Teaming up with energyshare & Hexam River Hydro

It is very rare that something pulls me away from talking about rubbish, but when I was asked to team up with an exciting hydro energy project that's competing for energyshare funding, it was far too interesting to miss.


Energyshare has been created by River Cottage and British Gas, jointly managing a campaign whereby communities across the UK have applied to energyshare to have their project funded. These communities have been shortlisted into a small number of finalists, all looking to have their project funded up to the value of £100,000.

The competition has also been supported by Channel 4’s Three Hungry Boy’s who spent five weeks touring the South West over the summer, visiting communities just like those shortlisted for energyshare funding. Trevor, Thom and Tim were challenged by River Cottage’s Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall to live off the land and barter their way around the countryside, sourcing the energy for their electric vehicle from renewable technologies.

Today the finalists have been announced and campaigning has now begun in earnest to help generate public votes to choose the winning communities.


All the finalists are brilliant in their own way.  The community that I am supporting is Hexham River Hydro, a fabulous project which will create a100kW community hydro power generation scheme on the River Tyne in Northumberland.   It is a joint initiative by Hexham Community Partnership and Transition Tynedale and for anyone who, like me, has grown up or lived near such a similar powerful waterway, it is very easy to get excited about the possibilities of harnessing such energy.

However, this project is not just about generating renewable electricity, it is also about securing sustainable funding for social and economic regeneration and community activities in the market town of Hexham and its environs, as well as creating an education and awareness-raising tool for residents and visitors alike.

When I say, I'm very excited about this project, I really mean it and can't wait to get to meet the people and the community behind it. Having spoken to team member Gillian Orrell, this afternoon, I am now looking forward to a trip up north to find out more about their hopes and plans. This project may seem that it's about technology, but at the heart of it, it's really about people and harnessing the energy around us, without impacting on the environment itself.  It's amazing to think that it will generate approximately 700MWh of electricity per year – enough to satisfy the average electricity consumption of 150 households, whicle reducing Hexham’s carbon emissions by approximately 400 tonnes CO2 per year.

With such localised energy supply, it is also deemed a project of national significance that will be of interest to other similar communities around the UK.

I will be able to report on my discoveries next week, but in the meantime, if you are over 13-years-old and have just two minutes to spare, please get voting at the energyshare website.  More information about Hexam River Hydro can be found at www.energyshare.com/hrh. So, please pop over and if you like what you see, please do hurry and vote for them.

Voting is open until 5pm on 3rd December with the opportunity to win one of 5 books that River Cottage is giving away every day to voters. Furthermore, for the energyshare Group that gets the most supporters voting, there is the chance to scoop a £1,000 cash prize.

So please do get involved now and visit energyshare.com/voting.

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This is a sponsored opportunity on behalf of British Gas. However, all the author's views are her own.

Recipe: Autumn Vegetable Soup with Pesto

My mum loved this soup so much- she said this should be the next recipe competition winner! Lol! Maybe i'll enter it into one of New Covent Garden soup recipe competitions, i dunno. I always want more soups in winter, and this soup is packed full of all of the delicious root veg that reminds me of autumn. I think autumn is my favourite season- maybe because of Firework night on the 5th November, and my birthday on the 17th November. Not sure what i'm doing this year for my birthday- it's 21 so maybe i should do something big? Anyway, the pesto in this is optional of course, but i think it really adds the finishing touch to the dish.

Autumn Vegetable Soup with Pesto (makes 3 bowls)

30g butter
1 white onion, diced
1 large or 2 medium leeks, diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 parsnip, peeled and diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 swede, peeled and diced
100ml red wine
1 litre vegetable stock
1 tbsp freshly chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
4 tbsp readymade pesto
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1. Sautee the onion, leeks and garlic in the butter for 10 minutes, covered, stirring occasionally.
2. Add the red wine and cook for a further 5 minutes, uncovered. Add all the other ingredients (except the pesto and olive oil) and cook on a high heat for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Blend half of the soup, and return to the pan. You may need to add more water/ vegetable stock at this stage if the soup has become too thick.
4. Season to taste and heat the soup up again until nice and hot. Mix together the extra virgin olive and pesto, and serve the soups with this “pesto oil” drizzled on top.

Recipe: Braised Leeks and Peas

This is a nice little side dish- tasty, sweet, moist, and full of vitamins and minerals. We had this on the side of chicken and mushroom pies and it worked really well. A really nice dish to show off the flavour of home grown leeks.

Braised Leeks and Peas (serves 4 as a side dish)

40g butter
30ml extra virgin olive oil
4 large leeks or 6 medium leeks
450g frozen peas
2 tbsp freshly chopped parsley
250ml vegetable stock
Salt and pepper to taste
2 spring onions, finely sliced

1. Sautee the leeks in the olive oil and butter on a medium heat, for 10 minutes covered, stirring occasionally. Cook a further 5 minutes, uncovered.
2. Add the peas, parsley and stock, and cook on a high heat for 5 minutes. Season to taste, garnish with the sliced spring onions, serve!

Recipe: Chilli Jam

Yay. Finally, I can give up preserving for a while. My room is full of jars and i have spent so much time and a fair amount of money this year making all these things. I've just got to make chilli jam until the frosts kill my chilli plants, and i'm all done. In this recipe, it's hard to judge how hot the recipe is going to be, because there are so many different sizes and varieties of chilli, all with different heat (or "scoville") ratings. The ones i've been picking from outside "Apache" chillies, are fairly hot, and very little. I would guess using 8 "normal" large red chillies that you get in the supermarket would do the trick though. This Jam is not that hot really, its just delicious and peppery and sweet- would be a good accompaniment to asian dishes (like spring rolls/tempura etc), and dad actually loves it in cheese sandwiches! He'll put chilli in anything, lol!

