Carob

I never thoughts I'd be writing a piece about carob. Especially after seemingly abandoning my blog for so long.
Here's my memory of carob;
Sandra Boynton's lovely little book about the history of chocolate in which she compares it to carob thus;

A scratch and sniff picture of carob comparing it to soil.

Carob bars turned up in dusty health food shops in the 1970's and '80's at a time when chocolate was seen as unhealthy (horror of horrors). It tasted awful.  The carob not the chocolate.  Of course we all know better now. It's sugar that's evil and chocolate that's good. Carob got left by the back door.

Fast forward a number of years to an ice cream maker in the Algarve. There amongst the usual flavours was fig. almond and carob.I tried it, I liked it, much to my surprise. On previous trips to the south of Portugal I'd seen carob for sale in markets. Now with new awareness it was everywhere; carob jam, carob liqueur, paired with figs of course, and in cakes and puddings. 

As a crop it's been grown for thousands of years.
If like me you've always thought of carob as the poor relation of chocolate give it another chance. You may be pleasantly surprised.  
Better people than I have already written extensively about carob. 
Next time I'm in Portugal I'm looking forward to trying more carob products. I still don't want to eat it  as a chocolate substitute because that way lies disappointment. But as an ingredient in its own right? 

                               Carob, almond and fig ice cream

Tomato

I've just found a strange little piece I wrote in 1990. I was living in a new town where  the age of consent had just been lowered to 40. It hadn't really, I just invented that, it was still 45. I was bored and lonely, and the elderly man next door had given me a few of his allotment grown tomatoes. That entire summer before moving, I’d been entrenched in a restaurant kitchen prepping ingredients. The scent of a tomato had brought back a memory which triggered this piece.

Years later, there I was cutting up tomatoes taken from a bag on which was written ‘grown for flavour’.

Slippery acid red sweetness. Pile high on the chopping board. Intense smell, condensed smell from memories childhood picture.

Half a tomato on the yellow and black patterned table. A tomato cut into eight. The knife eases through red juice, creating swirls of pips on the Formica. Like a bird, I'm waiting to be fed, I want to be fed. Feed me daddy. I don’t remember him doing anything as carefully, fragrantly as parting the flesh from the skin, blushing glowing particles roll and fold under his nails.

Tiny coffee spoon comes towards my mouth. Did I like tomatoes. I liked the ceremony. The skilful separation of edible from indigestible. The attention.

Memories are so complex, and tomatoes are just tomatoes. The memory scent never hit me till now. This summer, cutting up tomatoes. Tinned tomatoes, my hand reaches into giant tins, crushing them into sauces and purées. Spanish, English cherries, gardeners delight. Green striped tomatoes with polenta. Dried Italian tomatoes, saturated in the murky yellow depths of olive oil, sweet and intense. Ovals of tomato, the curved shiny end, that’s where the smell, the memory holds. Acute, acid, saccharine as sick. I hold it up to the light in the steam of the kitchen and watch the veins in their woolly prison, delicate and attuned to their fate. Guilt traps me. A kitchen is no place for the admiration of nature and artistry is in creation.

Memories are so complex, and we can’t always do what we wish. The only place in my room for the desk is in the window alcove. As a result, the time for words and writing is linked to the obsessive gardening habits of the man next door. I watch him battling to keep the wild and unruly away. I would like to throw a packet of wild flower seeds out of my window. Watch them take root in this so tidy town. See them unfurl, fast and furiously into the minds of these people who meet to defeat nature.

Conformity annoys the hell out of me. Makes me bloody minded and…

And I wish there was a market place. A loud place, a messy place where people could raise their voices and opinions, where the stall holders are racist, but tomatoes are cheap. 

Totteratti Top 20 things to do in Tottenham.

No apologies for a very local posting. Things are moving in our neighbourhood. Tomorrow night the V&A is hosting a Tottenham Takeover.  Tottenham is starting to be noticed. http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/f/friday-late/

Over the last six or seven years I’ve tried to keep a count of destination restaurants and pubs within our neighbourhoods. Places to take friends, to find a decent coffee.

This isn’t the ultimate list; I’ve pruned down my original 7 pages so please; fill in the gaps. I’ve concentrated on N15 and N17 and for this piece, left out the extras that are just over the borders.

Please comment, and add your suggestions.  

