Eco Worrier - Times Online - WBLG

Promises, promises…

I know it’s not done to go on about how many emails you receive - we all have our crosses to bear and I’m not saying my return to the office after a long weekend is likely to be any worse than yours. But I have noticed a meteoric rise in the number of press releases that plop into my inbox from Companies Doing Something Green.
And yet, when I read them closely, it generally emerges that said company is not doing pioneering pea-green thing, not quite yet, but planning to. In other words, it’s a promise. So, I make a mental note to follow up in a few months’ time - providing my scribbles and post-it notes are still around. Until it occurred to me that if I put the promise up on the blog, not only do I have a reminder of who has promised what but I can call upon you, dear readers, to tell me if any of the ‘green actions’ are happening near you.

To kick off Promise of the Week, here are a few:

Like traffic lanes reserved for vehicles carrying several people, Waitrose confirmed a green tills initiative in September that allows customers who do not require a plastic bag to use a separate checkout. Fantastic idea, I’m all for it, but I’ve yet to be taken aside and given special treatment because I’m carrying my new Plastic Aint My Bag.

Gordon Brown has promised that all new dwellings in Britain will be zero carbon by 2016 - if you're wondering what that means click here - and that there will be free insulation and discounts on low-energy light bulbs and efficient appliances. While this is a long time to wait to be able to say “but please, Mr Prime Minister, you promised us…”, what I’m hoping to see here is any signs that progress is being made.

Sainsbury's announced a ban on palm oil from unsustainable sources in its own-brand food last week. It says that this will be done by next May. The total phase-out (in all products that it sells) will follow, and by July, it intends to label the use of palm oil in all foods. Good call, Sainsbury’s, so far so good. But, remember, Eco Worrier is watching you...

Worms, puppies and compost

Earlier this year, I interviewed Jill Barker, who set up baby business, Green Baby (she now has four shops across London and a successful website selling organic clothes and eco-accessories). To my delight, I discovered, in her North London home, a dog-waste converter (DWC) that turns dog poo into compost with the help of worms. Good old worms, you can always rely on them to undertake a job that no one else wants. Anyway, I was seriously impressed. I told every pet-owning soul I knew how important it was that they get themselves a DWC.
If anyone was brave enough to take my advice, here's a warning from Jill. Watch out when you worm your dog. It sounds obvious but this morning she solemnly informed me that she had killed all her worms by piling puppy poo into her DWC after the little mutt had been treated for worms.

If Jill’s efforts to go green and her recent book Baby Green interest you, she will be signing copies and distributing wine and mince pies at her Elgin Crescent shop in Notting Hill, North London, between 5pm-7pm on November 28th. This is part of a Christmas Late Opening event in the surrounding streets.

No foil cooking

Sorry to all those wishing that I would move on from my silver foil issues and blog about something else, but I can’t resist telling you about the eco cooking method used by one reader, the lovely Jill Pendleton. Thank you Jill for sending me these pictures which illustrate how easy it is to bake fish without using reams of silver foil. By simply using a second heatproof dish to cover the fish, the same effect is achieved and it stops the fish drying out. Happy also to see a butter wrapper being used to its full potential. That’s a habit I picked up from my mum, storing folded up butter wrappers in the door of the fridge – very useful for greasing baking trays and cake tins too.

Leftovers triumph

Thanks to a recommendation given by Kitchen Witch on my leftovers post, I decided to make rice pudding last night from some ricey remains. I based it on a recipe given in Delia Smith's Complete Works, but she says it was originally Eliza Acton's recipe, the 18th Century poet and cook - nice to inject some history into supper.

First I simmered the rice for five minutes in some organic full fat milk with a cinnamon stick floating around in there too. Then I added a good dose of sugar and a little butter, before stirring in a beaten egg. I poured all this into a small pudding dish, sprinkled it with some nutmeg (or what I thought was nutmeg but turned out to be turmeric, oh well, an Indian twist) and baked it for half an hour. Twas most delicious. Eating it, I felt like Nigella indulging in serious comfort food, with all the sound effects. I’ve just had it cold for lunch and it's even better. A layer of custard has formed on the top. The turmeric was a nice touch, maybe next time I'll add ground up cardamom with the cinammon stick and maybe some pistachoes on top.

What food do you chuck most often?

Mind if I indulge in a little food chat? I’ve been browsing WRAP’s new food waste website that is stuffed with recipes and tips on how to avoid chucking out your leftovers. I’m particularly taken by the two week menu planner (find it here) that gives sensible “cook one; eat twice” advice. Make an extra large spag bol at the beginning of the week, it says, and turn it into Shepherd’s Pie a few days later, or even, I thought while reading it, chilli con carne by adding a can of kidney beans. Right, dinners sorted for most of this week.
I love the fact that the language is reminiscent of advice given out during the second world war. Should you ever glance at a book called Victory Cookbook, you’ll see what I mean. It’s a funny sort of book, with lots of recipes that you wouldn’t dream of making today (Sheeps Head Roll? Cheese Pudding?) and then some that sound absolutely delicious. I’m going to try the Chicken Chop Curry, a recipe donated by a commanding officer stationed in West Africa, as soon as I can lay my hands on a suitably ethical chicken. I'll let you know how it goes. If it's a success, I'll post up the recipe.
Anyway, WRAP’s website made me think about why I chuck food.
Because I ate too much of it first time around and now can’t bear to look at it?
Because it’s cluttering my worktop and causing me to pick at it between meals?
Because I don’t think it will taste nice the next day?
Because I was a sucker for a three for the price of two deal and can’t get through it fast enough?
Because I forgot about it and it went mouldy at the back of the fridge?