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.