Category: Wansteadium

Wansteadium reader Hannah writes:

Dear Wansteadium
We had friends and family round on Sunday for a post-Marathon get-together, to celebrate our friends who were running (and my birthday). One of our runners is a mother-of-three who, to cut long story short, has the BRACA2 gene which means that unless she has a double mastectomy, she has an 80% chance of developing breast cancer. She’s only 29. This is why she was running for the Breast Cancer Campaign to help fund research so her children, hopefully, won’t have to endure what she is going through.

Two of her children are twins and she and her husband (my brother) left a double buggy outside my house in Cowley Road.

Best wishes

Hannah.

UPDATE, Saturday: Following Hannah’s letter, two Wansteadium readers offered to give double buggies to Hannah’s sister-in-law. She extends her thanks to them (as will people who like to think of Wanstead as the kind of place where someone would give a Bugaboo).

Wansteadium’s gardening blogger, Ron, 90, offers his thoughts on how to get ready for a summer without hosepipes.

Amusing, isn’t it, that the minute we have a hosepipe ban introduced it doesn’t stop raining for two weeks.

Still, it’s pretty clear that short of a miracle, we’re going to have to do our gardening without hosepipes this year. Carrying watering cans will, I suppose, give us all some exercise, but you’d be wise to be doing a bit of planning ahead.

Courgettes and sweet corn ne0ed a lot of water. Maybe give them a miss this year?

Tomatoes need to be watered every day to stand any hope of a good healthy crop. But they can very happily be grown in pots or tubs – especially the smaller varieties. So maybe that’s what to do this year – and keep the pots near the tap!

Runner beans do need a good amount of water, so I’m minded just to plant my beans and see what happens. Who knows, the forecasters might be wrong and we might have enough rain, but I don’t really anticipate giving them the water they really need, at least not with a watering can. You could dig lots of compost into the trench where you plan to plant out your bean plants, that might help retain some moisture. Or do what we used to do years ago, and scrunch up old newspapers and bury those in the trench beneath the soil and compost. It’s an old technique but might just be worth dusting off.

In the meantime, while we’re waiting for the finer weather, I’ve put every bin, pot and empty tub out in the open to catch as much rainwater as I can, and with heavy rain forecast for the rest of this week this is a good plan. I have got a water butt, but that’s already full. So I’m improvising with a plastic dustbin as a secondary butt, and I’m emptying all these pots into it whenever I can. It all might help.

And in the meantime I’m enjoying looking out over the greenest lawn I’ve ever had in the middle of a drought.

The following conversation has revealed a hitherto unrevealed glitch in the social norms, even in the ultra-child-friendly environment of Wanstead. Your thoughts on this modern life dilemma are welcome, via comments at the bottom of the page.

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/#!/iainaitch/status/193350432364560384″]

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/#!/Tudorscribe/status/193351652814749697″]

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/#!/teninchwheels/status/193351063280168960″]

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/#!/iainaitch/status/193351272412364801″]

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[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/#!/iainaitch/status/193352524856692737″]

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[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/#!/iainaitch/status/193354527104172032″]

It’s lovely. Our road is so empty, it’s like the aftermath of a nuclear war!

Alan McKinlay of Dangan Road on new residents’ only parking restrictions, quoted in Wanstead Guardian

Wansteadium’s food blogger Suki Orange writes: Here is the fourth of Karen Poole’s excellent Wanstead dinners – as ever, seasonal, healthy and where possible locally sourceable. If you know what I mean.

Blooming tasty curry
New potatoes are bursting into the shops and we should make sure to use them while they are at their best and most beautiful. We tend to forget the health benefits of the humble potato so this recipe celebrates them along with cauliflower, which is often seen as a side dish and not a main attraction. This dish is easy to prepare, economical and can be sourced on our very own high street.

Potato and Cauliflower curry
Serves 2-3
Ingredients:

• Tbsp vegetable oil
• Tsp cumin seeds
• Tsp mustard seeds
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 500g new potatoes, quartered or cut into large dice
• Half a large cauliflower broken into florets
• A handful of chopped coriander – leaves and stalks separated.
• 1tsp turmeric
• Clove of garlic, finely chopped
• 1cm knob of ginger, finely chopped
• 2 chopped tomatoes
• Squeeze of tomato pureé
• 2 tsps garam masala
• 1 red chilli pepper, finely chopped or shredded
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. In a large saucepan, fry the cumin and mustard seeds until they begin to pop.
2. Add the chopped onion and fry gently for about three to five
minutes.
3.Add the potato and cauliflower, the coriander stalks, turmeric, garlic and ginger, stir to coat the vegetables in the spices and carry on frying
for a minute or two, adding more oil if necessary.
4. Add the tomato and tomato pureé and a little water, stir, season
and reduce the heat right down. Put a lid on the pan and cook gently
until the potatoes are soft and the sauce has reduced and coats the
vegetables.
5. Just before serving, add the coriander leaf, chilli and garam masala.

This dish goes well with a pea or mushroom pilau, cucumber raita and mango
chutney. Or, as it is a Punjabi dish, it complements tandoori chicken or fish.

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

Cauliflower
• Vitamin C – protects the mucus membranes of the mouth, lungs and throat
• Selenium- regulates the thyroid hormones and supports growth
• Indole 3 carbinol- aids the elimination of carcinogens before they can damage DNA so may reduce the risk of some cancers
• Sulphur- supports liver function and the clearance of toxins

Nutritionist Karen Poole BA Dip Nutrition CNM MBANT can be contacted at k.e.poole@hotmail.com Or www.karenpoolenutrition.co.uk

More fine work by ace photographer Richard Chambury (http://www.richfoto.com)