Unripe Figs, unexpected joy!

FIGGY JOY

My back garden faces north and is not the obvious place for a fig tree, with their love of sunshine and all that. For the last couple of years, the harvest has been frankly pitiful, a dozen, delicious ripe figs in total. 

This year, despite lots of sun and huge amounts of growth by said tree, the numerous figs failed to ripen. For weeks, we have willed them to turn from green to purple, but to no avail. So faced with a treeful of inedible green bullets, I determined to find a use for them.

I asked Greek and Bulgarian friends if they knew of any recipes for unripe figs - which of course they did. This gave me the confidence to give it a go. I found a number of other recipes on line and the one I have come up with is inspired by them. During my research, I found that unripe fig jam is given as a gift to newborn babies in Turkey. I'm going to keep a couple of jars back to celebrate new arrivals.

Now I can't pretend that this is a quick or easy recipe. The preparation is long, the latex that comes out of unripe figs can be an irritant to sensitive skin and it sticks like a b******* to everything you put the things in - but trust me, it is worth it! Since I made it today, I haven't been able to stop eating it - a nibble of fig, a nibble of a thin slice of griddled halloumi.... trust me, it is heavenly.

Jam - actually, it is nothing like a traditional jam, it is almost like a dessert. Try it with Greek yogurt, nuts and seeds for breakfast, in pancakes, with cheese - fantastic with grilled halloumi or feta, with ice cream.... on ultra thin pizza with feta and rocket... or... 

HARVEST ELF AND SAFETY TIPS

The sap that oozes out of Fig trees is a natural latex and some people - including me, can find the sap irritating to the skin, it gave me a bit of a rash. Plus the latex - as latex tends to be - it is very, very sticky and a bit tricky to get off. I would recommend wearing your marigolds at every stage of the process up until the point when you have boiled them the second time.... see recipe.

Pans, sieves, bowls, they will all get sticky. After a bit of trial and error, I found that a scouring pad with about a teaspoon of baking soda/powder, got it off pretty well. The granules seem to gather up the latex, so all good! 

ADAPTING RECIPIES

I've come up with my own recipe and method. I read through quite a few and followed them but decided that I liked my own tweaked version better. Please experiment with it - I've put in warming spices but more citrus would also be lovely.


Ingredients

• 1 kilo (2,20 pounds) unripe fig
• 1 kilo sugar
• 2 pints water (add more water if thin syrup preferred)
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 4 cloves
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 vanilla pod
• Heaped dessertspoon each of cinnamon, turmeric, allspice,
• 2 squashed cardamons worth of seeds
• 2 dessertspoons honey

Instructions

1. Wash the figs and trim off the stems
2. Fill a large pot with water and boil the figs for about 10 minutes.
3. Let it cool.
4. When they are cool enough to touch, squeeze the figs gently to remove some liquid. I drain them and put them between two clean tea towels and gently squeeze.
5. Repeat steps 2 to 4.
6. Boil water and sugar together in another pan, add all spices.
7. Add the squeezed figs to it.
8. Boil them for about 25 minutes.
9. Finally, add lemon juice and boil it 5 minutes more.
10. Carefully fill jam jars will still warm, I put in a layer of figs then syrup, then figs and repeat until full.
11. Leave for 3 weeks then eat. Well that is what the other recipes said but I just ate them as soon as they were cool.

bargain bin halloumi, unripe fig jam, garnish of coriander and garlic chive flowers all from garden

WHOLE PLOT WATER RETROFIT

Project:          Radical Water Retrofit of Victorian Semi and Garden

Domestic:      Nottingham Ecohome and urban permaculture garden

Owners:         Penney Poyzer and Gil Schalom

vertical panorama showing green roofs and sustainable
urban drainage

The central aim of our radical eco retrofit of a Victorian semi and garden was to see how far we could reduce our environmental footprint through a systems approach to management of our energy, water and food requirements. Our privately funded, ‘Whole Plot’ experimental approach to retrofit led to the integration of water systems for the house and garden. Through a range of internal and external measures and behaviour change, our potable water use has been drastically reduced to around 55L pppd against UK average of 150L and rainfall outlets and other surface water, which formerly discharged to storm drains, is now 100% managed on site.

The whole site water management strategy was undertaken to determine whether it was possible for a building and the plot on which it sits to better manage the drought / deluge cycle that the UK faces. Rainwater harvesting potential was limited by roof area and size of garden meant soakaways were not feasible. Attenuation tanks were possible because of reduced run-off. Also, collection efficiency reduces in heavier rain (WISY filters).

Internal and external measures:

Internal

Rainwater harvesting system supplies toilets, washing machine and irrigation – estimated to meet 20% of total water demand. Saved 122m³  potable water over 14 years (note: the system was down for 2 years)

·       Ultra low flush (2/4L) Ifo Cera toilets (x3)

·       Low flow aerating shower heads  – Ecocamel ‘Halo’ restricted to 6 l/m

·       Low dead leg design using microbore pipes for hot and cold water and minimising distance to mains pressure cylinder

·       Water saving bath – 130L capacity

·       Highly efficient washing machine – 39L / 6 kg load

·       Dishwasher – Bosch 6L /cycle on eco setting (1820 l / year – the most water efficient model in EU), hot fill from solar and wood heat

·       Behaviour change

External measures

·       Installation of sustainable urban drainage systems including attenuation tanks to front and back gardens.

·       Porous surfaces throughout – 30m²  tarmac taken up

·       Installation of 4 edible green roofs for garden structures approx 8m²  delays and reduces run off

·       Innovative design of horizontal wall mounted water butt to collect run off from green roofs and use for irrigation

·       French drain around building

·       Pond for wildlife and aquatic food plants

House and garden work together - it's a whole plot approach to living

Rainwater harvesting is estimated to produce more CO2 than mains (due to pump energy, equipment and maintenance) but other measures have CO2 benefits from pure savings and better management.  Showers, hot fill dishwasher and low dead-leg designs save additional CO2 as they save hot water.

