Review : The Food Doctor Stir Fry Boost

by Julie Gibbons on July 29, 2010

Spicy Seed Mix

stir fry boost - the food doctor

stir fry boost - the food doctor

I visited a supermarket yesterday. You know I don’t do supermarkets!

Part of the reason is simply down to temptation. Rows and rows of bright colours and new things and shiny packets and tons of stuff I just don’t need.

However, I did need some organic tamari soy sauce for a Chilli Tofu Stir Fry (recipe coming soon) we were having for dinner and I knew I wouldn’t find an organic/tamari version in Esther’s, our wee corner shop.

The supermarket had cleverly placed a shiny new packet in the World Foods Aisle – and I fell for it : The Food Doctor’s Stir Fry Boost. It cost £1.50.

So here’s my review of said packet’s contents in case you fall for it, too.

Sprinkle A Handful To Add Natural Nourishment To Your Stir Frys

That’s what the packet says. Along with the description “A spicy seasoned mix of seeds with chopped Brazil nuts and hazelnuts and freeze-dried red pepper pieces”.

To be honest, I didn’t notice the “freeze dried-dried red pepper pieces” and a cursory glance at the ingredients list which included the very vague ingredient referred to as “flavouring” still didn’t put me off.

I’ve been adding some other supplemental ingredients to many of our meals this week in an effort to make sure we’re consuming enough essential fibre, proteins and minerals so the idea of this sprinkle mix wasn’t at all alien.

marinating tofu with veg, noodles & mix

marinating tofu with veg, noodles & mix

A Belated Sprinkle Later – The Verdict

We were enjoying the stir fry for about ten minutes or so when I realised I’d forgotten to add the sprinkle! And actually, I’m very pleased that was so. For the verdict is a poor one, I’m afraid;

Ruaridh: It’s not very spicy but I like the crunch because I have less vegetables in my meal because I eat mine raw and separately. My Organikal rating: 3/5

Martin: Utterly pointless! Why would someone go the trouble of making and selling this? It added nothing, and in fact took away from the meal. I ended up with stuff stuck in my teeth! My Organikal Rating 0/5

Julie: I hated the red pepper pieces. It was like eating leftover bits of plastic. There was no added flavour and it did seem like another meal’s crumbs were on my plate! My Organikal Rating 0/5

Ruaridh came up with the idea that perhaps we could add the seed mix to some bread dough to make a seedy bread, and I think I might – just to give it another try. Otherwise I’d feed this to the birds. It isn’t even pleasant enough to snack on.

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For New Readers : 7 Link Challenge

by Julie Gibbons on July 27, 2010

new visitors - mind your head

new visitors - mind your head

This blog has been on the go for over four years! It’s been around the houses and back again. It’s talked about organic lifestyles and home swapping and even delved into unschooling.

If you’re a new visitor, you may wonder what’s in it for you? I would, too.

That’s something I’m trying to fix right now and I thought that while I’m learning how to blog properly and with some focus, it may be helpful for you if I take part in the 7 Link Challenge from Problogger.

I was inspired to take on the task by Erin and Simon who’ve just recently started their travel and lifestyle blog Never Ending Voyage, but who are so expert at it, they probably had a healthy readership from day one ;)

The idea is that this post will give new readers a head start into the very best of the blog. Without further ado …

My First Post : Weekly Regime

Crikey, this post was way back in April of 2006, when the blog was hosted on Typepad. I’m not even sure I owned the Organikal domain back then. The regime referred to involves a very special personal organic body care treat I used to give myself every week. Sadly, it’s probably been no more than twice in the last year!  A nice list of organic ingredients and a simple procedure to follow. A very useful recipe I shall make a point of returning to more often.

bio recommendation from Vida Sana Association

bio recommendation from Vida Sana Association

A Post I Enjoyed Writing : When Is An Organic Wine Really An Organic Wine?

