Carry on camping!

 Spring marks the start of the camping season. I began my camping life at the age of 8 months and this continued until the age of 30. It was a very happy period spent with family and friends, at home and abroad, and was how I met my husband.

In the early days camping was under canvas with my parents and sister. It was the 1960s and we had the freedom to roam fields, woods and streams. Once, whilst paddling in a stream I found two bottles of milk and toddled back to my parents carrying my finds. Of course the milk belonged to another family who were keeping their milk cool and was duly returned to them.

In those days we rarely camped on campsites as Clubs would arrange to use farmers fields for the purpose. This meant that a milk churn would be given to the stewarding family to ladle out pints of milk to those wanting to purchase it. Eggs and other produce were sometimes on sale too. Friendly farmers would allow us to play in the barns, collect eggs or watch cows being milked before being allowed to taste the fresh, still-warm, milk. Den building was a popular activity and we were only limited by our own imaginations. We would wake up to the smell of bacon frying in the open air as people cooked and ate al fresco.

We had many camping friends we called auntie and uncle and one of my "aunties" asked me to wash the cabbage for her. It took several trips to the water tap to collect enough water to rinse the rather soapy cabbage which I had washed using Stardrops washing up liquid!

By the 1970s we had a caravan, although my sister and I still preferred to sleep in our own little tent. We had a coolbox which dropped through a hole in the caravan floor and kept everything chilled in the shade of the chassis. Cheese and wine gatherings became popular as, it seemed, everyone made their own wine. There was plenty around and we children could always manage to surreptitiously sneak a drop. My friend's father made a delicious elderberry wine which we took as reward for helping him to pick the elderberries!

By the 1980s campers went barbecue crazy and the campsites were shrouded in plumes of smoke from charred burgers and sausages. As I became vegetarian in 1990 it was a struggle to keep my corn on the cob separate from everyone else's meat and utensils so foil wrapping was the order of the day. Things had moved on apace and by then everyone had refrigerators in their caravans, cassette toilets and gas barbecues.

Camping in the 1960s = freedom

Camping in the 1990s = flashdom!

La dolce vita!

I am just sitting on the hotel balcony overlooking the beautiful bay of Sorrento in Italy. The people, the sights, the shops and the food have all been amazing. Whilst there is always an abundance of fresh fish and some meat on the menu, there is also a good choice of vegetarian food and the waiters are eager to provide whatever you may wish for. Grilled vegetables, pastas, pizzas and salads are made with the freshest of ingredients and taste delicious.

One of my favourite dishes (of all time) is a Caprese salad made with sliced mozzarella (made locally here in Sorrento), tomatoes and basil with a seasoning of salt and a drizzle of olive oil. The red, white and green are the colours of the Italian flag and look wonderful served on a plain white plate. To wash this down I enjoy a glass of rose - in Sorrento Lacrima Christi!

Back at home in the UK we have Italian restaurants on every high street. Once, whilst enjoying a girls weekend in York, a dear friend asked the waiter for a mozzarella and beef tomato salad. When he brought her dish she asked where the beef was!! How we laughed and have re-told the tale many times. It's quite ironic given that we vegetarians normally are given meat or fish as a garnish when we don't want it; an anchovy here and some chorizo there, especially abroad. It would seem that no one can ever win!

On the dark side!

Like most parents, we have endeavored to entertain our children on long car journeys. Games of I spy, counting coloured cars and mini-punch have all featured over the years. Of late, whilst driving around our local town with my now teenage daughter, we have invented a game counting "Biddies in Beige". Seriously, take a look around and you will see many elderly people dressed entirely, from head to toe, in beige. There must come a point in people's lives when black is deemed too strong a colour for greying hair and pale complexions and, although many would probably love to wear purple, they err on the safe side and go for non-offensive beige.

Whilst in London last year with said teenager and friend, I spotted what I thought was the perfect gift for her grandparents; Beige Chocolate. The girls went into hysterics and it turns out I am the Biddy who can't see without her glasses; it was in fact Belge Chocolat!

Anyway, when it comes to chocolate the only colour to eat these days is the very dark brown -at least 70% cocoa content - and only then in moderation. The good news is that this kind of chocolate has the added benefit of actually being good for us, as opposed to milk and white chocoate which is full of sugar, fat and calories. Studies show that dark chocolate can actually improve our health, lower the risk of heart disease and improve our memory.

