As mentioned before we’ve joined a Foodie Pen Pals scheme and it seems to be quite good fun! It feels like we’ve waited ages to finally reveal the contents of our first box! Today is the designated reveal day so here we go.

We had a lovely box sent overseas to the UK from Lithuania. The box came from Aiste who has a blog in English which you can find here : No146.blogspot.co.uk Many thanks to Aiste for all the time and thought she put into choosing, preparing and sending our lovely box which we were very happy to receive and totally consume!

Our foodie pen pals parcel arrived really quickly

Andy exchanged a few emails with Aiste and they discussed the sorts of things we might like or find interesting. Aiste settled mainly on Lithuanian cheeses, which are a very special and rather different to our own. We wondered how cheese would travel unrefrigerated but hey, it’s November and we shouldn’t have worried.

Our parcel arrived and safe inside were an interesting collection of items. There were two cheeses, one sweet and spiced, the other looked to contain garlic and was smoked. The aforementioned jar of beetroot and horseradish, an interesting looking bar of chocolate and a log of something that looked like it might be tiffin. (These last two made me very happy! I need an excuse to eat desserts as I try to be more healthy and this was ideal.) There was also a delightful handwritten letter from Aiste, explaining a bit about each of the items.

Foodie Pen Pals Parcel Reveal

Two Cheeses

Lithuanian Smoked Cheese

Two very different types of Lithuanina cheeses. One had been lightly smoked on the outside to make a garlicy smoky rind with a firm white cheese inside. As Aiste explained, both are natural cheeses without preservatives so it didn’t taste of sulphur or anything nasty like some so called smoked cheeses do. Just a bit of salt and garlic with a soft woodsmoke background. I’ve seen cheeses a bit like this in our local Eastern European shops but I wouldn’t know which ones to buy for fear of getting something overly flavoured. Now I know a bit more about what to look for, which is great.

Lithuanian Sweet Cheese

The other type of cheese was completely new to me – a sweet cheese. What is sweet cheese? Well just that, a cheese that has been turned almost into a kind of confectionary with sugar and aromatic natural flavours such as cinnamon and a bit of lavender I think. The cheesiness balances out the sweetness to a certain extent, and in small quantities I enjoyed a piece of this, in the same way as I might eat just one square of chocolate. The cheese was constructed in an unusual way, with two distinct ends. One end had much more cinnamon in it and was coloured brown on the outside, the other end was white or maybe slightly grey and had far less cinnamon and a bit of something I couldn’t identify. We thought it might be lavender but probably it’s a combination of several flowery or herby aromatics. So slightly odd, pleasantly eatable and definitely achieved that surprise quality of introducing me to something entirely different.

‘Lazybones’ a snack or dessert

I thought I would explain about the  ’Lazybones’ items. Aiste said it is called that because it is so easy to make and I had a suspicion when I opened it that it might be very similar to tiffin. I was right. Tiffin is an old favourite tea time treat which produces a quick cake with no need to cook. Mine is a mixture of  butter, sugar, cocoa and golden syrup melted together. Add crushed biscuits (digestives are classic but I used to like to use Duchy Originals Organic Oat Biscuits for their oaty texture) and maybe some dried fruit. Pour it into a tray to set & cut into portions. A truly decadent version my Mum used to make also included Malteasers and Chocolate Fingers!  Lazybones is obviously a close relative of these concoctions and a small slice was a particularly nice supper time treat for several nights with a cup of our favourite Spicy Roobosh Chai. Yum!

Chocolate Bar

The chocolate was interesting too as it contained bits of ‘gingerbread’. These were not soft like our gingerbread but crunchy like a gingery biscuit. Another very nice supper-time treat. We usually have a piece of chili chocolate with our last cup of tea of the day and this made a pleasant change.

See tweets with the hashtag #foodiepenpals

The next part of the story is an item from November’s Foodie Penpals parcel, which will be revealed in totality on the 20th of this month. A small jar containing a bright pink substance labelled: “Krienai” and also “Marrutki Madaroigas” which as far as I can make out are Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian words for Horseradish. The colouring is quite natural and comes from an amount of beetroot, and I don’t think there are any other ingredients apart from those two. I like horseradish and I like beetroot so that’s all good then!

