Going local

... oh no, now she's on the local trip, too! Hey, it's the only New Year's resolution I made for 2009!
I think it's funny how definitions of local vary... when someone from the US says they're only buying from their state and the surroundings, that easily covers an amount of land that could swallow Europe. At least some of it.

Let's face it: living in northwest Europe, eating only local food would restrict me to roots and tubers for pretty much all the time except the summer months.
Anyway, I found a farm in Neuss that delivers to Düsseldorf (since I would never be home in Krefeld when a delivery guy came) and subcribed to their "Single" organic veg and fruit box scheme. Actually, the main reason I started this was not as much the local aspect but the fact that when I finally have time to go grocery shopping at the end of the day, both supermarkets and Bioläden (organic grocery stores) only have the icky fruit and veg left.
So for 12-15 euro a week, I might for example get:
Grühnkohl, a giant kohlrabi, jerusalem artichokes, chicory, parsnips, ginger, oranges, apples, bananas, the smallest pears in the world and the most gigantic lemon ever!

This week box held all of this:
beetroot, salsify (I've never cooked with it, any suggestions?), an eggplant, swiss chard, onions, 2 kiwi fruit, apples, pears and oranges again and a small, orange and un-irish sharon :)

Most produce is from Germany and the Netherlands, though there are some things that are from Italy or Spain, or even farther away.
I like that I can preview what's going to be in the box every Friday and change my order online and plan around what's in the box (which is brought every Wednesday).

Another local thing are these sweet German vegan blogs that I recently discovered:
Vegan Macht Glücklich
Schlemmen ohne "Muh" und "Mäh"

Plum madness

It's plum season... I have very fond memories of my childhood connected to plums. My grandma used to have a giant tree and we kids climbed it to pick some fruit. And find out which had worms. Ew. However, last week I bought some Sojadé Plum Yoghurt (Sojadé is a Frenech company... I can't really recommend the other flavours, but plum is ace!). Then a coworker brought a huge basket with plums from her garden. And since Sunday is baking day for me, I decided to give the traditional plum tart another try. I've tried various vegan recipes but they were all dry and crumbly. So I whipped up my own. The self-raising flour I bought at Cologne's English Shop yesterday helped a lot. It came out soft, not too sweet and lovely. Who said I suck at baking?
here's it:
200g self-raising flour
50 g sugar
1 tbs soy flour
1 package vanilla sugar
3 tbs soy yoghurt (I used Sojade plum)
5 tbs oil (I use sunflower oil, my fave for everything)
about 100 ml water

400g plums, pitted and sliced

Mix all ingredients except the plums. It will make a gooey and sticky dough. Spread into your preferred baking form ( I <3 my heart-shaped sillicone baking form, but you could also spread it on a greased baking tray).
Cover with the plums, press them into the dough, but be gentle. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Bake for 20 mins. Yum!

(Still, a wee bit of the heart broke when I flipped it over...)