Week 9

I’ve just returned from the plot laden with recycled carrier bags full of harvest. Baking-size potatoes, more broad beans (some huge ones, but they are still tasting sublime if steamed soon after picking), lettuce, radishes, dill and spring onions — all somewhat sodden after the copious rain.

I also got a big thrill out of collecting my very first yellow and green baby courgettes and a Lautrec garlic. I’m about to don my glamorous latex gloves, scrub it all down and prepare an allotment feast.

But I’m painfully aware that I am fortunate, not only to have the space to grow my own food, but to have the time and enthusiasm to harvest, prepare and clean, cook and savour my bounty. Forget fine dining — this is the new haute cuisine — a true privilege.

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Gordon Brown’s attack on household food waste has sent me into a spiraling depression about the state of British consumption. I’m glad he’s brought the subject to the fore, so people start thinking more about what they buy.

But I agree with Steve Webb, the Lib Dem environment spokesman, that the government should be doing more to get tough on supermarkets. Their “buy-one-get-one-free” promotions have a lot to answer for — people think they are getting a cheap deal, but often end up wasting half of their purchases.

Zoe Heron, co-author of a new book The Kitchen Revolution, hit the nail on the head with her suggestion to “cook one -- get two free”. If you’re going to all the effort of cooking a dish, you might as well make enough to last a couple of days or to freeze, and you can tweak it so it doesn’t seem like just leftovers. Leftovers are your friends!

Perhaps your best friend in the kitchen for avoiding waste is the freezer. In my house, we have a small fridge (waist height) —which forces me to keep emptying it — how many times have you thrown away food because you forgot it was there? My freezer, on the other hand, is huge — and full to the gills with prepared allotment produce and frozen batches of soup, stews, casseroles, sauces.

I wish Mr. Brown would do more to encourage people to grow their own, starting with local councils making more space for allotments and less for property development. If you sow sensibly, you can have a non-stop supply of fresh food year-round, with freezer treats during lean weeks. Inevitably you will end up with a glut of this or that during the summer, especially if, like me, you are busy and unable to keep up on a daily basis. In that case, you can make friends with your neighbours and fellow allotmenteers by giving it away. Or check this out: www.vegexchange.com.

An allotment isn’t strictly necessary — if you want to get started just on your patio, have a look at www.rocketgardens.co.uk for some fabulous space-saving starter packs, including their “instant vegetable gardens”. There’s still time to sow lots of edibles.

TIP OF THE WEEK: If you’ve got potatoes coming out of your ears, I’ve found the best way to store them is to cook and crush, cool, bag them up and freeze in portions. Then on lazy Sunday mornings (or any other time) you can defrost or microwave them and add them to a fry-up.

Seasonal recipe: Broad beans in rich tomato and green garlic sauce

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