Wanstead dinners, VI; Simple summer supper

Wansteadium’s food blogger Suki Orange writes:
With a renewed summery spring in our steps, it’s great to have another recipe from Karen Poole, the woman who is (almost) singlehandedly making Wanstead eat more healthily.

Broth of smoked mackerel, new potatoes and leeks in cider

Looking for a perfect supper dish to enjoy on these long summer evenings? Then cook this easy fresh and seasonal dish, it will not disappoint and will be a healthy addition to your weekly repertoire. I have to own up that I ‘borrowed’ this recipe from a friend and it has fast become my latest
food crush.

New potatoes are still in the shops and we should make sure to use them while we still can – although you can just as easily use main crop spuds if that’s all you can find.. Leeks, full of peppery goodness are still in their prime and by now we are all familiar with the positive aspects of eating oily fish. The cider – well sometimes you just need some alcohol to give a dish the perfect twist!

Ingredients (Serves 3-4)
•Two medium leeks, sliced
•1 clove garlic, chopped
•1tbsp olive oil
•1 spoonful of plain flour
•500ml of cider
•680g new potatoes, diced
•125ml vegetable stock
•Two cooked fillets of smoked mackerel, flaked
•Chives, finely chopped
•Crème fraiche

Method

1. Chop the leeks and garlic then sauté gently in olive oil until soft
2. Stir in the flour and cook for a few minutes, then add the cider.
3. Roughly chop the potatoes and add to the pan.
4. Add the stock and simmer until the potatoes are cooked.
5. Flake the fish into pieces and simmer for a further 2 minutes.
6. Adjust the seasoning
7 Serve with chopped chives and a spoonful of crème fraiche


Healthy aspect

Potatoes
•Chromium- facilitates the function of insulin and aids glucose metabolism
•Vitamin C – helps blood cell formation and regulates cholesterol metabolism
•Fibre – keeps the bowel healthy and can aid digestion and elimination

Mackerel
•Valine- boosts immune function and calms emotions
•Isoluecine- helps muscle development and repair
•B6- metabolises and fat and protein
•B3- lowers cholesterol and aids energy production

Leeks
•Sulphur – supports liver detoxification and blood glucose regulation.

Karen Poole BA Dip Nutrition CNM MBANT can be contacted at
K.E.Poole@hotmail.com Or www.karenpoolenutrition.co.uk

Wanstead Farmers’ Market ‘could close’

A rise in rents for traders at the monthly Wanstead Farmers Market could force the monthly market to close, the Wanstead Guardian is reporting. The increase from £14 to £28 per trader, introduced by Redbridge Borough Council as part of its budget cuts and increases, has already meant the South Woodford market closing, organiser Ian Chisholm told the paper. A council spokesperson said they would be prepared to listen to concerned traders.

Liddle local difficulty

Professional controversialist Rod Liddle writes this week in the Spectator of the decision to allow Sir Martin Sorrell, uber ad-man and boss of WPP, to carry the Olympic torch on its trip through Redbridge on 22 July.

Liddle writes that he has been trying to find ways to taunt the “lower orders” about their lack of wealth recently, and says:

Nothing I have come up with, however, quite beats the decision to let Sir Martin Sorrell — one of Britain’s richest people, and a brave and stoic defender of enormous salaries and bonuses for people like Sir Martin Sorrell — carry the Olympic torch through one of the country’s most deprived boroughs, Redbridge, while presumably cackling to himself. The torch is meant to be borne aloft by unsung commoners, of course; ordinary people who have not been extravagantly rewarded in a financial sense. The sort of people who do not, when they divorce, bung their ex-spouse two parking spaces at Harrods worth £200,000 on top of the £20 ­million or so, just to keep her sweet.”

Apparently the only Wanstead resident to carry the torch is teacher Luke Williams, who told the Wanstead Village Directory: “I am overjoyed that I will be running within my home borough – Wanstead is a quaint and beautiful gem, where village meets city all in one place. I urge residents to maintain the quiet, serene atmosphere of the area and not to take our town’s unique characteristics for granted.”

Update, 15 July: Wansteadium reader Michael Proulx writes:
“Not the only Wanstead resident.
Me too.
Cheers,
Michael.”

