Tag Archives | Nutrition & Sensible Eating

Woolton Pie

By on November 16, 2011 in Food

No, M'Lord, that's where I wash me smalls!

Woolton Pie was created in 1941 at The Savoy Hotel in London and was named after Lord Woolton who was head of The Ministry of Food.

It can be made with just about any vegetables that you have to hand; fresh bought, leftovers, odds and ends, roasted veg, frozen mixed veg. – the decision is yours.  This recipe is about as Wartime Housewife as it gets, using all the elements of  leftovers, using what you have in the fridge or cupboard, and is very, very cheap.

The basic elements are:
Mixed vegetables
A sauce
A topping of pastry, crumble or potatoes – mashed or sliced

WOOLTON PIE

Utensils:
A deep-sided pie dish or casserole

Ingredients:
*   Mixed vegetables cut into similar shapes if possible eg julienne strips or cubes
*   White sauce flavoured with cheese or herbs or both (see HERE for recipe)
*   A quantity of shortcrust pastry OR mashed potato OR sliced potatoes
OR savoury crumble mix (see HERE for crumble recipe)
*   Beaten egg to glaze pastry or grated cheese and butter for the potatoes

Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 375 / 5 / 190
If using fresh vegetables, steam them very lightly until they are just cooked
Put the vegetables into the dish
Pour over the sauce
Top with mash, sliced potatoes, crumble mixture or pastry
Top potatoes with grated cheese or brush the pastry with beaten egg
Bake in the oven until whichever top you’ve used is golden brown

 

Comments { 8 }

Local meat producers and Waterloo Cottage Farm

By on October 18, 2011 in Food, Slider, The Great Outdoors

British Saddleback

Before the Shire Book of the Month, currently Pigs, changes, I want to tell you about a local meat producer called Waterloo Cottage Farm and the important role that small producers have in selling good meat from happy animals.

Meat is expensive and so it should be.  To produce good meat takes time, through slow fattening on the right kind of food, fresh air and exercise for the animals, slaughter in the least stressful way possible followed by a decent period of hanging before it finally arrives in your kitchen.

With this in mind, I visited local producer Waterloo Cottage Farm in Great Oxenden, Northamptonshire and was given a tour of the farm by owner, Kirsty Clarke.  We met in the light, cool shop, where a mouth-watering array of meat and produce was displayed.  After a brief chat about what I wanted to see, I was taken out through the back door to the business end of the enterprise.

Glorious Pig

I was confronted by lots of open pens, with several different types of pigs enjoying the sunshine.  I was wearing a long skirt and strappy sandals, so I tucked my skirt into my knickers and prepared to meet the pigs and what a gorgeous crew they were.  I have a big soft spot for pigs at the best of times, but being able to climb into the pens and actually scratch them and talk to them was a treat indeed.

Happy Pig

Saddleback Piglets

And Kirsty did indeed talk to her pigs and her care and enthusiasm for the creatures came across loud and clear.  The farm has a herd of British Saddlebacks which are allowed to mature fully in the fields and woods which surround Waterloo Farm, as well as Petrans and Ginger Durocs.  I became extremely soppy when she introduced me to the piglets who were running and rolling with their mother in the straw.

The Clarkes also have lamb and hogget, chickens, ducks and geese and they select beef and veal from local farms who also use traditional breeds.  All the animals have something in common.  They are all reared using traditional, sustainable farming methods which work with nature, not against it.  The animals are free to lead full, natural lives on healthy soil and fed on natural, local feed and the pigs are slow grown until they are 9-10 months which is a significantly longer life than an intensively bred animal. The barley comes from the farmer next door and the slaughterhouse is only nine miles away, the animals being accompanied there in a quiet and unstressed way which is better for the animal and better for the resulting meat.

Looking at the meat in the shop is a very different experience to browsing the chiller aisles in the supermarket.  The meat is darker in colour and more wholesome-looking than perhaps we’re used to and the bacon and sausages sit in great piles, pleading with you to take them home.  The bacon and hams are cured on the premises and their master butcher produces fresh piles of traditional and artisan varieties of sausages every day.

I bought some bacon and something I haven’t eaten for over thirty years – veal.  I have deliberately avoided veal because of the unspeakable practice of veal crating, but with the sure knowledge that the animal that provided this had been happy, healthy and natural, I took a chop home and had it for my supper.

My veal in the shop

I can honestly say that I’ve never tasted meat like it; it was tender, sweet and juicy and so flavourful I could have wept.  I also had some of their dry cured bacon for my breakfast the following morning and, apart from the taste, the most obvious difference was visual.  No white scum stickily coating the bottom of your frying pan here, and two rashers and a couple of fried eggs was distinctly more filling that the abominable mid-range stuff you buy at the supermarket.

