It's an interesting book, and one that kind of consolidated a few things that had been rolling around in my mind for a while. There's a lot in the book that I know is beyond my abilities - think making your own paper by recycling your old scrap paper at home - but there's equally a lot more I can get behind.
I didn't really think of me and Mr Flicking the Vs as a particularly waste-generating couple, but now I've got my eye in, I'm surprised at how many single use and non-recyclable plastics pass through our kitchen. (Side note: does anyone know where there are bulk-buying places in London - you know, where you can take in your own containers and buy cereal and stuff in bulk? I've heard of Unpackaged but alas that's miles away from me.)
Until I find somewhere that sells all the dry goods that I need in a totally nude format, I'll have to keep finding other ways to save on packaging.
So, the other day, rather than get a loaf of sliced bread, I thought I'd make my own. And, to take advantage of having the oven on (I don't want to waste energy too!) I baked a load of potatoes and used the innards to make a loaf of tattie scones -- another thing I've been guilty of been picking up in a throw-away plastic packet before!
Tattie scones are the best breakfast food ever. They're just carb on carb, with a side of carbs, and what could be better than that? I think they're Scottish in origin, and they're just make for a breakfast that involves vegan sausages, baked beans, and fried mushrooms.
Tattie scones
Makes four
Ingredients
150g potato mash
40g flour
knob of vegan butter or equivalent
How you do it
At some point when you've got your oven on for something else, whack in a couple of spuds to roast. Once they're cooked, scrape out the insides, and mash them up with the flour, vegan butter, and a generous (as in generous) amount of salt and pepper. Use the empty skins for something else (like these loaded skins, for example.)
Once the mash has cooled down (you can leave it in the fridge for a couple of days if you're not in the mood to make up your scones straight away), knead it until it becomes a dough, then roll out the dough til it's about half a centimetre thick.
Fry it in more generous amounts of vegan butter for about 5 minutes on each side (you're waiting for the raw flour taste to cook out more than anything).
Enjoy as part of an artery-clogging vegan breakfast.
Carb on carb with a side of carbs! Tremendous! I get a weekly veg box which reduces on waste a bit as it all comes in a wooden box, but our local council is absolutely crap at recycling which means a lot of plastic goes to landfill. I used to live in a neighbouring council that was much better, it's a shame. I'm definitely into the idea of bulk buying my dried goods and wotnot, I might check that out :)
ReplyDeleteI love tattie scones and like them even better for being easy to make at home.
ReplyDeleteAs for recycling - we had a show here called war on waste last week that made me feel shameful about throwing out anything - not that I don't! It was about plastics but also about the supermarkets being so fussy about what fruit and veg is sold that heaps gets wasted. Re your looking for a bulk buying place, does your university do this - I know mine did and still does this.
I have not had or made a tattie scone sine movign back to Wales. When I lived in Scotland, I would have it quite a bit, esp. over the w/e.
ReplyDeleteOnce upon a time, there were quite a few places that sold bulk dried goods, but they have all sadly closed down. Now its in the much bigger cities, saying that I don't think anywhere in Cardiff does this ?! I do my bit, food waste and peelings always goes into the compost bin, but I know we as a couple still have so far to go re plastics, though the council here is getting better at collecting recyclable waste.
I won't be making my own paper any time soon but I can certainly use both sides of a scrap of paper before recycling it. I do my part to reduce the use of plastics, just wished manufacturers do more with earth-friendly packaging.
ReplyDeleteAwesome use of baked potatoes! I've never heard of a tattie scone before but I want one. Or two. Ok, three. :-)
I've never heard of tattie scones, and now I'm intrigued! Looks delicious! I recently donated all of my plastic tupperware and am sticking to glass, but it is hard to cut down on packaging from products...
ReplyDeleteGreat recipe. Yes, it would be nice to have somewhere you can fill your own containers. Weigh and Save places were big round where I live in the 80's and early 90's but the only one I've seen in recent years was in North Wales!
ReplyDeleteLovely to see a straightforward recipe to make potato scones at home! I really like them but have never thought to make my own. I also relate to your concerns about waste - I think we don't generate much, but then look at our bins, and we definitely do. I suspect most of us have room to improve.
ReplyDeleteTattie scones! Yum! I'm excited to learn that I could make these at home, they aren't a staple in my kitchen but I definitely buy them occasionally. I've been looking at cutting back on plastic waste but it's been pretty challenging whilst travelling. I hope to get better at it when I'm home! I already refuse plastic bags (a very weird thing to do in some Asian countries!), try not to get drinks with straws or plastic lids, and carry a refillable water bottle but I definitely end up with a lot more plastic than I'd like. If you find a good place to buy ingredients in bulk I'd love to see a post about it.
ReplyDeleteWhy have I never heard of tattie scones? I love anything carb on carb!! I'd be interested in hearing if you find of any places like Unpackaged. I've been reading a few zero waste blogs and would love to cut down but I'm finding bulk buying frustratingly difficult in London. I live round the corner from where Unpackaged used to be in Islington and it's so frustrating there isn't anything else locally. I remember shopping there when it was still open and I had to walk quite a ways to get there, but now there's just nothing like it anywhere in London as far as I can tell! Barcelona's full of old fashioned bulk type shops, I miss that!
ReplyDeleteKind of like potato pancakes! About the plastic, it's chaos, isn't it? I didn't realize how much plastic film we used until I began collecting it to recycle. We can't put it in the recycling bin but I've found a place that takes it. It hurts my eyes to see it piling up, and much of it is hard to avoid. It seems that everything comes in plastic. We do buy most dry goods in bulk, but there's still so much plastic!
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