EASY PEASY CRUNCHY OATCAKES

For biscuits to have with cheese, jam or honey, these are ideal, taste great and couldn't be quicker or easier to make. Half an hour should do it. You should be able to get about 16 cakes out of this mix.

225g oatmeal (I grind small oatflakes, makes for a good texture)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 pint boiling water

Put first three ingredients into a bowl and add the butter. Stir well in then gradually add water until mixture sticking together nicely but not too moist. Flour a board and your hands and knead until well combined.
*Shape into a ball then flatten and roll out until mixture is between 1/4 and 1/2 inch thick. Keep pinching the breaking edges together with your fingers.
Using pastry cutter or tumbler, cut into rounds (approx two and half inches diameter) and lay on an ungreased baking tray. Pull the leftover crumbly bits together (add a tiny bit of water if the mix is a little dry) and repeat the process from * twice more until all the mixture is used up.
Bake in a pre-heated moderate oven (say 190˚C) for approx 20 minutes until the cakes are a pale fawn colour. Cool on wire rack.

I love these with a thin coat of marmite and peanut butter on top!
Happy baking. Sue

BASQUE EGGS FROM SUE

Do you make and freeze ratatouille or sometimes buy it readymade? (Leader Price do a reasonable Bio one) then here's a quick and delicious starter or main dish? It's this simple:

Three quarters fill individual ovenproof dishes (approx 5"- 6" diameter) with Ratatouille.
Make a well in the middle of each and break an egg into it.
Sprinkle with grated cheese and bake until egg set and cheese melted.

That's it! Serve with salad and fresh bread. It's great I promise. Of course if you don't mind it taking a bit longer, then make the ratatouille from scratch. BON APPETIT!

ECOPAINTS by Sue

It's widely accepted that household paint is full of dodgy substances, after all there are enough warnings on the tin, but do we really know what's in it? Here's a list of some of the goodies, the comments in red are to give an idea and not exhaustive:

* animal products (the mind boggles)
* heavy metals - lead, cadmium, mercury etc.,
* formaldehyde (classified as a probable human carcinogen, and listed by the US) and acrolein Cigarette smoke and exhaust fumes contain acrolein which causes burning of the nose and throat and can damage the lungs)
* vinyl chloride (a colourless gas that can cause dizziness or worse if breathed in in large quantities)
* phthalates ( observed to correlate with hormonal changes and birth defects, as well as other damage to the liver and reproductive system of rats. Some studies have been done which also indicate harmful effects on humans)
* APEO (a surfactant - has poor biodegradability, is toxic and can act as an endocrine disrupter)
* solvents and white spirit, turpentine, terpenes, ethereal oils, VOC'S glycols,
coalescents
* Acrylic Softeners (damaging to the environment)

Worried? Check out this eco paints site passed on by Caroline.

NESTLE - THE GREENPEACE KIT KAT CAMPAIGN

Further to our palm oil piece, we recently signed the Greenpeace petition against the use of palm oil and destruction of the rain forest involved in the manufacture of Kit Kat, and doubtless, numerous other Nestlé products. If you haven't already signed up and would like to know more, here is the link.
The latest email from Greenpeace includes a request to contact Nestlé direct to ask them to clean up their act. I checked out their chief execs to choose one to write to and have sent a letter to the only woman on their board of directors. To read what I said, click on Letter to Nestlé at the top of the page.

If you wish to contact them too, this is the relevant webpage. And The Ecologist is covering the story too. Sue

VIOLETS AND DANDELIONS

They're both popping up to brighten the new growth of spring, in the fields, on roadside banks and, if we're lucky, in our gardens. The delicate VIOLET, deep purple, pale mauve or white, is helpful for coughs and bronchitis. It can also soothe nerves, headaches and insomnia and act as a mild laxative. Take fresh or dried flowers or dried leaves in an infusion.
As a culinary decoration, sprinkle a few bright flowers on a salad.
DANDELIONS have medicinal properties too. For hypertension - try an infusion of fresh young leaves three times a day. It's also a good diuretic because it contains potassium (usually lost in diuretic action) - make a decoction of a tablespoonful of root in a cup of water and drink three times a day, root decoction can also alleviate rheumatoid arthritis when mixed with celery seed.
Here's a fun idea: Choose some closed dandelion flowers and open them in a pan with some butter. Add two beaten eggs with a tablespoonful of crême fraîche, salt and pepper and cook until set as desired. Voilà - omelette aux pissenlits!
Avoid picking either flower from the roadside - exhaust fumes, and if there's only a tiny patch of violets, then I would leave them in their natural setting. Where we are, they're profuse so I don't feel bad about picking a few.
For how to make infusions and decoctions check out this site.

DID YOU KNOW?