Local producers do an incredible job of farming.  Not only do they help to preserve the rare breeds but they also help to preserve the very land on which they’re reared because of the sustainable ways in which they farm.  The meat hasn’t travelled huge distances and is therefore beneficial to the environment in a wider sense.  They are also firm protagonists of old skills such as proper butchery and artisan methods of preparation and, because of the renewed interest in this kind of food, many farms  are taking on apprentices.  Waterloo Cottage Farm also runs meat craft courses to encourage you to get the best out of their meat.

We must support these local producers in their endeavours by shopping with them whenever we can.  I have said it before and I will keep saying it until you do as you’re told; eat less, eat better.  Learn how to use to meat to get the best out of it and, I am convinced that properly reared, slow grown meat actually fills you up more so you don’t need as much of it.  Eat less, eat better.  It’s better for all of us.

Comments { 7 }

The body knows what it needs

By on October 11, 2011 in Food, Home and Family

One of my very own lymphocytes taken using a Box Brownie. Incidentally I was delighted to discover that when I downloaded this image my computer 'scanned it for viruses'

I do think that often our bodies know what food they need and sometimes crave something that will rectify a deficiency.  A yearning for milk or nuts or oranges can be an instinctive way of topping up our minerals, Vitamin C, salt or protein.  A craving for chocolate and Richard Armitage is a sure sign of the body’s need for endorphins. I expect.

Last week both the boys had three days off school with diarrhoea and vomiting. Boy the Elder vomited occasionally but loitered palely on the sofa with a volume of Keats and a lace handkerchief, whilst Boy the Younger positioned himself on the lavatory with a bucket between his knees.

I rarely get actual symptoms of anything, but feel like death as my body goes into battle with whichever primordial set of viruses the boys bring home, probably generously donated by the parents who refuse to let their children stay at home when they’re poorly.

This week, I was clearly not only awash with lymphocytes but I had also run out of my migraine tablets.  This resulted in my spending all of Sunday night, and most of Monday, moaning in pain as the rainbow triangles darted in front of my eyes whilst trying to decide whether I was going to vomit because of the virus or the migraine and whether the stomach cramps were going to confine me to the bathroom indefinitely.

As it was, I was spared the bog and bucket fandango, and the application of boiling hot water bottles to the back of my neck and head alleviated the migraine sufficiently for me to drive the boys to school.

However, it is now Tuesday night and, although I was fine this morning, I was obliged to lie down for an hour before Scouts to re-charge as the nausea had set in again.  My giblets were gurgling and rumbling like a dysfunctional lava lamp and I felt as though I needed to eat something to appease the God of Wind.

As I collected Boy the Elder from Scouts, I was handed a small piece of apple cake which they had made during the session.  The smell of freshly cooked apple called to me, the light, fragrant sponge sang to me and I knew that the only thing that would make me better was a piece of apple sponge and custard.

I ran into the Co-op, grabbed an Eve’s Pudding for One and a tin of Ambrosia Custard, shoved it into the microwave and chowed it down.

I am cured.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.  You’re never alone with custard.

Comments { 6 }

Joy of Soup

By on October 10, 2011 in Food

Red Winter Soup

One of the lovely things about the darker nights and colder weather is that home-made soup is on the menu more often.

Tonight we had Red Winter Soup which packed full of Vitamin C to help ward off colds.

In our local Co-op this morning I found four tins of Chestnut Puree in the bargain bucket for only 34p each so I bought them all for future use in Chestnut and Bacon Soup

Pea and Ham Soup

With root vegetables becoming seasonally cheaper, lovely lentil and vegetable soups can be recycled for days.
Make a huge pot and on Day 1 cook some chops or chicken pieces in it.  On Day 2 add some sausages and on Day 3 eat it on its own with good bread and a chunk of decent cheese.

Raid your local butcher or delicatessen and ask them for ham bones for hearty Pea and Ham Soup.

There are still patches of new nettles out there

And of course, let us not forget that Halloween is coming up.  Don’t just carve pumpkins, scoop out the flesh and use it for Pumpkin Soup.

And the beauty is that most soup can be made from Storecupboard Ingredients!   Put Soup into the ‘Search’ box for more souper recipes.

Comments { 9 }

Zinc and the Spotty, Listless Youth

By on July 7, 2011 in Health and Beauty, Home and Family

Other people have written whole books about zinc and the implications of deficiency, inadequate dietary intake and those who have an increased need for this mineral.  I am going to concentrate on just one aspect of it, because it is topical for me.  Teenage boys.