ONE

Walk along the river Lea
I moved here because of the view from my balcony of the river Lea. If you're in a car you'll probably miss it. Get out and walk or cycle and you'll find Tottenham’s lungs. Naturally it's badly polluted. Theo Thomas of Thames 21 

https://www.facebook.com/lovethelea?sk=wallI&app_data

has done so much good work to draw attention to the state of the Lea and the rivers that flow off and around it such as The Moselle.

Plenty of good people are aware of the pollution and trying to do something about it, even if the official agencies don’t seem to be bothered. During the Olympics one section of the Lee was cleared, the rest stayed as mucky as ever. You can cycle to Crystal Palace and the Olympic Park along the river path, cross the Walthamstow marshes and beyond. It’s glorious to amble across the marshes and watch trains cross in the distance. A hard edged urban oasis. Check out the Hope and Anchor pub near Springfield park.

Cycle north,  and you’ll pass Stonebridge Lock. Living Under One Sun, in conjunction with other local groups are in the process of opening a cycle hire/ training centre and café there. I’ve not been able to get updates so please do shout if you know more.

Love the marshes

http://www.tottenhammarshes.org/about offer events and walks and information about the Marshes and the Lee Valley Regional Park.

Postartists are bringing Canalology to the river Lea on Saturday May 3^rd. http://postartists.com/canalology/

TWO

Find a decent coffee; Bom Pecado Portuguese Café on West Green Road is my favourite café.

http://www.timeout.com/london/restaurants/bom-pecado

Lovely coffee and natas that come with a little cinnamon shaker. 

THREE

Find a decent restaurant. Miracle of miracles, there’s actually a restaurant that got runner up in the best cheap eats in the Observer Food Monthly Awards; Autograf on West Green Road, N15 the Turnpike Lane end.

FOUR

Check out The Beehive. It’s part of a small group of pubs that includes The Chequers in Walthamstow, The Three Crowns in Stoke Newington, The Lock Tavern in Camden and Pub On The Park in Hackney.

They were absolutely amazed by the amount of people who came to their opening night. Adie told me;

‘There was a manager from one of our other pubs who came and ended up being roped in to working behind the bar to help with the demand!’

Tottenham was an obvious choice for them because ‘the area needs a good pub’ They’ve kept the Grade 2 listed interior and made the pub into something that's family friendly and hopefully befitting to the local community.

She said;

‘We've had loads of people tell us they're meeting their neighbours here for the first time, which is amazing!’

Plans include a Game Of Thrones quiz plus hopefully a general pop culture quiz.

In the refurbishment it’s gone from this;  to this 

No more tvs, no fruit machines. A more than decent range of beers, sustainably sourced ingredients in the kitchen. A games room and a garden with fairy lights.

It was packed on opening nights and deserves to do well. We need places like this in Tottenham so if you’ve not been yet, what are you waiting for?

FIVE Eat at a local Supper Club

Lo and behold we actually have two supper clubs in Tottenham with a third to follow soon.

Both are highly recommended. The last time I went to eat at Soul Food Girls, people had journeyed from Brixton and Camberwell.

Soul Food Sisters

soulfoodgirlssupperclub.blogspot.co.uk

Lets Go In For Dinner; Seven Sisters

Portugese and Spanish Tapas

https://www.facebook.com/LetsGoInForDinner

SIX

Take tea in the park

Lordship Rec

At the One World Music Festival last summer, the local church were doing a roaring trade in home made cakes at the open for the day new café space. Has it opened up yet? We can only hope for decent coffee and home made cakes. A real shame it’s not being used on a regular basis.

Downhills Park

Run by people with learning disabilities

http://www.hailltd.org/web/downshills-park-cafe.html

Just wonderful. Friendly, charming service and a great institution.

Markfield Park;

Pistachios in the Park. Chain who run park cafes in and around London. Basic but ok for a drink. Friendly, good for kids and dogs. http://pistachiosinthepark.org.uk/category/markfieldpark

Markfield also has the markfield.org.uk  which has a huge adventure playground. Originally for disabled young people, it’s now open to all comers several times a year.

