Mmmmmm........Eggs

Not just any old eggs but free range ones, totally unbroken and in an immaculate box. I had two scrambled for breakfast - they were amazing. Then I started thinking about cake, and corn bread, and onion bhajis and all the other great stuff I could make with the others.
Lentil and beef hot pot for tea tonight with enough left over for another two meals.
No free cakes at work despite it having become established tradition in only the last few weeks that we have them EVERY Monday morning as a sort of reward for listening to Grieg tell us how few jobs we've got coming in. I found that my ears don't work as well without cake.
I went for a brew with Vicky in Flat three tonight and stroked her guinea pigs - Lola and Betty. They make a noise like Clangers. A guy came to look at the flat downstairs on Sunday - he liked what I was doing with the garden and offered to help out if he moves in - and he cycles. On Sunday I was out running on the South Manchester cycle way and came across Kidical Mass - the kids version of Critical Mass - Anna and Nes and some of the I bike MCR lot were on it and we waved at each other as we passed - me shouting 'Go Kidical Mass!' and them shouting 'Goooo Spokes!'. I turned down a chance to go to the Lost Plot in favour of the garden here but it was lovely to be asked. I think I can confidently say I've found community. Now I think if I just found some cheese that would be like a dream come true. As a habitual cheese fiend it's been very strange going without it. A friend in Mach fed me lasagne and I had the most amazing cheese dreams about a talking Alsatian who dressed in a suit and a bowler hat (sort of a posh version of scooby doo)
What would be the best thing you could find in a bin?

Midnight Shopping

I got my number for Blackpool this morning – brief panic when I read the route and saw it goes up to 26 miles! But then I realised that they have a full marathon going on AS WELL and that I haven’t accidentally signed myself up for that instead – thirteen miles is enough.
Had an excellent week at CAT and whilst there, during a dinner time conversation about the ethics of vegan and vegetarian diets Tom who was sat next to me announced that he does eat meat but only stuff he finds in bins so it doesn’t count. I was very impressed – the MSc week does bring a few straight mainstream people with it and coming out openly as a Freegan was potentially opening himself to, at minimum, a barrage of ‘errrghs’ or ‘yucks’. I’ve read Freegan websites and even an article in the Observer Food Monthly on it but never actually met anyone who does it so I got him to tell me about it and he launched enthusiastically into a description of all the amazing stuff that gets just thrown out.
So last week I decided to give it a go and set out with a bag, dressed unobtrusively – which unfortunately looks similar to ‘dressed like a burglar’. I was surprised how nervous I felt – I think compostable food going into landfill is a much greater crime and I’ve read so much about how much food we waste as a nation and besides which I’m missing fresh vegetables. First stop was a no hoper – ten foot fencing with massive big spiky barbs all along the top – honestly you’d have thought they had the crown jewels in there instead of a few past-their-sell-by-date bread rolls. Further on I had more luck – a big paper sack of mixed vegetables – left easily accessible on purpose I suspect. I had an onion, some potatoes and carrots – the carrots need peeling and the ends cutting off but they were great. Then I put my hand in deeper and found something ball shaped. I’m ashamed to say that I thought ‘oh – turnip’ with a degree of disappointment. I like turnip well enough but I wasn’t overly excited at the prospect of getting one, even for free. But when I pulled it out and it turned out to be a squash I was very happy.
I optimistically checked the bins behind the off license but there was no slightly scuffed up wine boxes or anything of that sort there. I found another bin in a locked bin store which turned out not to be actually locked (on purpose?) – there were some pringle packets at the bottom but it would have meant climbing in and I didn’t fancy that without a buddy to help me out or at least laugh at me so I took my vegetables home. I chopped the squash up and froze it – I might make Doce de Abobora – pumpkin jam Portugal-stylee with some of it.
Tonight I had stewing steak, sliced up and dusted with seasoned flour and sesame seeds, fried until slightly crispy. Then I fried carrot matchsticks in a bit of the oil and added soy sauce, rice vinegar, chillies, sugar and some grape must as I had no wine (it came from a jar of preserved red peppers, the peppers went a couple of weeks ago) and the beef back in and boiled it quickly down until it worked like a glaze - and discovered that pudding rice does a pretty good impression of sticky rice to go with it.
Another triumph of a low food cupboard is refried beans. Also Potato Gnocchi, which don’t need egg at all.
This weekend sees the start of the I bike MCR Festival – post critical mass the Spokes performed our new off-bike dance routine to the critical mass crowd at the Rollapuluzza Party – awesome fun. Two fixed gear bikes mounted on rollers, attached to a big clock that shows how far you’ve cycled. The aim is to go 500m faster than your opponent. They hold qualifiers and then quarters, semis and finals. There were only eight women up for it so we all qualified and I got a by through to semi’s and ended up in the final going head-to-head with Caz (whose legs are longer than I am tall). I was well proud to lose by less than a second and even got a prize – a mini courier bag, some technical science socks which seem to be space technology offshoots and a t-shirt which says ‘pedal peace – ride bikes’ around a CND logo made from a cog. After dancing to several bands I cycled back through an almost empty Manchester with a handful of others. I was tired to the point of exhaustion but still thrilled. Today they had a party at Platt Fields Park. People were playing music and spinning poi and racing bikes and learning BMXing. I took my new glow-in the-dark travel hula hoop with me and loads of people had a play with it. The effort that they’ve all been putting into it these last months seems to be paying off. I’m feeling very lucky to be where I am at the moment.

