Day 7: The day of reckoning

If you've never tried oysters before will you promise me that you'll give them a go, because no matter what you think of them I can guarantee it's a real experience that you'll never forget.

Well that's what happened to us today, the last day of my Suffolk Diet challenge, where our lunchtime dish was a plate of oysters that I'd ordered from the welovelocalfood website.  I've never eaten them before and I have to admit that despite my bravado, when it came to trying them, I suddenly got nervous...especially as the scene played out like a bush tucker trial!

There on one side of the table was my husband.  I was on the other.  In between us was the plate of oysters for us to share.

Although I'd prepared and washed them in the kitchen, I left them in the shells for serving and we opened them individually, taking it in turns.  My husband went first, surprised at the speed in which the seafood left its shell, missing its destination and landing on his plate with a slippery splat.

Then it was my turn. But for some reason, I just couldn't do it.  My throat tightened and I stared at the shell for so long, my husband took another, this time hitting the spot.  And yes, it's his first time too and the conversation oriented around whether it was better to swallow or chew.

After he'd eaten his third, I finally gave it a go, but as soon as I opened the shell, the oyster also fell straight onto my plate below.  I'm afraid that I was a bit of a wuss and cut it in half, before dangling each piece above my head aiming straight for my tonsils.

The chorus of "do it, do it, do it" from my children will no doubt ring in my head forever, as I shook my head and quivered as each half of the oyster hit the back of my throat.

Although the taste was good, for some reason the texture brought about my gag reflex.

"For goodness sake," I kept telling myself.  These were simply innocent oysters, not something unpalatable like kangaroo's wotsits!

But it was no good, I was obviously a culinary wimp and the only thing for it was to try cooking them.  So we tried again, this time wrapped up in Suffolk bacon and served with cream and worcestershire sauce.

Well, I managed one and a half, before the same thing happened again.  I just couldn't cope with the texture, even when disguised in the bacon.

And I really felt gutted, especially as I had been so looking forward to enjoying them and it being a real highlight of the week's experience. I'd also been amazed that it was possible to source such a delicacy from Suffolk and that they were so cheap too.  At less than £6 for a dozen, I had hoped I'd be soon impressing my friends with a fabulous platter.  Instead I feel a real wuss and that I'd let myself down.

But having had such a false start at home today, I really hope l can get over myself and give them a go another time.  However next time, I think I'll visit the Butley Oford Oysterage restaurant or take one of the tours run by Food Safari and let them be served by the hands of the professionals. Then, I might have the confidence to try them again at home.  I've heard a great account of the day from blogger Grethic, who sent me a message about the tour she went on yesterday.

Anyhooooo, moving on from my oyster challenge, the finale of this week's Suffolk Diet was far more successful, with a tasty pot roast of beef brisket, served with onions and potatoes that were delivered by Paul last Friday, as well as the extra carrots that I'd bought at the Farmers' Market yesterday.

We even finished the last of the kale, which you can see tucked behind the bottle of Ickworth's Lady Geraldine's Blush.

So, as the day ends and the Suffolk Diet challenge is brought to a close, I'm wondering how I can best summarise the week that's just passed.

Perhaps I should start with the challenge itself, which was to see how easy it would be to live of just Suffolk produce.  Was it easy?  The answer to that is most definitely yes, well that is if you know where to buy such products. Admittedly, the delivery service  Local Food Direct at www.welovelocalfood.co.uk did offer a huge helping hand, by allowing me to select produce from its website, which could be delivered to my door, so I didn't have to spend lots of time hunting out Suffolk food from around the county.

However, being a long-term supporter of local food, I also found my knowledge of my locality helped too, knowing which independent shops and market stalls would most likely stock Suffolk produce.

And I've been amazed at the variety of food that is produced locally, from oils to dairy products, a whole range of meats, the oysters, ready-meals, granola and sauces, as well as local cider, beer and wine.  Of course there were a few things I struggled with in the beginning such as sourcing Suffolk butter, but I was pleased to have finally found some during yesterday's visit to Wyken Farmers' Market.  So, with the exception of butter at the beginning of the week and the lemon that I used for the Ipswich Lemon Pie, everything else that I've eaten at home has been Suffolk made.

But what about eating out? As expected this was where I struggled most and the week kicked off with a shaky start, with a visit to a local garden centre and a training course, where the origins of the food were uncertain.  However, by the end of the week it was great to see businesses such as the New Wolsey Theatre in Ipswich stocking Suffolk juices and the Greenest County awards on Thursday proved that even large events can be catered for with local food.  When I started the challenge I felt too shy to ask cafes and retailers if their food was sourced from Suffolk, but by this weekend I found the question rolled more easily off my tongue and I believe that one cafe in particular - my favourite haunt in Bury St Edmunds - is now considering incorporating more Suffolk produce into their menu.

It's also been a great week for trying new things, including some old Suffolk recipes, choosing granola for breakfast and trying out new vegetables such as the kale.   Even my husband commented today that he'd actually liked the kale - and that's incredible coming from a man who has an unnatural allergy to a veg box.

