Tag: Food

The Life of a Market: At the Greengrocer’s

Boxes, crates and bags full of fresh fruit and vegetables are flying before my eyes. It’s early Saturday morning in the Market Hall in Derby and Rob Corden, a well-known greengrocer in the Midlands, is setting up his stall for a busy trading day. I learn from him later that he woke up that morning at 2:50am to go to the regional wholesale market to select the freshest foods for his customers. This made me realise how little I know of his trade and so I decided to find out more…

I learn that he is one of the few greengrocers who gets fully involved in the selection process of his products. Many others just phone their order through without examining the food. Rob doesn’t want to compromise the quality and freshness of his fruit and vegetables. It’s too important for him.

Rob comes from a family of greengrocers. His grandfather was a greengrocer and his father is too. Despite being educated to be an engineer, in his early thirties he decided to take over his father’s business. He’d been observing his dad since he was 5 so in his thirties he was more than well-prepared for the trade. Now he is also introducing his son to the art. It’s a family business and the warmth and family-like atmosphere is easily felt. I take my little boy there every week and he loves to observe the hustle and bustle of the market.

Those people in the market in the middle of Derby are great teachers to our children because they love what they are doing, because they are happy about their products and passionate about their work and that means that they live their lives well.

When I talk to Rob he tells me that he loves what he’s doing. You sense it from him: he knows his stuff, he’s informed. He says it’s because over the years he’s never stopped learning. There is always something to discover about food and there is always something to discover about people. Their tastes and preferences change. There are different trends and fads in the food business. There are new laws and new regulations. There are weather fluctuations that affect the quality and prices. There’s a lot to think of. There’s a lot to plan for.

When we visit the market Rob advises us what to try and how to cook it. He also tells us stories of the past and present and eagerly listens to ours because he believes that this is what buying in the market is about… about following each other’s trials and tribulations, about creating bonds within the same city, about sharing and exchanging slices of life within its community. It’s about having a very wholesome conversation face to face with different people… and talking over fruit and vegetables is just so easy… there’s no ice to break… no conventions to follow… just a banana to peel or a crispy apple to bite into.

Nothing New: Reuse, Repurpose, Multiply

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Old baskets, old flowerpots, old bricks and panes, old herbs, old seeds, and my old book… used, reused or re-purposed today. It’s shocking how many useful things hide in our houses, sheds and garages…. I needed those things today and they were there… waiting for me… most likely hoping that I hadn’t entirely forgotten about them… I must admit… I had, but it’s my resolution not to buy anything new this year so this morning I eagerly looked around our house and our garden and I found them and then I was just scrubbing, cleaning, digging, planting and assembling… and the whole process made me really happy… it still does…It’s nice to know that you can rescue things… that you can give them their second lives… It feels good.. It empowers.

Greetings from Cyprus

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Greeting from Cyprus, My Friends. Back to blogging soon.  Alicja x

 

Coming Soon: People who care, people who share: The Greengrocers

Potatoes and Brussel Sprouts

Coming soon: About people who care. About people who look after those who live in cities, about our Greengrocers. :) Do you have a greengrocer where you live? Do you share your life stories with him/her? My greengrocer has told me a lot about his life and work and so I’ll be sharing with you his stories soon. Can’t wait, can you?

Poppy-seed Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

3 eggs

150g butter (chop it into small cubes)

1/2 cup of caster sugar

1/4 cup of milk

300g plain white cake flour

3/4 cup of poppy-seeds

1.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda (if you are using self-raising flour, this is not needed)

3 tsps cream of tartar (if you are using self-raising flour, this is not needed)

1 to 2 tsps of icing

Preparation

1. Separate the white of egg from the yolks. Put the white of egg to the fridge (it is easier to whisk when cold)

2. Combine the egg yolks with the sugar and the butter until the butter appears melted and you have a good and fairly runny consistency. (If your butter is too hard, you can add a little bit of warm water to make it melt and mix quicker)

3. Add flour, milk and poppy seeds, cream of tartar and bicarbonate of soda. Mix everything thoroughly. Start warming up the oven – set it to 175°C.

4. When the oven is heating up, take the white of egg out of the fridge and in a separate bowl whisk the egg yolks into a firm foam. Pour the foam into the cake mixture and gently fold it into the cake mix. Do it until the whole mixture is well combined and little bubbles appear in it. (At this stage you can also add some flour if you think that you cake is too runny).

5. Butter your cake tin (or fill it up with greaseproof paper), pour in the cake mix and put it to the heated oven for about 55-65 minutes. If you put a knife into your cake and the blade comes clean that means the cake is ready. If your mixture was quite wet or you have used a different cake tin, it might take a bit longer to bake.

6. When the cake cools, you can decorate it with some icing powder. I use my small tea leaf holder for this purpose. It helps me to sprinkle the powder evenly on the cake:)

Share and Enjoy!