Bermondsey Farmers Market

On Saturday morning the American Vegetarian and I cycled down to our local farmers market to buy some seasonal veg.

Bermondsey Farmers Market is a small yet quaint market that sells vegetables, cheeses, bread, chutneys and some non veg produce as well. It's set in a square surrounded by two very nice cafes, an independent cinema and opposite the delightful Bermondsey Street.

The market is small so if you are looking for a bigger bolder market then Borough market is not too far away. But for local residents this is perfect. We cycled the very short 10 minutes to the market and wandered around the stalls. All the veg looked great, and I had to stop myself from buying more than we could eat. After trying some wonderful bread, cheeses and chutneys, we ended up buying some jerusalem artichokes, beetroot, carrots, ruby kale, and spinach as well as some real bread. And all of it costing less then it would have done in a chain supermarket.

The best thing I love about buying produce from farmers market is that once I get the food home I do very little cooking to the vegetables themselves, as the taste is all there. I spend more time washing the vegetables then I do cooking them.

I made a beetroot and carrot salad, and cooked the spinach in some Olive oil, lemon juice and then allowed it to steam in its own heat. Sliced and toasted the bread, and before you know it you have a very nice, organic healthy lunch in front of you..oh and don't forget the Saturday papers and a cup of coffee. Total weekend bliss.

Simple Spinach

Ingredients

1 bunch of spinach; thoroughly washed
Some olive oil
1 tbsp. of lemon juice
2 tbsp. of water
Salt and pepper to season

Method

Heat the oil in a pan, then add the rest of the ingredients and cover so it all cooks in its own heat for about 3-4 mins. Serve with some toasted bread.

Beetroot and Carrot salad

Ingredients

1 large beetroot; washed and peeled
1 carrot; washed
Some olive oil
A spoonful of honey (optional)
Salt & Pepper to season.
A handful of loosely crushed walnuts

Method

Grate both the beetroot and the carrots in a food processor. Then transfer to a large bowl and add the olive oil, and salt and pepper. Taste and add the honey if you feel it needs sweetening. Then top it off with the walnuts and mix well. I added the honey as the beetroot that I had tasted slightly bitter, so I needed to sweeten the taste out. The crushed walnuts add a lovely crunch to the salad as well.

Bermondsey Farmers Market, Bermondsey Square, SE1 3UN. Saturday from 10am-2pm

SAF Restaurant

On Saturday the American Vegetarian & I made reservations at SAF restaurant. A vegan raw food restaurant in the buzzing and eclectic area of Shoreditch. SAF stands for 'Simple Authentic Food', and it delivers by its name and so much more.

The menu at SAF is a mix of both raw food and cooked food (food which has been cooked over 48 degrees Celsius). The starters that we had were all raw and the flavours, textures, colour and taste that emanated from each plate was astounding. I wish I could cook (or not cook!) food like this. It is so inspirational to see vegan food that is this good. I guarantee that even the hardest of carnivore's would walk away satisfied after eating at SAF.

So on to the food. For starters we first had the Cucumber Consomme. We were presented with a jug of cucumber broth and a bowl of what can only be described as a crushed cucumber sorbet which was surrounded by herbs, and pink peppercorns. You pour the broth over the cucumber sorbet and watch it all dismantle until you have this extremely refreshing and cold cucumber 'soup'. It was amazing. I loved the theatre of the dish as well. Watching the dish change before you once you add the broth was exciting and ingenious. We also had the Blue Hemp Cheese, which is 'cultured pumpkin and hemp cheese'. This dish was also amazing. The presentation, flavour and texture of this dish is something that I can safely say I have not tasted before. The sweetness of the apricot chutney balanced well with the creaminess of the cultured hemp 'cheese'. It came with a slice of dehydrated tomato too and this thin little slice had so much flavour to it, more than any hydrated tomato I've had.

After our starters we were graciously given a complimentary starter from the chef. They have a new summer menu and said they just wanted our feedback. This was a first and a very welcome first. Either the chef really did want our feedback or because we were seated opposite the open kitchen he could easily see that once the food came, the talk went down to a minimum between us and all he saw was us swapping plates every so often. The complimentary third starter were Caviar Blinis. The 'cavier' was made from hemp and beetroot. Little balls of gorgeousness atop sourcream and a sweet potato base. Again, it was presented beautifully, and the different textures and flavours this dish possessed was just divine. All three starters were so good that I truly cannot pick a favourite.

For mains I ordered the Black Tofu and the American Vegetarian had the Seitan Kebabs. Both these dishes were not raw. I've only had seitan in New York where it is readily available in vegetarian places and also non veg places as a veggie option. Its the protein portion of wheat and its not so popular in the UK, and I'm not sure why. When the seitan kebabs arrived, there were two skewers, which looked like a lot and I felt the dish could have done with just the one skewer. The Black Tofu came with two pieces of tofu and I felt it could have done with a third piece. The tofu was marinated superbly in a miso dressing, and came served with rice, kimchee and bak choi. Both dishes tasted amazing, but if I could have swapped a kebab for another piece of tofu I would have.

After all this food, we were actually too full for dessert. Which was ok, as it gave us a reason to go back and try the desserts only!

The decor, service and atmosphere is great at SAF, and the menu is so inviting that you wonder why there are not more people enjoying raw food. They also boast a fantastic botanical cocktail menu and cucumber flavoured tap water on tap. I love SAF and urge anyone, vegetarian or not, to go and have a SAF experience. You'll walk away amazed at the variety of vegetarian food, and come back for more.

SAF Restaurant
152-154 Curtain Road
London, EC2A 3AT
020 7613 0007
www.safrestaurant.co.uk