Zinc is an essential trace mineral, present in all tissues,  and which occurs in the body in large amounts, second only to iron. It is well known for its important role in the immune system  and the body’s ability to heal and repair both internal and external wounds and also for the regulation of the skin’s oil gland function.

It is an essential component in the absorption of vitamins, particularly Vitamins A and B Complex and plays a major part in digestion and metabolism.  Vitamins A and B are also critical for the effective function of the liver; poor liver function causes chronic fatigue and poor utilisation of nutrients.  You see how it’s all linked?  Our bodies are constantly striving for stasis, which is why a balanced diet is so important.

Zinc is predominantly absorbed in the small intestine and the body only absorbs what it needs, the rest is excreted.  A diet which is too high in fibre will result in zinc deficiency as it binds the zinc and carries it away before it can be absorbed.

Zinc is essential for all growth, including sexual maturity.  It is also thought to increase male sex drive because of its ability to regulate testosterone in the prostate.

A deficiency of zinc can be at the root of much of the ghastliness of teenage boys.  How often have we been confronted with a spotty, greasy, lacklustre, lanky specimen of humanity who is constantly tired yet restless and unable to concentrate?  Teenage boys are particularly prone to growth spurts and the demands of this, coupled with the physical demands of puberty frequently deplete the body’s resources of zinc.  Boys also often seem to crave milk during their teenage years and, although calcium is also vital, large amounts of it can adversely affect the absorption of zinc.

Boy the Elder is showing signs of such ghastliness on all fronts, particularly the spots and the outrageous and expensive growing that he insists upon doing.  At 13, he is 5’7” and has size 9 feet and this all takes its toll on a chap.  He has a stupidly healthy and varied diet but there’re only so many herrings I can shovel into him during the average day.

I, too, suffer from acne which, in my case is definitely hormonal and I have to keep up a constant regime of skincare to keep it under control.  We may be at opposite ends of the chronological scale, but the causes are similar.  Hormones.  When Pandora opened that box, it wasn’t all the evils of the world that floated out, it was hormones, I’m convinced of it.

To this end, we have both started taking a zinc supplement in the form of a 15mg tablet (amino acid chelate), once a day.  Within a week, my skin has shown tremendous improvement.  Boy the Elder’s skin is slowly improving but we have found that the supplement has to be taken every day without fail for it to be effective.  Washing his face would also help, but that is much harder to do apparently.  He is also definitely more lively and less irritable towards his brother.  Result.

The recommended daily zinc intake according to the National Research Council is:-
Children aged 1-10   = 10mg
Males aged 11 upwards = 15mg
Women aged 11 upwards = 12mg

Good sources of zinc include:  fish (especially the oily varieties), shellfish, chicken,  meat, green leafy vegetables, green peas, pulses, nuts, egg yolks, and wholegrains.

Soil exhaustion and the processing of food negatively affect the presence of zinc in our food and organic, natural, unprocessed foods generally contain higher levels of zinc.

So, if you want your Neanderthal son to buck up, have a go at wacking up the zinc; you may be pleasantly surprised.

Sources:
‘The Nutritional Almanac’ by Gayla J Kirschmann and John D Kirschmann.  Pub. McGraw-Hill, fourth ed. 1996

‘Nutritional Medicine’ by Dr Stephen Davies & Dr Alan Stewart. Pub. Pan 1987

The Complete A-Z of Common Ailments and their Natural Remedies’ by Judy Jacka.  Pub.Foulsham 1995

‘The Manual of Conventional Medicine for Alternative Practitioners’ by Stephen Gascoigne.  Pub. Jigme Press 1996

Comments { 20 }

White Fish cooked with Humous

By on June 18, 2011 in Food

It’s all fish with me at the moment.  This recipe is really quick and tasty and full of chickpea goodness.  You can use any firm, white fish – I used Whiting because it was on special offer in Waitrose and I happened to have half a tub of humous leftover from yesterday’s lunch.  I’m afraid we had troughed it down before I remembered I should have photographed it.  Next time.

