The one that doesn't yet have a name

 

Take some toasted ciabatta and add a delicious topping of grated parmesan, some over-ripened Suffolk tomatoes, Essex onions, red pesto and local organic free-range chicken and you've got a mouth-watering lunch made especially for me.

Yes, it's Day 2 of my mission to pick up some inspiration from Saints Cafe for National Zero Waste Week and I have to say, I could get used to having my own personal chef.

Engin would have normally used these ingredients to create a fabulous house stew, but this Zero Waste Week is giving Saints a great excuse to test out some new ideas...and this dish is so new it doesn't even have a name.  Could this be an opportunity for suggestions on a postcard?

I'm really enjoying this Zero Waste Week and am beginning to feel totally pampered.  Having already indulged in a facial this morning, followed by another lunch of great local zero waste food, I'm also enjoying the company of some great friends, who will be both joining me at the screening of No Impact Man this evening at the Abbeygate Picturehouse Bury St Edmunds.

So do say hello to the lovely Lucy Middleton, who is a Marketing and PR Strategist, specifically working in the eco sector and the fabulous Alison Plumridge, winner of two Green Suffolk awards for her work as Director of the Bury St Edmunds Art Gallery, soon to be renamed Smiths Row.  (Update: in my excitement, I almost forgot to mention that Alison and her colleagues are this week kicking off a scheme to swap excess supplies of home-grown produce in honour of National Zero Waste Week.  I bet Mrs Green at MyZeroWaste will be chuffed to hear that).

More information about National Zero Waste Week can be found www.myzerowaste.com and if you fancy joining me at Saints this week, do pop in even if you are at risk of appearing in a blogpost.  If you've never had the joy of visiting before, you can find all details at their website www.saintscafe.co.uk.   Of course, if you're at the local screening of No Impact Man tonight, which starts at 8.30pm, please do say hello at the post movie Q&A session that I'm delighted to be hosting (MyZeroWaste are also hosting the one at Oxford, so if you're in the vicinity, be sure to give them a huge wave too).  Information about all screenings can be found at http://gonoimpact.dogwoof.com/

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Roasted tomato soup madam? Oh yes please.

Bernadette, one of the owners of Saints Cafe, where they always provide a friendly welcome.

 

 

 

 

 

As well as its great food, the one thing I especially love about Saints is the fabulous atmosphere and very warm welcome. It's the kind of place where the owners and staff let you get on with your business in a non-intrusive manner, but if you're the type to seek out some friendly chat and humorous banter, there's plenty on offer, to make this one of the most engaging eateries in town.  

So, can you imagine how delighted I am to have a valid excuse to dine out at Saints Cafe to celebrate the National Zero Waste Week awareness campaign.  It's like home from home, but without having to do the cooking. And I'm here all week, learning some great tips in using up perfectly healthy ingredients that might not be obvious to an average householder. 

And today's lesson is the humble tomato, which when freshly delivered is great for summer salads but when the sides soften don't look so great on the plate. 

In the past, I would have just chucked out any tomato that didn't sport firmness worthy of a six-pack, but  I now know better and have since boiled up plenty of very ripe tomatoes to serve up an unidentifiable "Cannard Creation".   Anything to avoid waste, even if it did mean I'd be sat on my lonesome at the dining table. 

What I've really needed is a good dash of inspiration so when Engin at Saints told me that today's "pot luck" lunch was Roasted Tomato Soup, both my tastebuds and imagination jumped for joy.  No sooner had I sat down and settled myself in getting ready to blog and have a natter on Facebook, Kathryn arrived with the soup and accompanying garlic bread.

So for a proper look at what was on today's "pot luck" menu, and a game of  "guess the ingredients" here's the close-up shot!  Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Roasted Tomato Soup, courtesy of Saints.

Being a tomato lover, this soup was just the ticket for my first day in the cafe.  It was delicious, full of mediterranean flavour and the texture was just perfect, and I managed to grab Engin for a quick run-down of  ingredients....although I am quite proud of myself that I guessed most of them, even if there was one ingredient that totally suprised me.