SEVEN

Support your local breweries

Redemption Brewery; award winning craft brewery. Until recently the only place you could buy their beer was at the Tottenham Conservative Club. Now it’s available at The Beehive and ofcourse, at the Tottenham Ploughman events. And now that they’re bottling, chances are it’ll be available further afield. http://www.redemptionbrewing.co.uk/

Coming soon;

Beavertown Brewery, Tottenham Hale.

Woo hoo, competition for the Ferry Boat.

Beavertown will be brewing and selling from the same light industrial unit opposite the allotments.Summer 2014.

http://www.beavertownbrewery.co.uk/Blog

EIGHT Welcome our new Tottenham Green Market

It’s a travesty that Haringey doesn’t run a single street market in the borough. Not one. Ok so there are a couple of greengrocer stalls on Wood Green high street. Do tell me if I’ve missed anything else. What did they do with them all? I’m assuming that like other parts of London there were markets in place. 

A trial market for the green is due to open 28^th June.

NINE

Soak up some culture 

No local cinema; quite honestly I’d rather get the train to the Hackney Picture House on Mare St than the Wood Green Odeon.  

However, there is the  

Tottenham film club

http://tottenhamworldfilmclub.co.uk/

and http://www.haringey.org.uk/hic/

Meet up and get arty

Tottenham Art Group

https://www.facebook.com/tottenhamartgroup

A brilliant thought by local woman Taslima;  a social meet up group for locals living in and around Tottenham to get together and enjoy cultural activities.  

Email tottenhamartgroup@gmail.com to be kept up to date with all future meet ups.

Tas has also set up life drawing classes and to her surprise they’ve been overwhelmingly popular. Thursdays at Tottenham Chances, Tuesdays at The Beehive

http://www.tottenhamartclasses.co.uk/about.php

TEN; Tango

http://the-room.org.uk/

Another place I’ve always means to check out but never got round to.

An intriguing mix of yoga, tango, poetry and Tai Chi.

ELEVEN

Learn to sing!

http://www.tottenhamcommunitychoir.com/

http://www.tottenhamsingers.com/

TWELVE

Unearth an artist.

EuroArt studios on Markfield Rd, open studios once a year worth attending

THIRTEEN

Learn Spanish!

Mondays 7pm at El Botellon

FOURTEEN

Make green things grow

The award winning Living under one Sun run various courses

http://livingunder1sun.blogspot.co.uk/

FIFTEEN

Hug a tree

The actual Seven Sisters; seven trees on the corner of Broad Lane and the High Rd. Unmarked, no signs. The trees have been replanted several times over the years. You’ll have to go to Bruce Castle Museum to find out more.

http://tottenham-summerhillroad.com/seven_sisters_trees_tottenham_.htm

SIXTEEN Get fit;

Take on a Zumba class

Markfield Park every Monday morning run by the enthusiastic Charmaine

tcorlis@blueyonder.co.uk

07958 686 101

Every Monday evening Kemble Hall, Kemble Road N17

Try yoga

https://yogapod.wordpress.com/about/

N15 Wood Green

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Yoga-Meditation-Wood-Green-North-London/356096764461331?fref=ts

Bikram yoga without the heat….

SEVENTEEN   Keep it grass roots

Campaign for Wards Corner

http://www.haringey.gov.uk/specialist_support_for_seven_sisters_market.htm

The friends of Wards Corner haven’t given up yet; check out the planning application online.

https://wardscornercommunityplan.wordpress.com/

Join the Friends of Tottenham Green

Website not live yet

http://www.friendsoftottenhamgreen.co.uk/

www.facebook.com/friendsoftottenhamgreen

Currently planning summer solstice event for the opening of Tottenham Green.

Support the The Antwerp Arms; 168-170 Church Rd, London, N17 8AS

Anyone who’s been wondering what’s happening here, check this out;

http://www.microgenius.org.uk/project/antwerp-arms-association-18

Community take over time.

It’s not all jam making; Tottenham has its very own WI

http://www.freewebs.com/thehatterswi/

Join your park’s Friends group.

Lordship Rec, Downhill’s and Markfields all have groups. 

