LEARNING TO CROCHET

I taught myself to knit last year when  friend of mine and his partner were expecting a baby and I wanted to send them something nice. I also wanted to make it myself and after a great deal of thought decided on some knitted beanie hats for when their little one was slightly older. Everyone gives expectant parents tiny baby things and pretty soon they grow out of them so I made the hats for around 6 months - 1 year old.

I picked up the needles and got started having never knitted before and after much cursing and being extremely annoyed I slowly got the hang of it and made several little hats. I enjoyed that greatly and have had a go at knitting a few other things since but I also wanted to learn to crochet.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Hope you're all having a wonderful day or have had a wonderful Yule!

Here at Gaia Cottage, todays menu consists of slow roasted Organic Brisket, Roast Potatoes and Parsnips, Shredded Cabbage and Carrots followed by Hughs Pear and Almond Pudding Cake. Unusual Christmas fare granted but where is the law stating we have to eat turkey every year?

Brunch was a wonderful mixture of Toasted Waffles, Crushed (slighty sweetened) Organic Raspberries and a spot of cream washed down with some Bucks Fizz.

So it's time to break out the Christmas films here and Miracle of 34th Street is the first in the machine as we watched Patrick Stewarts version of A Christmas Carol yesterday. I adore that film in it's many re-makings and have watched the afore mentioned film every Christmas for the last few years! It has become somewhat of a Chrismtas ritual to sit down and watch it, I almost know the script by now but it never seems to lose it's magic for me.

Unfortunately all the snow has gone here in London so it's not quite the white Christmas we thought it was going to be but we're enjoying it all the same as it's our last Christmas in London as we are fast approaching the 8th January where we move into our new cottage in Cornwall!

All that's left is to raise my glass to you all, thankyou for reading my blog this year and I promise it will get better next year and wish you a Happy Christmas and a safe and prosperous 2010.

HARD PEARS!

No, not a greengrocers insult but the perfect ingredient for Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstalls Pear and Almond Pudding Cake... possibly the most heavenly of food I or everyone who had a piece of the one I baked had ever tasted!

So, move over Lemon Coconut Cake, I have a new love in my life and it doesn't contain lemon nor coconut infact it contains almonds, wholemeal self raising flour and hard pears which are sautéed in a spot of butter and sugar until softened... but lets get to the recipe shall we?

WELL GOSH...

Where has the month since I last posted gone?

Well, for us it has been a crazy frenzy of packing as we have finally gotten the thumbs up for our cottage in Cornwall. It's a beautiful two bedroomed, stone built cottage circa 1780's in a teeny, tiny place just outside of St Just. To say we are excited would be the understatement of the millennium and so on the 8th January we will be spending our first night in our new home.

We've been tentatively scoping out all the organic butchers and the farmers markets and it looks like we're in luck, there happens to be an organic butchers around 10 minutes away in one direction and our local farmers market is about 10 minutes the other way from us. Of course being so far out of the way brings it's own unique problems but we can fill in the gaps online but that said, it is going to take a bit of getting used to. No more nipping down to Seewoo for Chinese ingredients or Dadoos for Indian ingredients so it's going to take some planning to keep our stocks of spices and things like Dhals up.

That aside, we have been doing some more cooking despite having to rummage through boxes we'd packed because 'hey, when are we going to get time to bake a cake before we leave?'. Oh boy were those famous last words!

A GOOD BUTCHER IS HARD TO FIND?

We currently live in SE London and I have to be honest, a non Halal butcher or the BBQ pre-packed / pre-frozen butchers (if you can call them that) are really hard to find. However, we were driving through the Blackheath Standard last week looking for an entirely different butcher and came across GG Sparkes.

We hastily parked up and walked up the road back to the store front and were absolutely amazed at the produce in their window. There was Wood Pigeon, Mallard, Pheasant, Venison and lots of Organic joints and cuts of meat. It was like hitting pay-dirt and we'd driven past the end of this road a hundred times and never noticed it was there at all!

CHRISTMAS SPIRIT?

We've been getting into the Christmas spirit this week here at Gaia Cottage, well not getting into as such more... creating!

You've seen the Limoncello (far left) in the last post but since then we have made (from left to right) Vanilla Liqueur, Vanilla Extract (for baking), Kahlua (Coffee Liqueur), Lime Liqueur and last but by no means least Orange Liqueur.

I know some people have been asking me how to make these drinks and they always seem shocked at how easy they are to actually make but just incase you were one of the ones who missed out here's how to make it.

PRESERVING MAD!

I've always wanted to replace those horrible mass produced ketchups and chutneys that we buy from time to time and decided recently to have a go.

My ever wonderful fiancé brings home some really odd things from time to time when I send him to the shops for some bananas and the like. This time he came home with some Seckel Pears which we both presumed would taste pretty much like any other kind of pear. If you can imagine biting into a potato which vaguely has a pear taste then you're quite close to the taste we got when we tried on of the pears. We weren't impressed but we had 4 more that seemed a huge waste if we just threw them away and as I had been perusing some chutney recipes the week before I wondered if they would be OK to use in some kind of pear chutney.