Aside from the vine tomatoes, which were roasted in olive oil for 20 minutes, the other vegetables included onions, carrots, celery, all softened on the hob with olive oil to release their flavour.  And the surprise vegetable was potato, which Engin introduced as the ingredient "no soup should be without" due to its fantastic thickening properties.

With the skins removed, the roasted tomatoes and pan juices were added to the softened vegetables and brought to the boil in a pan of regular home-made vegetable stock, seasoned with fresh coriander, a touch of basil, some parsley, salt & pepper and simmered for 20 minutes.  It was then whizzed up (my words not Engin's) and served with some fresh cream and a sprig of parsley.

So how easy is that!  It's definitely something I have the confidence to recreate at home.  And while I've been typing up this blogpost, I've already been contemplating this soup as a great rescue recipe for some squashy tomatoes and bendy carrots I have at home, as well as some onions and potatoes that have begun to soften.

The only problem is, those soft potatoes I mentioned.....well, er, I have an awful feeling that in my hurry to exit my holiday lodge at Center Parcs this morning I left them in one of the kitchen cupboards. My only hope is that I left my husband there to pack up the car while I dashed off to take the kids to school.

So as I end this post with a keen desire to make Roasted Tomato Soup at home tonight, the mystery of the potatoes might just thwart me.  And given that my hubby was close to throwing them in the compost bin last week when all they needed was a wash and the eyes removed, I've got a feeling that if he had found them, he might have left them there.

Oh well.  That'll get me back to the drawing board then.

In the meantime, my huge thanks go to Engin and Bernadette at Saints for a fabulous Day 1.  I look forward to coming back to see what's on the menu tomorrow.

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It's not too late to join in the National Zero Waste Week.  For more information about how you can get involved, visit www.myzerowaste.com.

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Guess who'll be hanging out with Saints for National Zero Waste Week?

I've taken my husband there, my children, my mother and most of my friends in Bury and friends who visit from further afield, not to mention an eco-friendly fireman and an incognito waste campaigner.  So I thought it's about time I introduced you to my favourite café to hit Bury St Edmunds too, where I hope you will join me next week to help celebrate an exciting week that's about to hit the blogosphere.

Yes, Monday sees the start of National Zero Waste Week, an annual social media campaign that promotes ideas for waste reduction. Developed and managed by the grassroots website www.MyZeroWaste.com, it is now in its third year, and for the first time is sponsored by Tetra Pak.

This year’s theme, ‘Cooking for Victory’, is supported by celebrity chef Brian Turner CBE, who will share how he views food as an asset on the MyZeroWaste website and will demonstrate “a compost while you cook” approach during National Zero Waste Week. The topics are a response to research by WRAP that reveals households throw away 8.3 million tonnes of food and drink every year, costing the average family in Britain £50 per month.

Enthused by the celebrity chef’s commitment to the national awareness campaign, I asked Saints Café if they would also be prepared to help inspire people at a more local level, serving me a daily “pot luck lunch” to showcase how delicious meals can be made from even small amounts of usable healthy ingredients that busy households might otherwise throw away.  Can you imagine my excitement when they said yes!

Saints Café owners, Engin Aga and Bernadette McAleer, said: "since launching earlier in the year, we have always placed a high emphasis on minimising food waste, sourcing seasonal and local produce where we can, cooking in small batches and fresh to order, along with running a careful stock control system to ensure that the ‘Zero Waste’ model is never far from being achieved.

“We are very excited about the project and are pleased to have the opportunity to demonstrate that efficient use of ingredients can reduce household food waste and save families hundreds of pounds a year too”.

Rachelle Strauss, aka Mrs Green, from MyZeroWaste adds "I'm thrilled that Karen has teamed up with Saints Café to promote National Zero Waste Week locally. It would be great if other eateries across Bury and Suffolk join in too, inspiring their own customers with ideas to try ‘pot luck recipes’ at home in a bid to reduce the nation’s waste.”

