Saturday 23 October 2010

Bladderwrack tea

Seaweed is apparently a superfood, packed full of anti oxidants, anti cancer(ants?), iodine, and omega 3 fatty acids. These are all good things, apparently. And while there is a wide variety of fashionable and expensive dietary supplements available containing seaweed extracts, I have set myself the challenge of collecting some seaweed, and turning it into something that doesn't taste like shit.

Today, while my assistant practiced jumping off an old rusty sewage pipe nearby, and with the incoming tide tickling my toes, I hastily grabbed a few lumps of bladderwrack from the littoral. I took the mulchy mess home in one of my assistants nappy sacks (unused, but unfortunately scented), and simmered the lot for 15 mins, then steeped it overnight according to the instructions given here.


 The person responsible for this recipe, Susan Weed (hilarious!), stresses the benefits of seaweed, including "increased longevity, enhanced immune functioning, revitalization of the cardiovascular, endocrine, digestive, and nervous systems, and relief from minor aches and pains." This somewhat emboldened me as I strained the goo, heated it up and took my first sip.

Verdict? Like a teenager snogging in a pub car park, whose near paralytic partner accidentally lets a little sick slip out of their mouth, I am going to assume that this is an acquired taste.

Boots are doing a deal on bladderwrack supplements (60 pills for £3.79)

Wednesday 13 October 2010

Off the Beeten Track

This is definitely my favourite time of year: crisp, clean air, warm sunshine (occasionally) and more dogs than people on the beach: Leo, my 2 year old assistant, wants to make friends with everyone he meets.  I, however, don't.

I like going to the beach to walk, sit, surf...and occasionally fill a bag with sea beet:


I love this stuff - it seems to be available all year, often in huge patches, and it tastes a bit like Chard.  I use it instead of Spinach, and it often ends up in my assistant's omelette or pasta, which in turn occasionally end up in his mouth. Today, I was pleased to note that my assistant spotted some before I did, and even got stuck in and helped me pick it.


We picked a Good few handfuls, which I decided to make into a quiche adapted from a basic recipe, as follows:

Ingredients:
1 Ready made shorrcrust pastry (couldn't be arsed)
2 6 eggs
3 250g grated cheddar
4 Few handfuls of sea beet, chopped up some
5 250ml double cream
6 120 ml milk
7 salt and pepper

Method:
1 Roll out pastry (what a pain in the arse) and line a 25cm quiche thing with it.
2 Sprinkle grated cheddar and sea beet on it
3 Mix the other things together, then pour them over the cheese and sea beet.
4 Bake in an oven (160 degrees) til it's done.

It was bloody lush:


And this blog is proving to be a good excuse to practice my food porn photography.