Tag Archives: real food

2012 in review – my stats

Posted on December 31, 2012 | 10 comments

WordPress.com has prepared a 2012 annual report for my Real Food Lover blog.

According to WordPress 2012 annual report:

5,000 people attended the Aspen Food and Wine Festival. This blog had about 42,000 views in 2012. If each view were a foodie, this blog would power 8 festivals.

So, Real Food Lover had about 42,000 views in 2012. I published 12 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 203 posts. There were 56 pictures uploaded. That’s about a picture per week.

The busiest day of 2012 was 29 February with 396 views. The most popular post that day was What is Tesco Real Food?.

Click here to see the complete report.

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Posted in food

Tagged 2012, blog stats, real food, Real Food Lover

No Tesco in Stokes Croft fundraising party – Chance to win a Banksy!

Posted on March 31, 2012 | 10 comments

Here (above left) is breakfast, a sourdough loaf from the Stokes Croft pop-up bakery (above right), just across the road from the famously-unwanted Tesco.

“A year ago these streets were the scene of riots following the bitterly opposed opening of a Tesco store. Twelve months on, Stokes Croft, Bristol’s most bohemian neighbourhood, is booming,” wrote Stephen Morris in the Guardian earlier this week.

In a debate in parliament on 17 January 2012, Stephen Williams MP said:

“I am probably the only Member in the Chamber who has experienced a riot in his constituency caused by the opening of a branch of Tesco. It took place over the Easter and royal wedding bank holidays in April last year. I certainly do not condone the antics of those constituents, but I very much share their frustration. Large businesses do not work with the grain of local opinion.”

Here’s some background, briefly: Our No Tesco in Stokes Croft campaign, began February 2010 after Tesco arrived in Stokes Croft by stealth.

Squatters took over the proposed Tesco site and turned it into a community centre for a month
Squatters were evicted. Thanks to their bravery, our planning permission campaign became international news
Bristol City Council received over 2,500 postcards from locals asking for a meaningful consultation
Over 90% of 500 people surveyed said “no” to Tesco in Stokes Croft
40 local traders asked Bristol City Council not to give planning permission for Tesco
Council decided Tesco could open with full planning permission on 8 December 2010
Tesco opened on 16 April 2011. A week later it was shut after being “trashed” following 160 riot police arriving to investigate a petrol bomb threat to Tesco
Bristol City Council writes to the government asking for planning law to distinguish between a small shop and a huge multinational. Government says: No. (Note to social historians: current government is bent on deregulation and “who pays most wins”).

Against all odds, we took our legal battle as far we could – to judicial review.

We lost – our court costs are £2,126.50.

We are having a fundraising party on Friday 13 April at 7.30 pm with music, poetry and street theatre at 35 Jamaica Street, Bristol BS2 8JP. Join the group on Facebook.

Buy a limited-edition bone china “I Paid The Fine” mug produced by The People’s Republic of Stokes Croft, and be part of social history.

Twelve of the 250 mugs will be accompanied by one of the original Banksy posters donated by the graffiti artist as a “commemorative souvenir poster.”

Every campaign, whether you win or lose, is worth its weight in gold for it raises awareness of the issues.

I will be part of a round-table discussion – The High Street Fights Back – at the Natural Product Show this Sunday with campaigning journalist and author, Joanna Blythman.

This month, Tesco withdrew its planning application from Herne in Kent after huge local protest.

Thus, I, like my fellow campaigners, remain

relentlessly optimistic.

STOP PRESS 23 April 2012: Last Mug Sold!

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Posted in food, supermarkets, Tesco on Stokes Croft

Tagged Banksy, Bristol, council, High Street, Joanna Blythman, local, Natural Products Show, No, party, planning, pop bakery, real food, relentless optimism, resistance, Stokes Croft, supermarkets, Tesco

Sheepdrove organic goose

Posted on January 29, 2012 | 17 comments

There is no getting away from it. Eating meat means taking a life.

I understand the horror vegetarians feel. I love vegan cuisine.

But I am a meat eater. Maybe once a week. I can feel the nutritional value it brings to my body.

If I were a hunter – I imagine – I would kill the animal, and lie down and cry because I had killed it. (I saw this on TV once). Then eat it. Hopefully with reverence.

But I could be romanticising.

The fact is I cannot square killing for food.

At least I can make sure the animal was well looked-after while alive.

Which is why I choose organic meat.

On Christmas day, we cooked and ate a goose from Sheepdrove Organic Farm.

Declaration of interest: I work with Sheepdrove Organic Farm. But – you know me – I can only work with a cause or company I believe in.

Check out Sheepdrove Organic Farm. Lots of great info on its website: including the importance of grass-fed creatures and Eating less meat? Eat better meat!

Sheepdrove Organic Farm’s head butcher, Nick Rapps, is passionate about showing people how to eat organic meat in a budget.

For instance, buy cheaper organic cuts (not pre-cut packages) from an actual butcher who can provide the unusual cheaper cuts. Cheaper cuts need slower cooking.

Nick Rapps’s The Organic Butcher’s Blog at Food Magazine is a treasure trove of tips. Here’s Nick on the organic Christmas turkey on a budget.

My sister, Geraldine, cooked our Christmas goose.

Listen-up. True to our ancestors, she is a real food lover.

My sister said: “How did I cook the goose? It was good, wasn’t it? And simple to cook. I rubbed salt and pepper and fresh grated ginger on the skin. Then scrunched wet greaseproof paper, smoothed it out and covered the goose. The formula is 20 minutes per pound on a low heat roughly 150/Gas Mark 2/300 and 20 minutes over. Our goose took about 5 hours. Regularly, pour fat off the roasting pan (and keep it later for roasting veg) otherwise the goose fat will overfill the pan. Most importantly, let it “rest” a good half-an-hour after taking it out the oven.”

We served the Sheepdrove goose with an array of colourful vegetables, cooked by other members of the family so not one person did all the work.

Red cabbage and apples, squash and coconut, cranberry sauce, roast potatoes, Brussels sprouts, gravy.

PS I lost my ‘phone over Christmas. However – curiously – on the day I lost my ‘phone, I sent a picture of our Christmas meal (above) to myself. Which was lucky as I had not backed up my images since November so the Christmas meal pic would have been lost. Funny, eh?