Spring into Action!

Well, if it’s going to happen, let’s do it with Verve (& Clicquot?).

This month it’s time to Spring into Action! Let’s reinvigorate the fridge, rejuvenate the pantry, let’s freshen up those leftovers, get stuck into seasonal produce and champion the waste avoidance warrior within.

The LFHW team have put together a month of inspiration to help you, including giving your fridge a makeover - you know she needs one - and all the best storage hacks to keep food fresh.  
We’ll be also focusing on seasonal foods with some great recipes – The Green Pea – to spruce up your sides. Spice up your leftovers with a delicious Lemongrass Zinger Paste you can freeze to use with so many different meals.

We’re growing it local, loving our communities and there’s a challenge this month with great prizes! So, join us as we shake off the winter lazy and Spring into Action this September.

Thanks,

Sam Cookson
The LFHW team

See below for recipes:

Sam’s zingy good to go spice paste
This is a great paste to put together and freeze into ice-cube trays. Great to pull out and create so many wonderful dishes. 

Lemongrass zinger paste

Double this, triple this, doesn’t matter!
2 stalks lemongrass chopped use the white 
(make a tea with leftovers - chop up the green leaves and add them to your teapot – add honey and ginger or just boiling water, steep and mmmmm)
Ginger about 3cm
Leftover coriander stem and root from a bunch (wash the roots and stems)
Half an onion
Lime juice for consistency
White peppercorns – about 3-4 or a good shake of ground

I chop everything roughly, pop it into my mini blender and whizz, adding lime juice until I have a nice paste, put into ice cube trays, once frozen I put them all into a zip lock bag and use when needed for stir-fries, curries, soups, sauces or even a dessert.

What’s in Season? The Green Pea

Whether they’re frozen or fresh, the green pea is the underappreciated hero of the kids dinner plate, they get tossed around, spat out, spilled on the floor, they are a great weapon for fork catapult…
So let’s elevate this little guy to one of the stars of the plate with these three quick sides to lift any meal.

Wasabi Peas
Cook your peas to just done, drain into a colander over a bowl as we want to keep the pea water, pop into a blender, squeeze in a teaspoon of wasabi paste, season with salt and pepper and add a little bit of the pea juice a bit at a time till you have a serving consistency. You want it to hold together not become a sauce, whizz until combined and beautifully green – don’t whizz too much as you’ll bruise the dish – this is brilliant with a piece of salmon or trout and a squeeze of lemon.

Gremolata peas

Gremolata – a standard accompaniment to many Italian slow cooks 

• Zest of a lemon 
• Handful of chopped parsley
• 1 finely chopped clove of garlic
• Toss together in a small bowl and set aside

Cook your peas to al dente! Toss through some crumbled feta, good splash of olive oil then sprinkle with the gremolata – delish!

Peas and bacon – YES!
Chop up that leftover piece of bacon from your freezer and add it to this little beauty.

• Bacon
• Peas 
• Roughly sliced red onion
• Handful of spinach leaves or baby rocket (optional)
• Smokey paprika
• Black Pepper
• Chopped fresh herbs to finish

Cook 1 – 2 pieces of diced bacon, add a sprinkle of smoky paprika and pepper, cook your peas, combine everything in a bowl and toss through a splash of red wine vinegar and extra virgin olive oil and serve. You can add any fresh herb you have lying around, they’re all good.

All About Storing Peas

• Store peas in a cold and moist (0°-4°C) environment and 95 percent relative humidity
• Cold and moist storage is a challenge to create. Refrigerators provide the cold, but they also dry the air. So, place peas in a perforated plastic bag in the vegetable crisper section of the refrigerator to keep them both cool and moist
• Peas will keep in the refrigerator for 5 to 7 days
• Peas that can’t be used in a week should be frozen