2010 Festival of British Roots

All in all, things went pretty well. On Friday the weather wasn’t very cooperative (and neither were the guys who had been asked to set up Councillor Dent Coad’s stall in Golborne Road). Nevertheless, the folks from Fenmarc distributed free spuds to all our costers, and free samples of baked potatoes and carrot coriander soup to passersby. Ruth, Zeenat, Peter, and a couple of helpers from Sustain whipped up a few batches of winter root veg stew, every last bit of which was gobbled up by local shopkeepers, traders, and members of the public. As alluded to, the least successful part of the day (though hardly a flop by any means) was the Councillor's parsnip soup stall, which wound up being two folding tables borrowed from a nearby furniture shop. As there was no frame from which to suspend a tarp, the Councillor, her soup, and a pile of bumf were pelted with rain, sleet, hail, and snow during the course of her two-hour appearance. Fortunately, a vat of piping hot and extremely delicious homemade parsnip soup helped us ward off our chills. 

The weather was greatly improved on Saturday, with sun and reasonably mild temperatures lasting into the early afternoon. Once again, about 40 quarts of winter root veg stew were prepared and given away - this time by Ruth, Peter, and myself. The three of us also served as Aaron Craze’s sous chefs, prepping ingredients for his dishes. I also doubled as a runner, picking up ingredients from market stallholders and neighborhood shops (and supplies from home - like the stick blender we plugged in at Adam’s veg stall next door—to puree Aaron’s jerusalem artichoke soup).

Over the two days, we were visited by a journalist from the fruit & veg trade press, a couple of Councillors (including the cabinet member for my business group), a chef interested in helping out with future events, a television producer from Market Kitchen (who just stumbled upon us), and possibly by someone from the BBC’s food magazines (though if she came, she didn’t identify herself). The mood was generally positive among traders and the public, and everyone who took part seemed to feel that the event was a resounding success. Next time I’d love to get better advance publicity, some news coverage on the day/s, and at least one school group.

Local sources included:

The Spice Shop donated herbs, seasonings and chillies used in the winter root veg stew and Aaron's purple sprouting broccoli, jerusalem artichoke soup, and roasted parsnips.

Ceramica Blue lent us aprons.

Oddbins gave us a good discount on dry white wine that Aaron used for cooking his soup.

Mr. Christian’s, where I bought creme fraiche, truffle oil, and vegetable stock cubes.

Portobello Wholefoods, where I bought butter and almond flakes.

Market stalls, where I bought garlic, extra virgin olive oil and vegetarian feta cheese.

I was given lemons and fresh thyme by market stallholders.

I bought chickpeas at Garcia.

I bought tomato puree and chopped tomatoes at the original Cash & Carry in Golborne Road.

I bought chickpeas, chopped tomatoes, olive oil, and lowfat natural yogurt from Tesco.

Back to my roots

Zoiks! Tonight (after refreshing my food hygiene qualifications earlier this week) I’m helping my local ward Councillor prepare around 20 liters of parsnip soup (that’s a lot), and tomorrow the whole dog & pony show will either happen... or it won’t: two 3x3 meter marquees (that I have to set up - anybody know how?), a whole bunch of kitchen equipment (that gets delivered tomorrow morning - I have no idea whether it’s going to be what we actually need), a giant to-do list, and a whole posse of people to manage... Yup, that’s right: it’s the first-ever Festival of British Roots in Portobello and Golborne Road markets! And why make it simple by repeating everything on Saturday? Nooooooo, we’ll be hosting a semi-celebrity chef who will hopefully be doing cooking demos (still waiting to hear what he intends to prepare so that I can make sure ingredients are ready) and book signings. Did the book shop order enough stock? Is anyone going to come? Tune in next week to find out!

Winter wonderland

This Saturday, we decided to make the most of current winter conditions (a rarity in London for the past hundred years or so despite last year’s blizzard) and headed to Hampstead Heath for a chilly romp. This seemed a safer bet than relying on a train to take us further afield when apparently the entire archipelago is buried in snow (quite possibly the wrong kind). On account of my iPhone camera being so cruddy I took only one photo, but you can see plenty more here. The plan was for Matthew, Kath, Steven, Jackie (in town on business) and I to meet at Hampstead tube at 11.30, wander around a bit, and then duck into the Wells tavern for a late lunch. We started at Kurt Geiger because Jackie’s stylish Prada boots just weren’t going to cut it off piste. Once Miss Fashion-Plate was appropriately kitted out, we all made our way to Parliament Hill which, being exposed, was rather cold. Then we hoofed it up to Kenwood House for a cup of tea before meandering down to the pub and back up to the Holly Bush to bolster our resolve for the journey home.

It has happened: I’ve crossed the line

I now officially speak Englican. Or Americish. This past weekend Steven & I went to Salisbury, accompanied by Kath. We took the train down from Waterloo station, dropped our bags at the Red Lion hotel, and proceeded to walk out of town toward Stonehenge. We walked. And walked. And walked and walked and walked. Then we had some lunch, followed by even more walking. And then we walked some more. We finally arrived at a lovely spot from which we could see the stones in the distance (just beyond a busy motorway) and decided to save a couple of kilometers by heading straight into the nearest town, where we downed a well-deserved pint and hailed a taxi back to Salisbury. We shall return some time to see the henge up close, or maybe just pay a visit to another site where one can actually touch some prehistoric rocks.

But I digress. At dinner, which was Indian and probably up there with the top ten meals of all time, we were discussing food (as one does). I was describing something Steven & I had eaten in Palermo when we were there a few weeks ago. First of all, I said “aubergine” when I meant “courgette”. Do you see where this is going? Let me remind you: I was there with Steven and Kath, who despite both having recently earned British citizenship, are, in fact, American. To me, speaking British English when not absolutely necessary represents the line, and speaking it in the exclusive company of fellow Americans is crossing it.

Yes, yes, I said I’d never do it, and now I have. So there you go.

Thinking of spring

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

Don’t get me wrong - it’s definitely still winter. But we’re thinking of spring. Snowdrops and irises are blooming on our little terrace and in several window boxes. The first daffodils are poking through the ivy, and there's even a precocious crocus defiantly claiming its moment in the sun. The days are noticeably longer (for example it's 5pm as I write this, and the sky is illuminated). People are beginning to emerge into the clear light, and this past Saturday the Portobello Road market had a kind of downturn-be-damned brightness. A bit chilly, though I expect it’ll warm up soon enough.

London’s still a puzzle

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

A couple of months ago, Steven and I walked along the Grand Union and Regents Canal from our house to Islington. The canal passes right through this site, known as King’s Cross Central, which is the largest single regeneration site to be developed in London in about 150 years. For some reason, I imagined that the canal skirted the northern edge of the site. As we were walking along, my mind’s map put most of the site to the south, between the canal and King’s Cross Station. In fact the largest part of the site lies to the north of the canal (left 2/3 of the white section of this model). Funny how mental geography doesn't always match the true lay of the land...

Of course there is, darling!

Originally uploaded by sf2london.

On our way home from a delightful Sunday lunch in Maida Vale, Steven and I passed this bit of landfill-bound Christmas ephemera (here they would call it tat) this afternoon... The hands really got to me. This particular box was sitting atop the wall of someone's front garden on Elgin Avenue. There were a few other cardboard boxes strewn about, and while I felt curiosity regarding their contents, I was also a little scared to look inside...