I've wrestled with making fresh pasta out of local flour as well as turning my hand to incorporating mashed potato into pastry.  I've even tried kippers for breakfast, which is one of those things that has not ever entered my consideration before.

So, I guess the big question is, could I keep this up for longer?

Hmmm...actually, I think I could, but I'd have to make some changes as I've also missed a few things this week too, such as the tomatoes that form a regular part of my diet, as well as fresh peppers.  One thing this challenge has most definitely brought out is the issue of seasonality and how we take the supply of such produce for granted, no matter what time of the year.  And although I now only buy strawberries in the summer when they are in season in England, I'm not sure I could do the same with tomatoes.  So it's good news then that the welovelocalfood website has just started supplying Norfolk grown tomatoes, which are just from over the border.

I've also missed rice and couscous as well as quick cook pasta and I'll be glad to incorporate those back into my diet again.  However for everything else, I now feel much more committed to buying good quality produce that is local to Suffolk or at least the East of England.  As well as investing in our local economy, I also support the idea of reducing food miles as an important factor in minimising our dependency on transport as well as the oil needed to ferry goods around.

This challenge has been great.  It has most definitely raised my interest in local food and has even done a great job of getting me back into the kitchen, despite it being a very intense week. I also think my diet has been healthier too.

At the beginning of the challenge I read that The Telegraph's Rose Prince had described Suffolk as the "Best Region" in her Good Food Producers Guide 2010.   I know I am now biased, but as my Suffolk Diet draws to a close, based on my experience this week and having seen what's available, I can't help but agree.

And who knows I might even give the oysters a try again, not yet, but one day perhaps, when I am next visiting the coast.

______________________________________________________________________

If you want to hear more about the challenge, I'll be chatting to Lesley Dolphin in her afternoon show at BBC Radio Suffolk, Monday 2:20pm.  Listeners from outside the region can listen online at http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/suffolk/hi/tv_and_radio/

______________________________________________________________________

Day 6: Hoorah for Suffolk Butter and Pasta too

After 5 days of living off potatoes, today I finally cracked!  

Delicious as the potatoes were, I needed pasta, especially as I was planning a variation on Spaghetti Bolognese. So out came the pasta roller, along with 120g of the Maple Farm Kelsale flour and a couple of fresh eggs from our hens.

Making pasta is pretty straightforward as far as ingredients are concerned.  It's just a case of  gradually blending the eggs into the flour to create a dough, stretching and kneading it well and then leaving the dough to rest in the fridge for about 15 minutes.  It's the rolling and cutting process afterwards that's the fiddly bit, requiring some extra time and patience.  But it was worth it and if you are interested in giving it a ago, there are some hints and tips about making pasta in Chapter 14 of my online guide to reducing waste, which you can find at The Rubbish Diet Challenge. 

When I've previously made pasta, I've always used Italian grade 00 flour as recommended by the various recipes, so I was interested to see whether I could get away with using Suffolk flour instead.  And I was chuffed to bits that it worked.  It didn't look as pretty as shop-bought pasta, but it tasted good and was very cheap to make.

I made the "Bolognese" sauce using  minced beef, red onions and chopped carrots, gently fried in the rapeseed oil from Hillfarm and stirred in some ready-made tomato and basil soup, which had been supplied by Purely Pesto.  So topped off with some local salad leaves, it was a complete meal totally sourced from Suffolk producers.

That's another Suffolk Diet success I reckon!

It's also been a successful day elsewhere too, kicking off the morning with a freshly-pressed juice made from Suffolk's apples and beetroot.

The rest of the morning was spent browsing around Wyken Vineyard Farmers Market with a friend, to top up with a few essentials for the weekend.  The Farmers' Market is held regularly, every Saturday in fact, and what I love about it is not just the range of produce you can buy, but that the stalls are all sheltered, which makes it practical for shopping no matter what the weather.

It's just a shame that I don't get there that often on account of it being a significant drive out of town.  Hopping on the bus to the Bury St Edmunds market always seems easier.

But it was great to see some of my usual favourite stalls, as well as a few new faces, and no farmers' market worth its salt would be without fresh apple juice.  The apple juice shown in the photo below is from Suffolk Heritage Orchards.  This particular variety is the Sturmer Pippin, a traditional Suffolk late season apple, which has a sharper taste that I like. So as well as the juice, I picked up some apples too.

Next up was the preserves stall, where I discovered a range of products from Bury St Edmunds based Well Preserved that were not only made in Suffolk, but used locally grown and foraged produce.  Having never tried Quince Jelly or Crab Apple Jelly before, I couldn't resist bringing a couple of jars home.

It was great to see that the fruit and veg stall, which hails from Norfolk, also had Suffolk grown carrots, sprouting broccoli and old potatoes, which I need for tomorrow as I've already made good use of the vegetables that I'd received last week from www.welovelocalfood.com, which have now run out.

However, the find of the day just had to be the dairy products stall, which as well as milk, cream and yoghurt, also produces a rare find in Suffolk.