This is a post that discusses an issue that is part of the very essence of Organikal: the difference between an ‘organic’ label and the ‘Organikal’ ethos. It also involves some ‘proper’ research I undertook into the organic agriculture industry in Argentina. It’s representative of the type of writing I wish to do more of and I hope it will give you, the Reader, some cause for thought.

A Post With A Great Discussion : The Great Big Recycler In The Sky

Okay, there’s no great big discussions on any of my blog posts! But this post has the potential for a really great discussion – asking some provoking questions that I really don’t have the answer to!

A Post On Someone Else’s Blog I Wish I’d Written : The Lollipop Test

The easiest answer of them all (excluding the first blog post)! Some of my friends decided to make the switch to an organic lifestyle earlier this year. They started a blog to record their progress and this early post sums up perfectly the response I’d like to give to all of the naysayers out there. Thank you mook and suze :)

signposting the way

signposting the way

My Most Helpful Post : Home Exchange For Beginners – Getting Started

I really wish my most helpful post was about switching to an organic lifestyle. Let this be a lesson to me! Until I write that guide, then this one will have to do. We’ve made 9 successful home exchanges in the last couple of years and have met some amazing people. Here are some of the lessons we’ve learned along the way.

A Post With A Title I Am Proud Of : The BEST Notepad In The World!

Not very creative, but it sure does bring in the visitors – now, if only I could get a reseller deal on the product ;) More seriously – this really is the best notepad ever!

The Post I Wish More People Would Read : Veg Box Delivery Disaster Limitation

I hear so many tales of people starting out with veg box deliveries and then quitting them because they say the veg doesn’t last long enough. You need to be prepared for a bit of work to deal with veg boxes and I reveal how much and how I do it in this post. Read it and avoid your own veg box disaster.

So, that’s the end of the challenge. How did I do? I can tell you it was massively revealing for me. A great lesson in how to blog better and more meaningfully for you, the Reader. Thanks Darren for a great wee exercise :)

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What Happens When Your House Swap Exchange Partners Pull Out?

by Julie Gibbons on July 26, 2010

This is the question you hope you never face when you’re house swapping. It is certainly the question you really hope you’ll never face when you’re on a home exchange sequence and the partner pulling out is the third in a sequence of four and you’re already far, far away from home with only a few days left of your second exchange.

We were faced with just such a dilemma this year.

We’d already spent five weeks of happy travelling which included two very successful house swaps in Spain. Honestly, things couldn’t have been going better. There was sun. There was sea. There was siesta. There was the World Cup!

Spain for the Cup!

Spain for the Cup!

Just a few days left of our second swap in Catalunya and we were were preparing to give up our languorous lifestyle and head north via friends to stay in the Charente for our third house swap. This would involve two weeks of ‘getting back to work’ and implementing all the plans that had miraculously appeared in the space we’d made for them during our rest and recuperation on the beach, in the pool – oh, you get the picture…

We were a little apprehensive about swapping for holiday homes.

To be honest, I had been a bit apprehensive about organising the first two house swaps of the summer with second homes – but  I am delighted to report the two home exchanges we made in Spain were a resounding success! This was of course partly due to not having always on internet access. No WiFi whatsoever – just an occasional trip to the internet cafes.

To be honest, it was so hot and I was having such a fine time that the trip to the cafe (which involved having to wear actual clothes rather than beachwear and having to cross a railway line) seemed like too much of an effort – I mean, what could possibly be happening in the world that could top me chilling out to the sound of the ocean?

ocean view

our ocean view

Thankfully, I slipped into some shorts, donned a hat and made the trip the day before we were due to leave for France, just to make some final preparations. And there was an email I could so easily have missed:

“we are unable to go to Scotland”!

*Blink*!! *DON’T PANIC*

The next line was somewhat more reassuring;

“But, our house will be open for you”…

And there you have the open mindedness and generosity of house swap folks – even when this family were unable to come to Scotland due to family problems, they were vacating their home for two weeks in order that we could live in it – rent free – with no expectations and no clauses.