IT CAN TAKE UP TO 1,000 YEARS FOR A PLASTIC WATER BOTTLE TO BREAK DOWN IN A LANDFILL. (keep an eye open for upcoming article on dioxin - the dangers of plastic water bottles)

FOR INTREPID BREAD MAKERS

Our friend Hassanah visited the other day and, as I'd always enjoyed her homemade bread, I asked her how she made it.
'Oh, heavens,' she said. 'Well, I improvise really. It goes something like this.' And she wrote out her recipe (makes a couple of loaves):

1 pint warm water
1 tablespoon honey, malt or molasses
1 pkt dried yeast
Mix above with enough bread flour to make a thick cream consistency and leave to rise. It should double in size.
Add 2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon salt
Seeds and/or nuts of choice
Keep adding flour and kneading until not sticky.
Put into greased tin/s and leave to rise again. Bake in moderately hot oven until golden brown.

You can use a mix of different flours and sprinkle poppy, sunflower or sesame on top.

BON COURAGE! Let us know how you get on.

THE GOODNESS OF GARLIC

It is generally thought that garlic is a wonder food which can lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, cleanse the blood of excess glucose and help prevent strokes. It has antibacterial qualities too and can alleviate sore throat and bronchial congestion. Latest research indicates it has cancer fighting properties. Garlic contains B & C vitamins, potassium, calcium, phosphorus and protein and more. It's a good idea to include it in your daily diet.

At the first sign of a cold, try this: juice of 1 lemon, 2 medium cloves garlic (crushed) and a tablespoon of honey. Mix it up well and (be brave) drink it down in one.
For more info, check out this site.

BLOODY BAROSSO!

We've just received an email from Greenpeace about the introduction of GM crops into Europe. If you would like to act on it, here is the link.

Thanks Mart

I brought up the subject of palm oil at a meeting this morning and someone threw cosmetics into the arena. I came home to find a very useful comment from Mart with a link to a Times article. As most, even all of us, use cosmetics, I think we should be aware of what's in them. Scroll down to bottom of article and click on 1 comment to access the link. Sue

FROM SUE BY POPULAR REQUEST

These went down a treat at Rosemary's venue yesterday, so here's how I make them:

Ingredients:
175g softened butter
175g soft brown sugar
225g plain flour
100g oats
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup of dried apricots, soaked in hot water until soft then chopped into small pieces
1/2 cup raisins or sultanas
grated rind of 1/2 a lemon

Beat the softened butter with the sugar until well combined. Add all other ingredients and mix well. Spread the mixture in a greased 20x30cm (8x12inch) baking tin, press down to flatten. Mark out squares to make easier to cut when cooked. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes in a pre-heated moderate oven. Leave to cool before cutting into squares. Sprinkle with caster sugar.
Variation - use dates instead of apricots if preferred.

That's it - nice and easy and delicious.

NOS ENFANTS NOUS ACCUSERONS

This important little film needs large numbers of visitors to the site as soon as possible to get it into the cinemas. It's in English and French with the respective sub-titles and it's short and strong. Click here to see it.

PROTEIN

Vegetable sources:

ALL SOYA PRODUCTS (soya is the subject of much debate, see this item or Google 'The truth about soy' and choose your site)

PULSES - lentils, dried beans, chick peas etc.

WHOLE CEREALS - (i.e. non-refined) all grains, rice, pasta, maize etc.

SEEDS - sunflower, pumpkin, sesame etc.

SPROUTED SEEDS - mung, azuki, green lentils, grains etc.

ALL NUTS

PALMED OFF by Sue

The other night, PANORAMA on BBC1 covered an investigation into PALM OIL cultivation in Indonesia. We've all heard of palm oil, but do we really know about the havoc being created by this massive industry and what we can do to stop it.
Indonesia is the third biggest carbon emitter on the planet - why? Thousands of hectares of forest are being cleared to make way for palm oil. Along with soya, palm oil is now being used in vast numbers of processed foods, often it's labelled as vegetable oil. Why is this a problem?
FIRSTLY, the destruction of the forests is disastrous.
SECONDLY no steps are being taken to stop illegal planting, primarily on land that has peat within three metres of the surface. Peat, along with methane, can release massive amounts of carbon into the atmosphere.
THIRDLY orang utangs and other animals, are losing their jungle habitat and will soon become extinct.
These are the main problems and we do not wish to be associated with what's going on.
We rarely buy processed food and when we do, we always check the label. Up until now, we hadn't known the full extent of the damage caused by palm oil production and certainly didn't know that vegetable oil almost always is, or includes, palm oil. So here's another no-no on the ingredients list.
If enough of us refused products that include the oil, and made our reasons known, the industry might get the message and use an alternative, but we're not optimistic. It's the cheapest oil and it seems the majority of processed food buyers are more interested in the price they pay than the price the planet is paying.
Friends of the Earth has more information here and there are plenty of other sites on the subject.

