Mixed Bean Chilli

I love chilli, I particularly love vegetarian chilli, slow cooked meat chillis, frankly I just love the heat.  What is great about this chilli though is as well as being vegan, it also contains mostly store cupboard and "likely to be in your fridge" ingredients.  It's so cheap as well and freezes brilliantly making it the ideal recipe for when the month is nearly up and your bank balance doesn't look quite so healthy.

You could mix up the beans in this; I would have used pinto beans if I'd been organised enough to soak and cook them (I couldn't find any in cans in my local supermarket.)  Of course you can use dried beans here which would make this even cheaper, just soak and cook them first as I find cooking them with something acidic like tomato if they're not already cooked through makes them a little tough.

Linguine with Rocket (Arugula) and Prawns (Shrimp)

After a quick trip to a running club, I was desperate for something quick, fresh and tasty.

The Excuses You're Telling Yourself Not To Exercise

I know what you're thinking.  There are reasons why you don't exercise.  I used to have reasons up to the age of 34.  Here are my reasons and why I now realise they were all excuses.

Nuoc Cham

Nuoc cham is a dipping sauce served as a condiment in Vietnam.  It is frankly delicious and sums up that sour, spicy, salty, sweet combo which is so great.

I will give you the recipe here for how to make nuoc cham yourself and also give you a couple of ways it can be used.

What's in season in February?

February is that time of year UK farmers used to call "the hungry gap".  The season when there was little fresh produce.  Indeed at this time of year, there is little UK grown seasonal vegetables on the shelves.

For the ethical consumer this does provide us with a quandary; of course buy what UK produce there is but with the advent of new farming methods including heated poly tunnels and imported foods, there is still a lot of variety on the shelves.  It's tricky because the environmental consequence of importing foods is not the same for different products.  Some fruits and vegetables can be transported by boat, others have to be air freighted.  The difference in environmental impact from air freighted produce to home grown but in heated poly tunnels to boats.  It's a tricky balance to strike but by boat certainly seems to be the more logical answer.

But before we think of importing foods, there are two great things on my shopping list this month.