The email got us thinking (quickly). We had already planned to spend a few days catching up with some friends we’d made on our first summer of house swaps, so there was actually no rush to arrive at the next house. If we combined those few days with another few days visiting some other friends we’d made on another house swap, then we would be able to give our family more time in their house.

The idea that grew into a big plan.

This thought began to grow legs… We’d been having such a fantastic time and were utterly and completely satisfied with our ‘holiday’ – our first in three or four years – and were quite eager to get on with work. Perhaps our trip had already given us everything we’d needed? Although we’re set up to work completely location independently, there was some work with a couple of clients who would very much appreciate the effort to be physically closer to them for a short while.

Certainly our recently turned 12 (going on 16) year old, Ruaridh – for whom the relentless summer sun is always a challenge and who was beginning to miss his mates -  jumped at the suggestion of returning home earlier than planned. After two years of unschooling and three years of house swapping, he was beginning to have serious thoughts about returning to school and staying at home for the year ahead and was keen to have the opportunity to spend some of the school holidays with his pals.

Was this trip then, to be the Spanish Trip after all? France, just a country we’d traverse to make our way home? Questions, questions, questions …

It’s all about the people, stupid!

It turns out the answer was yes! The next week was spent revisiting some of our favourite French places and French people. Friends we’ve made who have shown us the utmost generosity and kindness, whom it seems we will never be able to repay, reminding us why we love France so.

pool acrobatics in Montauban

pool acrobatics in Montauban

Happy days. Happy times.

Annick & boys in St Sornin

Annick & boys in St Sornin

Lots of them.

Antony and Ruaridh play vintage MasterMind

Antony and Ruaridh play vintage MasterMind

Next thing I know, we’re hammering up the motorway away from our beloved St Sornin in the Charente Maritime, hoping to make the 6pm ‘Vomit Comet’ sailing from Le Havre to Portsmouth. We usually travel slow. This all seems wrong – it’s 33 degrees C, the sky is the deepest azure. The sunflower fields are golden and singing and the wheat fields are being harvested under our very noses. Why are we doing this again?

Sunny Scotland …

Twenty four hours later and we arrive home. The countryside is sunny and the trip from Abingdon through the South Lanarkshire countryside remind us how beautiful Scotland is. There are many big plans and many changes to our lives and businesses ahead. We’re eager to get on with them, yes! But as I write this under relentless grey skies I am pining a little for France and imagine cycling through a vineyard under the bluest of skies and the brightest of suns. To hear the sweet music of the language drift around my ears as I enjoy a petite cafe on the pavement…

And so, the next trip must be arranged :) We welcome house exchange family 2010 no 4 on 3rd August. We’ll stay with them for a couple of days and feed them haggis and stovies and pretend the weather is always sunny, why this must be a blip, then we’re off heading south. Not to France, unfortunately, but I have a plan. And a big to-do list to get through.

Viva Home Exchange!

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Postcard from Alcossebre – Safe, Secure, Siesta

by Julie Gibbons on June 27, 2010

Alcossebre isn’t in Lonely Planet’s guide to Spain. It’s no surprise, really… it’s not a whitewashed village or a cosmopolitan city.  It is a village inhabited only in the last century or so – and mainly by Spanish retirees. It is a village of second homes and holiday apartments on the Costa Del Alzhar.

Our home exchange was located just a few hundred metres from the best beach in town and we arrived there on narrow, twisted back roads through groves of oranges and olives until suddenly we arrive in a small city of apartments.

The car safely locked behind our remote control operated iron gates, we were on the first floor overlooking our spotlessly clean pool and small garden meticulously, if not lovingly cared for by our serious and unsmiling gardener.

