Abergavenny Food Festival: Sunday line up revealed...

We've wet your appetite with the line up for Saturday's Rude Health Rants, now for the eagerly anticipated Sunday line up. 

Taking place at Abergavenny Food Festival on Sunday at 1-2.30pm in The Castle area, come along to be shocked, inspired and entertained by celebrated chefs, passionate producers and fearsome food writers, as they voice their foodie passions...

Abergavenny Food Festival: Saturday's Ranters Revealed...

The Rude Health Rants have returned for the 5th year running, exclusively to Abergavenny Food Festival.

On Saturday 21st from 1 - 2pm and 3 - 4pm and Sunday 22nd from 1 - 2.30pm in The Castle area, 

ranters will step up to the mic for a bit of free therapy in the form of a rant, about any food related issue on their minds. Come along to witness, heckle and if you've got a burning rant - participate!

Here's our line-up for Saturday, pretty darn good if we do say so ourselves:

Watch previous years Rude Health Rants - including ones by Reggae-Reggae Sauce creator Levi Roots, author of Everybody Everday Alex Mackay, master Chocolatier Marc Demarquette and Guy Watson from Riverford Organic at www.rudehealth.com/rants.

Ode to Thins

The Rude Health Thins are great for dunking in hummus, slathering with peanut butter or snaffling bare naked, straight from the pack. But the fun doesn't have to stop there. At Rude Health HQ the Thins have provided an accompaniment to numerous lunches and it's fair to say, we're hooked. Paired with chunks of soft avocado,  smoked makerel pate, leftover curries and hearty soups or just when you need a little something extra.

To show just how versatile these tasty little Thins can be, I decided to share with you my top five Thins-inspired recipes...

1. Thins with Goats Cheese & Piccalilli

Veg, No Nuts, Wheat Free, Gluten Free

60 mins plus overnight prep.

Ingredients

1 Cauliflower, cut into small florets

2 Courgettes, diced

1 Carrot, diced

1 handful of small silver-skinned onions, peeled and halved

1 handful of Green beans, cut into short lengths

(adjust veg quantities to your liking)

2 handfuls of Sea salt

3 heaped tablespoons flour

1 tbsp turmeric

1 tbsp ground cumin

1 tbsp English mustard powder

400 ml cider vinegar

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tbsp mustard seeds

Rude Health Multigrain Thins 

Method

1. Place all the vegetables in a bowl, add the salt and cover with water. Leave overnight, covered with a plate.

2. Heat a saucepan big enough for all the veg and add a splash of oil. Fry the mustard seeds, cumin, turmeric, ginger for half a minute.

3. Reduce the heat and add the mustard powder, flour and a splash of vinegar and stir into a paste. Add the sugar, then gradually add the remaining vinegar and 100ml water, stirring into a smooth paste and simmer for 2 minutes.

4. Remove the pan from the heat. Drain the vegetables and rinse with cold water. Carefully stir the vegetables into the spicy sauce.

5. Pour the mixture into sterilised jars and seal the lids tightly. Leave for at least two weeks before opening.

6. Serve with a slab of Goats Cheese, piled on Rude Health Multigrain Thins.

2. Oaty Thins with Cream Cheese & Salsa

Veg, No Nuts

15 mins

Ingredients

4 tomatoes, chopped

1 red onion, finely chopped

1 tbsp jalapeño peppers from a jar, drained and finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 small bunch of coriander, roughly chopped

1 lime

Rude Health Oaty Thins

Method

1. Stir all the ingredients together in a medium bowl with some seasoning.

2. Serve at room temperature with Rude Health Oaty Thins.

3. Corn Thins with Guacamole and Salsa

Veg, Wheat Free, Dairy Free, Nut Free, Gluten Free

10 mins

Ingredients

1 Large tomato

3 Ripe avocados

1 Lime

Handful of chopped coriander

1 Small red onion, finely chopped

1 Red chilli, de-seeded and finely chopped

Rude Health Corn Thins 

Method

1. Use a large knife to pulverise the tomato to a pulp on a board, then tip into a bowl. Halve and stone the avocados and use a spoon to scoop out the flesh into the bowl with the tomato.

2. Tip all the other ingredients into the bowl, then season with salt and pepper. Use a whisk to roughly mash everything together. Scatter with the coriander and then serve with Rude Health Corn Thins.

4. Rice Thins with Honey Spiced Figs and Greek Yoghurt

Veg, No Nuts, Wheat Free, Gluten Free

15 mins

Ingredients

3 tbsp Honey

4 Figs, quartered

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Ginger

150g Greek Yoghurt

Rude Health Rice Thins 

Method

1. Pour the honey and  spices and figs into a small bowl and sit over a pan of simmering water over. Stir to blend the spices and heat for 1-2 minutes until honey is warm and syrupy. 

