SAVING THE PLANET BY THINKING GLOBALLY AND EATING LOCALLY

The Fife Diet was started by Mike and Karen Small, whose tireless efforts have inspired hundreds of people to eat more local produce. They developed a simple concept, called it The Fife Diet and started a revolution!

We are delighted to welcome Mikle to our team of regular columnists.

Each month he will share a seasonal recipe to get you starting to "think globally and eat locally."

I'm going to sound like a terrible old hippy but eating seasonally reconnects us with the natural cycles of life. The good news is it tastes delicious, can be easy on the pocket when everyones skint after Christmas and by eating locally your cutting your food miles. For more recipe ideas and to join the project go here: http://fifediet.co.uk/ It's free to join and you can become a friend if you live outside Fife.

Are you struggling to know what to do with kale?

Not sure how to transform Winter Greens into something beautiful? This is a great dinner that's cheap and easy and nutritious and works either way with kale or winter greens.

Potato, Bacon & Kale Bake
This is a hearty winter dish. It's NOT on the low-fat New Years Resolution list, but surely that's all abandoned now anyway?! For a vegetarian version discard the bacon.

You will need:
10 medium Potatoes
A head of Winter Greens or Kale
Bacon
300 ml Full-fat milk
Small carton of cream
Nutmeg
Salt
Pepper
Garlic

  1. Peel and slice potatoes (slightly thicker than a pound coin), set aside.


  2. Pour a jug of (blue) milk into a large pan and add generous sprinkling of salt, pepper & nutmeg. Turn to a very low simmer. Add two or three crushed cloves of garlic. Do not let it boil over.


  3. Add sliced potatoes and simmer for 5 minutes.


  4. Put on about six rashers of bacon to grill till crispy (but not burnt).


  5. Chop / shred a head of winter greens or kale - de-stalk if you find them too tough - this debate raged in our house. Then flash-boil for about 1 -2 minutes.


  6. Taking a deep casserole dish layer up the ingredients starting (and topping) with the potatoes and with the bacon in the middle. Depending on the depth of the dish and the amount of greens you could end up with two, but even better three layers of greens.


  7. The milk / cream mixture should just about cover the other ingredients.


  8. Bake for about 35 minutes.
  IF YOU HAVEN'T SUBSCRIBED YET ...... YOU'VE MISSED THESE KEY ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
Interview with Mike Small, co-founder of The Fife Diet.
There was a groundswell of support for environmentally friendly projects but there was a lack of leadership - everyone was waiting for someone else to do something. Since we started the Fife Diet project things have changed. There is now a Climate Change Bill in Scotland which is world leading.
Roseanna Cunningham MSP.
"I believe that it's possible for most of us to take steps to reduce the environmental impact of our lifestyles both at home and at work, though no-one can promise it will be easy. It is certainly a big challenge for me in my position as Minister for the Environment. I've got to be able to do more than just talk the talk."
Measuring Your Carbon Footprint
Taking the time to fill in the questionnaire has at least MADE ME THINK! I will be more fastidious in turning off lights and more assertive in ensuring that my son and his pals do likewise. I will think more carefully about the choices I make and try harder to shop locally and seasonally. I will turn off this laptop!
The Fife Diet - Introduction
In October 2007, from their base in a quiet town on the Fife coast, Mike and Karen asked people to eat mainly local food for a year, monitor their progress and share their experience.
THE COPENHAGEN COMMUNIQUE
Leaders from more than 500 companies, including airlines and oil companies, from all around the world have joined together to warn heads of government at the UN that business will suffer unless a credible deal on climate change is reached in Copenhagen in December.
  SO IF YOU WANT TO READ THESE STORIES .......... SUBSCRIBE NOW!




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