Despite having reduced my waste by 95% since I started The Rubbish Diet in 2008, I know I’ve got lax over the summer and so it will be great to pick up some new ideas and inspiration from one of my favourite cafés in Suffolk. There is a real buzz in the UK at the moment, where professionals are even being signed up by production companies to share their knowledge with prime-time audiences on national TV.   It’s an exciting time for raising awareness locally.

Professional chefs are extremely talented in managing food as a resource and minimising waste and even Brian Turner believes there is a role for local chefs to promote their food efficiency skills amongst their own customer community in a way that is fun and accessible. He says “To all chefs - make the world a better place, buy well, waste 'nout and make a bit more profit at the same time, it'd be daft not to.”

So if you fancy joining me next week at Saints for a coffee or even some lunch yourself, do pop in.  I'll be there enjoying good food and blogging from 1pm every day.  If you do, and can share a top tip or two, I'll even feature you on the blog!   But if you live too far away to come along, don't worry, I'll be sharing their top tips and recipes on the blog throughout National Zero Waste Week, before I pack up and attempt to use up everything from my fridge at home.

So how excited am I to have a legitimate excuse to be a lady who lunches!   Well the answer is very, so do keep coming back for all the updates and if you've got a blog, why not blog about it too.

National Zero Waste Week takes place from 6th-12th September. Anyone can pledge to join in at www.myzerowaste.com, where there will be prizes for the most inspirational stories and opportunities to share news on Facebook and Twitter. For further information about Saints Café, check out their website at www.saintscafe.co.uk.

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Clutter be gone! I now need a blimmin' rest.

Well that'll teach me to be more careful with my money and all the stuff that comes into our home from impulse buys and random gifts.

My arms feel like they're ready to drop off.  My feet detached themselves hours ago and my back is distinctively telling me that it is still there.  And it is never pleasant when one's back muscles begin to heckle!

Today was the day that the big event finally arrived.  The Big Huge Summer Declutter organised by BBC Radio Suffolk and EACH's Treehouse Appeal to raise money for a new children's hospice.  My goal was to turn up alongside 600 other participants to lay out my pitch at the biggest car boot sale that I've ever experienced.

I know many people love car boots sales, but personally I have never particularly warmed to them.  It's the early starts and bargaining over 10p here and 5p there that truly test my patience.  So today really had to be worth the effort, which is why I pledged to donate all the proceeds of our pitch to the Treehouse Appeal.

Of course I could have just donated our unwanted stuff to the charity shop.  That would have been much easier than getting up at the crack of dawn and sitting in a traffic jam in Ipswich, before being rained on and sunburnt within a matter of hours.  But that wouldn't have given me the lesson that I very much needed today, which was the kick up the backside in discovering the real value of  the stuff with which I - along with the help of others - have been cluttering up our home over the last decade.

And yes, it's no coincidence that the amount of clutter we've accumulated is in direct relation to having had two young children. Most parents will recognise the routine:  birthdays; rainy days; hobbies; keep them happy days; boring days; cheer-up days; keep-up-with-the-Jones days; guilty days and Christmas.Then there's all the stuff they make at schools and clubs.  But the more one acquires, the harder it is to keep on top of, especially when the kids really love their belongings or you don't want to offend someone by selling or giving away an unwanted present, or if you've paid a huge amount of money for something that is no longer needed or wanted.  Then there's the case of not having time to keep on top of your stuff until it begins to cripple your free space and your sanity!

Although many might regard car boot sales as a celebration of reuse, I can't help see them as a cathedral to discards and obsolescence.  The setting is perfect for the average buyer, as there are plenty of bargains galore with the opportunity to snap up essentials and luxuries for great prices.  However, for the seller, it's a wake-up call to see something that once cost £25 -  and which remains in perfect condition and still in trend - disappear into the distance for just 50p.

Don't get me wrong, I've not got any gripes over such transactions.  It's certainly not the buyer's fault that I was daft enough to pay through the nose for something I've hardly used and I really quite like seeing people enjoy their bargains.  If I was that bothered about recovering the cost I'd opt for eBay. And it has to be said, that convenience-wise, if you're missing the organisation gene like me, the advantage of car-boot sales is that a whole load of stuff can be taken off your hands within a matter of hours without the effort of nipping backwards and forwards to the post office.