Assuming 50% of the saved water is cold and 50% hot, heated from 10ºC – 40ºC,

Hot water assumed to be generated by 50% electricity (cheap rate immersion) with remainder met by renewables,

For hot water, energy saved per year 50 L pppd x 365 x (40-10º) x 4.187 kJ/kg.K = 2,292,383 kJ = 637 kWh / year,

Assuming cheap rate electricity @ 7.55p/kWh gives a saving of £48.09 and assuming 0.56 kg CO2e/kWh on brown tariff, CO2 saved = 357 kg / year

Payback didn’t come into our strategy as water is so cheap, we wanted to test out a range of emerging measures. Some costs are integrated into other things such as hot water system.

Estimated cost of all water saving / management measures = £10,000

Surface water charges £60 / year saved

Cost of potable per m³ = £1.52

Saving 100L pppd x 4 people x 365 = 146m³

Saving is £1.52 x 146 = £222

Total saved / year = £60 + £222 = £282

Payback = all measures £10,000 / (water cost saving £282 + energy cost saving (hot) £48.09) = 30.3 years

(Does not account for pump electricity or maintenance costs for rain harvesting or fluctuations in charges - based on current charges.  Includes savings due to behaviour, which need no outlay.

Russell the Fire Brand

Russell Brand - new drug of the masses?

I've just watched what I felt was an astonishing interview. Russell Brand and Paxman in an incongruous, bland hotel bedroom were locked in a head to head where Russell came out clearly as a person of substance. I wondered if his previous life of substance abuse which he has heroically conquered, has given him clarity, that his near brushes with death, have made him even more fearless to say what he has to say. 

I salute you Russell - the revolution has to come and it might just bypass the Government.

Media Frenzy!

This week I will mostly be in the media

TV headshot check the airbrushing!

It's like buses - nothing for months then 3 in a row! Occasionally I'm a TV presenter and contributor on the radio. Last night I was on BBC Radio 5 Live in a head to head with the excellently monikered Tom Cheesewright - a tech head who appears regularly on TV. We had a lively discussion on having old stuff versus buying a lot of new stuff. We were well matched, no circulating round the issue for us - straight in. The presenter was perfectly happy sat doing nothing for 10 minutes whilst we sparred back and forth. I am delighted to say that Tom conceded defeat in the Twittersphere - good egg.

Today I was on “MacAulay & Co” with Fred MacAulay on BBC Radio Scotland. It was the first time I've done a live piece with sound effects! Fred and co-host Lesley Kay - pretended to be in a draughty house and, room by room with appropriate sound effects - such as flushing toilet, creaky doors - I took them through a number of money saving wheezes. It was a lot of fun.

For some reason, I'm quite popular as a media pundit in Scotland. This Wednesday and Thursday I'll be in Glasgow filming the second series of 'Too Good To Waste' for STV. I'm one of a few 'expert' presenters who attempt to green up Scottish celebrities such as Kay Adams - a very nice woman indeed. We have worked together a few times, including when I was a guest on Loose Women and Kay was at the helm. We even did Celebrity Weakest Link together! I was pregnant with Jasmine at the time and my brain had turned to candy floss - I was booted off straight after Piers Morgan - who was first sacrifice in view of the fact no one liked him....

This Thursday my lovely husband Gil Schalom and my eldest daughter Lucy Green will be at the Nottingham Evening Post Awards as I can't be there myself. I've been short-listed for an award which is AMAZING - they will either collect an award or go home with a full tummy and empty fist, either way it's all good.

Autumn Treats

Today I shall mostly be harvesting red and green things from my garden and eating them. Very delicious they were too! I made a spicy dish with chillis, onions, smoked garlic, red pepper, cabbage, fresh ginger, lemon juice, turmeric and coconut milk. AND a dash of The Post Office Garden Raspberry vinegar to which I admit addiction.

Beetroot, Frise Lettuce, Windsor Apple, Pepper

Our garden can only be described as compact and bijou, it really is a small garden but the flavours we pull out on a daily basis are big, big, big! Today was a feast for the heart, eyes and mouth - a culinary journey from seed to senses.

When you have nurtured a plant from a seed, seen it survive slugs and heat and hail, you come over all parental. Watching it day by day gives a deep appreciation of the time it takes to grow food. It is an investment of time and attention, the payback on the palate all too brief, logically - why bother? Because it is bloody lovely, that's why!

Simple, savoured things

...and baby cabbage, chills, spring onion

I was chatting with my friend Karina Wells the other day and we were talking about how as we get older, simplicity becomes more important. We agreed that the pleasure of picking fruit with friends on a sunny day felt joyful, childhood regained for a couple of hours before returning to the demands of home, work, etc etc etc. Karina is an amazing woman. Her energy and generosity has driven so many community initiatives like ABUNDANCE - a group of people collecting unwanted fruit from private gardens and juicing, jamming and scoffing. We've gathered, plums, pears, blackberries, elderberries, lots of apples. My hands are stiff from peeling and sieving but man, the rewards are worth it. 

Our lovely Sarah, lodger and friend has been enjoying toast and homemade jam - the ingredients for which we ABUNDANCED together.She says it is the breakfast of champions, I say, I like a big old dollop in a bowl of porridge. Hands off, Goldilocks...

Gil gets to grips with his plums

Here be treasure...

Garden Salad and foraged apple crumbles - secret dollop of elderberry and blackberry jelly in the middle