I love London. I love its freedom. I love its rudeness and bustle and anonymity. I love how it allows you to be entirely yourself. I also love the food here.
Food culture in London is nothing short of extraordinary, and, as someone on a restricted diet here, I often forget that the options I can find in London are not the same outside of the M25.
I am reminded quite sharply of this when I go back home to my parents for a few days.
I am from a very small town on the south eastern edge of England called Margate. Margate is undergoing a bit of a cultural renaissance itself right now but options are still pretty limited. What Margate is fantastic at, however, is vegetables. Fresh vegetables are everywhere in Thanet right now, and they're particularly famous for their brassica's, (think cabbage, cauliflower, asparagus etc.) But really, most things can be grown down there. Also, by virtue of being directly on the coast, the fish and seafood is always fresh and delicious.
My parents are avid gardeners and gradually over the years they have expanded out from a small veg patch in the garden to a full blown allotment and jobs at an allotment garden; so their house is always drowning in vegetables, and right now at the beginning of August? That means: courgettes.
When I arrived my parents had three buckets full of courgettes in their kitchen. By the time I left they had six. Large, small, green, yellow, long, globed, round or squashed (hello pattypans, I'm lumping you in with the courgettes today) you name them they had them, in abundance. This means that they (and now I, because no one leaves that house without six courgettes as a present, minimum) are having to come up with really creative ways to use them up, anything from curries to cakes are now getting the courgette treatment. (Both of these recipes are forthcoming.)
Freeform eating is pretty simple if you have the facilities and abilities to cook for yourself. Usually anywhere you can get fresh veg you have the makings for a full and nutritious meal. But sometimes when you're out and on the go it can be much harder to pick something up on the fly. I don't know about other places around the country yet, but as I travel around more I fully intend to blog about wonderful little spots I uncover on the go.
In Margate there are some lovely places to find nutritious free from food on the fly. One of my favourites had to be the indoor market by the Turner Centre Art Gallery, full of food stalls offering lots of options. My mother and I bought two vegan and gluten free curries from the Indian stall in there run by the same guys who run The Riz in Northdown Road. These guys specialise in South Indian food and I've written on this blog before about how good Indian food is for a free from diet. We bought an aubergine curry and a lentil dahl for £8 to take away and they fed four of us with some rice. Great value for money. There is also a Thai food stall, which is another cuisine that is brilliant for free from foodies, all that coconut milk! So if you're in Margate and stuck for a meal I would check out both of those.
In fact, if you're a Thai food fan, I promise on my next trip down I am going to dedicate an entire post on the merits of The Bangkok Thai just off Northdown Road in Cliftonville. This tiny restaurant is one of my favourite restaurants I've ever been to, not just down in Margate. The food is fantastic, the service is impeccable and as someone on a restricted diet the choices are both plentiful and delicious. A must see if you find yourself in the vicinity.
In general in small towns, if you have access to fresh vegetables and a kitchen you can feed yourself pretty easily. If you're on the go look out for Indian and Thai food places. Of course if you're really stuck, the ubiquitous hummus and veg sticks can be found in pretty much any supermarket...
Food culture in London is nothing short of extraordinary, and, as someone on a restricted diet here, I often forget that the options I can find in London are not the same outside of the M25.
I am reminded quite sharply of this when I go back home to my parents for a few days.
I am from a very small town on the south eastern edge of England called Margate. Margate is undergoing a bit of a cultural renaissance itself right now but options are still pretty limited. What Margate is fantastic at, however, is vegetables. Fresh vegetables are everywhere in Thanet right now, and they're particularly famous for their brassica's, (think cabbage, cauliflower, asparagus etc.) But really, most things can be grown down there. Also, by virtue of being directly on the coast, the fish and seafood is always fresh and delicious.
My parents are avid gardeners and gradually over the years they have expanded out from a small veg patch in the garden to a full blown allotment and jobs at an allotment garden; so their house is always drowning in vegetables, and right now at the beginning of August? That means: courgettes.
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| All Hail Gluten Free Pasta! |
When I arrived my parents had three buckets full of courgettes in their kitchen. By the time I left they had six. Large, small, green, yellow, long, globed, round or squashed (hello pattypans, I'm lumping you in with the courgettes today) you name them they had them, in abundance. This means that they (and now I, because no one leaves that house without six courgettes as a present, minimum) are having to come up with really creative ways to use them up, anything from curries to cakes are now getting the courgette treatment. (Both of these recipes are forthcoming.)
Freeform eating is pretty simple if you have the facilities and abilities to cook for yourself. Usually anywhere you can get fresh veg you have the makings for a full and nutritious meal. But sometimes when you're out and on the go it can be much harder to pick something up on the fly. I don't know about other places around the country yet, but as I travel around more I fully intend to blog about wonderful little spots I uncover on the go.
 |
| I may be a bit of an instagram junkie. You can find me at @Seaglass44 (don't ask) |
In Margate there are some lovely places to find nutritious free from food on the fly. One of my favourites had to be the indoor market by the Turner Centre Art Gallery, full of food stalls offering lots of options. My mother and I bought two vegan and gluten free curries from the Indian stall in there run by the same guys who run The Riz in Northdown Road. These guys specialise in South Indian food and I've written on this blog before about how good Indian food is for a free from diet. We bought an aubergine curry and a lentil dahl for £8 to take away and they fed four of us with some rice. Great value for money. There is also a Thai food stall, which is another cuisine that is brilliant for free from foodies, all that coconut milk! So if you're in Margate and stuck for a meal I would check out both of those.
In fact, if you're a Thai food fan, I promise on my next trip down I am going to dedicate an entire post on the merits of The Bangkok Thai just off Northdown Road in Cliftonville. This tiny restaurant is one of my favourite restaurants I've ever been to, not just down in Margate. The food is fantastic, the service is impeccable and as someone on a restricted diet the choices are both plentiful and delicious. A must see if you find yourself in the vicinity.
In general in small towns, if you have access to fresh vegetables and a kitchen you can feed yourself pretty easily. If you're on the go look out for Indian and Thai food places. Of course if you're really stuck, the ubiquitous hummus and veg sticks can be found in pretty much any supermarket...
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