I missed my three miler last week. After pounding the London pavements 10 and a half miles from Elephant and Castle to Carshalton Village my legs were still hurting by the time I got home on Sunday. The weather had turned too - nasty gusting winds and spraying rain. I was beating myself up about it but then reminded myself that the challenge is to do the half marathon - not to drive myself to injury with overtraining beforehand. So tonight has been the first run since then - my little three miler through the park. First half difficult - second half easy - seems to be becoming a pattern.
I ate out a reckless total of four times whilst away - one was a west indian pasty type thing at half three on Sunday morning after a drunken walk back past the London Eye and so hardly counts. The lazy person in the back of my head tried aguing that Sunday nigth was really part of the holiday and so exempt but I ignored it and rummaged around in my freezer to find a seafood medley which went well with some brown rice and a tin of tuna and a few herbs and stuff to make enough paella for two days.
f*ck.........
Quick interlude there whilst I remembered the bread I put in over an hour ago and had forgotten clean about - saved it just in time (and myself and the other flats from being woken by a smoke alarm in the middle of the night). I found a bag of gluten and wheat free flour I bought ages ago from the Unicorn Supermarket - it's weird, part rice flour part potato flour (i.e. not really flour at all) but with the tail end of brown flour has made pretty nice bread - a tad crisped on the outside.
I reckon that planning food shopping doesn't have to be boring - just a part of deliberate living. I'm eating better and enjoying my food so much more AND there's still no sign of it running out - although the freezer is down to a box of cranberries, a haggis, a pack of venison and rabbit, two packs of stewing steak, one pitta bread, some pesto and some frozen sweetcorn and green beans - actually when I list it all out - 'down to' doesn't seem quite the right phrase. This could go on for ages yet - maybe I should start another challenge - not until I'm back from CAT next week though.

I've just got home after another ridiculously long day at work and haven't the heart to go running - meaning I will have to fit in a nine and a three mile whilst in London as I am off to Ecobuild tomorrow and then staying with Alice and then Linda for the weekend. Still - they have a lot of nice parks don't they - it will be nice to have a change of running scenery - although to be honest after the first few hundred yards I tend to be busy focusing on not collapsing.
I was going to make banana cake to take with me but it's too late and seems like to much effort and so I shall have to find some other way to be a good guest. I am not going to be rigid about the two eatings out whilst away but shall endevour not to indulge needlessly - I am taking food for tomorrow and will take a flask of tea as I shall feel very hard done to to sit on a train for a few hours, reading a huge amount of stuff on my thesis project, without a brew.
Food is starting to become more....interesting. I have some Pierre's world famous Lentil Lime and Chilli soup on the go but without the onions (which were never a large part of it) and with a rather stingy contribution of coconut - I've attempted to compensate for these with some dry roasted freshly ground coriander. And the lime will be lemon.
I made quinoa, butter bean and nut burgers at the weekend which were great hot but a bit stodgey cold but either way were dead easy and knocked the spots off the cauldron veggie burgers or any other commercial ones I've had. I still think I've got a couple of weeks left - more probably as I'm away at CAT, i.e. The Centre for Alternative Technology (hello Amy!) the week after next.
Singing was great last night although I keep ending up sat next to the loud-and-not-entirely-always-in-tune Yorkshire lady who annoyed me last week by singing the 'It's all too beautiful' in Icthycoo park as 'It's awl tow beyowtifull'. Yesterday however the pissed off face lady's bloke came along - who is like her alter ego - insanely cheerful, dances as he sings (with gusto) and keeps catching people's eyes so he can grin at them and twist his head in a hugely exaggerated wink. He almost sang loudley enough to drown her (and me for everyone else's benefit) out so that was ok.
We did The Chain by Fleetwood Mac and Satellite of Love.
I need to eat, and pack and sleep.
I really need to sleep
I got funding approved for my thesis project today - this made me happy.
Virgin trains however won't let me take my bike to London which made me cross and so I'm up to catch the bus at quarter to seven tomorrow.
yawn
zzz.............

