Living without Supermarkets

Blog readers will know that I am giving up shopping in supermarkets for Lent. Just three days into the challenge I am shopping at local stores, finding local producers and shopping at markets. Today I visited Borough Market in London. The market is situated underneath the railway at London Bridge station, right next to Southwark Cathedral. You can see the windows of the houses in the background of this photo. This was used for the location filming of one of the Harry Potter films, it was the setting for 'Diagonalley' - next time you watch the film look for it. Wonderful, fresh produce can be bought here and it is getting a well deserved reputation as a 'foodie heaven'. You will usually see a camera crew somewhere round the market.

Fishmongers and butchers sell the best quality produce and such variety you will see nowhere else. Today I bought half a pigs head and some pigs trotters! My Mum grew up not far from here during the Second World War, and she was thrilled when I presented her with her favourite comfort food. Pigs head and trotters are used to make 'brawn'.

Lots of city types come to Borough Market to buy lunch. Perhaps a toasted 'Raclette' cheese sandwich from Switzerland, Spanish chorizo sausage in a ciabatta roll, and ostrich burger - yes ostrich burger!, Lebanese felafal with tabbouleh salad, or perhaps just a good old fashioned English pie and mash. You won't go hungry at Borough Market and there are plenty of free samples to keep the wolf from the door as well!

So, am I missing those tasteless tomatoes from Sainsburys? Those pale, pathetic chickens from Tesco?

Er... no.

A visit to Wisley

Today I visited the RHS garden at Wisley in Surrey. One of the reasons I enjoy my RHS membership is for the wonderful plant centre at the entrance to the gardens. Here I found an excellent selection of seed potatoes. My only complaint about them was that they were sold in such large quantities! I don't have space to grow many, so I like to buy a small selection of different varieties. I did, however, find a small packet of first earlies called Rocket. I grew these last year, they are described in the catalogue as 'ultra early' so these are the ones which I grow in a black bag in the greenhouse for an early, early treat.

The other reason I enjoy my membership of the RHS is to visit the model vegetable garden year round, and compare it to my own. This time of year is what gardeners refer to as 'the hungry gap' - there being little to harvest. These brussels sprout sticks were still in the ground, they looked like a strange plant from another planet!

In one corner of their potager was this lovely rhubarb forcing pot. Beautifully handcrafted by the Yorkshire flowerpot company. I have not yet attempted to force any of my rhubarb. My crowns are only a year old, and forcing rhubarb puts such a strain on the plant that it is only really suitable to do to older, stronger plants. Maybe in a couple of years time when I have more plants I might try it, but not yet.

Blog readers might remember my unsuccessful foray into the world of growing my own mushrooms earlier in the season last year. I thought I would give it a go again, this time with a kit in a box. The box comes with a bag of mushroom compost, with the spawn already impregnated in it, and a bag of compost as top casing layer. Please await update in 6 days (that is what it says on the box) fingers crossed this time!

What are you giving up for Lent?

Next Tuesday is Shrove Tuesday, aka Mardi Gras or Pancake Day. This is the beginning of Lent in the Christian calendar. Whether you are a believer or not it is traditional and a worthwhile exercise to 'give up' something for Lent.

For the past few years I have given up shopping in big supermarkets for Lent. I take the opportunity to empty my store cupboard, take something from the freezer, use local shops and markets, and try to find local producers and growers and patronize local growers. I really detest what the big supermarkets are doing to our environment and how they abuse British farmers. There is a really useful website at Bigbarn where you just put in your local UK postcode and they will show you all the local producers, farms and shops near you. It is not meant to be easy, I saved many hundreds of pounds over the 40 days. Would anyone like to join me?