2. Top the Rice Thins with a dollop of greek yoghurt, figs and a drizzle of honey. Serve immediately.

5. Multigrain Thins with grilled Halloumi, Aubergine and Pepper.

Veg, No Nuts, Wheat Free, Gluten Free

15 mins 

Ingredients

2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive oil

1/2 Aubergine cut into round slices

1 Pepper, cut into strips

1 block Halloumi, cut into thick slices

Pinch of sea salt
Rude Health Multigrain Thins

Method

1. Add a dash of olive oil to a non stick frying pan and gently fry the pepper strips for 5-10 minutes. In a large bowl toss the aubergines in olive oil, sea salt and a little water. 

2. Add the aubergine rounds to a large  pan and fry until golden brown on either side. Set aside on a plate and cover with kitchen towel.

3. Add a dash of oil to the large pan and arrange the halloumi slices in the pan. Fry for around 30 seconds on either side or until they start to turn golden brown.

4. Arrange the peppers, aubergine and halloumi in stacks on Multigrain thins and enjoy!

Feeling Thins-inspired? Got some recipes you would like to share? Send them to us on FB, Twitter or to hello@rudehealth.com for your chance to feature on our new recipe page.

Until next time...

Pillage and Porridge

We’ve had a busy April at Rude Health, with all sorts of exciting things under-way, and I’ve even been lucky enough to get away for not just one, but two holidays.

Over the long Easter weekend I escaped up to Northumberland, to spend time with rest of the Poples and to fill our lungs with the fresh country air. We spent the weekend trekking along Hadrian’s Wall and catching up over well-earned feasts. Up on the Wall (cue Game Of Thrones reference) the views were incredible, with nothing around us but wildlife and unusually for April - snow! It didn’t feel like spring was anywhere in sight. Unsurprisingly, we later found out that it was the coldest Easter on record.

We also paid a visit to the archaeological site of an ancient Roman military post, called Vindolanda.  At this ancient Roman town, so much has been uncovered that you can walk through the streets, into the old pubs and even set foot into a Pre-Hadrianic bathhouse. There was also a spectacular museum displaying their findings of perfectly preserved leather shoes, jewellery, armour and cutlery. The fork hadn’t been invented but the spoon had so they could fuel up on a hearty bowl of porridge before battle – thank goodness!

After just a few days back in the office, I was off again, this time to Bergerac, France. I was hoping to relax in the warmer weather with my family and indulge in cheese and wine aplenty. But things didn’t quite turn out as hoped - best-laid plans and all that. Instead, we were graced with all sorts of unexpected extras, which certainly made this holiday a memorable one!

On our first day, just after packing up the car with our week’s food, we suddenly realised that the keys to the car had been packed up, along with our food. Great start. There was talk of breaking a window to get to them, but fortunately, with sheer determination and a stroke of ingenuity, the situation was resolved without even a scratch on the car. How? Well, a magician never reveals her secrets.

After calming down from the afternoons excitements, we took the dog for an evening walk and had a hearty supper of Green Lentil and Merguez Sausage Casserole – delish. Unfortunately however, the key incident wasn’t the only ‘extra’ we had in store. The next day my mum, brother and I all woke up with flu. To follow that, the dog cut his foot open. My mum twisted her ankle. And the trailer broke. We weren’t having much luck!

As we weren’t feeling up to our usual French feasts, I thought I would bring us a little comfort in the form of Congee. Congee is a type of rice-porridge that is popular in many Asian countries and eaten especially when feeling ill. I gave it a Rude Health twist and switched the rice to The Oatmeal. There are all sorts of different variations of Congee but I kept it simple using chicken stock, fresh ginger, mushrooms and spinach. Savoury porridge may sound a little unusual but this ‘Oatmeal Congee’ was really comforting and delicious. Here is the recipe I used (I use very rough measurements so adjust to your taste):

Aside from our holiday not being quite what we expected, our spirits were not dampened. We had a fantastic time together and there was at least, some warmer weather! 

Until next time...

The Organic Journey

Last month I visited Biofach, the world's biggest organic food and wellness fair, in Nuremburg. It's my favourite trade show as I get to meet many old friends and suppliers and find new sources of inspiration from people who more often than not understand the value of growing and producing sustainable good energy food.

Every year I go and every year I evolve my understanding of how to source, make and sell the right food, food that sustains us and sustains the planet. And I use this information to inform and guide decisions we make at Rude Health.