No, the lesson from today was to continue to be mindful of the impact of every acquisition that comes into our home, whether it's bought brand-new or as cheap bargains, or even gifted or donated.  Even if something is free, it can still  remain under-used and unappreciated and left to age in a drawer waiting to be dealt with.  In such instances, I'd be better off overcoming my clutter bug nature and declining freebies, letting others put them to good use instead.  Likewise, with clothes and books being my particular weakness, it's perhaps time to reconsider what I really do actually need.

However, with all that said, I'm pretty pleased that all those presents we've bought ourselves or have been given to us by friends and family, were today converted into the princely sum of £75, which will help EACH build its much needed hospice.  If I'd just donated the items to the charity shop, I'd have no idea of their worth and their contribution to the fundraising goal, but at least now I know we have helped to pay for a few more bricks or some furniture. 

So for someone who doesn't normally do boot sales, this was a real worthwhile day indeed.  And even better, they'll get more cash from the remaining stuff that hadn't sold, which we left at their collection point on the way home. 

Now that's what I call a useful car boot sale!

And the satisfaction of leaving with a virtually empty boot.  Now that is totally priceless.

Huge thanks to my very own King of Declutter, Mr A, and our two helpful children today.  It's thanks to their contribution that we were able to make this happen.

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Getting ready for the Big Summer Declutter!

At last - permission to get rid of old toys

I've just spent the last three hours immersed in a job that I've been avoiding for months, the task of decluttering Little T's bedroom.   Oh the joys of negotiating with a 6 year old over which toys can be extracted from the floor and offered to a new home, let alone tidying away lots of annoying little bits and pieces that have become separated from each other over the years that have gone by.

But at last we've got a box full of kids' stuff to sell at the Radio Suffolk's Big Summer Declutter car boot sale that's taking place on Sunday for EACH's Treehouse Appeal which is raising £3,000,000 for a new children's hospice in Ipswich.

I'm really looking forward to this event and have already got a fine collection of stuff that I pulled together when I started to declutter the house at the beginning of the year.  My pitch has been booked for months and I can't wait to get down to Ipswich on Sunday and see how much I can raise from the proceeds, all of which I'm planning to donate to the Treehouse Appeal. It's my choice to donate the funds, it's not an actual requirement of the car boot sale.  However I'm not sure if I can convince the kids to do the same, parting with their stuff will be tough enough!

Anyway the declutter's not over yet.  I haven't even ventured into the loft yet but can't wait to get the loft ladder down.  Can you tell I'm starting to really enjoy this process?

So, if you're in Suffolk and looking for a fun event on Sunday, do pop along to the Big Summer Declutter and come and say hello.  It would be great if you end up booking a pitch yourself.  Set up is at 6.30am, with sales starting at 7am and going on until 3pm.  During the course of the day, there promises to be lots of entertainment too,  BBC Radio Suffolk will  be broadcasting live and auctioning off the Ashes to Ashes script that I managed to acquire from the production company and Nik Kershaw will be on-hand to officially open the event.  It will be brilliant if EACH manages to break through the £1,000,000 milestone as a result of the day!


So, please pray for good weather and if you fancy coming along, more information can be found at the BBC Radio Suffolk website.

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New bags and new blogs!

Showing off my new bag with eco-designer Kresse at the Bury St Edmunds Eco Fair

If someone offered to sell me a piece of old fire-hose, I'd probably turn them down in an instant, but a gorgeous bag made from condemned fire-hose that would otherwise be buried in landfill, then that's a different story indeed.

And that's how this story begins, with me becoming a proud owner of a stylish bag made from rubber hose that was once used to put out fires across the UK.

The designs are the hot property of Elvis & Kresse (Eako), a very progressive eco business that turns industrial waste into luxury sought after accessories.  I first discovered them while researching gifts for a Recycle Now article last Christmas and couldn't wait to find out more.  Although decommisioned fire-hose is at the heart of many of their products, the designers also create fabulous accessories from other materials too, including waste coffee sacks, scrap sail cloth, used air traffic control flight strips, repurposed opticians' boxes,  reclaimed pewter, parachute silk and decommissioned office furniture textiles.  Even their packaging is made from reclaimed or end of line materials.