Chilli Jam (makes about 4-5 normal jam jars)

8 red peppers, deseeded and chopped
15 little red chillies
10g crushed ginger
8 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tin chopped tomatoes
½ tsp chilli flakes
750g sugar
200ml red wine vinegar
50ml cider vinegar

1. Blend the peppers and chillies in batches in a food processor until finely chopped. Add all the ingredients to a large pan, bring to the boil, skim any scum that forms, and cook on a high temperature for 1 hour and 10 minutes, stirring often.
2. Pour into jars, allow to cool, and then seal!

Recipe: Apple and Brazil Nut Chutney

Phew, at last- my final batch of apple based chutney of the year! At the moment i am just drowning in jars of preserves and i really honestly need to stop making things! The only thing i've got left to make is a couple of batches of chilli jam, and then I'm done. I've definitely stored up enough stuff this year to not even have to bother making anything next year actually, which is a good thing because i'm sure by February-time i'll be up to my ears in my degree work/revision. This chutney is a festive tasting, very sweet chutney. I would say interestingly that this chutney would go best with meats such as duck and pheasant, due to it's orange flavour and it's sweetness.

Apple and Brazil Nut Chutney

6 small white onions, thinly sliced
950g peeled diced apples
200g Brazil nuts, diced
1 tsp mixed spice
½ tsp allspice
Zest and Juice of 1 Orange
400ml cider vinegar
450g sugar

1. Place all the ingredients into a large saucepan, put on a high heat, and cook covered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Remove the lid and cook for a further 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Take off the heat and allow to settle for 10 minutes, then transfer to jars. Allow to cool, and then seal with the lids.

Recipe: Root Vegetable Savoury Crumble

I know, a "savoury" crumble does sound a little weird I guess, probably because when we think of crumble it conjures up images of custard, blackberries and ice cream! However strange this may seem, it's really worth a try- you end up with a delicious creamy root vegetable casserole, with a golden crunchy topping, which is just perfect served with some steamed greens and a nice veggie gravy!

Root Vegetable Savoury Crumble (serves 4)

500ml vegetable stock
1 celeriac, peeled and diced
3 carrots, peeled and diced
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
2 large or 3 medium sized leeks, sliced
100g Philadelphia
20g wholegrain mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
120g butter
120g flour
60g parmesan
30g flaked almonds

1. Preheat the oven to 200C. Put the celeriac, carrots, sweet potatoes and leeks in a large pan with hot vegetable stock, and cook on a high heat, with the lid on, for 15 minutes.
2. Put the butter, flour, parmesan and flaked almonds in a mixing bowl, and rub together with your fingers until you have made a fine crumble mixture.
3. Mix the Philadelphia and mustard into the cooked vegetables, season to taste, and pour into an ovenproof dish. Top with the crumble mix, and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Put under a hot grill for a further two minutes until browned on top, and serve!

It's that time of year again with "Buy Nothing New November"

For the last few years I've welcomed in November with a personal challenge, to get through the month without buying anything new.  And after an expensive few months through the summer and early autumn, once more I'm welcoming the challenge with open arms for 2011.

It's not an anti-consumerism protest as such, although it does give me a great excuse to throw a huge boo-hiss at all the stores that promote the festive spirit months before December has arrived.

Yes, I admit the heavily commercial unseasonal 'seasonal promotions' regularly hack me off, what with Easter eggs on sale in January, back-to-school gear being promoted in June and the gradual appearance of Christmas paraphernalia showing its face as early as August!  Stuff that makes me go Grrrrrr!

However, regardless of what is going on outside my front door, the challenge is aimed at keeping my own levels of consumerism in check and building in a defence system against all those things that would have otherwise lured their way over the threshold.

I know some people thing I'm mad for attempting such a challenge during what many consider as the start of the Christmas Shopping period but it has proven to save me money and in turn, the less I buy, the less I waste.

Here are some examples of the benefits from previous years.

1. Scrapping November from my Christmas shopping diary keeps me focused.  There are no temptations to buy all those 'extra' presents I would have once bought for the family. Don't get me wrong, they don't miss out, it simply helps to keep on top of the excess!
2. Less temptation means fewer presents and less wrapping paper.  No longer do I return home with armfuls of wrapping paper, which only end up in the recycling bin. Instead we get crafty with inexpensive parcel paper, magazines, newspapers and reusable gift bags or festive fabric.
3. Although food is obviously not on the 'banned list', the challenge gives me an opportunity to focus on using up what's already in the freezer and kitchen cupboards to make space for stocking up on the seasonal stuff to take us through the winter.  The Love Food Hate Waste site is always great for ideas.
4. Less time shopping also gives me more time to have a go at making gifts instead.  There are loads of ideas around the Internet and Violet Posy's Thrifty Christmas site is one of my favourites, along with some great creative projects that can be found at LellaLoves.
5. I won't be tempted to buy any spangly new outfits or accessories for the Christmas dinners or parties on my calendar.  Instead, I look forward to going through my wardrobe to plan what will work, without bowing to emergency feel-good purchases either in November or December.

So if you normally find yourself in the pre-Christmas rut, why not join me this year.  I admit, it can be daunting at first, but three years in and it's amazing how calm and in control a "Buy Nothing New November" can actually make you feel.  The best bit is, not only are you able to step back from the commercial rush, it makes December far more enjoyable too.

However, if a whole month seems too much of a challenge, there is some good news in that Saturday November 26th is officially Buy Nothing Day.  That's just one day, not a whole month. Much easier by comparison!  If you fancy a go at that, just click on the Keep Calm logo at the top of this post.