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Gone Organic - Need Help!


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I've been forced onto an extreme diet (well, agreed willingly, but that's another matter) which means:

No white flour (pasta, bread)

No white rice (rice noodles, dim sum anyone?)

No sugar

No caffiene

No red meat

No non-organic white meat

All veg should be organic where possible.

Ugh. It's brutal. Which means, of course, I break it once a week or so (damnit, don't these people know about eGullet?). Anyway, I've had to roam the organic aisles of every market I find, and I can't believe how bad the veg is at the two big name organic supermarkets. Has anyone else had this experience? This is veg that was fresh and wild a week ago! On several occasions I've found it dessicated, droopy, soft rubbish. Artichokes almost completely open. Parsnips that bend 90 degrees without breaking. And, of course, the pricing is appaling. And people are leaving these places believing it's because they're organic, rather than poorly handled.

Where are the places to go for fresh organic veg? Which markets support organic farmers?

And the next time I break my diet, where should it be? :laugh:

"Gimme a pig's foot, and a bottle of beer..." Bessie Smith

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"111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321" Bruce Frigard 'Winesonoma' - RIP

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Wholemeal, spelt, corn fusilli (that was the worst).

Makes you want to run infront of a bus.

"Gimme a pig's foot, and a bottle of beer..." Bessie Smith

Flickr Food

"111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321" Bruce Frigard 'Winesonoma' - RIP

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There are some brands of wholemeal pasta that are okay: Barilla Integrale I think is one to try. The spaghetti works well with cheese or cream based sauces, something where the slightly nutty or earthy wholemeal flavour complements the sauce. I urge you to try.

Most, however, tastes like MDF, and may well have a useful role in decorating.

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I feel for you!

You could try one of those delivered organic veg boxes?

I know waitrose say they support local producers, the one near me is having a sort of open day in a few weeks where they talk about their sourcing, with samples :biggrin:. Apparently last year it was booked up within hours though. I must live in a Waitrosey type of area!

There are a couple of recipes which traditionally use wholemeal pasta (rather than for weird health reasons), Bigoli with sardines, and I am sure I have seen a recipe for a cabbage based one (Which I think also contained loads of cream and cheese, so maybe not, unless that's ok?)

I find that most people who eat organic and so called 'Whole foods' are not particularly interested how things taste.

You could try going the japanese route, buckwheat noodles etc?

And at least you can console yourself with asparagus at the moment(Actually does anyone grow it organically? And what about Jersey royals?)

I love animals.

They are delicious.

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I think pizzocheri are non-white flour based and are often served with cabbage, butter, potatoes, cheese etc.

As for vegetables, just stock up at a farmer's market (though of course not everything is organic). I think you're westish aren't you? It would be worth going out to the smaller market in Ealing (Sat am) rather than going into the overpriced central markets, and if you're really keen you could go up to Stoke Newington where there is a biodynamic/organic farmers' market on Saturdays.

Box schemes seem ridiculously expensive and leave you without much choice, though Abel & Cole are supposed to be s good one, I think.

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I am sure I have seen a recipe for a cabbage based one (Which I think also contained loads of cream and cheese, so maybe not, unless that's ok?)

Would that be pizzoccheri?

Never had it myself, but there's a great recipe on Chuck Taggart's fine Creole and Cajun Recipe Page (pizzoccheri is of course, neither Creole or Cajun - from Lombardy it appears - but he does have a world food section)

Click

Giorgio Locatelli also did a version on his UKTV Food series.

edit: to say EndlessAutumn beat me to the answer by three minutes...

Edited by bainesy (log)

Sheffield, where I changed,

And ate an awful pie

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There are some brands of wholemeal pasta that are okay: Barilla Integrale I think is one to try.  The spaghetti works well with cheese or cream based sauces, something where the slightly nutty or earthy wholemeal flavour complements the sauce. I urge you to try.

Most, however, tastes like MDF, and may well have a useful role in decorating.

