| The Fairtrade Everyday Cookbook |
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| Reviewed by Ceri Balston | ||
| Wednesday, 11 June 2008 | ||
   Consultant Editor: Sophie Grigson  Wow! What a fantastic book! Not only are the recipes contained in this book completely delicious but they also, with at least one of the ingredients or flavourings carrying the Fairtrade label, highlight the importance of being a conscious consumer.By buying Fairtrade certified products shoppers help to ensure that the small-scale farmers and workers in developing countries receive a fair price for the goods they produce. They also receive an additional premium that is spent on local community development projects empowering them to create positive change for the future in their community. Now the Fairtrade movement may not be particularly visible here in SA (in fact to our knowledge you’ll only find the Fairtrade label on products that have been imported from the UK) so South African’s will unfortunately have trouble getting the suggested Fairtrade chocolate, fruits, and spices and so on. But what is really excellent about the book is that it will make you stop and think about where your food is coming from, how it was made and what impact its production has had on the environment and the people involved in making it. When we were shopping around for ingredients for the recipe included below, for example, we found ourselves reading various chocolate wrappers and egg boxes and selecting the most ethical choice each time, it was certainly refreshing to really stop and think about our contribution and impact as consumers. We enjoyed the fact that the book is a collection of winning recipes that were submitted by a community of Fairtrade supporters including Olypmic rower Sir Steve Redgrave, novelist Joanne Harris, The River Café’s Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, and of course the general public. This really adds to the sense of community and global unity that the Fairtrade movement embodies. There is a mix of recipes in the book, with the usual starters, salads, snacks, mains, and desserts (including a number of vegetarian options), all arranged into tempting chapters such as “Fill Me Up!”, and “I Must Have Something Sweet Right Now!”, “Light Bites” and “Guilty Pleasures”. Flicking through the pages you quickly realise that there’s a slight imbalance towards the sweeter side of eating which perhaps is just a reflection of what happens when asking the public for recipe submissions, everyone loves a great dessert! We guess that it’s also because the majority of Fairtrade ingredients imported from developing nations are fruits, spices and chocolates. At first we were a bit overwhelmed with how many delicious recipes are contained in the book so we were particularly grateful when we found that number of the recipes are endorsed with the “Highly Recommended” stamp of approval. Upon its discovery we then wasted no time in rustling up the ingredients to make Hot Dark Chocolate Fondant which we believe is simply the best chocolate dessert in existence, a must for all chocolate lovers! See below…
The book also includes a short introduction to the Fairtrade movement with stories from some of the farmers whose lives it has helped improve. There’s also an excellent reference section at the back that includes a huge list of Fairtrade ingredients to look out for, some everyday Fairtrade ideas, and a list of website addresses of stores that are stocking Fairtrade products (sadly again, these are all UK based). Read more about Fairtrade at www.fairtrade.org.uk and enjoy being a conscious consumer!  |
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This is the powerful story of the author's struggle with Multiple Sclerosis and how a healer's unusual prescription of mindful altruism - to 'give away 29 gifts in 29 days' - ignited her energy, her happiness, and invited more abundance into her life.
