Saturday in the kitchen

My plans for the weekend were changed more than once so I ended up chilling out in front of the cooker today. Sig other had considered joining me, but needed a rest after a hard week at work. I’d assumed I’d get to see the new sports car my daughter bought last week, but yesterday’s text from her informing me she’d gone to Amsterdam put paid to that idea.

What else is left on a sunny Saturday in Edinburgh? A trip to the Anarchists Deli. That is not actually its name, but as I can never remember what it is called, then that is what I think of it as. It is a tiny multi-purpose establishment which amongst other social justice activities sells organic food as cheaply as they can.

As the name suggests, it is run by community activists who find ways to help locals as well as supporting free trade coffee producers in Mexico and a whole host of other international worthy causes. But the main focus is on (in their own words), the skint helping the skint. Their window sports posters advising people not to open the door to bailiffs and other useful tips for combating faceless authorities.

I only manage to get there about once or twice a year, but there is always a welcome, a bit of chat and an offer of a cuppa while I choose what few bits and pieces I can cart back home. I especially enjoy reading their ethos about their film shows which is about ignoring permissions and just showing whatever they want to.

After popping in there I went off to buy some other provisions before going home and deciding that I could again get busy cooking.

Pumpkin quark pie

I bought my first pumpkin of the season and after pureeing it I mixed it with quark and various flavourings like nutmeg, ground cinnamon and ginger as well as garlic puree. I beat the quark together with two egg yolks and folded the whipped egg whites into the pumpkin and quark mix before filling the pastry with it.

The pie case I made from a mix of gram, buckwheat and plain flour with a generous helping of grated nutmeg through it. As two of the flours are gluten-free I added a couple of teaspoons of xanthan* gum to give it enough stretch to roll out and cover the bottom of a large flan tin.

It only took half an hour in a very moderate oven then I was eating it with a tomato salad and a kiwi, mint and lime marmalade that I’d made while waiting for the pie to cook.

*Xanthan gum is a polysaccharide used in lots of foodstuffs to add viscosity and generally help things emulsify. It is also used in the oil industry to thicken fluids and in concrete that is poured under water. Almost predictably, it is also in cosmetics as it helps hydrate skin. It seems a bit strange to be cooking with something with such varied uses. It was discovered by in the late 1950’s by Allene Rosalind Jeanes, an America scientist who discovered and identified other equally useful chemicals including a way to make a blood plasma extender.

http://www.chemheritage.org/women_chemistry/food/jeanes.html

http://autonomous.org.uk/foodcoop.html