Local and Weekly.

This blog has become a little unfocused, it no longer addresses the things I thought it would when I started writing.  In an attempt to achieve some degree of consistency, I now declare Wednesday as 'Food Day in Bohemia'.

This is our weekly food, delivered by the lovely chatty man from Riverford Organics.  Most of the food is indigenous to the UK.   The two exceptions are the peppers which are French and land freighted to reduce the carbon footprint and the bananas, clearly from a little further afield, are from Riverford's fair trade community project based in the Dominican Republic.  

The only additions to our box this week are eggs from my mother's chickens (Babs, Mrs Tweedy & Jerfouli) and an awful lot of pasta from the Jazz Hands Pasta bunch (yes, also my mother).  

Whilst I am not a vegetarian (I totally don't possess enough willpower) I do feel that meat should be a luxury not a staple in a healthy, happy diet and summer time is the easiest time to find your vegetarian vibe.

So this week I will be eating simply and healthily and I thought it might be nice to share a couple super simple, seasonal dishes that I will be creating with our haul!

French Bean Salad.

Steam your beans till they are soft but still have a bit of bite, I think 5-7 minutes would do the trick, but just try them.  When you think they're ready, drain them and put into a big bowl.  In a frying pan heat up some olive oil and then fry finely chopped garlic (for the amount of beans in the photo above I'd do a clove or two) until just turning golden.  Pour over the beans and toss them up together.

This is an awesome hot salad but I like it even more when it is cold.  It is a perfect lunch box filler, especially with some chopped cherry tomatoes.

Mushroom Paté.

Another lunchtime favourite in my house.  Finely dice 1-2 cloves of garlic and fry in some olive oil.  Chop up the mushrooms into itty bitty pieces and add to the pan with the garlic.  Add a teaspoon of fresh Thyme.  When looking cooked and dark in colour add a tablespoon or two of ground almonds into the pan and mix up.  If the paste looks too thick then add a little more olive oil or even a little creme fraiche if you have it, if it is too thin then add some more almonds.  Add salt and pepper to taste then spread on toast.