Wanstead Co-op to have lockers for Amazon deliveries

Getting stuff delivered from Amazon in Wanstead is about to get much, much easier. A sneak peek inside the Co-op, mid-refurbishment, reveals a bank of Amazon Lockers along the back wall. This is a service offered by the firm in which you can opt to have things delivered to a combination-coded locker rather than having it delivered to your house.

It will allow people not at home during the day to pick up their Amazon deliveries on the way home, instead of returning home to a ‘Sorry You Were Out’ card. And since the Leytonstone Sorting Office has become – to all intents and purposes – impossible to reach except as part of a major expedition, it will reduce the need to go there.

The Co-op has been introducing these lockers in some of its London stores in recent months. Reports on blogs suggest there are only 40 lockers in each branch, which has caused some to wonder if that can possibly justify the space the lockers take up on the shopfloor. But regardless of that, for people living in Wanstead who are not at home during the day, this will be a significant improvement.

Wanstead author peddles book

With British interests riding high in the Tour De France, and equally high hopes for GB cyclists in the Olympics, cycling is enjoying a pretty high profile at the moment. What a good time to publish a book about a British cycling hero. Step forward Wanstead journalist Robert Dineen. Wansteadium met him for a chat while waiting for the lights to turn green on Hollybush Hill.

Wansteadium: Robert, congratulations on the book launching this week. Was much of it researched and written in Wanstead? Did any local places help inspire
you with the project?

20120713-091618.jpgRobert: Thank you. I actually wrote all of it in my flat in Wanstead, and most of it in my cellar, which is converted into a study. I find it easier
to work without the distraction of a pleasant, leafy view. My research was divided between face-to-face interviews, long days spent in libraries – most often the National Newspaper Library in Colindale – and, yes, at home, either through telephone interviews or reading various research material. I’m not sure if I was inspired by a specific Wanstead landmark, but I would reward myself with a trip to meet mates in the Cuckfield once I had completed a certain number of words. Usually, I would visit the library or the secondhand book shop on the High Street but I tended to avoid reading books while writing mine because I found others’ work a bit intimidating. It’s been quite nice to be able to go back to both places since finishing it.

W: The story is about one of the greats of British sport, who rose from poor beginning to become a world champion and adored sportsman. It sounds very compelling – how did you identify with the main character Reg? The dustjacket precis notes that he was “driven by an insatiable need for wealth, women, fast cars and fine wines”.

R: That is something I had to think about. Partly because of his ambition, single-mindedness and perceived selfishness, Reg invited a lot of criticism from people who knew him. But I tried very hard not to sit in judgment of him, partly because he is not alive to put across a defence, partly because he inspired jealousy that I think tainted some people’s views, and also, of course, because that would have been to the detriment of the book. Instead I tried to sympathise with him, which was in the end was not too difficult. I think all blokes can sympathise with a desire for those things mentioned on the dustjacket, it’s just that very few of us get them, and certainly not all at once and as young men, like Reg did. I thought I could also relate to his selfishness because writing a book is a very selfish thing to do. To get it done, you basically need to put everything else in your life – including friends and family – aside for about a year.

W: Do you cycle much yourself?
R: I cycle most days, commuting from Wanstead to Victoria, which takes just under an hour. Quite often, I cycle into Epping Forest, too, or along the River Lea and on to Broxbourne, where I grew up. I have trained for a triathlon and hope to go on a touring holiday in the Autumn. I’m looking forward to all of the cycling at the Olympics but especially the men’s sprint. That was Reg’s discipline, Britain have a great chance of winning gold and I think it is the most compelling
event on the track. The men’s road race should be fascinating too, given the strength of the Brits and that Cavendish is so good.

W: Any advice for anyone considering their own literary projects?
R: Tough one. People have written entire books on how to write a book and on how to get one published. But I suppose it’s most important not to give up and not to compare yourself to other writers. It’s also best to write in short sprints, like Reg, 20 minutes on, then a 5-minute break.

You can buy a copy of Rob’s book here: Reg Harris: The rise and fall of Britain’s greatest cyclist