If you look carefully on the top shelf of the photo below, you'll see it in its full glory.  Would you believe, it's actually Suffolk butter. Yes, Suffolk butter, the one thing I've been struggling to find!

The dairy products are made by Domini Dairy, which is based in Market Weston, near Diss.  Despite the Norfolk link, their address is actually Suffolk, adding the icing on the cake for this particular challenge.

So what a great day as far as Suffolk produce is concerned.  But it's not over quite yet.  As it's Saturday and we've got a few things to celebrate, including attending the Greenest County awards last week AND the birth of a new nephew, it's time to crack open the Ickworth Bubbly! 

So "Bottoms Up".

Here's to Day 6 and if you've also been enjoying some Suffolk produce today I would love to know.

See you tomorrow for the final day of the Suffolk Diet Challenge.

In search of sweet things!

(Photo: The Fox Inn, Eastgate St, a keen supporter of local food)

Now being a girl with a sweet tooth, I was on a mission today to hunt out some Suffolk-made treats and knowing how many calories were at stake - somewhere in the area of 700,000 trillion - I thought I'd walk into town from Moreton Hall.  I know it was downhill but even that small amount of exercise would be of benefit for what I had in store.

You see I was searching for locally made cake, fudge and wine to add to the delights that arrived yesterday and I hoped that Bury St Edmunds would have some supplies.   So with my camera in hand, I thought I'd treat you to a little guide around town as well as point you in the direction of some of my favourite finds.

As per my usual ritual, my approach into town is always down Eastgate St and through the Abbey Gardens, where the magnificent Abbey Gate never fails to offer a grand entrance into the beautifully named Angel Hill, which I consider to be one of the prettiest squares I've ever had the pleasure to visit. 

This route always has a holiday feel, even after almost seven years of living here. To the left of the photo is the Angel Hotel, where Charles Dickens once visited and even gave it a mention in the Pickwick Papers.  These days one of my favourite reads is its eaterie menu, which regularly features seasonal produce from Suffolk and in the past has included Blythburgh pork, Elmswell lamb and salmon from Pinney's of Orford.

Tempting as it was to pop in, I was on a mission to buy a cake.  With a busy week ahead, I'm not sure if I'll have the chance to bake, so I chose the easy option, which was to treat the family to one from the experts.  Well it is Mother's Day tomorrow, so I thought I'd head to one of my favourite market stalls: the one that promises to "make life sweet" and which can be found on the Buttermarket, just outside Holland & Barrett.

The Vanilla Bakery has been a recent and most welcome addition to Bury St Edmunds market, tempting passers-by with home baked goodies, including muffins, lemon cake, flapjacks, chocolate brownies and rocky roads, as well as its stunning range of cupcakes.

As I was busy choosing - which was a very hard job indeed - I got chatting to super dooper baker Gemma and discovered the cakes are made using Suffolk free-range eggs that they buy from another stall, which is where I used to get mine before we acquired our own hens last year.  After much pondering,  I finally decided on a very large Lemon Drizzle cake similar to the one which you can see on the middle of the table.

It really was a good job I'd walked into town this morning, especially when you consider the next stop on my tour of Bury's gems...

FUDGE!

And not just any old fudge, but the delicious selection of contemporary temptations from Thurston based company Yum Yum Tree Fudge, which is sold at Butterworths on the Traverse.

By now my self-control was rapidly diminishing and finding it hard to choose between Lavender or Mint Chocolate Chip, I decided to bag them both, committing myself to walking back home to shed some more calories so I can eat them guilt-free.

And I'm pleased to say I walked much further than the two miles home.

I had hoped to pick up some Suffolk wine from Thos Peatling on Westgate Street, but they were sold out  so my adventurous morning was topped off by a family stroll around nearby Ickworth Park, a gorgeous National Trust property, which also hosts the Ickworth Vineyard.

While our kids kept my husband busy with a game of hide and seek in the gardens, I sloped off to the National Trust shop to seek out a few bottles.

With a nose for Suffolk wine they were pretty easy to find and I came away with a bottle of sparkling bubbly, which is fermented in the same way as Champagne.  I also picked up a bottle of Lady Geraldine's Blush to go with the oysters I'm planning to serve this week, more for the connotations I hasten to add, not for any benefits of the bouquet. Although I reckon they'll be a perfect match, all the same.

Like a kid in a candy shop I couldn't quite leave without picking up a bottle of Aspall's Cyder and a jar of red pepper chutney from Stonham Hedgerow, before taking another stroll through the grounds and enjoying the scenery.

I've got a funny feeling with this week's line up, if I'm not careful we'll be eating so well, I'll probably need to do quite a few laps around the park to keep the weight off.

Perhaps a few journeys up and down Mount Road should do it too!

It's a killer of a hill, you know, and should be used as training terrain for anyone venturing on a mountain climb outside of Suffolk....

....as you can probably tell from this morning's yomp home with the cake!

Onwards and upwards eh...as long as it's not outwards. At least it's good to know that The Suffolk Diet comes with its own exercise regime too.