Dan -

do you know any local places in (west-ish) London that might stock it?

{Edit to add] Thanks for all the suggestions! And any recipe ideas welcome!

"Gimme a pig's foot, and a bottle of beer..." Bessie Smith

Flickr Food

"111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321" Bruce Frigard 'Winesonoma' - RIP

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Can't help you with stockists I'm afraid, although anywhere that stocks De Cecco and other premium brands is likely to have something.

Pizzoccheri and other buckwheat pasta are popular in Friuli, but they're very much winter fare. Ditto buckwheat polenta.

If you're after a grain fix, wholemeal couscous can do the trick. It's excellent in tiny quantities in tabbouleh, and is great soaked in tomato consomme as the basis for a salad.

What's wrong with red meat anyway?

And it's about time to explore the wonderful world of pulses I would suggest.

Edited by Dan Ryan (log)
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I feel for you!

You could try one of those delivered organic veg boxes?

I know waitrose say they support local producers, the one near me is having a sort of open day in a few weeks where they talk about their sourcing, with samples :biggrin:. Apparently last year it was booked up within hours though. I must live in a Waitrosey type of area!

There are a couple of recipes which traditionally use wholemeal pasta (rather than for weird health reasons), Bigoli with sardines, and I am sure I have seen a recipe for a cabbage based one (Which I think also contained loads of cream and cheese, so maybe not, unless that's ok?)

I find that most people who eat organic and so called 'Whole foods' are not particularly interested how things taste.

You could try going the japanese route, buckwheat noodles etc?

And at least you can console yourself with asparagus at the moment(Actually does anyone grow it organically? And what about Jersey royals?)

Yes, try organic produce box deliveries. I used this as a source of seasonal, fresh organic produce when I lived in the UK.

I can't remember the two companies I used. One was had "Cole" in the name I think. That company allowed me to make substitutions (I provided them with a list of produce I didn't eat and they chose what was substituted). This worked great.

Foodie Penguin

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i used to use abel and cole and stopped because the quality of the produce went down a bit. i tried simply organic afterwards and it was terrible. same product every week. so i soon cancelled that. i'll go back to abel and cole very soon, the prices are reasonable and the produce is generally of a high standard. box schemes are your best way of getting great produce at a reasonable price.

try barley couscous for a bit of a change. i think belazu do one, found in the special (special what? specially priced i reckon) selection at satanburys.

Suzi Edwards aka "Tarka"

"the only thing larger than her bum is her ego"

Blogito ergo sum

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Fortunately, Moby, so far as I can see, your hideous diet does not preclude alcohol. May I suggest you drown your sorrows in an ENORMOUS vodka martini and see how much brighter the universe becomes?

Do tell me if this is the least helpful post you've ever read.

Fi Kirkpatrick

tofu fi fie pho fum

"Your avatar shoes look like Marge Simpson's hair." - therese

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No Alcohol Either!!

No, that was most helpful fi, thanks very much.

I just signed up for abel and cole, so we'll see how that goes. [weeping]Barley cous cous?[/weeping]

"Gimme a pig's foot, and a bottle of beer..." Bessie Smith

Flickr Food

"111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321" Bruce Frigard 'Winesonoma' - RIP

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christ. now you really DO have my sympathies.

Agree that the organic veg in F&W (or Fresh And Wildly Expensive as I normally call it) is PANTS. curiously, Tesco's organic veg is not bad. Though, and I'm not sure if this is the place for it but by GOD I'm going to say it anway, how annoying is it that the organic-save-the-world-whales-and-dolphins-morally-superior veg in all the major supermarkets actually comes in MORE packaging not LESS than their standard veg? ooooh it makes me seethe.

hmmm. what colour is pork? if you see what I mean?

Fi Kirkpatrick

tofu fi fie pho fum

"Your avatar shoes look like Marge Simpson's hair." - therese

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I find pork very open to suggestion where my particular requirements are concerned...