Horseradish with beetroot

Fish and horseradish go together well, think of smoked mackerel with horseradish sauce, or Japanese sashimi raw fish with Wasabi, which is either closely related or more usually actually is horseradish.

So I tried making a salmon mousse or paste, by placing one of the salmon strips after removing the skin and the little boney fin and a good dolop of the horseradish with beetroot into my baby moulinex food chopper. I added a clove of garlic, dash of lemon and a pinch of salt, ground black pepper and some sprouted radish seeds which I often have ready as well, then chopped it all up with a crushed sesame ryvita biscuit to add a bit of body. Whizz whizz whirr whirr.

Well I was very happy with the resulting salmon spread, it was delicious and the flavours blended together very well with lots of fresh zingy tastes. I spread it on a couple of oatcakes and another cracker, it was soon gone. I shall make this again whenever I feel like it since the salmon strips seem to be a regular feature in the local shop and I think I will be able to source a similar horseradish sauce there as well, now that I know what it is thanks to the careful thoughtfulness of our November Foodiepenpal – Aiste who has a blog in English at No146.blogspot.co.uk  Thanks Aiste!

We both love fish and Andy, being an adventurous cook loves the challenge of cooking something new so we are quite happy to have a really mixed selection. Most of the suppliers I found also do more specific orders if that’s what you want.

First up, though hardly local to anyone outside Cornwall, is Wing’s of St Mawes, The Cornish Fishmonger. They do a monthly fish box delivery scheme to most of the mainland UK. The fish is delivered on the first Thursday of each month by courier. The best deal seems to be the Cornish Seafood Selection:

Fish box delivery from The Cornish Fishmonger

This box will include 10 portions of fresh fish and shellfish, ideally including oily fish, white fish and shellfish; the variety will depend on quality and availability. Normally we would hope to include a dozen cleaned king scallops, wild black mussels, oily fish fillets, filleted flat fish and white fish. If you any species you dislike please note them in the comments box at the checkout.

10 portions costs nearly £50 once you’ve covered your delivery costs. It is all ready to freeze so it should take care of your fish needs for the month. They do bigger boxes too if you need them.  They have a commitment to freshly caught fish, landed in Cornwall.  Looks good and I might have to try it! (The thought of those scallops, mmmm….)

Next, I looked at Martin’s Fish for Thought site. They offer a wider variety in a way but the only one I was interested in was the Local Frozen Fish Box, 14 portions this time for £50. Martins have a great reputation but the selection was disappointing. It is Cornish landed fish but they don’t do a fresh local fish box only the frozen one. Also the frozen fish box is a bit pedestrian & I worried that it always includes cod, haddock and plaice. They do have Marine Stewardship Council accreditation and a sustainability commitment but still not right for me.

Finally I looked at Fish in A Box, which definitely seems to do what it says on the tin. They are an online fishmonger but they have a commitment to fresh fish deliveries in most of the UK mainland. The box I looked at was their Large Classic Box, 12 portions for just over £50 with free delivery. Now this looks very interesting. You get a selection from the following:

Hake, Loch Duart Salmon, Cod, Red Bream, Organic Salmon, Rainbow Trout, Pollack, Smoked Haddock (naturally oak smoked NOT DYED), Haddock, Plaice, Smoked Mackerel, Herring, Megrim, Ling, Coley, Catfish (rock turbot), Sardine, Whiting, Mackerel, Grey Mullet, Pouting, Flounder, Kipper, Skate, Cod Cheeks, Monkfish Cheeks.

Whole fish chosen from: Plaice, Turbot, John Dory, Trout, Sea Bass, Sea Bream, Torbay Sole, Pink Snapper, Lemon Sole, Gurnard, Brill

Some is Cornish,  some from Scotland, and  some landed in Wales, which is where they are based. I spy some real neglected favourites on that list, including gurnard, megrim and pouting. I have a slight issue with the distances some of this stuff is traveling but it does look tempting. This one I may well have to test too.

They also do a Hugh’s Fish Fight box for £20:

2 x 175g portions each of Dab Fillet, Pouting Fillet, Coley Fillet and Mackerel Fillet. All those fish that are native, in plentiful supply and we should be eating more of!

For now I’m going to stick with buying my fish weekly fresh from local markets in Essex and being careful what I buy. None of the online fish sellers is doing quite what I’d hoped for, buying direct from the inshore fishermen, selling a box of a fresh selection of just what’s being caught now and giving us the chance to support our most sustainable fishing fleet. Now if only Guy from Riverford would get involved. Riverford already have all the infrastructure and know what they are doing. Guy was in the TV programme so there might be hope for a really viable fish box delivery scheme that would tick all the right boxes.

Narrow Leaf Organic Olive Oil is cold pressed from a single variety of olive from the Patrinia tree which is found only in Achaia region in the northern Peloponnese, a small corner of the Greek mainland. It has been used in the past to blend with other varieties to add flavour but is now available on its own. A group of small olive oil farmers who are members of the Local Agricultural Cooperative of Aigio have joined forces to provide this sustainably farmed, single variety organic olive oil.

Tasting the Organic Olive Oil

The aroma is very fresh and grassy and the flavour quite subtle. It is a delicate taste that doesn’t overwhelm food. It has a very low acidity so none of those very strong peppery notes that you might associate with Greek olive oil.

After a few tasty samples Christos asked if we’d like a sample bottle to review for the blog. I happily agreed, thinking dreamily of the lovely salad days ahead

Organic Olive Oil by Post

Yesterday, a bottle of this interesting oil arrived through the post.  It was carefully wrapped in bubble wrap inside a bottle tube. It felt a bit like Christmas but then I love getting organic treats through the mail!

Salad Days

I’m looking forward to using this delicious oil in lots of raw dishes but I think it will also be gorgeous drizzled over grilled fish or pasta.  I’m sure we’ll be making lots of  treats with Narrow Leaf Olive Oil over the coming weeks and I’ll blog about the results.

Of course Andy couldn’t resist making a simple cherry tomato salad with it straight away.

Organic Olive Oil Salad

The ingredients were just what we had to hand, some left from Friday’s organic vegetable box and some from a local shop.  A good salad doesn’t need to be a fussy affair.

I think we can learn a lot from the classic Greek mezze salads. Attention to detail and careful chopping of good quality fresh ingredients makes all the difference to a raw salad.

The vinaigrette had a lovely fruity note from the cider vinegar which we are lucky enough to buy straight from the farmer at our local farmers market. Of course if you can add some really fresh herbs to the mix then that is even better. The fresh taste of the olive oil and the herbs combined with the fruity notes from the vinegar to really bring out the flavour of the little cherry tomatoes.

We made a simple meal of it with a bowl of potato salad made with home-made duck egg mayonnaise. (I must ask him to blog that recipe sometime It was divine!)

Anyway, the subtle taste of the organic olive oil in a mild vinaigrette was a perfect accompaniment to the fresh taste of the salad.

Organic blinis

I used to always make Blinis for Christmas brunch & decided it was time to revive the tradition this Easter. Today was a trial run and I think it was a success. Plate was quickly empty anyway! Easier than you might imagine Blinins are made from a fairly traditional recipe. This translates as – I’ve been making these so long their origins are lost in the mists!

Blinis are made from Buckwheat Flour

Buckwheat is not even distantly related to wheat. It is not a grass or a cereal. Humans have been eating it for over 4000 years and it is basically pretty good for us. It contains protein and is lowish in purines. It is believed to be anti-inflammatory. It grows quickly and doesn’t need a very fertile soil. Apart from all of that it tastes really good! All in all we should probably eat more of it.

I like Doves Farm Organic Buckwheat Flour. It is organic and very reliable. For some reason known best to themselves neither Riverford nor Able & Cole stock buckwheat flour so you can’t just add some to your box. Grr!
If you are lucky enough to have one, your local independent wholefood shop will have it or maybe even the supermarket. Do yourself & the local economy a favour & buy it from the wholefood shop, please.

You will need two days for these blinis. You can do them faster but they will taste better if you do them the slow food way. Most of the time is just waiting so they aren’t really that demanding.
These quantities make about 25 very small ones or 12 three to 4 inch ones.
The three to four inches ones are about right for serving with dips, scrambled eggs & smoked salmon. Little ones, maybe 2 inches diameter, are ideal for canapés (Oooh get me!)
Double the quantities and you can store the left overs in the fridge for a few days. Watch out though, they are seriously moreish and surprisingly easy to eat!

To Make Blinis You will need:

A nice big bowl – old fashioned china, stainless steel. Don’t use plastic if you can avoid it. I don’t like food sitting in plastic too long it picks up flavours. It should fit in your fridge if you are doing the over night version.

A wooden spoon for mixing

A balloon whisk for getting the egg white stiff

A small china or metal bowl to whisk the egg white in

A clean tea towel to put over the blinis overnight

A flat bladed knife for turning the blinis when they are cooking.

Hot plate to keep them warm till you’ve cooked the lot. (watch this,cooked blinis have a strange habit of vanishing from the hot pile while your attention is elsewhere!)

A good heavy frying pan or ideally a griddle (girdle if you are Scots, which I am).

I’m going into tablespoons – weighing things isn’t in my nature and spoons are easier to wash up. You can use fancy measuring spoons but personally I prefer a big old metal one!

• 6 flatish tablespoons of buckwheat flour
• 1 teaspoon fast acting bread yeast (never used this before but pleasantly surprised that it worked well)
• pinch of salt (don’t leave it out the yeast needs it)
• 2 teacups of water at blood heat. (1/3 of a cup of boiling topped up with cold x2) (that’s about 1/2 a pint if you must measure)
• 1 heaped tablespoon of good, organic, natural set yogurt.(Not low fat for once!)
• 1 large free range organic egg (duck is best – chicken will do)

What you need to do on Day 1

1. Mix the flour, salt & yeast in the bowl.
2. Make a well in the middle
3. Add the yogurt to the water, adjust the temperature back to about blood heat. (If you stick your clean finger in it it should feel quite warm but not too hot).
4. Separate the egg and add the yolk to the well in the middle of the bowl. (Keep the white in your small bowl for later)
5. Now add the liquids.
6. Give it a good mix and gradually mix in all the flour. Don’t worry if it seems at all lumpy at this stage. It should be a thickish batter. (Very runny? Don’t panic, maybe the egg was a bit big, just add another tablespoon of flour)
7. Put somewhere warm (not hot we are not rushing remember) & draft free with the clean tea towel draped over the the top for about an hour.

Go and have a cup of tea, check Facebook, wander over to Pinterest or talk to Twitter. Bask in the pleasant yeasty smell that is now emanating from the bowl.

After about an hour, check your bowl. There should be a pleasant yeasty smell and little frothy bubbles breaking the surface.

Now for the hardest bit. Time for a little kitchen workout. Use the balloon whisk to beat the egg white until it is stiff enough to leave firm peaks when you lift the whisk out. You could use a machine but come on, this is slow food and anyway, we all need the exercise!

When the egg white is done, (and no, you don’t have to hold the bowl over your head to prove it is done!) fold it gently into the batter. Use that big old metal spoon and a cutting & folding action. You don’t want to undo all the hard work you just did on the egg white, just mix it in.

Back goes the tea towel and the mixture goes in the fridge until tomorrow.

Meanwhile, back to what ever social media rings your bell, safe in the warm glow of being a domestic god/godess.

Making Blinis Day 2

Remove the batter from the fridge about an hour before you need to cook it. Put it back in a warm, draft free place. It will bubble again, the yeast only having got dozy in the fridge.

Heat your pan, griddle or girdle. Some very fancy people have special blini pans. I wouldn’t bother if I were you. They taste better when imperfectly shaped. Well that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Once it is quite hot get a pad of kitchen paper and a tiny amount of organic butter. wipe over the surface with the pad. You are not trying to leave much fat on the surface, you don’t want them to fry!

You want an even heat, not smoking but hot.

Get your big metal spoon and fill it with mixture from the bowl. Drop a spoon full on to the hot surface. It will spread only a very small amount. If you have a big girdle (don’t!) like mine then you can do 6 three/four inch ones at a time. In a frying pan maybe one large one or three small ones.

Watch them carefully. Little bubbles will burst on the surface. This is a very good sign. They will start to look set. Lift up one edge with your flat bladed knife & check they are turning golden brown. Good

Using your knife flip the blini over and cook till that side is golden too. It will be less even

Elizabeth David’s Bread & Yeast Cookery (I’m on my 2nd copy!) has a somewhat similar recipe and lots of information about all sort of other yeasty goodies.

So I’ve made one of those traditional “unboxing” videos, just because I was a bit excited really, and wanted to record the contents before they get put away into different cupboards until it’s time to get them out to make lovely tapas.

Here’s the unboxing home video:

The Torre Real Delicatessen Selection food and wine box comprised of:

• Fillets of Bonito del Norte Tuna
• Arbequina select Olives
• Artichokes
• Whole White Aparagus
• Sweet Chestnuts from Galicia in Brandy
• Silencio Extra Virgin Arbequina Olive Oil
• Oscuridad special parellada white wine vinegar
• Torres VinaSol white wine

The promotion was by A Taste of Spain – thankyou.

The delicatessen box of Torre Real supplied by Idelica

A bit of research and I discover that red onion squash are also known as red kuri squash and are much loved in Japan. They have a velvety texture and are quite dry compared to the watery pumpkin. They are said to have a firm flesh with a slight chestnut flavour. OK, I’m feeling much more cheerful now! The French even call them Potimarron (marron meaning chestnut, of course).

More than that they are full of goodness.  A good source of fibre they also contain a range of vitamins, potassium and iron. Red onion squash are low in purines and full of beta-carotene.

I thought I’d try using them in a variation on my old favourite, 3 Potato Spiced Roast. This recipe is so old I’ve no idea where I got it and it is endlessly flexible depending on what root vegetables are available. I know it says 3, and I suppose it must have been originally but it has drifted over the years. I’ll just use what I’ve got, which on this occasion is going to be red onion squash, leeks, turnip (that’s swede if you are English) and potato.  You could try parsnips, sweet potato or even carrot if you’ve got nice big ones.

Spiced, roasted red onion squash and friends

Cut the squash into melon slices and scoop out the seeds first. I might turn them into chew strew later. Then cut them up into bigish chunks, maybe around 2″? We don’t want small dice we are definitely after hearty chunks!  My research suggests the red skins are edible once roasted so I’m going to leave them on.

Cut the leeks, turnip and potato into chunks about the same size as the squash pieces.

Tip them all into a shallow oven proof tray. I tend to use an old orange china Le Creuset one but whatever you’ve got will be fine.

Now for the herbs and spices. I’m going to use a couple of sprigs each of rosemary and thyme as I think they will combine well with the chestnutty flavour. I’ll chop them finely.

Then roast a few cumin and coriander seeds in a dry pan till they just start to pop.

Chop up a fresh red chilli and a couple of cloves of garlic. I’ll probably throw in a few whole garlic cloves to roast at the same time. Yum!

Put the herbs, spices, garlic and chilli into a small bowl , add some freshly ground black pepper and cover with olive oil.

Pour this mixture over the vegetables and stir until everything is well coated.

Pop the whole lot into a fairly hot oven. Baste every 10 minutes or so, turning the veg as you do so.

It should take about 35 to 40 minutes.

Serve hot straight away.  You can serve it with meat but I think it is yummy just on its own. If you really must add protein try adding some chopped devilled nuts, sunflower seeds, or even pumpkin seeds!

I will let you know how I got on.

Video explains all about the different types of squash that may appear in your vegetable boxes

Organic or local boxes?

I’ve written a little about this before and had a couple of lovely guest posts on the subject of Local Veg Boxes but I’ve never looked seriously at finding a more local supplier myself. This is one dilemma I’m finding it really hard to resolve. I find the whole subject of food miles quite confusing. There doesn’t seem to be one definitive agreed standard for working them out so it is really difficult to be sure you are comparing like with like. I suppose my heart says local must be better but my head is less convinced. There have been some brave experiments in trying to eat locally by people based in London but I’m not convinced it is really practical. (One word of warning – search for “eat local  London” will bring up some really interesting blogs, full of details of great farmers markets and local suppliers. From London. Ontario! )

I do try to use my local farmers market every month. It has to be said though, the vegetable produce comes all the way from Oxfordshire, so not really more local than my box scheme. One study reported on the BBC suggested that the best thing would be to eat food grown within a 20 mile radius. The professor involved did admit:

“In the short term, our paper adds to consumer frustration,” Professor Lang concedes.

No kidding? Sigh….. Well that was back in 2005 but I’m not sure things got any clearer!

We, as you will know if you follow the blog, use the Riverford organic vegetable box scheme and I’m very happy with the quality of the produce. However, it can hardly be described as local to East London. The food we get comes up from Devon in big trucks and is then distributed by small local delivery franchisees. If you are in another region your Riverford box might come from their Yorkshire farm or one of their other farms. In terms of carbon footprint and emissions they make a good case for this method of distribution. But still, not that local.

Some of the food is imported from France and Spain. Riverford are very scrupulous about reporting that. Their website goes into considerable detail to explain exactly why sometimes importing food is actually a better use of resources than trying to grow the same food here.  They have a fascinating description of why it is better to transport tomatoes from Spain by truck than to grow them under plastic in the UK. They say:

The emissions from transporting those tomatoes (from Spain or Italy) to the UK (about 240g CO₂ per kg of fruit) are about a tenth of those associated with growing them closer to home using heat.  The situation for peppers which are lower yielding but require the same amount of heat per square meter is even worse at about 4.5kg of CO₂ per kg of fruit.

But Which is Best, Local or Organic?

Back to the original question then. If I could find a more local vegetable box scheme would that be better then organic? I had a look round and found to my surprise that I just might be able to have my organic cake and eat it too. The Hornbeam Cafe in Walthamstowe act as a pick up point for OrganicLea. They say they do weekly, mostly locally sourced organic vegetable boxes. The veg can be picked up after 2:30 each Wednesday. Worth further investigation? Maybe.

I’m busy working out if I can get there after teaching on Wednesdays when I decide to look at little more deeply at their box contents. Erm…. The last box they have details for on the site is for the end of September. This does not bode well. The box does have some local produce but it also says:

Produce from: Hughes Organics and small farmers in East
Anglia, Sarah Green in Essex and our growing site (Hawkwood)
in Chingford, and from Langridge Organic wholesalers.(my formatting)

Further investigation also reveals suppliers in Norfolk and Linconshire. Not very local then really, though they do have some grapes and figs that were grown in Tottenham. (It’s been an amazing summer!) In fact quite a few suppliers are further away than Riverford and I really don’t like the use of an organic wholesaler. Their produce could be from anywhere!

My options seem quite limited then. To be more local we’d have to grow our own veg, not very practical in a small garden and you still have to get through the unproductive winter, move (!), or stick with a vegetable box from one of the big boys, the best of which, for now, seems to be Riverford.

Posted as part of Blog Action Day 2011

*Most children will eat most fruit & vegetables without any fuss if you introduce them early, make trying new foods exciting and normal and don’t force them to eat things. Obviously there are exceptions but there are far fewer of them than you might think.

Here’s something that might convince you. I’ve lost track of the number of times friends (and clients – I used to be a child-minder) brought their children to my house and gave me a long list of things they absolutely would not eat. I even had mothers prepare a child’s ‘favourite’ lunch so convinced were they that there was no chance he’d eat what everyone else was having. Their amazement on picking up their happy, full child and his lunch, still in it’s box, was often quite amusing.

How was this miracle performed?

Quite simply. I never forced a child to eat. That would just be horrible.

Lunch when I was child-minding was usually a collaborative affair and we allowed plenty of time for it. So many skills and so much learning went on in that time, everything from talking and listening to gross and fine motor skills.  Even quite little people can learn to use a plastic knife to cut up softer vegetables, apples and pears, round bladed scissors to snip chives from the garden or they might collect sugar snap peas straight from the plant. Hands washed and aprons on of course.

The main thing was to end up with several small bowls of tasty, nutritious  food, some they’d tried before and often something new to ‘just try a taste’.

Salad faces are good for getting children to eat vegetables

Then we would  maybe build a ‘salad face’ or we might make home made pizzas. Sometimes we’d build our own sandwiches or fill a tortilla wrap. On cold days we’d make ‘special soup’. This was a clear vegetable stock with the fresh ingredients just added for a few minutes to soften, finished off with rice pasta or tiny alphabet pasta. Serve it not too hot in a child size mug with a teaspoon to eat the bits. Often a fair bit of the raw food disappeared into the cooks before it ever got to be lunch, and that was fine too. On wet, miserable days we’d bake our own bread rolls to fill or eat with soup. Each child got to make and shape their own roll. The smell of fresh baked bread cooling does good things to little appetites!

The magic trick…or  3 secrets.

1. Children will almost always eat what they’ve helped to make and what they make does NOT have to be special kiddie food.
2. Children copy each other, including what they eat. It is much easier to get a group to try something new than an individual.
3. Talk to them. They often understand far more than we realise and tend to respond well to logic. Explain simply when you are preparing the  food that it takes our mouths three or four tries to be able to decide if we like something. Don’t make a fuss or let them see you want them to try something. Always let them spit it out if they don’t like it.

Footnotes:

*Some children really do have serious eating problems. If yours does, get help! Start with your doctor or health visitor. This post is not about that.

*I’m not saying don’t ever make treats or that carrot cake is evil. Just don’t kid yourself that you are doing your children good by stealth.

[Photo Credit CC zeevveez]

Later I made these drinks for my family & numerous other children over the years and they were very popular. Orange and Lemon Barely Water is first on the list as it was always my favourite.

Dilute it by at least 50% in the glass and add ice.

Nana’s Orange & Lemon Barley Water

Nothing like the stuff you buy in the shops from that well known brand. This is refreshing and nutritious. Even so, it’s not for every day, but perfect for hot summer days and holidays. It brings back memories of tents in the garden, long summer days and grown ups having something in their drink that wasn’t in mine!

This is a messy job. Clean hands, clean surfaces and an apron are all important. (See it even gives you an excuse to buy a pretty apron and play Domestic Goddess!)

The big old fashioned mixing bowls are great for this job. You can use either a glass or wooden lemon squeezer. Don’t use metal stuff for fruit as it can make it taste funny.

BTW – child labour is perfect for squeezing oranges & lemons. Older children can also be taught to remove the rind.

We’re using elegant tea cups here as a measure. Nana’s was good china but had a broken handle. You could use a mug, I suppose, but a cup is better. Nana didn’t like scales – too much washing up!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup of organic pot barley
• 10 cups of water
• 2 organic, unwaxed lemons
• 6 organic unwaxed oranges
• A small amount of organic honey to taste

Method

1. Simmer the barley in the water for about an hour.
2. While it simmers cut the fruit into halves and juice it. This is easily done with an old fashioned lemon squeezer. Give each one a roll on a wooden board first to loosen the juice & start to break it down. Don’t follow any fancy tips about microwaving it first to get more juice. You’ll destroy all that lovely vitamin C!
3. Peel the rinds from the fruit. You can use a potato peeler but make sure you just get the rind not the white.
4. Add the rinds to the simmering water
5. Leave to cool
6. Strain the cooled water into a large bowl. Throw away the barley (ouch – if you have any good ideas what to do with it leave a comment! I put out for the birds. Then throw it away!)
7. Add the fruit juice
8. Taste and add a little (as little as you can) honey
9. Pour it in a covered jug
10. Keep it in the fridge

Serving Suggestions

A tall cold glass, ice & a slice of lemon.

If serving it in a glass jug you could add slices of fruit or a sprig of fresh tarragon.

Also tastes great from tin mugs if glamping! Decant into screw top bottle and take it on picnics with you but don’t keep it for more than a day without a fridge.

Oh, and if it’s for a special garden party,  those grown ups might try it with a dash of gin or vodka (personally I’d add it to a little Ricard!) but then grown-ups are very naughty like that

[Photo Credit CC Brandon C Warren]