Easter has just been a bonanza time for chocaholics like myself but none of that will have been beneficial, being bad for my figure, my complexion and my teeth. When my daughter was aged about 5 and had lost the first of her milk teeth I explained how she would get a second set and must look after them. She turned to me and, in all seriousness, asked when she would get her yellow teeth, like me! Aaagh! From the mouths of babes eh?

Well it's not game over for chocolate nor, for that matter, my sweet tooth. Dark chocolate contains antioxidants which fight tooth decay and the cocoa butter coats the teeth and stops plaque from sticking to them. Sounds like a win-win situation to me!

Be A Good Egg!

Today is Easter Sunday which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus and that is the reason we have Easter Eggs. 

Eggs have long been a symbol of fertility and new life in many customs and cultures. Christians adopted the egg as it is a reminder that Jesus rose from the tomb (symbolised by the empty egg shell) and brought new life. 

During Lent people would abstain from eating eggs but the fast was broken on Easter Sunday. The eggs would have been hard boiled to preserve them and so the tradition of decorating them with dyes, paints and decorations began during the middle ages. After the austerity of Lent this led to competitions for the best Easter Egg and games such as egg rolling and the Easter Egg Hunt.

Chocolate eggs were made during the 19th century in France and Germany but it was here in the UK that the Cadbury family made them available in the 1870s. They were initially made of dark chocolate but in 1905 the first milk chocolate egg appeared. Nowadays there is a glut of Easter Eggs lining the shelves of every supermarket and confectioner, even before the pine needles of the Christmas tree have had time to drop!

Chocolate aside, are eggs acceptable as part of the vegetarian diet? Personally, I do eat eggs, meaning I am a lacto-ovo vegetarian as I also eat dairy products. There is an argument that eating eggs destroys a developing embryo but as most egg farmers keep roosters apart from egg-laying hens, they have very little chance of becoming fertilized and will, therefore, never produce. For me, eggs and dairy are a big part of my diet. On a Jamie Oliver Ministry of Food course the first lesson taught me how to cook the perfect poached egg and I always enjoy a soft boiled (tap-down or dippy in my family) egg with toast soldiers. Another favourite is eggy-bread (also known as witches toast). When my twin niece and nephew were very young they used to come and stay with me. My niece loved eggs whilst her brother was a pizza-eater. I would cook separate teas for them whilst they chanted "pizza's best", "eggs are best" in turn.

Whether you're eating real eggs or chocolate ones on Easter Sunday - enjoy! My tip would be to keep your chocolate ones somewhere safe. We once got home from an Easter skiing trip to find a scattering of brightly coloured foil paper and nibbled eggs ... mice love chocolate too!

What does Holy Week hold?

Today is Palm Sunday; the start of Holy Week. This week sees Lent drawing to a close. I gave up sweets this year and have not particularly found it a hardship as I have still been allowed other sweet treats. The year I gave up chocolate was the hardest, with other foods eaten to excess by way of compensation during the six weeks of Lent and a huge Easter Egg as reward when I crossed the finish line!

With Maundy Thursday celebrating the Last Supper, it got me thinking about what my ideal meal would be were it the last thing I ever ate. Whilst I enjoy food, I eat to live rather than live to eat and have very few favourite or memorable meals. Prisoners on Death Row are asked what last meal they would like and, dependent upon which State they are incarcerted in, may or may not be granted it. It's hard to imagine being in that situation. Perhaps an easier question would be to ask what meal people would choose if they returned from a desert island or, indeed, the jungle on I'm a Celebrity ... Interestingly on that programme, when only given the bare essentials of rice and beans, contestants generally crave salty, spicy and sweet foods. Flavour, it would seem, is more important than quantity.

My fairly humble meal would be as follows:-

Caprese salad (made with the finest & freshest ingredients)

Asparagus, broad bean, pea & goats cheese risotto (made with the finest & freshest ingredients)

Warm chocolate brownie with ice cream (made with the finest & freshest ingredients)

Naturally they would each have to be prepared and cooked to perfection with just the right seasoning, dressing and ooziness. At the end of the meal I would say "that was delicious" and then, as my childhood family tradition dictated, would have to spell that word ... D E L I C I O U S ! Incidentally, we weren't part of a spelling bee; Delicious was the only word we regularly spelt out loud!