The view from the block was quite spectacular, especially if you ignored the surrounding apartment blocks, some of which reminded me of a prison. A jolly prison, for sure – and one with a bright blue swimming pool that shimmered in the sunshine, but something of a prison just the same…

What price our security? Never once did we imagine our safety here in Alcossebre would be compromised. Our fellow holiday makers were mostly retired or young families.. Absolutely zero pan handlers and I can only recall seeing two touts of the ubiquitous sunglasses and handbags that appear in every coastal location. We had free and secure parking and the streets and beaches were amongst the cleanest I’ve seen.

Our stay was relaxed – especially with no WiFi – and the apartment contained everything we needed. Travelling a 1000 miles plus the ferry journey ensured we had no desire to take any trips outwith the area, and we really had no need.

But I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something slightly out of kilter with this small town. Something slightly Stepford Wives about it… and then we met up with our home exchange host Maria a week or so later in Valencia, and she mentioned an occasion forty years or so ago, in Franco’s time when she was walking alone in a busy part of the city (it may have been Valencia, I can’t recall) at no risk of any harm  and an American had warned her that one day she would be aware that the country had exchanged its safety for its freedom.

On that note – our week in Alcossebre was perfectly pleasant. We slipped into step most easily and enjoyed days on the beach, playing in the pool and siestas. We ventured up a mountain with 20% inclines once more to visit a church which was closed and clung on to each other in what seemed like tropical force winds. We walked north along the coast in blistering heat to discover a jewel strewn pebble cove on the edge of the wilderness and walked south to discover another Fort and church and tropically beautiful shorelines.

We even imagined our own second home here, all safe and secure. A lock up and go apartment. Easy to clean, easy to heat. And easy to imagine we would wake up one day and discover we were in prison after all. A prison of our own making – but a prison, all the same. Safety for freedom, anyone?

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Alcossebre Fare – The Missing Organics, The Mercadillo And Antonio

by Julie Gibbons on June 23, 2010

The Azhar Coast was the last area of Spain to be populated by the Moors (who were her for 500 consecutive years) and some of that Moorish influence survives in the spices used in food – most notably the paprika and saffron used in the chorizos and the famous Valencian paellas.

Fruit and vegetables have also been grown here since the Moors and the area is probably more renowned for producing oranges and other citrus fruits.

Alcossebre is, however, very much a summer town – where Spanish families come to wind down on the coast away from the hustle and bustle of the city. As such, it is mainly serviced by small supermarkets in each of the ‘urbanisations’. There’s a larger Spar supermarket in the centre of town but the only organic produce we found on sale there was some soya milk.

Delightfully, there’s an open market (a mercadillo) every week close to the harbour and it was here that we found an abundance of fruit and veg (and some patatas fritatas from a take away van for the boys).

It being only our second day, we have still to find our Spanish voices and hang back from the stalls, observing the system for purchase. This is one of those markets where you make your request directly to the stall holder who carefully makes the selection for you. This, of course, is the most difficult modus operandii when you have limited language skills – and I can promise you our Spanish is very limited … and at this stage of the trip stuck somewhere in our boots rather than our mouths.

I make my selection of stall, opting for a medium outfit run by a husband and wife team out of a small white van. I figure they’re more likely to run a family business and although probably not the farmers of the produce, I suppose (with no grounds) that they’re closer in the distribution chain than some of the larger stalls.

Before I go in, I make my decision on what to buy. No sooner have I joined my end of the queue, serviced by the husband, than a neatly coiffured elderly Spanish lady jumps in front of me saying “it’s okay if I go in front of you, isn’t it? Seeing as how you’re obviously so very unaccomplished at this lark”. Well, I think that’s what she says: she says it very rapidly and in Spanish or Valencian.

I give way politely and resolve to be served next in line. Almost immediately a gaggle of Spanish ladies all talking to each other at once jump ahead of me in the queue, whilst the first lady tells them I’m next. I smile nervously and actually feel myself close to tears as they start to physically shove me out of the way.

