Such a lovely day. A vegan cooking demonstration and lunch at Riverford Farm Field Kitchen. A birthday treat with dear friends.
The chef is young and enthusiastic and knowledgeable...at the cutting edge of NPD ( new product development ) in this ever expanding area. The food is bursting with flavour and texture.
The participants are interesting and interested. The sun pours in on us from tall windows, all sitting round a huge wooden table, while we watch and listen and learn..... a lot about how to add protein to a vegan diet without eggs or dairy.......about seitan ( wheat gluten) , marinated tofu, jack fruit, tempeh, as well as aquafaba ( chick pea liquid) meringues and banana ice cream.
Most of it isn't new to me ( except the recipe for pulled jack fruit and black beans) and I'm very unlikely to use any of those ingredients. But what I did love and found inspiring was all the different ways of making vegetables delicious .... without being vegan at all.
Deep fried fresh baby artichoke hearts with capers
roasted butternut squash, radicchio, cauliflower rice, crispy kale and roasted chick peas..
heritage tomatoes with sauerkraut and basil and nasturtium pesto..
Farinata ( chickpea pancakes) with roasted romanesco caulifower and spicy dhal..
aquafaba meringues, (which really do taste like meringues) honey glazed roasted mango and coconut cream.
I loved it all. And couldn't help remembering my NPD days in the Sharwood's kitchen in the early nineties in London, developing curry sauces in cans, pastes in jars, ready meals in pouches.
And my healthy eating/vegetarian cooking demonstration days ....which all seem so dated now...everything has moved on/changed so rapidly in the food world - not always for the good - but I loved the passion and dedication and belief in the power of plants of our young chef today.
And how I believe it too ...but I'm so happy to leave all that to this generation....to be inspired, to apply some of it in my own kitchen at home ...but I no longer feel the need to take up the mantle of the message, or earn a living by spreading the word....it makes me tired just thinking about such energy required.
But maybe there are more ways than one to imagine making a contribution in the world ....in my sixties...without needing to lie down in a darkened room first to recover from any thought of exertion....physical, emotional or mental.
But you do make a difference - through your blog. Roasted chickpeas is an interesting idea. A good way to add taste to tinned ones? It's the ingredients that baffle me these days - as you say, things have moved on so much. xx
ReplyDeleteThanks B. Yes Bob Andrew, our demonstrator, just emptied a tin of drained chick peas into a roasting pan with some oil and salt ( you could use chilli flakes as well) and cooked them for 20 mins or so till very crisp. Good crunchy addition to salads! xx
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