It was a real delight to meet Kresse and James who are the people behind the business and to have the chance to find out more about their plans and the fabulous opportunities in store. The Fire Station proved to be a wonderful setting to demonstrate the value in reusing such materials and what's great about their business is that they contribute 50% of their profits to the Fire Fighters Charity too.


Stocking up on lovely and useful accessories must have been the key thing on my mind on Saturday, as I was also tempted in the direction of the Onya Bags stall to pick up a roll-up back-pack made out of recycled bottles from Dan, who looked quite at home at the Fire Station with his VW Feuerwehr camper van.

After my little spot of retail therapy I also partook in some heavy reuse action myself, which involved five firefighters and some hydraulic machinery.  It was both terrifyng and exciting, and you can find about it at my new personal blog here.

That's right...it's a whole new blog, revealing all sorts of mischief and musings that currently feature in my life.  With so much happening at the moment, sometimes a girl just has to take a break from the bin and you could say, it's got off to a bit of a "cracking" start.  To see what I mean, just follow the link below:

http://anythingbutrubbish.blogspot.com/2010/07/five-firemen-and-blogger.html

And after reading the tale, if you're tempted to help support the Firefighters who risk their lives to save others, it would be great if you could make a contribution to the Fire Fighters Charity at my justgiving page that I set up for the Eco Fair.  I'm appalling at trying to get sponsorship, always preferring to give than ask, but I've learned this is a cause worth nagging for,  So if you can spare a couple of quid, please pop over to www.justgiving.com/buryecofair, where your kindness will be much appreciated.

And as for me, after such a hectic weekend, I know a pair of feet that are still in need of an emergency rescue.   So with a cup of tea in hand and a stool as a footrest, for the moment it's over and out!

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Cool Eco Fair at Hot Venue

If you want to find a cool place to hang out in Bury St Edmunds today, then drop into the Eco Fair that is being hosted by the Fire Station, thanks to Fire Fighter Paul Turner who has worked so hard to organise the event.

Yes you heard it right and apologies to friends on Facebook for having to listen to me mention it yet again, but this it the place to be to find about all things eco today.  I first wrote about it some months ago, in this blogpost here and a lot has happened since then, with a whole load of groups and people signed up to attend today, including the www.welovelocalfood.co.uk who helped me with my Suffolk Diet, Dan from Onya Bags, trendy fire hose upcyclers Elvis & Kresse,  local growers Nowton Park nurseries, The Suffolk Climate Change Partnership,  Woodland Ways,  Bury LETS bartering group and Greener Bury, the launch of a local transition town movement. 

There will be lots to keep the kids entertained too, including dressing up as a fireman, building bird or bat boxes and some children's yoga.

As well as promoting eco awareness, the fire and rescue service will also be raising awareness over safety and the event will also include a demonstration of an emergency car rescue, featuring me being cut out of a car.  Note how casually I mentioned that.  I'm actually more terrified of being the guinea pig for that demonstration than I am of giving a presentation later today about the Rubbish Diet.

As a result I've set up a couple of sponsor pages to help me through it.  Although free to enter, the event is trying to raise money for charity and all the proceeds will be shared by the Fire Fighters Charity and the EACH Treehouse Appeal, to help build a new children's hospice in Ipswich. These are two charities that can't help make you feel lucky to be alive.  So it would be really great if you could sponsor my emergency car rescue on either or both my Justgiving pages that have I set up specifically for the event.  You can find them at www.justgiving.com/thatrubbishwoman (EACH) or www.justgiving.com/BuryEcoFair (Fire Fighters our Charity).  You know I hate asking for money, but boy do these two causes really need your help.

Well, I hoped this blogpost this morning would calm my nerves a little, but the butterflies are still there. So, if you're in Bury, it would be great to see you there today.  It's running from 10am -4pm. There's even going to be a showing of The Age of Stupid, which is another first for Bury St Edmunds too!

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