The tears are rapidly dissipated as the stallholder comes straight to me and asks what I’d like. I start to speak to him in French and some sort of foreign English I adopt when speaking to non-English speakers. He’s laughing at me with his eyes. The Spanish ladies are watching and laughing and muttering to each other. I’m not entirely sure they’re friendly. I’m scared but determined…

The other problem we have is that at home we rarely weigh our fruit and veg. They come supplied in a box and I take what I get. I can’t remember the last time I weighed any fruit and veg. So now I have to specify quantities of fruit and veg – none of which I can remember the Spanish name for – and I really have no idea. How many cherries to buy? At home, they come in paper bags or sometimes plastic trays. On reflection, I’d guess 250g would be about right, but when I’m faced with the stallholder and his laughing eyes and feel the eyes of the Spanish ladies on my back, I lose any ability to guess what weight I need and indicate a couple of handfuls. And so on it goes until I have a full bag of green and red produce. And how much does it all cost? Less than 6Euros!

Market Veg Blog
Martin is despatched to have a go at another stall to buy some strawberries – the smell is delectable – and a punnet of figs. He selects a French speaking vendor and survives without incident. Another couple of Euros spent and we go off to select some olives, which are so cheap we nearly return for more – but we’re here for less than a week and I fear even we can’t eat that many olives.

It may not be organic, but it is fantastically cheap and smealls and tastes like fruit and veg used to, before it was frozen and air freighted half way across the world.

Next comes Antonio’s. Our house swapper Maria, and the Bilbao ladies have told us the only place in town to buy meats and cheese is at Antonio’s, “as in, Banderas”…

Antonios Blog

This delicatessan is a delight. It’s only small but it’s an Aladin’s cave, with the famous Spanish hams hanging from ceiling, hoofs and all, and the shelves lined with bottle upon bottle of libation.

Martin asks Antonio for some local cheese and is presented with some goats quesa, resplendant in a green mould coating and a smell worthy of French cheese.

Goats Cheese Blog

Ruaridh selects some salchichios – chorizo type sausages and I choose an oregano flavoured cheese round. Together with some tapenades – tomato and chorizo, we head home, but not before we’ve visited the bakers next door for some sweet treats .

Nothing organic yet, but plenty of local delights – most of which hasn’t been tortured through over processing. That’s how the Spanish do food. They take fresh, quality ingredients which they don’t mess around too much with. There’s definitely something Organikal that.

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Bilbao to Alcossebre – Day 6

by Julie Gibbons on June 21, 2010

The journey here was quite something. We started off in grey skies in rush-hour Bilbao in the Basque country. It’s always slightly nerve-wracking leaving the ferry and this time even more so as we hadn’t planned the next part of the journey whatsoever! No Google Maps or road atlas prep – and no rough idea of how to get to our destination other than an address which didn’t even register in Doris, our faithful GPS who was busy “searching for satellites”.

 Now, this goes quite against the grain for me, for my PeopleMaps personality report extract hits it on the head “I’m well-organised and like to take control”! But this section of the trip was under Martin’s lead and he’d elected to abdicate it mostly to fate…

 Doris got it together pretty soon, and off we set under ominous, pregnant dark grey clouds. Passing through Rioja country – the vineyards laid out in orderly procession across rich burnt orange earth – the predominant wildlife, undetermined birds of prey.

 The scrubland looks like its made from the same materials used to construct model railways through the neighbouring region of Nevarra. At mid-day, it’s only 18 Celcius, but there’s a residual heat here in this land of earth which is a deep yellow ochre, with silver broom and giant wind turbines in the aqua blue sky with long, flat cirrus clouds. The Nevarra mountains our constant companion, as are the birds of  prey.

 And onwards, into the badlands of Aragon, we detour past Zaragoza – a huge metropolis in the midst of a desert, not stopping to enquire about the mega Casino project underway, even when Doris loses track of all the new developments and we set off determinedly in the wrong direction along the AP2 motorway (accompanied by her cries of protestation to take the N232, through the mountains).