Sunday round up

Runningwise things go well. I fell out of bed on Wednesday morning and into my running gear which I’d left on the floor beside me and was down in the woods just as the sky was starting to lighten up by the time I actually woke up. The dawn chorus was in full swing, all of them yammering away. The route was mostly the same as the seven miler I did the week before with an extra bit on each end so I didn’t have to keep stopping to look at the map. As I came up Princess parkway the rush hour was in full swing. Once you’re off the main drags Chorlton’s really nice for running – big open streets, wide pavements and not many cars but the main routes into the city are completely snarled up at that time – why anyone would put themselves through it is beyond me – it’s not even as if it’s quicker in a car once you get inside the M60.
Yesterday I dragged Laura out for a three mile round Chorley park. She set off at a fair pace and I was thinking ‘bloody hell – I don’t know if I can keep this up all the way round’ but I didn’t have to as she stopped at the top of the long bank outside Astley Hall, gasping and said, “God – you run so fast!” We alternated between running and walking after that and made forty minutes which made me just late for Aikido where the kids were getting their arses kicked for sloping in late as I pushed my bike through the door. They did a sponsored stay awake last Friday painting the dojo. Half of the walls are pink and the skirting boards are black. It’s a unlikely combination but I like it – makes the whole place feel warmer.
Friday night was critical mass – we stuck close into the city centre this month which was better because more people saw us and as we had to stop quite often at lights there was plenty of time for people to catch up and so the mass stayed in a tight bunch instead of getting strung out. As always - once the mass has started going through a green light that then changed to red we kept on going through until we had all passed – this usually meant two more changes of the lights until we were through – there was about 200 of us. A few bikes ‘cork’ the side roads by parking in front of the cars there to stop them pulling into the middle of the mass and people’s reaction to this varies from good natured to downright abusive. It’s much safer that way – having a car in the middle of 200 bikes doesn’t make it any quicker for the car but it makes it a lot more dangerous for the bikes and being as we’re pressured by cars every other hour of every other day for the rest of the month it’s a great feeling knowing that for just those two hours the road is ours. Some pedestrians shout out at us for running red lights, screaming that we should be locked up – it amazes me that people who wouldn’t bat an eyelid at their government illegally invading another country are so horrified by what is, after all, a rather minor act of civil disobedience.
I’m STILL eating well and still seem to have a large amount of food in my cupboards. Went out for a meal with the CAT food group on Thursday – we don’t eat cat food but it is a sort of ex-pats society for students of the Centre for Alternative Technology (Hello Amy – Amy works in media at CAT and so this will flag up on her google search for mentions of CAT and she’ll have to investigate it to make sure it’s factually correct – keep up the good work!) We did Tampopos and I had the full three courses including bananas in nutty breadcrumbs with caramel and appreciated every single bite. I had visitors yesterday and managed to feed them although the bean and couscous salad might have been better as two separate salads and I forgot they're not into strong cheese so the whole camenbert baked in it's box (the wonderous things that turn up in my freezer!) maybe wasn't the best choice but I enjoyed it. I think I’m actually eating better because I’ve stopped grabbing chocolate bars or sandwiches between work and training – forcing myself instead to take stuff from home. Also something I’m really appreciating is pasta sauces which even though I tend to pick them up on yellow sticker tend to be a)More expensive and b)Not a patch on what I could make myself, also bread. I’m not even spending more time on making food – just thinking a little more about it, remembering to defrost stuff or put things in to soak, growing beansprouts etc. I’m also realising which foods I do really need to have in (like onions, potatoes, pasta, porridge), as opposed to the ones I think I want to have in when I’m wandering aimlessly round a supermarket (frozen pizzas, chocolate croissants) Friends that I’ve spoken to who already plan their food shopping agree it saves them time and money, and most importantly of all, that they eat better. I chucked the frozen pizza I’ve been saving in the oven when I got in on Friday – the critical mass ride and a couple of pints had put me in the mood for junk food but I didn’t really enjoy it very much or feel better for eating it.
At the community choir Simon had us warming up by singing Shakespeare’s ‘To be or not to be’ speech to the tune of Mozart’s ‘Rondo Alla Turka’. He claimed it was an annunciation exercise and sat there at his casio keyboard grinning smugly whilst we tripped over phrases such as ‘Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles’ – I think he’d been looking forward to all week.
Plans of cake exchanging for vegetables at the community allotment have been cancelled – I have too much work on and so, like the corporate whore that I am I’m off to sit in the office for a few hours trying to get the school designs that were to be completed on Friday done before tomorrow. Hey ho.