"Gimme a pig's foot, and a bottle of beer..." Bessie Smith

Flickr Food

"111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321" Bruce Frigard 'Winesonoma' - RIP

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Hi Moby - feel your pain. Just finished a 4 week detox very similar to the one that you describe. Luckily, after 5 years in London (and being stiffed by Fresh and Wild - the one near Old St) I'm now in Sydney, which does tend to be better on the organic veg front.

Have to agree with all comments upthread about the hideousness of most wholemeal pasta. I couldn't believe it when I put a forkful in my mouth - decaying cardboard.

Anyway, I'm a bit out of the loop on London food, but just wanted to say that despite the annoyances, I did feel genuinely great after the 4 weeks were up, and that in fact, I'll probably stick to quite a bit of it (including the cold showers amazingly enough). Also, as an aside to Carlovski's theory about people eating organic/wholefoods not really caring about taste, I found that eating more simple/'good' food for a while, made basic things like veg, fruit, bread etc taste better than I could have imagined.

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Barilla Integrale I think is one to try.

do you know any local places in (west-ish) London that might stock it?

not absolutely sure, but I think they stock this at the Salusbury Food Store (on Salusbury Road, about 200m from Queens Park tube).

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The Saturday morning market in Orange Square (by La Poule au Pot/Hunan) has some organic stalls and the veggies I've had from there have been pretty tasty - I think this is your neck of the woods Moby and would provide a convenient excuse for lunch at the Ebury :wink:

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The Saturday morning market in Orange Square (by La Poule au Pot/Hunan) has some organic stalls and the veggies I've had from there have been pretty tasty

oh yes, they had some incredibly beautiful candy-striped beets when I was there last. and there's a man who does grilled sausage sandwiches which are definitely not to be missed.

Fi Kirkpatrick

tofu fi fie pho fum

"Your avatar shoes look like Marge Simpson's hair." - therese

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Moby has thrown down the gauntlet: design a meal that conforms to these horrid specifications yet is gastronomically interesting.

So why don't we turn this into a little event? We can post menus that are organic-no-flour-no-alcohol etc. etc. blech; Moby can judge the one he likes best (or assemble one out of components from ours, or make up his own).

I'll make our kitchen available to cook the winning meal for Moby and Kate, sometime in June. All welcome to participate.

Here's a starter for 10.

- "Twenty four carrot" soup (adapted from Thomas Keller idea: carrots, shallots, butter, yoghurt or creme fraiche)

- Mushrooms wrapped in vine leaves (an Elizabeth David treatment)

- Farro (spelt) done with a risotto-like treatment

- Roast chicken (organic of course); Jersey Royals; asparagus

- Green salad

- Cheeses

- Fruit

Moby: are you allowed cheese? cream? unsweetened chocolate? Are you allowed to use honey rather than sugar?

Jonathan Day

"La cuisine, c'est quand les choses ont le go�t de ce qu'elles sont."

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That's very generous of you, Jonathan. Sounds like a brilliant idea. Maybe we should extend this to the expertise in the cooking forum.

Fats aren't a problem. Mushrooms, unfortunately, are - as Kate has an allergy. Chocolate has caffeine in it, so not allowed. Whole fruit is okay, but not fruit juice. Honey in limited amounts. Dairy is fine. I'm not sure where duck falls into this equation (has anyone seen any organic ducks?).

The main issue is controlling sugar and energy levels - on a day to day basis, rather than individual meals. Smoking, sugar, caffeine, too many refined carbohydrates all present 'false' or unsustainable energy boosts - which send the energy levels up, only to see them fall significantly later on. My problem has been, with the sudden withdrawal of all of my daily supports (like a junkie joining up the hours), a descent into mild hypoglycemia (sp?). Anyway, it's neither here nor there, just the side-effects of my new hobby.

What do other people think of making a meal of it?

"Gimme a pig's foot, and a bottle of beer..." Bessie Smith

Flickr Food

"111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321" Bruce Frigard 'Winesonoma' - RIP

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