 After an hour or so, and a conversation with a local at a service station we give in to Doris and head back towards Alcaniz, expecting Cowboys and Indians to appear at anytime. Slowly and uncertainly we make our way along the N232 in 24 Celcius afternoon sunshine, the toffees and caramels of this land combined with the dark green punctuations of cactus clinging tenaciously on precarious root systems reminding us of ever more of a wild west panorama. Tumbleweed rolls across the road to add to the effect.

 Next to come are the El Maestrazgo mountains, a steel grey sky and heavy rain. Spectacular views, despite the weather and we know we’ve probably added at least 3 hours onto our journey (perhaps the motorway was the quickest way after all) but oh, it is worth it – tiny villages cling on to the mountainous terraces, tiny flashes of white in an ocean of green tree-tops. It’s quite chilly now and the rain is lashing down when we come upon the magnificence of the medieval fortress town of Morella. We don’t stop to visit the town, topped by its impenetrable Castle where the regions of Aragon, Valencia and Catalonia meet. It’s late, we’re tired and it’s very, very wet.

 Another couple of hours and we’ve made it to this holiday town of apartments upon apartments, lots of beach and the welcome of Carmen, her sister and mother. Elegant ladies from Bilbao, they give us the key to our 8th house-swap apartment and after a quick supermarket shop (there ain’t no organic specialties here) we retire gratefully to our new beds. Our home and place of respite for one week. Sun? Check. Sea? Check. Tapas? Check.

Fundergibbons Alcossebre

Wish you were here …
Julie

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Portsmouth to Bilbao – via the Carribean!

by Julie Gibbons on June 20, 2010


Portsmouth

We were surprised to learn that the route from Portsmouth to Bilbao across the Bay Biscay is home to one of the world’s hotspots for whales and dolphins – and that it was very likely that we would be able to spot said wildlife from the ferry. Over a quarter of the world’s 90 recorded species of whales and porpoises have been recorded in the Bay of Biscay!

Clive Martin is the charismatic Director of UK based charity Marinelife (www.marine-life.org.uk) and uses the Pride of Bilbao ferry crossing to introduce the work of the organisation to those passengers that feel so inclined. His lively presentation introduces us to some of the species we’re likely to see on the trip and gives just enough detail about the research work they carry out on board the vessel – the world’s longest running deep sea scientific whale and dolphin monitoring programmes. And we all get terribly excited when Clive announces that he’s organised for a slight detour of the ferry, towards the Carribean (huzzah!) and some deeper waters more suited to whale-spotting.

Emotions (and expectations) are raised amongst the captured audience – most of whom were completely unaware of this unique opportunity to spot whales and dolphins in the wild beforehand – and it’s satisfying to see the long snake of passengers ready to part with much needed funds for the charity, in exchange for a few fluffy dolphins and fridge magnets.

Of course, we are also in the queue, with a fluffy dolphin and some other promo goods tucked under our arms. And a request for an interview with Clive – a very busy man!

Clive & Martin

We don’t have time for a video interview, but via a brief chat are able to gain a deeper insight into the passion this man has for the wildlife and the research that his programme undertakes. With a core team of professional staff and trained volunteers, Marinelife works on a number of  projects including;

Balearic Shearwater: distribution and fishery interactions of critically endangered seabird.

Cuvier’s Beaked Whale: habitat use in Biscay by this poorly understood seep sea species.

White-beaked Dolphin: photo-id and population study.

Western Channel Survey: in-depth survey of cetaceans (dolphins, whales, poprpoises) and seabirds.

Clive explains that as with most NGO’s (Non Governmental Organisation) they are particularly strapped for cash – and fund-raising is one of their uppermost priorities (after the research and education, of course). The pride of Bilbao will stop being a functioing route after the summer and so he has to work out which vessel to move the research and presentations on to. But the work will continue – and so the funds still need to appear!