Get competitive with your chutney; enter the

Tottenham Flower and Produce Show

Lordship Rec 

EIGHTEEN

Help to preserve and appreciate the beautiful buildings in Tottenham;   http://www.tottenhamcivicsociety.org.uk/

#7BG The Luke Howard House

The very first time I saw the plaque I was mesmerised. Who wouldn't be charmed; the namer of clouds lived here. For years I’ve grown more and more frustrated that the only blue plaque building in Tottenham has been allowed to fall into disrepair. The current owners are sitting on the site, after receiving planning permission a year ago to turn it into flats.  On twitter this week, @PostArtists got people to tweet pictures of clouds to mark Luke Howards birthday. I mentioned the shameful state of his house. Some people don’t know it’s in Tottenham. Many, like me are upset and angry that it’s been left to crumble into the ground.  @Dadzoola has done the groundwork and knows who owns the property. I suggested to Matthew Bradby, chair of the Tottenham Civic Society that a letter signed by as many of us as possible goes to English Heritage. Ideally I’d love the building to become a living museum and community space but we all know that’s not going to happen.

NINETEEN

Support these two local projects to provide healthy, home-made, affordable food.

Back2Earth

Broadwater Farm based collective, running various projects including growing food, café, selling locally sourced and organic produce to people who wouldn’t normally be able to afford them.

http://www.back2earth.org.uk/

http://www.spacehive.com/selbytrustglobalgarden

http://www.fillingthegapcafe.co.uk/   N17 at the Engine Room Hale Village every Friday 10.30am-3pm. Home made food using sustainable ingredients.

TWENTY Support your local events!

Bruce Castle Vintage Fair Saturday 29 March 2014
10.30am-4.30pm
Stallholders selling vintage clothing, jewellery, accessories, books, furniture, kitchenalia, collectibles and records.
Vintage and vintage inspired gifts.
Entrance fee £1.50 only. Accompanied children free.

More here;

http://www.haringey.gov.uk/index/community_and_leisure/time_out_in_haringey/visiting_haringey/brucecastlemuseum/brucecastleevents.htm#specialevents

And….

Support your local cheesemaker/bakery, brewery and more! 

The next Tottenham Ploughman event is at  Markfield Park, May Bank Holiday Monday 5^th May 11am-5pm with Wildes Cheese, Flourish Craft Bakery, Redemption Brewery plus Tottenham WI, Opera Ice cream...
  

What makes a Tottenham Ploughman?

 We have the answer to what makes a Tottenham Ploughman; you do. You supported the event on Sunday, gave your time and energy, spread the word, encouraged your friends and neighbours to come, spread a picnic blanket, queued for food and beer. You made the day.

Every one of us, from the café and stage team to the purveyors of cheese, bread, beer and pickles and all the musicians and volunteers were knocked out by the reception.

Flourish Bakery donated the rolls for the plate. The café made marrow chutney from Living Under One Sun marrows. I made the pickles. Apples came from allotments. Cheese from Wildes. Beer as you know, from Redemption. And plenty of allotment pickles and chutneys and a cornucopia of beautiful early autumn bounty from Living Under One Sun.

At the start when I saw the queue I asked Andy from Redemption if he could line up more beer; I knew it would sell out and sell out it did.  So; sorry if you came after 2pm to find that there was no food left. We’ll know better next time.  

Andy and his partner had big grins on their faces all day.  He totally got that it wasn’t about a foodie market, as he says;  

‘It was about our local community coming together.  Thank you for letting us be a part of such an awe inspiring celebration.’

Even the Tottenham cake I made vanished.

In response to requests here’s the recipe.

The facebook page will remain live; please like it and keep the conversations going. 

It’s so great to have struck a chord; finding out that I’m not alone in wanting more for Tottenham. Wishing away the grubby streets, the myriad chicken shops. We all have many things to celebrate in Tottenham.  Not just local businesses to support, but pride in our community. Long may it continue. 

The best news is, Hail are very happy for the Ploughman to happen again in 2014.

Out of all of the positive comments there was one complaint from a councillor who took exception to the fact that I said that Tottenham gets bad press. Well, tough. It does. I’m fed up of my neighbourhood being the butt of bad jokes and comments and anyone who doesn't recognise this, needs to open their eyes. It’s not a throw away comment, it’s my opinion. Last week a friend giving me a lift home automatically locked the car doors as we approached Seven Sisters Road.

