Seasonal shopping

I decided last week to buy a supermarket produced magazine, Sainsbury's Magazine, to see whether I could find any new recipes to liven up our meal times. It was an interesting experience! There were some wonderful recipes but for the most part, they used vegetables that are not in season in the UK. They were encouraging me to use courgettes (zucchinis), green beans, asparagus (which is almost in season but not quite), peppers, cucumbers, broccoli (I could use frozen), cherry tomatoes and the list goes on. Not a root vegetable in sight on the whole, though potatoes did play a role. I know that our eating habits have changed dramatically since I was raising my children but considering the environmental consequences and the economic conditions, you would think that supermarkets would begin to reflect that in their magazine recipes at least.

On the same topic of vegetables, carrots were in the news on Farming Today this morning. Apparently, we are about to run out of carrots and some supermarkets have already started to import from as far away as Australia. Why is there a shortage? We did have a poor growing season last year but it seems that supermarkets are pushing farmers more and more to reduce their prices so that a number of farmers are moving out of carrots and into more profitable crops. Carrots can be a bit tricky to grow at home and so I have never bothered before but since they are also a root vegetable that can winter through quite well, it might be an idea to consider them this year.

This situation with the carrots makes me wonder if, perhaps, the supermarkets are being as irresponsible as the banks have been. They have our food supply in their hands and in the UK seem to be responsible for farmers in this country going out of business or changing to more profitable crops. I don't think that government policy helps either. Farming Today reported (I can't remember when it was) that it was policy to move to importing all milk with none being produced here. All this makes me want to find a plot of land and start a large vegetable garden.

I did find one recipe that I thought sounded good and here it is. It is a simple beef stew or soup and you could add other root vegetables to it, such as sweet potatoes, though I wouldn't add them till near the end. I do like the idea of the paprika.

Chunky beef, carrot and smoked paprika soup (serves 4 to 6)

1 KG diced braising steak (I imagine you could use stewing beef or is it the same thing?)
1 onion peeled and diced
a little light olive oil
1 lt beef stock (water and oxo cubes?)
6 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1.5 cm cubes (I don't think you need to peel potatoes if they are washed. You keep more of the goodness of them that way)
3 carrots, peeled (again a good washing should be alright), and cut into 1 cm pieces
3T sherry, port or Madeira (optional)
2 t of sweet or hot smoked paprika
2 X 400 g tins chopped tomatoes
2 shakes of Tabasco sauce, or more, to taste
a handful of parsley, chopped (if you have some growing in a pot in the house!)

In a large pan, over a medium heat, soften the onion by itself in a little olive oil and then add the meat in batches. Season with salt and pepper.

Add the stock, potatoes, carrots, sherry and paprika. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a low heat and simmer covered for around 2 hours. You may need to add some liquid during the cooking process.

Add tomatoes and Tabasco sauce and continue to cook for another half hour.

Top with parsley.