05/07/14: Joining 'Growing Communities'

I've really outdone myself today. Being as admittedly apathetic as I am most of the time, I feel it's important to acknowledge that I've gotten an unprecedented amount done today. Y'see, a dear friend of mine is moving to Berlin on Sunday so we thought it only right to congregate for a number of farewell drinks last night, a plan that quickly descended into drinking Smirnoff Ices (yepp) & dancing around pool tables to Justin Timberlake at almost two o'clock. I was quite prepared for today to be a write-off. I have, however, since crawling out of the depths of bed at midday, done a load of laundry, swept the kitchen, been to 'Sainsbury's', washed up & made a batch of homemade granola, all of which have made me feel a lot more human than having to wash my hair in the sink this morning. Mm.

 Amongst all of this uncharacteristic productivity was my also remembering to write this blog post about...joining Growing Communities, hooray! For those not in the know, Growing Communities is a 'social enterprise' of local, East London people that run a box scheme of weekly, organic, sustainable & locally grown vegetables. Since really committing to vegetarian cooking, I've often found myself reading up on various companies that offer vegetable boxes & been umm-ing & aah-ing about whether they would be affordable or worthwhile. I went through a phase of buying all of my fruit & veg from Ridley Road Market & was amazed at how much cheaper it was compared to the supermarket but that kind of shopping unfortunately no longer fits into my weekly routine. It was one afternoon walking past the allotment where they grow the 'Hackney Salad' below followed by a nudge from Ava of Guac & Roll that I decided to go ahead & sign up.

Opting for a weekly 'standard no potatoes' bag (I figured potatoes & onions are amongst the cheapest & easiest to supplement), Growing Communities were so pleasant & helpful at every juncture - answering emails on everything from being able to opt out if I wasn't totally sold to when I would be able to collect my first bag. Cities can feel like big, anonymous places where these feelings of genuine community can be hard to come by but I know that I, at least, get a real sense of fulfilment when knowing that I'm investing in my local area. It also works out at just over a fiver a week each for my boyfriend & I which is an undoubted saving on what we would usually spend in the first two aisles of Sainsbury's.

So what's in the bag? This week, a huge bag of luscious spinach, a perfumed pouch of fresh basil, an eccentric bunch of vibrant beetroot & green garlic (the latter of which I've never tried!), a couple of paper bags of mushrooms & cherry tomatoes & 'Hackney Salad' that I'm looking forward to piling into work-day sandwiches. I'll admit that it's going to be a big change & one that will take a bit of adapting but this is all for the better - using fresh, seasonal produce in my cooking, being less reliant on rice or pasta as the base of any dish, eating less meat substitutes & more real & nutritious foods. Oh, & knowing that 85% of the vegetables I received this week were grown the UK, brilliant! I'm also hoping that starting from ingredients rather than recipes will be make me a better cook, a more creative, thoughtful & instinctive one, although we'll wait & see.

I'm already eyeing up Kitsunetsuki Kitchen's beetroot, basil & roasted garlic risotto & then there's this evening's hot chickpea & spinach curry that'll make sure I sweat out the rest of these toxins, blargh.

What do you make of the 'Growing Communities' scheme?

Do you know what to do with green garlic?!

Speak soon - O.