents a far smaller percentage of our average income than it ever has......  and that's another debate entirely.... a rant for another day.

So I come back to one of my soapbox topics......let's connect people with food again, get rid of the notions of good and bad, clean or dirty food, guilty secrets and wicked indulgences and  teach not only school kids, but through them, their parents how to shop, how to cook, how to eat, how to fall in love with food, how to treat food and their bodies and their minds with respect.

© Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2016

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

A prelude to the Great British Bake Off

The cricket tea, the village fete, birthday parties, picnics, high tea, cream tea all made better by the addition of baked goodies.  Pies, scones, cakes, biscuits I cannot think of anyone who isn't cheered by a little bit of home baking.  I well remember the best fund raiser at the school summer fayre was always the cake stall, the dads and grandfathers being particularly susceptible to the lure of a slice of coffee and walnut cake or a shortbread triangle.

Tomorrow sees the start of the latest Great British Bake Off and millions will tune in to see baking elevated to a science and an advanced art form, with oohs and aahs in sitting rooms across the nation.

Some will find the competition inspiring, but no doubt for many it will be intimidating, which is a great pity.  We cannot all aspire to becoming the next Nadiya but we can give Mr Kipling a run for his money.

This is not a showstopper, but it is a luscious dessert cake, created because I had some overripe bananas lurking in the freezer and wanted to use them up to make some space.
Nothing complicated, but lovely flavours and with a little bit of artistic licence a great looking pudding.

3 eggs

150g sugar

50g melted butter

100g Greek or Turkish yogurt

3 bananas - I used very ripe ones that had been frozen, but freash ones are just as good.  

3 cardamom pods

150g self raising flour

100g sugar

60g salted cashews

Pre heat the oven to 175º C

In a large mixing bowl whisk the eggs and sugar until pale and very thick

Add the melted butter and yogurt and whisk again.

Mash the bananas until very smooth and add to the mix.

Extract the seeds from the cardamom pods and crush them.

Add the seeds and flour to the mixture and gently fold in.

Pour the batter into a greased 10" prospector pan or cake tin and bake for 20 minutes.

Leave to cool while you prepare the cashew brittle.

Put 100g sugar into a pan, I used a frying pan and place over a moderate heat until it is all melted and a rich brown colour. Do not be tempted to stir it.

Tip in the cashew nuts and swirl the pan to coat the nuts in the liquid sugar.

Pour out on to a greased tray or pan and leave to set.

When the sugar has solidified, break into chunks and grind to a coarse powder with a pestle and mortar.  Otherwise, put into a plastic bag and bash it with a rolling pin.

Don't use an electric grinder as this will reduce it to powder and you want some texture here.

Carefully turn out the cooled cake and cut into slices.
Serve with a large dollop of yogurt (or cream, creme fraiche, Mascarpone or clotted cream) with a generous sprinkle of the cashew brittle.

Store any left over cake - as if - in the fridge, but return to room temperature before serving.

© Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2016

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

Venison sausages

Remember our trip to Finnebrogue in Downpatrick and our selection of sausages?
Well, of course, venison has to feature.  After all, this is how they started.

Their venison sausages are truly wonderful and, like all their sausages they are gluten free.
Venison is a dark, delicious and low fat meat, making it a great addition to your diet. Whilst some cuts of venison can be expensive and/or hard to get hold of, these sausages are an ideal introduction to the joys of bambi meat.

Fine as they are with mash and gravy, I decided on something a little more adventurous and matched their intriguing colour with the deep purple of damsons and beetroot.

This dish was cooked in one of our woks and ready in 20 minutes - the time it took for #1 son to complete his cardio-vascular cycle run.

So, here goes:

1 onion, chopped
6 Finnebrogue venison sausages, sliced into 5 pieces each
120g stoned damsons*
¼ tsp chopped rosemary
8 juniper berries, crushed
2 cooked beetroot
½ head Hispi cabbage
2 tablespoons damson gin -  in fact, I used my homemade elderberry gin**
Salt and pepper to taste

*   Freeze the damsons and then defrost them to make stoning them a doddle!!!!
** You can replace the gin with red wine, port or stock. If using wine or stock, add 2 teaspoons of sugar to counter the sharp flavour of the damsons.

Heat 1 tablespoon of rapeseed oil in a wok.
Add the chopped onion and cook over a medium heat until translucent.
Increase the heat and add the sausage chunks, rosemary and juniper.

Cook until the sausages are browned all over.

Add the cabbage, damsons and beetroot and cook for another 5 minutes.

Pour in the gin, season to taste and cook for 5 minutes more.

Gorgeous with new potatoes.

© Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2016

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk