Eat Local and Sustainable in Bristol, England...
from a Californian perspective
peppers grown by mum and dad on their glass-covered porch in Bristol, England
Follow me over the next few posts as my mother proves me wrong, I discover that in Britain organic invariably trumps local, how packaging can deceive and that garlic seems only to come from Spain.
My first port of call for information on finding locally sourced produce in the Bristol area was the Bristol Friends of the Earth local food guide. This is actually a very useful resource for anyone starting to investigate the subject of where to find locally sourced products in the Bristol area.
Even closer to home - I found that my mum and dad had been growing a small amount of produce at home. From peppers growing in a pot in the glass-covered porch area to defiantly green tomatoes, and a selection of herbs, outside in the back yard.
Stubborn green tomatoes growing in my parents' back yard
PS - Please Wish me luck - I think I am going to need it!
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15 Comments:
At 22/9/07 11:33,
ChrisB said…
I have every confidence in your abilities to produce a perfect meal~ with my help of course!!
At 22/9/07 11:34,
Sam said…
Perfect - well there's a chance - but fully local - no way -I already added balsalmic and olive oil to the soup...
At 22/9/07 12:35,
Anonymous said…
Okay, Sam, shut your ears. It doesn't have to do with the fact that drippings are from beef -- I'm jusr a little worried about overwhelming the sweet/sourness of the tomatoes, which is pretty delicate. Flour will be fine when there's no meal. This comes from someone with Southern roots. I wouldn't even use bacon fat (one of the few times when that's true!).
At 22/9/07 16:26,
Anita (Married... with dinner) said…
the recipe we used last year had just a touch of cornmeal in it, so I am sure it would be fine if you left it out:
http://marriedwithdinner.com/2006/10/15/frittering-the-day-away/m
At 22/9/07 16:29,
Violet said…
Fried green tomatoes in beef drippings sounds great!!
At 22/9/07 16:36,
Lisa Fain (Homesick Texan) said…
I've never fried mine in beef fat, but I think it could be interesting. Just make sure the slices are thick, otherwise they can get too mushy. And while I prefer cornmeal, flour is tasty as well. I mix a bit of buttermilk with an egg, and then do a flour dredge(spiced with black pepper--though that's probaly not local to Bristol), then an egg & buttermilk dredge, then another flour dredge. This makes for a nice and thick crust. Good luck with keeping up with the Eat Local challenge--it's always a blast being creative in the kitchen!
At 22/9/07 16:50,
Alex English said…
Sam, you should try Isle of Wight garlic - that's what I always used to get at my local farmers' market when I lived in Hampshire. There's even a garlic festival held there every year...
http://www.garlic-festival.co.uk/
At 22/9/07 18:43,
Mercedes said…
This is great, i have so many thoughts, but i'll wait and watch as this all plays out. Look forward to reading more...
At 23/9/07 00:29,
katy said…
your mum sent me over, it sounds great to me, please don't forget to show us photos of the complete meal
At 23/9/07 05:11,
Beccy said…
I wish I was there!!!!!
At 23/9/07 08:40,
Marianna said…
Hello, I am new to your blog. I have been to San Francisco once in my life and loved every minute I was there.
Good luck in your adventure of eating local while in England.
At 23/9/07 18:11,
frannie said…
I can't make anything without garlic.
and my mom is allergic to it. I have a really hard time when she comes to dinner.
At 24/9/07 11:55,
Anonymous said…
If you get your passport is there a chance you'll come to Paris? Coupe de champagne on me! Bises, Ms. Glaze
At 26/9/07 05:58,
Jeanne said…
Good luck with your endeavour! Reminds me of the Konstam restaurant here in London where they try to source everything thsy use from within the M25 (or just a teensy bit outside it...). Clearly a problem for stuff like olive oil, coffee and rice, but you'd be surprised how far they can get.
At 30/9/07 20:07,
Sam said…
Kudzu - it's ok - I shut my ears and used the beef dripping and you know what - I don't think that was the problem (beef dripping is far more subtle than bacon fat in taste) - the problem was I cooked them a little in advance and then tried to keep them warm in the oven at which point they lost their crisp. otherwise I think the dripping would have worked a treat. I sliced them fairly thick which I think helped.
anita - I found a few recipes online without the cornmeal which gave me the confidence to not worry about not using it, of course, along with you stamp of approval.
HT - great advice which of course I didn't take - but might take next time. Well - I took the thick slice advice from you and that worked a treat but I wasn't so rigorous with my dredging.
alexthepink - unfortunately we did not even find any local garlic though I am sure it exists - at least we tried to find it - it was a bit far to nip to the IOW for a bulb or two!!!
mercedes - penny for your thoughts later maybe?
her indoors - the photos are now up on the latest post, thanks for dropping in from mum's
beccy - me too
marianna - thanks for stopping by and saying hello - I hope you will come back!
poor frannie - that is tragic!
ms glaze - I wished I could have gone to paris but it was not to be and fred went on his lonesome and then missed me too much and came back to Angeleterre a few days early so we could hang out in Cornwall.
Next time?
jeanne - that sounds wonderful - I will have to check it out!
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