Tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers (Part 2)

Claire Everett

So, following on from Tomates, pepinos y pimientos (Part 1), I’ve decided to try to only eat British seasonal produce for a year.

I like to think I’m relatively faithful to the British seasons – I never buy strawberries outside of the summer months simply because they just don’t taste good, I always go a bit mad for pumpkins and squash in autumn, I generally eat salads in summer and soups in winter, and I’d much rather eat cucumbers and courgettes from my own garden than buy them from a supermarket. But very often, whether intentionally or not, I don’t buy British produce because it’s cheaper not to, or I simply want peppers with my pasta even though it’s the middle of December!

Offers and deals
Like most people, I can’t resist a ‘BOGOF’ or ‘25% off’ offer, but the best deals tend to include the cheaper imported produce. When I went to the supermarket today, there was a ‘3 for 2’ mix and match offer on cherry tomatoes, asparagus and Jersey Royals, and whilst the latter two were grown in Britain, the cherry tomatoes were from Spain. So, determined to stick to my good intentions, I picked up two bags of the potatoes and one bunch of asparagus, then went off to the tomato section to find some British tomatoes.

Saving for later
One of my biggest fears about this whole idea is not being able to eat tomatoes! I snack on cherry tomatoes all year round and I’m going to have to find a healthy alternative for the winter, otherwise I think the temptation to replace them with Maltesers or Minstrels will be too much! I have a small veg patch in my back garden so I’m vowing to make the most of it this year and, like most people who grow their own veg, no matter how hard I try to stagger sowing and planting, I’m bound to have an influx of courgettes or tomatoes at some point. So I’m going to make full use of my freezer and semi-prep or batch cook and store what I can.

Exceptions to the rule
I’m going to make a few exceptions simply because I want eating British produce to be part of my life, not running it. If I eat out or if friends cook for me, I’m not going to reject their food because some of the ingredients are imported! I’m still going to eat imported fruit and veg if they can’t be grown in this country, e.g. oranges and pineapples, because I like them - but I’ll try to make sure they’re from sustainable sources and FairTrade.

Seasonal updates
I’ll blog once a month about how it’s going, what I’ve eaten, what’s been good about this month and what the difficulties have been. I think I’ve chosen the best time of year to start and somehow have a feeling I’ll be fine for the next few months, but it could be a whole different story by February!!