I thought it would be far more interesting to get other passionate people to contribute to our blog than to leave it just to me so here is our first guest blog from one of our passionate and enthusiastic members - Astochef.
Hi thank you for inviting me to write a guest blog on MyDish, lately I have been blogging about buying, cooking, eating, and growing seasonally and when possible locally, the blogs suggest eating food that is at its prime in terms of taste and nutritional content, while at the same time cutting down on those food miles there are of course some food stuffs that we cannot produce in this country thus we have to find them further abroad and for us that means Spain, Italy and France for a lot of our fresh produce.
As a consequence of this I honestly trust that buying our food this way is the best way to keep the prices down and support our local producers, markets and shops. I believe also that it can only guide us all to creating and cooking our favourite recipes of superlative quality.
Maureen and John Glen
Below I talk about a couple of our local suppliers, but I am optimistic that in each locale of the British isles there are plenty of first-rate local high street shops and markets and the large supermarkets have also got the message that we want locally sourced produce and are nowadays sourcing from local farmers etc.
Therefore every month, I am eager to publish on my blog a guide to what’s in season, the main points are going to be about fresh and locally produced (particularly British) foodstuffs and just for a bit of fun what we are producing ourselves on our balcony.
This blog is all about what’s in season for the month of July, to Maureen and myself July means long warm lazy days spent outside having picnics or barbeques, the variety and quality of the fresh food available, from home grown produce to the imported foods of Spain, Italy and France are simply the best.
The salad leaves such as lamb’s lettuce, lollo rosso, oak leaf lettuce, curly endive and frisee, is wonderful simply served with a little lemon juice and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, or do as I do mix extra virgin olive oil with a little walnut oil for an extra special taste.
At their peak this month are carrots, fresh peas, fennel, lettuce, spinach, summer cabbage, salad onions and artichokes.
While corn on the cob is just coming in from the Isle of Wight, plum tomatoes are now becoming quite flavoursome as are runner beans, beetroots and cauliflowers.
As for the fruits, strawberries, raspberries, all the currants and apricots are just about at their best.
Fruit at Its Best
Apricots, Blueberries, Cherries, Elderflowers, Gooseberries, Cantaloupe Melons, Raspberries, Strawberries, Blackcurrants, Plums, Redcurrants,
Vegetables at Their Best
Artichokes, Globe Artichokes, Broad Beans, Aubergines, Courgettes, Cauliflower, Fennel, Mange tout, Onions, New Potatoes, Peas, Radishes, Runner beans, Spring Onions, Turnips, Watercress, Cucumbers, Kohlrabi, Salad leaves, Romaine Lettuce, Rocket, Samphire, Pak Choi, Spinach, Beetroot, Green Beans
Herbs etc at Their Best
Basil, Chervil, Chives, Coriander, Dill, Elderflowers, Mint, Nasturtium, Oregano, Parsley (Curly), Parsley (Flat-Leaf), Rosemary, Sage, Sorrel, Tarragon
Meat at Its Peak
Beef, Chicken, Lamb, Pork, Rabbit, Wood Pigeon
Fish and Seafood at Its Best
Mackerel is plentiful, not expensive and yummy, and perfect for the barbecue, as is the Cornish Sardines, Cod, Pollack, Crab, Dover Sole, Haddock, Halibut, Herring, John Dory, Lemon Sole, Lobster, Plaice, Salmon, Sardines, Sea Bass, Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout, Sea Tout, Grey Mullet
My Recipe for July
Mediterranean Lamb (Quick and Easy)
This dish is quick to prepare and delicious with either red or green pesto