My first train of thought is all about the value of organic and the meaning of organic: when we started the business it was relatively easy to create an organic food business in the UK, because consumers would pay a premium for what was seen as a worthwhile kite mark. Now, in the UK, they will not. In fact there's been a backlash against organic, and many retailers will actively select foods that are not organic, particularly if they already have an organic equivalent in their selection - whether it's good food or not. The press, big food, even the government have had a high old time quashing any health and nutritional claims for organic foods…and, to make matters worse, the Soil Association and the more recently established Organic Trade Board, rather than focusing on nutritional research,  send out an endless chain of fluffy and confusing messages about the meaning of organic. There's a strong chance that when you ask a Swiss citizen what organic food provides, they're likely to reply: 'sustainable farming'. Ask many a British yummy mummy and they they're more inclined to think a while before coming up with a confusing and conflicting raft of health, taste, welfare and personal claims. 

My second series of thoughts are all about good nutrition and good provenance: since when should an organic pop tart be allowed to be sold as organic? Why can milk be sold as organic when it has being processed to oblivion and its good fats pulverised? How is it that a Chorleywood process loaf of sliced brown bread be labelled organic just because it contains highly refined flour of an organic origin, probably from Canada or even worse, from far way Australia? Who can justify selling organic snap peas in December from East Africa grown using wholly unsustainable ancient ground water? What regulatory organisation would condone issuing derogations in an instant to allow the use of conventional seed grain for organic arable farming? Did you know that despite all the cost and effort and paperwork  around being organic certified came to nothing when there was an oat contamination scandal a few years ago - when, would you believe it - the regulators could not trace the producer...

It's no surprise therefore, that I've now come to approach the sourcing of food with a more realistic understanding of who to trust and what's important. 

I look for foods that come from a sustainable, local (at worst regional) sources, from farmers or primary processors I can meet in person and get to know their practices, that grow and produce food that's not been chemically treated, contains no preservatives, is not fortified, is not refined or over-processed, is not extruded and is not sweetened with some sneaky sugars such as fruit juice, barley malt or fruit infusions. If the best tasting foods I find meet these criteria and are affordable and are also organic certified, then I'll choose them. If they're not organic certified but meet the above criteria, then I'll consider them too. I do not compromise on these values.

This is why we switched SuperFruity Muesli, No Flamin' Raisins Muesli, Morning Glory Porridge and Fruity Date Porridge from organic to conventional recently.  We've not raised our prices for these foods for years. Why not? We can't! If we do, we'll lose sales catastrophically. If we cheapen the ingredients we'll lose our faith and our values and our customers. So, we took the decision to maintain and indeed at times to reduce our prices by sourcing some of the ingredients without organic certification. All the ingredients come from the same suppliers and growers and many of the ingredients remain organic. All meet the criteria above. Many of the ingredients are now of better quality as we can choose our ingredients more widely from the same supplier/region.

You will also see that in our range of breakfast foods, a high percentage remain and will always be organic certified (and award winning too). This includes 2 granolas, 2 mueslis and 3 porridge - that's more than any other well distributed producer. This year we will be launching more new organic foods and drinks than conventional. 

                   So there we go, my rambling rant is over, and if you'd like to contribute   
                   to the debate, please come and rant with us at the Abergavenny food festival
                   this year!

                  For some further reading I highly recommend:

                  This NYT article inspired by pioneering farmers and growers:

                  http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/14/magazine/californias-central-valley-land-of-a-   
                  billion-vegetables.html?WT.mc_id=NYT-I-P-FOOD-MAG-101412-L1&_r=0

                  Or the evangelical logic of Joel Salatin:

                  http://www.amazon.co.uk/Folks-This-Aint-Normal 
                  Healthier/dp/0892968192/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1339393890&sr=8-1

Eyes & Ears: Episode 1

I spend my days here at Rude Health supporting our smaller independent shops.  I basically do all the fun stuff, which includes roaming around London tracking down the next best deli and health store, sampling our delicious foods, as well as spying on other foods. Whilst the others are glued to their desks, I have become what I like to call our ‘eyes and ears’.

As Londoners we tend to stick to our own areas and local favourite cafés and shops. I get to go to every neighbourhood discovering the best independent shops & cafés that London has to offer.  It seems only fair I share them with you too. So go on, check them out. Variety is the spice of life after all.

MinkiesDeli
First on my list is this very cool little deli in Kensal Rise. They are open for breakfast, lunch and dinner so there’s no excuse not to visit. The fact that they serve Rude Health porridge and granola is proof of their impeccable taste.  They also make beautiful hampers that you can put together yourself for any occasion. 

They are @minkiesdeli on Twitter. Or find them on Facebook.

