Thursday 19 January 2017

IT'S A GOOD THING WE LIKE ENGLISH WINTER VEGETABLES AS THOSE 'FANCY' & OUT OF OUR SEASON ITALIAN & SPANISH COURGETTES, LETTUCE & TOMATOES ARE IN SHORT SUPPLY!

For due to the current appalling weather conditions in Italy and in Spain, the prices have rocketed for courgettes, iceberg lettuce and tomatoes in the wholsesale markets, leading to some supermarkets refusing to pay the huge differerence in their box price. It's a bit of a steep jump isn't it.. from £8.00 a big box to £22.00?

She's mighty glad that we eat mostly what is grown in season, however, the thought of eating a tomato (even if she could) grown hydroponically in a tunnel in the depths of winter, fills her with horror! Ugh. No, thank you.

So we are eating all manner of root vegetables, carrot, parsnip, turnip, beetroot, cabbage, onion, shallot and garlic together with rice and buckwheat, which isn't wheat just in case you're gluten intolerant. Sadly, one of her most favourite grains is, this is Freekah, a young wheat grain which is smoked and comes from the Middle East.

She's mighty glad she planted so many onion, shallot sets and garlic, both hard and soft neck varieties, for although a thieving bastard dug up half a bed, she's still got a lot and dear Tereza, our upstairs neighbour has given us lots of the delicious Violet variety from France.

It's bright and cold here in London today, last night was below zero C. She has her clothes ready for her morning jaunt down to Hackney to collect her glasses, thick trousers, cotton tights, much warmer than socks!

Thermal clothing, poloneck sweater, Marina's beautiful coat and walking boots with slip-proof soles, one of Darling Pat's hats to keep her head warm and with Myra, our Lebanese friend's, Christmas gift of a deliciously warm long scarf to wrap around her neck.

And she'll stop off somewhere along the route to find Chick Pea flour for she now has the recipe for those Sicilian Chick Pea flour Fritters!

That's your lot for today. She's off to do some laundry and a bit of sorting out in the store room and I'm heading off to a high point for a doze.. an afternoon doze after lunch is a good thing, do you not agree mes amis?

GeeGee Parrot.
January 19th, 2017.

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