We have also reached British Summer Time, when civil time in the UK is advanced 1 hour forward of Greenwich Mean Time. This will mean lighter evenings and, although the mornings will be darker to start with, days will stretch. The prospect of summer with countryside picnics, seaside barbecues and candlelit outdoor dining is enough to gladden the heart of even the grumpiest souls.

The week ahead will, as well as the Easter festivities, include April Fools Day. Ours is a family of jokers and wind-up merchants and one of our best tricks was played on my son who is very car-proud. We informed him that we had noticed a small chip on his windscreen. He rushed out to find exactly that; a frozen french fry placed strategically near his wipers! I wonder what word he was thinking of spelling ...

In Awe of Iron!

Last week many people around the world will have celebrated St. Patrick's Day, the commemoration of the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. Whilst many will have attended church services, many others will have spent the day in pubs and bars enjoying a pint of the black stuff; Guiness.

In days gone by doctors would often recommend that pregnant ladies, and those who had just given birth, drink Guiness in order to restore their iron levels. Not only would this not have been good for baby but probably did very little to boost mum's iron intake either. Similarly, vegetarians have been known to suffer anaemia because of the lack of meat in their diet. It would seem that Vegetarians should not be drinking Guiness either due to the likelihood that it contains traces of fish bladder used in the fining process. However, a good vegetarian diet should not have the need for Guiness nor iron supplements just because we don't eat red meat. We now know that a diet of plant foods should be enough to control our iron levels.

Sources of iron rich plant foods are:-

Pulses and soya bean products

Dark green leafed vegetables

Fortified breakfast cereals

Wholegrains

Dried fruits

Black treacle

Plain dark chocolate

Foods containing Vitamin C should be combined with these iron rich foods in order to aid the absorption of the iron.

As well as celebrating St. Patrick's Day this week we could also embrace the First Day of Spring. Yes! For those who enjoy growing their own produce it's time to start chitting those potato seedlings ready for planting out. After all, eating potatoes, especially with their skin on, is a great way to boost your iron intake.

Mums know best!

Today is Mothering Sunday in the UK when we show our appreciation and affection to our mums.

For most of us, memories are often associated with shared meals with our loved ones. I remember my mum's baking more than her cooking. I would return from school to the smell of a cooling tray of buns, ginger cake, cold tea fruit cake, rock buns or freshly baked bread. In the holidays my sister and I would help her bake and take it in turns to scrape the bowl out and eat the yummy raw cake mix.

Her meals would be the standard fare of the time - meat and two veg, a fry-up or a casserole. We always had a pudding or a slice of cake to follow. A couple of savoury treats stick in my mind; mashed potato with crisps crumbled on top (bizarrely potato with potato topping) and a salad side dish of shredded lettuce, onions, sugar and vinegar.

I grew up in the 1960s/70s and remember slightly space age food like Kellogs Rise and Shine, an orange powder which, when mixed with water, became a breakfast orange juice. Another memory is of saving the top of the milk for a few days and then whipping it to use as cream on desserts. One favourite pudding was a fruit crumble. Every September the whole family would go blackberry picking. Mum would then bottle the fruit so that we had a ready supply throughout the winter months. Once, whilst eating a blackberry and apple crumble I felt something crunch in my mouth - urgh - a snail shell! How it had escaped the picking and processing I'm not quite sure but, luckily, it was before I became a vegetarian!

Another favourite memory is of a holiday to the continent in 1970. Most time was spent in Germany where my dad tried to teach mum a few native words. My parents have always been fond of a cuppa and cake so we often frequented die konditorei. Mum walked in and in her best german called out auf wiedersehen (goodbye!) whilst dad raised his eyebrows and my sister and I giggled delightedly. On the same trip we stayed with Dutch friends who sprinkled chocolate vermicelli on their morning bread which seemed the height of decadence.

My family are fond of saying "do you remember when ..." and off we go down Memory Lane. Today, let's raise a toast to mums everywhere for making memories.