Niven’s
I am very jealous of anybody that works near Kings Cross. My packed lunch just doesn’t compare to all the delicious street food available in the area. Niven’s really stands out from the crowd though with Niven himself dishing up freshly prepared breakfasts (including Fruity Date Porridge & Berry Granola) and lunches using only what’s in season.  Follow them @nivensfood on twitter to find out what’s on the menu today.

  

Alara’s Health Store & Organic Café
This isn’t just any little health store in Holborn. Aside from their very up-to-date range of foods and beauty products they offer a stunning array of international vegetarian and vegan lunches.  If you like the sound of a chickpea and spinach korma or a vegetarian lasagne for lunch, you must check this place out. They do a lot of samplings too, so I can guarantee that you won’t leave hungry.

Find out what's for lunch on Facebook . Or follow @alarashop on twitter.

I’ll be back with more places to discover soon. In the meantime if you’re a shop in London and would like me to come and sample our food then get in touch: tanita@rudehealth.com

How to make Oatmeal Porridge...

Not all porridge is created equal. Yes oatmeal does take a little more time and effort than porridge flakes, but it's worth it. Once you've tasted the comforting, rich, oaty smoothness, and felt the generous, sustaining energy from a bowl of well-made oatmeal, you'll be hooked. 

Why does it take longer to prepare? Because oatmeal is not a flaked grain. Unlike the steamed and rolled quick oat flakes - a late 19th Century invention - oatmeal is the oat groat (grain) cut into 3 (pinhead) or crushed (coarse/medium/fine grades). The Oatmeal has a blend of organic steel cut pinhead and medium oatmeal.

Cooked with water and sea salt, oatmeal porridge is the original oat porridge and with a little help from traditional methods and some practice it's easy and quick to make.

1. I begin in the time honoured way with an evening ritual, for which you'll need oatmeal, water, kettle, a bowl and a measuring cup - this one is 100ml. Here I'm making enough for Max (7), me and Camilla

2. Pour about 150ml of oatmeal into a bowl - making porridge is not a precise process

3. Warm some water, so it's tepid, not scalding. Add about 200ml of the warm water to the oatmeal and mix well. It'll look like a rich soup. Take a moment to smell your soaking oatmeal - it should have a wonderful, soothing velvety aroma. Put to one side overnight covered with a plate. Don't worry about where you put it - it doesn't need any more warmth.

4. By the next morning your soup will have set - the oatmeal has soaked up most of the water, and in doing so is now ready for cooking in less than 5 minutes.

5. Boil about 200ml of water with two pinches of good quality sea salt, and then tip in the soaked oatmeal and stir. Turn the heat down a little and let the oatmeal come to a simmer, stirring from time to time. At first the oatmeal will look very watery, but within moments it will begin to thicken as the grains soak up yet more water.

6. Reduce the heat so that oatmeal bloops and pops a little. With confidence and a low heat, you can put the lid on and let the oatmeal steam. For now, leave the lid off, and after a minute or so, taste for salt, and if the oatmeal is too thick add a little water at a time, and if you need salt add it now too, and then taste again after a good stir.

7. Keep stirring and tasting, checking for texture, bite, and saltiness. I like my oatmeal with a subtle hint of salt and a nourishing rich texture that I can pour slowly from the pan into a bowl.

Max and Camilla have maple syrup with theirs, and I like Irish apple syrup and a sprinkle of bee pollen. A melty topping of coconut oil or some home made ghee is good too. However we all like Guernsey raw cream from Hurdlebrook…Max and I share a bowl of this custard like luxury and take a scoop of the cold cream with a spoonful of oatmeal. Such a simple yet exquisite pleasure that's rooted in a crofting tradition: cream from the milk cow to share in the centre of the family breakfast table, and a bowl of oatmeal each. Perfect.

I'll be taking The Oatmeal to the The Golden Spurtle (World Porridge Championship) this year. In 2011 and 2012 it secured me a place in the final. This year I intend to win with it. Practice makes perfect.

Resolutely 'Unresolutely'.

I made one resolution this year. Not to make any resolutions. It worked well last year - I didn't default, fail or kick myself in December for under-achieving. In fact I raised a glass at New Year to the 'un-resolution' and vowed to continue in this steam and impart my wisdom on others.

I question the logic behind setting yourself up for something you didn't have the motivation to do at any other time in the year? My theory is might as well give it 100% throughout the year and anything else is a bonus.

It occurred to me, as we sat down as a team to taste all the new products we want to launch this year, that the same attitude applies here at Rude Health. When we're researching and developing new foods we're always considering the longevity of the product:

Can we source the ingredients sustainably and build long lasting relationships with suppliers?