RED ALERT! THE BIOTECH COMPANIES ARE AT IT AGAIN by Sue

Genetically modified potatoes have been approved by Brussels. Google GM potatoes and see the many sites on the subject. They say the BASF (a German biotech company) amflora potato is not for human consumption and will be mainly used for pulp in paper-making. That's all very well, but the risk of contamination of other crops is high. According to this up-to-the-minute Reuters report France is, at least, being extremely cautious, but the French farm minister wants across-the-board agreement on GM in Europe which doesn't augur well. The debate is likely to rumble on but it's important to remain vigilant.
Anyone who saw the documentary 'The World According to Monsanto' ('Le Monde Selon Monsanto') will know how dangerous the introduction of genetic modification really is and what this biotech giant, Monsanto, has been up to. If you didn't catch the documentary on TV and are anxious to find out what's going on, you can get the DVD or the book from Amazon here.

GM (OGM in France) products are already sneaking into loads of foods - GM soya, one of the principle modified crops, is frequently listed among ingredients of processed foods, including the most unlikely. When we asked a local farmer what he feeds his pigs, he said maize and soya from Brazil - it may not be GM but the chances are strong it is and anyway, soya cultivation as animal feed is causing the destruction huge tracts of rain forest. No, not all soya is GM but it's still advisable to carefully read the label when not buying organic.

For those who are concerned and want more info on the subject, there are loads of sights about the dangers of GM. Try this one from Friends of the Earth.

SUE'S VERSATILE NUT AND SEED PATE

Basic Recipe ingredients:

1 CUP MIXED NUTS (cashews, pecans, almonds etc.)

1 CUP MIXED SUNFLOWER AND PUMPKIN SEEDS

½ CUP OATS

1 TABLESPOON OLIVE OIL

¾ - 1 CUP WATER

VEGETABLE BOUILLON POWDER OR SOY SAUCE TO TASTE

Grind nuts, seeds and oats and mix thoroughly in a large bowl. Add olive oil and mix in well, gradually add sufficient water to bind. Flavour with bouillon powder or soy sauce. Mix well. Check consistency and, if necessary, add more water. If you find it’s a bit too liquid, add more ground oats.

Spread out in a bowl, cover with a cloth and leave in a warm place to ‘ferment’ for about eight hours or overnight.

Other versions

Add finely chopped onion, or nutmeg, or curry powder or garlic and freshly chopped herbs. Other possibilities - add red wine instead of water and/or a squeeze tomato puree for extra flavour.

Make up your own variations!

SERVE WITH FRESH BREAD or SPRINKLE ON SALADS.

AS A STUFFING FOR PEPPERS OR ROUND COURGETTES -

Half and seed red pepper or round courgette. Cook in boiling water until slightly soft. Drain and put in lightly-oiled dish, fill the halves with pate and pop in a medium oven for just long enough to heat the filling. Top with grated cheese for the last five minutes of cooking.

Most of my cooking is improvisation on a theme. At first I'll follow a recipe then, after I've done it a few times, I start improvising with quantities and ingredients. Of course, you have to follow instructions when making cakes etc.

Now here's a variation, or several really, suggested by Mart:

Try beans instead of nuts in your paté. Red or white, mung, chick peas or any others you think might work. Soak overnight, if necessary, cook until mashable then they're ready to use.

Toasting your ground seeds before adding gives a nuttier flavour. (you can store ground, toasted sesame in olive oil - tahini fashion)

Mix the beans and toasted seeds in a large bowl, then add garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and paprika to taste. (I keep adding until I'm happy). You'll need some water to make the mix just soft enough to liquidise. Finally check the seasoning.

Leaving overnight always improves the taste and the mix will thicken quite a bit. If too much, add a bit more water.

Yummy! Thanks Mart.

GETTING CLUED UP ON THE FOOD INDUSTRY by Sue

For anyone who's concerned about what's being sold by the supermarket chains, particularly in the way of processed food, we can recommend a handful of excellent books. It's no secret that the big companies are producing cheap food, far too cheap for it to be good for us. Our bodies can only take so much ill-treatment before they begin to get sick. Logically it's a good idea to be clued up on what's truly nourishing and what's potentially unhealthy, even toxic. We've been told about watching the quantity of food we consume, but we believe the quality is just as important.

Here are a few book titles:

'Eat your Heart Out' by Felicity Lawrence
'We want Real Food' by Graham Harvey'
'Food for Thought' by Philip Day
and, of course, 'Fast Food Nation' by Eric Schlosser
This is the conclusion to Felicity Lawrence's great book:




All the books mentioned above are interesting and informative and, for some, could prove life-changing.