Many years ago, there was a place called The Rainbow Tearooms at Seven Sisters.  It was owned by a couple of gay men and was so popular you had to book for tea. Living in Archway at the time, I took my whole family there one Sunday.  Kitch antiques filled every available space and Ella Fitzgerald's voice sang out from a huge old Bakelite radio. The eclectic menu contained options such as hundreds and thousands sandwiches, next to the more traditional smoked salmon. Home made cakes and scones. Individual tea pots and mismatched antique cups and saucers. Doesn't sound so strange now, but this was 20 years ago. And it was packed.

If a place like that could work then, there's hope for now. It makes me angry to see the high street so shabby and downwardly mobile.  The bank on the corner of Broad Lane and Seven Sisters road has been closed for years. Why couldn’t it be developed into a café, restaurant, community space?  The Swan, done up last year, or the year before continues to sit empty as does the ex White Hart on The Hale. How about putting in an application to make it an asset of community value and running it ourselves with Redemption?  Yes it’s easy to say but an idea has to start somewhere. I know there are reasons why some areas are more prosperous than others. Doesn't mean I have to accept it.

Traffic and roads dominate both Seven Sisters and Tottenham Hale. There’s no chance of a village feel in either vicinity unless you’re in a park. Or green. Hoorah for the moves to make Tottenham Green more of a community space.

It pains me that the once beautiful blue plaque building on Bruce Grove has been allowed to fall into disrepair. It was the home of Luke Howard, the man who named clouds.  There are plenty of really beautiful buildings in Tottenham but you have to look hard to see them between ugly shop fronts and chipped paint work. And that, in a nutshell sums up Tottenham for me. It’s a place that you sometimes have to search hard to find beauty, between the grey metal shutters and closed signs, but it’s worth it when you do. 

Here’s the best news, an email today from Paul at Flourish Bakery. Paul set up Flourish and has lived in Tottenham for over 13 years.  I’m going to quote directly from his email to me;

I know there is a great community spirit here and events like the one you hosted is exactly what the community is crying out for. We’ve had some great feedback and emails have been flooding in for requests to open a shop in Tottenham. The success of the event has made us realise that there may potentially be a market for us to sell here on our doorstep.

We have already made the decision to concentrate more on the retail side of our business and thanks to you and everyone who attended we will be looking into the possibility of opening a shop locally.

Isn’t that great? It’s exactly the kind of outcome I hoped for.  Now we’re looking at a Christmas event, before planning begins for next year. We have such a great, vibrant community. Thank you for making The Tottenham Ploughman your own.

 

Elderberry Tottenham Cake

 Tottenham Cake with elderberry icing

Inspired by the post on Bowes and Bounds, I made a Tottenham Cake for the Tottenham Ploughmans.

In response to requests here’s the recipe. The cake recipe comes courtesy of  Bowes and Bounds and Netmums.  Inspired by the fact that mulberries were originally used to make the icing, I used elderberries.  This reflects the historical colour; purple, not pink.  The elderberries really do add a fruity taste as well as a majestic purple colour. Excuse the ropey photo taken on my phone.

For a basic traybake you need a 12 x 9 inch traybake or roasting tin, greased and base lined with baking parchment.

Ingredients:
8 oz butter
8 oz sugar
10 oz SR flour
2 tsp baking powder
4 large eggs
4 tbs milk

Measure all the ingredients into a large bowl and beat until well mixed. Don't overbeat or the mixture won't rise. Pour into the prepared tin and bake at 180 deg (fan 160 deg) or gas mark 4 for 35 - 40 minutes. Cool in the tin then turn out.

Icing
8 oz sifted icing sugar
Approx 3 tbs elderberry ‘syrup’
Approx 4 elderberry branches

For the syrup; pick the elderberry branches when most or all of the berries are dark black. Don’t pick any branches that are covered with black fly!

Give them a good shake to remove insect life. At home, rinse and soak if necessary. You now need to get the berries off the branches. Easiest way to do this is with the tines of a fork. Do it straight over a saucepan. Add water to cover the berries and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer, mashing the berries as you go for about 10-15 minutes. Add a little more water if it looks as if the mixture is running dry. Over a bowl, use a sieve to remove the berries and keep the liquid. Rinse the pan and put the liquid back. Simmer again until it’s reduced to a syrupy consistency.  You can always add a little more water if you forget about it. Cool.

Mix the icing sugar together with 3 tablespoons of elderberry syrup. You may have to add more icing sugar or elderberry mixture to achieve a thick spreadable fondant like consistency. Spread over the cake. When set cut into squares.