Is it naturally tasty and nutritionally varied enough to make you want to eat it again the next day?

And does it give you the energy to fuel you for the day ahead, or in the case of our snacks, until your next meal?


If we tick all three we know we've got something we can put the Rude Health name to. We've already ticked a lot of boxes this year, so there will be more food to keep you in rude health, coming soon.



We're no flash in the pan after all.

Oats and Porridge. The Real Deal.

Strength, endurance, energy, beauty and perceptiveness. All are qualities attributed to the oat. The last two might be pushing it ever so slightly, the first three are bang on.

What has the oat got that other grains have not? Why are we, in the UK, eating porridge on a scale not seen since the introduction of Corn Flakes and sliced bread?

Take a handful of oats...

Let's start with the smell
Inviting, sweet and friendly, like an old pal.
Then there's the taste
Porridge is warming, comforting and familiar. Reason enough to love it.


Moving on to strength, energy and endurance.
Oats are rich in B vitamins, calcium, iron and magnesium. They provide slow release energy which means you'll feel fuller for longer and you won't be climbing the walls by 11am on a sugar crash. They are high in fibre, so keep you regular. You know what we are saying.

Finally Apparently oats can also boost your sex life.   

soak overnight in water...

Getting the most from your oats
To maximise your chance of getting at least 3 of the 5 qualities, you need to prepare your oats correctly. You should soak the oats in warm water overnight before cooking. 'Why?!' I hear you cry, as you dash between applying mascara/shaving and shoving lunch in your bag. Soaking breaks down the enzymes and in turn the phytic acid. And it's the phytic acid within the oat that reacts with the other nutrients and can block absorption within the gut - not great for digestion. Soaking the oats starts the process of breaking down the phytic acid, leaving less work and more nutrients for your stomach.  Cooking the oats by making them into porridge continues the process.

For those wanting an A* in nutrition, add a spoonful of live yoghurt when you soak the oats.  This energises the fermentation process, which further breaks down the difficult-to-absorb proteins. Read on.

stir gently and...

Milk or water?
So you've soaked the oats overnight and you're feeling smug. What next? That's up to you. If you like it creamy, mix 1 part oats to two parts milk. A purist? Go for 2 parts water and a pinch of flaked sea salt. On the fence? Try a combination of 1 part water to 1 part milk. Each to their own, there's no right or wrong. Then cook. This can take as little as 3 minutes on the hob.

here's one we made earlier...*

Once your porridge is cooked you're half way there. Now if you want to get the full benefit from those steaming oats add a dollop of cream. Yes. Cream. The fat in the cream aids the absorption of minerals, so not only is it darn tasty it's actually doing you some good. Now that's what we call porridge. Don't have cream to hand? Use butter. Stuck for topping ideas?  Raid the fruit bowl, dip into the jam or choose wild or unrefined sugars like maple syrup, honey, bee pollen or rapadura sugar. The possibilities are endless.

That's how we make porridge. What do you do?

*Well we didn't. But friend Lynne Clark did. So thanks Lynne.

Chocolate & Oats - The Love Affair Continues...

You're in rude health when...you kick off the working week with a whisky, chocolate and oat fuelled oatstravaganza. 

We knew it.  Oats and chocolate are a match made in heaven. So how could we resist a chance to prove it? Especially with Valentine’s Day bearing down on us. We couldn't.  Which is why we found ourselves surrounded by chocolate & oat lovers in the Chelsea chocolate boudoir of Marc DeMarquette, renowned chocolatier, ranter and World Porridge Championship Partner-in-crime, on Monday.

We started as we meant to go on, taking oats and chocolate to places they've never been before. Marc handed out steaming oat milk hot chocolates injected (literally) with a dose of Old Pulteney whisky and topped with cream. 

The night then went something like this:

Porridge demo and taste using our Daily Oats. Nick ranting about only using Halen Mon Finer Flake Sea Salt in his porridge. Oatmeal porridge demo and taste. Nick ranting about how he was robbed at the World Porridge Championships. 

Nick making oatmeal and talking, at the same time

Salty caramel demo by Marc.  Same Marc ranting about Nick’s loss at the World Porridge Championships. In case you haven't made salted caramel, it takes a pro to do it while talking about something else and not watching the pan.   

Marc talking and making salted caramel, at the same time

A Demarquette chocolate cup filled with salty caramel porridge for everyone as per our 2011 Golden Spurtle entry. The one that didn't win. Silence whilst everyone dribbles over how good it tastes.

Salted caramel porridge in a melting chocolate cup 

So all in all, a normal Monday evening.

See video here courtesy of implausibleblog.com and pictures here.