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 Mike to our team of regular columnists.

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

It doesn't sound very glamorous but the humble oatmeal is a much under-rated item.

Alex Wilde and Tonia Lu made this for the Hot Pot Soup & Conversation event in St Andrews in February.

There's loads more recipes on our website and we're just completing plans for a series of seasonal recipe books to come out later this year.

Mike

Oatmeal Soup

1 large onion.
1 piece turnip.
¾ pint milk.
1 carrot.
1 leek.
1 oz. oatmeal.
1 pint white stock *
Seasoning.
Chopped parsley.

Put the chopped vegetables in a pan with a little oil and toss them in it until clear.
Add the oatmeal and fry with the vegetables for a few minutes.
Add the stock.
Simmer for an hour.
Add parsley and seasoning.
Just before serving, add the milk and re-heat.

The trick is to finely chop or dice the vegetables...!

* The prep for making white stock differs from that of brown stock mainly in that rather than roasting the bones beforehand, they are blanched instead.
  IF YOU HAVEN'T SUBSCRIBED YET ...... YOU'VE MISSED THESE KEY ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
February Recipe
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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