I eventually found a Spiced Pear Chutney and gave it a bash however I cooked it in my bread machine which can also make jam and it was a bit of a mistake. While it cooked OK, it didn't reduce the liquids enough so I had to put it in a pan on the stove to reduce the liquid further. I think I reduced it a little too far as when we opened it it wasn't as 'saucy' as I would have imagined but it was absolutely amazing with a little bit of organic cheese.

I was hooked!

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A POSTCODE MAKES

We had to pop out a couple of days ago to get a wing-mirror glass for the car after some kind soul had clipped the housing and smashed the mirror a few months ago. The parts dealer was out in Orpington, Kent which wasn't too far so we set out but somehow missed it and got lost.

By the time we had realised we'd gone to far down the road it wasn't worth turning back as it was almost closing time and the traffic going back the other way was phenomenally bad. So, we decided to just enjoy the drive, maybe find a supermarket and stop off as we needed one or two bits for dinner.

We ended up in Locksbottom (stop sniggering at the back there) as we found a massive Sainsbury's and decided to take a look. We were shocked when we went inside as not only was it huge but it had the best range of organic and free range products we have ever seen!

PUMPKIN EXPERIMENTS : PART II

So we found a recipe for 'Tuscan Pumpkin Soup' online and thought at first that would be a nice recipe to use the pumpkin in. After further consideration it appeared to be no more than chicken stock cubes, a few beans and some pumpkin and didn't appear to be appetizing in any way nor even remotely Tuscan so we opted to make up our own soup with what we had to hand.

This is what we ended up with:

1 large red onion, roughly chopped

1 huge carrot, scrubbed but not peeled, chopped

1 medium sweet potato, peeled and chopped

1 pumpkin, roasted and then skinned

some leftover cubed uncooked potato

2 good chicken stock cubes

4 cans soaked and boiled soya beans

4ltrs water

sprigs of thyme and rosemary

Salt and pepper

Basically we threw everything in a huge pot (and this makes lots, we have plenty of leftovers in the freezer), bring to the boil and then simmer for 2 hours. Blend and serve with a quinelle of 1% crème fraîche and a sprig of parsley (if you're playing at being a TV chef like we were!)

Verdict: It was nice, very thick and warming but I don't think we'll be rushing out to buy another pumpkin again anytime soon, we'll stick to butternut squash!

PUMPKIN EXPERIMENTS : AND SO IT BEGINS

We bought a medium pumpkin on one of our shopping trips a couple of days ago, we've never eaten pumpkin before but we like butternut squash so why not try pumpkin too?

We've planned a rather interesting Roasted Pumpkin and Soya Bean Soup with Roasted Pumpkin Bread which will hopefully feature some of the roasted pumpkin seeds which we are going to roast ourselves. We've gone pumpkin mad here!!

We've actually gone experimentation crazy over the last couple of days with various foods and mostly in an effort to cut out chemical laden crap desserts like canned rice pudding and the like. Not only have we enjoyed what we have created but we are both actually feeling alot better and fitter for the change too. It's actually quite shocking how much better we feel in such a short amount of time (although we promise not to get evangelical about it) but it really does feel nice.

The last two days we have had baked apples filled with rum soaked sultanas and honey served with low fat natural Greek style yoghurt and another tiny drizzle of honey. If bliss came in a dish then this is it, so much so we've had it two nights on the run! Before that was roasted nectarines which we sprinkled with a tiny bit of honey and some cinnamon and it was absolutely amazing and I really can't see any reason to go back to stodgy over-processed rice pudding from a tin... ever.

We did start upon a path to a healthier, better lifestyle not so long ago but let it slip while we had some personal stresses and strains and we were shocked at how poorly we felt after eating pre-processed foods. This has been another of the myriad reasons we have put a stop to pre-processed food in all it's forms as well as looking more closely at how our food is produced and making informed choices about things that are going to be better for us.

So, we're looking forward to tomorrows experimenting and we'll be sure to let you know how it goes.

PRICING OF ORGANIC PRODUCE

I went to Morissons tonight to pick up my organic cheese which I know they stock but while looking on the shelves I noticed another bit of Supermarket psychology... or just plain trickery and this isn't just Morissons, it's most of the Supermarkets I've shopped in.

Their own cheap inferior produce is always priced clearly and there's always lots of it but just try looking for the prices of organic or free range products, they are never clearly labelled with a price. Is it my imagination or is this just another ploy to get people who maybe are in a rush or who are on a budget and perhaps need to calculate their food spending with a calculator as we do to think "Oh sod it I'll buy this one, at least I know how much this one is"?

Well? Come on Mr Supermarket man... why isn't your organic produce labelled with a nice clear price like your piles of inferior products?

Something to ponder on a cold winters night perhaps...

ORGANIC... WHAT?

Yesterday we went shopping at Tesco whom I’m sure you are aware are one of the largest Supermarket chains in Europe. You’d think they would stock a good deal of organic and free range items for their customers wouldn’t you? Sadly, this isn’t the case at all.