Anyone over 18 can volunteer to participate in the research – and after some intial training, you can get yourself on the boat and spend the day spotting whales and dolphins from the very top deck of the ferry (equivalent to an 11-storey building).

We were on top deck afterwards, and thrilled to spot the antics of common dolphins as they charge into the ferry to play in the bow waves. Gasps of awe and emotion emit from everyone that has braved the elements to go see. After Clive’s lesson we can now spot a common dolphin from quite far away, with it’s distinctive yellow patch on the side, but without our binoculars (locked in the boot of the car) we’re unable to tell the calves from the adults. It’s still pretty special, though. As Clive said, “you see a dolphin and you can’t help but smile.”

There was also a few sightings of sperm whales and minke whales, but alas, we were in the wrong place and without the proper training to identify the great beasts. Still, even to know they were swimming underneath us was wildly exciting -  such was the emotion stirred by Clive’s presentation.

Marinelife Information

So, what can you do? There’s still time to book a special mini-cruise – from Portsmouth to Bilbao where you can spend your weekend sighting cetaceans for only £99 per person. Apparently, the cruise northwards offers up some splendid species close to Bilbao. There are also some special ID cruises available – and worth checking out.You can also set up a monthly standing order (I will be).

As an Organikal, you will probably already be contributing in a small way as Pollution is one of the biggest issues facing these fantastic creatures. Marinelife explains that “chemicals, heavy-metals and plastics cause dangerous algal blooms, impact on cetacean immune systems and cause direct damage from ingestion.”

By-Catch and Over-Fishing are two more issues which you can directly affect by making Organikal choices about the type of fish you eat. Did you know that every one in two catches contains a dead dolphin? Check out the MSC list of sustainable fish and make sure the fish you eat is not harvested by harmful trawling nets. Line-caught fish is the way to go, if you want to see these species preserved (or better still, don’t eat anything with a mum and a bum).

Lastly, global-warming may be forcing “changes in the distribution of cetaceans and seabirds, to areas with unsuitable habitat or fewer food sources”. Every individual really can make their contribution to fighting global warming. You know it. Every time you leave an extra light on, or your computer on stand-by, think of the dolphins and switch-off :-)

Thankfully, there are organisations out there doing vital work to help understand and preserve these magnificent beasts. They could use your support www.marine-life.org.uk

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Bubblelicious Bubble Tea – Day 2

by Julie Gibbons on June 12, 2010

Martin and Ruaridh at Chah with Bubble Tea

Martin and Ruaridh at Chah with Bubble Tea

Day 2 of our house swapping Grand Adventure saw us in Leamington Spa, purchasing Ruaridh’s birthday iPod Touch. As such, we were frequenting a shopping mall, when we passed this tea stall, Chah. We were first enticed because they offered free WiFi and organic tea and coffee but we were soon doing a wee happy dance when we discovered they also offered bubble tea.

We hadn’t seen bubble tea since we were last in Vancouver. Haven’t come across it yet? Bubble tea was invented in Taiwan. The variety we were familiar with was iced green tea, flavoured with a fruit syrup. The bubbles? Well that comes from tapioca pearls which float about and are sooked up using stupidly big straws. Obviously, we love it for its sheer novelty factor – we wouldn’t usually demand gelatinous balls of tapioca in our drinks!

The Mandarin speaking owner of Chah had lived in Taiwan for some time and is passionate about tea and assured us that his bubble tea was exactly as it tastes there. This variety is milky tea, served with a flavoured syrup (chocolate, mint, almond … you get the picture), iced and satisfyingly resplendent with tapioca perals.

chocolate bubble tea from Chah

chocolate bubble tea from Chah

Such a novelty and bringing back memories of a happy trip to Vancouver, we were thrilled with our bubblelicious tea.