WHITE FISH WITH HUMMOUS

Utensils:
1 x frying pan

Ingredients:
1 good knob of butter (approx 2oz / 60g)
White fish fillets
Humous
Lemon Juice
1 tablespoon of fresh chopped parsley (1/2 tablespoon of dried)
Cream
Salt & Pepper

Method:
Melt the butter in the frying pan over a medium heat
Place the fish fillets in the pan
Sprinkle the fish fillets liberally with lemon juice
Sprinkle over the parsley
Give each fillet a good twist of salt and pepper
Smear 1 generous tablespoon of humous over each fillet
Cook the fish over a medium heat, turning occasionally
When the fish is cooked through add a couple of tablespoons of cream to the pan
Cook for a further 3 or 4 minutes until the sauce has thickened
Put the fish onto warmed plates, spoon the sauce over and serve with new potatoes and crisp vegetables

Comments { 2 }

Fruity Chicken Salad

By on May 9, 2011 in Food

This is my absolute favourite salad because it’s filling, colourful, nutritious and delicious.  I’m afraid there’s no picture until tomorrow as I made the salad but I eated it … before I remembered to take a picture.  It serves two people.  I like a dark green salad such as watercress or rocket because the bitterness sets off the fruityness of the mango nicely.  Save a little of the mango to mix with the mayonnaise for a fruity dressing.

FRUITY CHICKEN SALAD

Utensils:
1 x sharp vegetable knife
1 x small bowl

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts – grilled
Dark green salad
1 x large ripe mango – peeled and sliced – set aside a few bits
1 x large ripe avocado – peeled and sliced
2 x large tablespoons mayonnaise
A little paprika
1 x heaped tablespoon pine nuts

Method:
Divide the salad leaves between two plates
Place the chicken breast towards one edge of the plate (six o’clock position)
Arrange the mango and avocado in alternate slices in a fan shape above the chicken
Mash up the set aside mango and mix it with the mayonnaise
Place a spoonful between the chicken and the fruit
Sprinkle with a little paprika
Sprinkle with pine nuts

Comments { 5 }

Lunch at MacDonald's so only myself to blame

By on April 20, 2011 in Food, Health and Beauty, Home and Family

Have a look at the artist, Andy Councils website, its amazing. Click on the link below

As Boy the Elder was spending the day with a friend, I allowed Boy the Younger to choose what he wanted for lunch.  ‘Can we go to MacDonald’s, please?’ he asked nicely.  We very rarely go (for so very many reasons) so off we trotted.

We sat down with our food, when in walked a giant group of people.  Two enormous women with two children who were so fat they couldn’t walk properly.  There was also a very thin woman and her thin daughter – I feared for them.

I have never seen so much food on a table, all mixed up with piles of wrappings and cardboard and tubs.  The children were running about, the women were getting crosser and crosser and the children got louder and louder.  Then they got up to get more food.

We all know the dangers of being severely overweight – heart problems, high blood pressure, diabetes etc.  I’m a bit overweight myself, but I am an adult who is responsible for my own health and wellbeing. My children have hearty appetites and enjoy their food, but they also get plenty of exercise and, because they eat healthily, they can eat junk from time to time with a clear conscience.

Adults who allow their children to get that fat, and therefore expose them to lifelong health problems, to say nothing of the teasing they are likely to get at school, are guilty of neglect and consequently abuse.  There is no excuse.

Andy Council is the illustrator who made the above picture:
http://www.hypixel.co.uk/andycouncil/lotsofstuff.html
I downloaded his picture off Google without asking and his picture on this site does not indicate Andy’s endorsement of my article.  His work is fabulous so have a look at his site.

Comments { 8 }

Nettles – the free alternative to Spinach

By on February 22, 2011 in Food

In which the Wartime Housewife points out that nettles gathered from the hedgerow are free whilst spinach costs over £1 per bag.  Plus a recipe for Egg Florentine Au Naturel.

Nettles - free food

While Boy the Elder was tramping through the Brecon Beacons this weekend, Boy the Younger and I decided to strike out into the countryside ourselves.  When BTY fell off his scooter for the 3rd time, he got, complaining miserably that he had been stung.  And so he had.  The very first nettles were peeping through the brown, sodden remains of last year’s foliage, vivid green and packed full of venom.

It won’t be long before we can start having Nettle Soup again! we cheered.  But nettles are a perfectly good vegetable in their own right.  The other dish I really like to make is Egg Florentine which is usually made with spinach (which is the ‘Florentine’ bit) but can be made equally well with nettles. It would make an incredibly nourishing breakfast dish as well as a light lunch.

How to prepare nettles for eating

I’m sure I don’t need to tell you to wear rubber or thick gardening gloves when harvesting nettles.  Always use the young tender leaves or the tender tops off older plants.  Get rid of any tough stalks and give them a good wash to get rid of any insects or anything else you wouldn’t want to eat.  Then treat them just like fresh spinach.