I am aware they stock their stores according to their area but please, are you seriously telling me that there are that many people who are not interested in free range or organic produce? Now there was a Halal counter which was as far as the eye could see, Indian specialities, Polish, Jamaican and a whole load of other things dedicated to specialized areas of produce but when it came to finding organic produce it was as if that has slipped their minds.

For instance on our shopping list was good quality organic / free range sausages and a roasting joint or perhaps an organic / free range chicken. Well, there was just ONE single range of organic sausages out of what must have been 30 or 40 different kinds and as for organic meats, well, lets just say we had a hard time finding anything at all. Out of a huge Lamb shelf there was about 3 packets of one brand of Lamb, Chicken there was just a single lonely hugely overpriced one, Beef... well, we didn’t find any organic beef whatsoever.

Then we were onto the cheese... we bought no cheese so I guess that tells you about the situation for organic cheeses doesn't it?

I left Tesco's feeling aghast at their lack of choice for people who actually care about what they eat and let down by them for not giving people a choice.

Now, I have been watching alot of Jamie Oliver programs recently and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall of whom I enjoy watching greatly and their efforts to make Britain wake up and get eating good, well produced, free range and organic foods but how can we if the likes of Tesco won't wake up and smell the coffee? Now I'm aware they would probably say find a good butchers but truly, unless you want Halal meat (which I don't) they are very few and far between in the area of SE London I live in and although we have a car, some people don't so are left with very limited choices.

However, we will keep on with our mission to improve our lives and if that means voting with our feet then that's what we shall be doing.

I am aware we are not perfect, not everything we buy is organic as we are on a strictly limited budget (so it's no use you guys complaining about not enough money) but we'll get there in the end! Tescos however... well I think in 20 years time they will still be selling their cheap chickens and TV dinners pumped full of who knows what and people will still be being forced into making bad choices about what they eat and ultimately their health.

Please feel free to watch this programme by Jamie Oliver entitled: Eat to Save Your Life but ***BE WARNED*** this programme contains scenes of an autopsy and other scenes of anatomy viewers may find disturbing!! >> Eat to Save Your Life <<

Also there is Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstalls programme: The River Cottage Treatment but ***BE WARNED*** this series contains animal slaughter and butchery which may upset some viewers!! >> The River Cottage Treatment <<

Now you know why we are so adamant about good, healthy food and organic, free range chickens!

CHICK-CHICK-CHICK-CHICK-CHICKEN

Following on from our cheese choices last time, we decided to pay that little bit extra for some Free Range, Organic Chicken Breasts for a meal with a friend yesterday.

We made Chicken and Sweet Potato Parcels which are steamed in a foil parcel and consist of layers of finely sliced sweet potato, a chicken breast, a scattering of cherry tomatoes, a sprinkling of tarragon, salt and freshly cracked black pepper all moistened up with a tablespoon or so per portion of white wine.

Anyway, we served up and tasted the chicken and it tasted amazing and I mean really good. It was far and away better than the bland, soggy textured rubbish that many Stupormarkets turn out. It actually had an amazing chicken flavour, great texture, didn't shrink beyond belief and seep out loads of water which real chicken shouldn't do.

Cheap Stupormarket chicken is injected with all kinds of water based gloop to make them bigger, plumper and appear to be better value and frozen chicken is the worst of the worst for being full of water.This is after they are pumped full of growth hormones and lord knows what by the battery hen farms who are paid on average 35p per chicken with the budget for feeding them being around 3p per chicken. You simply aren't going to get happy, healthy chickens on 3p per head for food and overheads are you?

Being on a budget we do slightly blanch at the price tag of Free Range, Organic meats but we are willing to eat less of it and get a better meat if it means a better life for the animals and a better, healthier food stuff for us.

We're another step closer to getting our new house and fingers crossed, we should know next week if we have been a successful applicant or not! In the meantime we are taking baby-steps into our new way of life.

A CONCIOUS CHOICE

Today we made our first concious choice to buy Organic Cheese and not just... Cheese. This represented the first foot on a total lifestyle change brought on in part by perhaps watching a little too much River Cottage.

My 'name' is SkyBlue1971 and my fiancé and co-author of this blog is Cyberpaddy66, welcome to our little piece of cyberspace, Gaia Cottage.

In this blog we hope to share the highs and lows, the laughter and tears of two people trying to get back to nature and improving our lives in as many ways as possible.

In around five weeks time we will be moving to an extremely rural part of SW Cornwall and when we close the door for the final time on our first floor flat in the city of London we will be closing the door on cheap Tesco's chickens, chemical laden lotions and potions and a whole myriad of other things.

We will be making concious choices about the big things like the food we eat and will be making sure it is Organic and Free Range right down to the ingredients in simple things like lip balms. We hope to learn to make soaps, shampoos and many other lotions and potions as naturally as possible and looking at every alternative for things that up until now we have taken for granted.

Before you don your tin hats and wait for the onslaught of militancy about our lifestyle and yours and a serious guilt-tripping session, fear not, that is not what this blog is about. We would love for you to follow in our footsteps but if you don't want to, well that's fine with us too, just stick around, pour yourself a nice mug of Fair Trade tea and help yourself to some home-made cake. There, we're quite friendly really!