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House Swapping Adventure 2010 – Day 1

by Julie Gibbons on June 10, 2010

Team Fundergibbon Go Houseswapping

Team Fundergibbon Go Houseswapping

At last (or so it seems) we departed for the 2010 House Swapping adventure yesterday. You can tell we’re heading south because Martin has his Indiana Jones hat on :)

It really does seem to have taken a very long time to get everything ready for this year’s marathon home exchange. Don’t let me ever tell you that it ’s a piece of cake. Many hours of preparation did it take to get to the point that we were ready to leave. I guess that’s only to be expected: I worked out yesterday that in total this summer’s trip involves at least 10 families and five countries!

Anyway, I’m happy to report we’ve made it to stage 1, which is a stopover with family in the UK. A nice and easy one to start with, we’ve got wireless broadband and all in a beautiful setting upon the River Avon. We’re going to spend some time here catching up on some work for CareerPsychometrics and checking out the delights of Leamington.

How did we get here? Down the M6 in our big car. (Yes, we have a big car – especially for organic eco types – and there’ll be a post soon to explain why and what we do to lessen its impact).

Can you be organic on the motorway? You can if you take packed lunches, of course – but with a house swap to organise I didn’t manage to make us a picnic. So, what to do? If you’re like me you’ll hate those homogenised service stations with their rip off prices. There is an alternative. Check out http://www.offmotorway.com/ for some local independent businesses offering food and accommodation.

As it happens, we only made a couple of stops, once for fuel and the other for dinner – and my choice for dinner was the fantastic Tebay Services at Westmorland, resplendent with farm shop. Was it entirely organic? No, unfortunately not – but there was a large amount of veggie options and free range and organic snacks and all the tea was fair trade and organic. I enjoyed some really delicious minted pea and watercress soup, whilst Martin opted for spring vegetable variety. Ruaridh can’t see a macaroni cheese go past his nose, so that sorted him out for the rest of the night.

westmorland

Tebay Services at Westmorland

I love Westmorland. Browsing their farm shop (they even have a local butcher counter for all you meat eaters) and gift shop breaks up a trip nicely. Of course, I succumbed and bought some organic cake and juice and biscuits to offer our hosts here in Warwickshire  :-) But I don’t feel ripped off here. Nor do I feel dirty, like every other service station seems to make me feel.

Westmorland has recently been refurbished and I don’t know their financial situation, but if one service stop can be owned by locals and offer up quality local goods and services, I don’t see why more of them couldn’t. It would make travelling all the more pleasant for everyone and contribute something more valuable to the local economy than a few poxy Little Chef jobs.

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Man, where does all the stuff come from?

by Julie Gibbons on June 7, 2010

Grand Adventure Summer 2010 : T-2

Phew, it’s been a really physical weekend. What started as an ecoclean turned into  a major merry-go-round of stuff.

Stuff from the attic. Stuff in the attic. Stuff out of the cupboards. Stuff in the cupboards. Stuff to the recycle centre (out-datedly referred to hereabouts as ‘the dump’).

Four big bags of clothes for the charity shop and 5 big bags of books.

Where does it all come from? And why is there still no space?

And here I sit, reminded of a post I flung together about this time last year … Simplicity of travel and the burden of stuff … and the quote to which it referred, by Antoine de Saint Exupery;

In anything at all, perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away, when a body has been stripped down to its nakedness.

So here I sit with two days until we leave, somewhat lighter of stuff but still puzzled about why stuff seems to grow and where it comes from – and why I wait until the week before we leave to do a purge of stuff I promise myself I’ll do on our return?

When will I reach that perfect point of nakedness?

Maybe if I had a project framework to base it all on I’d have more success? Something like Obsessive Consumption or The 100 Thing Challenge.

Perhaps I’ll start with the 100 Thing Houseswap Challenge – and take only 100 things with us, and bring no more than 100 things back. Best get to counting that big pile of stuff that’s growing in our dining room, then …

p.s. Have you watched The Story of Stuff?

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