EGG FLORENTINE

Utensils:
Rubber gloves
1 x small saucepan or poaching pan
2 x medium saucepan

Ingredients:
½ carrier bag of nettles
4 eggs
1 knob of butter
1  quantity of cheese sauce – see below
a little paprika

Method:
Make the cheese sauce and keep it warm
Place the nettles into a medium saucepan with a little water and a knob of butter
Cover and steam until tender
Soft boil or poach the eggs
Drain the nettles and divide between 4 plates
Place one egg onto the top of each pile of nettles
Pour cheese sauce over the top of each
Sprinkle with a little paprika and serve immediately

Cheese sauce
2oz / 60g butter
2oz / 60g wholemeal flour (or 2 really heaped tablespoons)
4oz / 120g cheese – grated
½ pint / 300ml milk
1 pinch mustard power / ¼  teaspoon ready made mustard

Method:
Meanwhile, melt the butter in a pan then slowly
Stir in the flour and mustard powder to make thick paste (a roux)
Add the milk a bit at a time, stirring constantly
Simmer gently until the sauce has thickened slightly and then stir in the cheese

The sauce can also be done in a bowl in the microwave.  Follow the steps above but instead of simmering in a pan, pop the bowl in the microwave for about 3 minutes, taking it out to stir occasionally.

Comments { 5 }

The changing face of breakfast … and hopefully my bottom

By on February 15, 2011 in Food
 

 

My breakfast table

In which the Wartime Housewife takes a look at our dietary habits and why breakfast used to be more important  than it is now and what the implications of that may be.

Sister the First gave me a ‘Modern Cookery Illustrated’ for Christmas which I am struggling to date, as the bookplate is inscribed in 1949-50 but the pictures are clearly pre-war and there is no mention of rationing of any kind.  They also refer to ‘ketchup’ as ‘catsup’, if that’s a clue. There is, however, talk of economy and of  helping to build a fitter, happier Empire.  Now she’s talking my language.

Now another event which has made me look at this book again is one which, I have to confess, fills me with some embarrassment. Deep breath.  Three weeks ago I embarked on a diet.  I have become rather wobbly and I need to lose three stone.  The diet I have chosen is a low carbohydrate, high protein affair which suits my metabolism very well.  One of the important aspects of this diet is having a decent breakfast which will keep you full and give you energy until lunchtime, although they do recommend a healthy snack mid morning and afternoon to try to stop you eating chocolate or cake.

I have talked about the importance of breakfast before, but why do we feel the need to snack all the time?  If you read household manuals or cookery books from the past, there’s no talk of snacking – a small slice of cake at teatime perhaps, where one sits down with a cup of tea in a social way – but no snacking.  I think it’s probably bad habits, not eating sufficiently satisfying food at mealtimes, combined with lack of satisfaction at work and home leading to boredom and dissatisfaction, and lack of exercise. 

Here is a sample of the breakfast menus for a typical week from ‘Modern Cookery Illustrated’.

Sunday:    Baked Apples, Grilled Kidneys and Bacon

Monday:  Porridge, Grilled Bloaters

Tuesday:   Cereal, Brawn

Wednesday:   Fresh Fruit, Fried Mackerel

Thursday:   Cereal, Savoury Omelet

Friday:   Porridge, Kippers

Saturday:   Stewed Prunes, Scrambled Egg

They then go on to eat two more decent meals, the main one being at lunchtime, with a marginally lighter affair in the evening – both with puddings.  There’s plenty of protein and roughage, a little lighter on the veg. than I might be, but they usually compensate for this with fruit.

Now, not everyone was doing manual work, although women were much more vigorous in the cleaning of their homes and probably did more walking.  The other key point is that portions were smaller and I really believe this to be one of the biggest dietary problems and one which is flagged up by all the pedlars of diets.  Control your portion sizes.

In the last three weeks I have only lost half a stone (all of which came off in the first week) but I have lost inches off my wobbliest bits.  The biggest inch loss has been since I started exercising.  I am engaged in manual occupation for chunks of my week and I have found that having a bigger breakfast has given me so much more energy.  I do a bit of stretching and crunching in the evening (and I mean ‘a bit’) and I have also started having a fast walk every day, starting with two miles and then I shall build up to longer routes.  I am convinced that this is how I will regain my former, slenderer shape. 

You see, it’s official.  Bacon and eggs makes you skinny!  Hurrah!

For more hearty breakfast ideas, click on the links below:

http://wartimehousewife.wordpress.com/2010/08/16/breakfast-is-all-the-raj

http://wartimehousewife.wordpress.com/2010/02/16/shrove-tuesday

http://wartimehousewife.wordpress.com/2009/08/14/breakfast-plus-a-recipe-for-crepes

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