The other night Senor and I went with Sister & Beau to the very good Da Gianni Trattoria in Annandale. Great food. And accompanying my delicious lamb was a very fine, very simple white bean & tomato number that I kept yearning for later on. As you know, round these parts we love anything with a pulse – but unlike lots of bean dishes this one was zingy, light and fresh. So I had a shot at replicating it a few days later, and while mine wasn’t exactly as good as the restaurant’s, it was near enough to get the compliments we kitchen kids secretly crave …

Happily, I was able to use some of the slow-roasted tomatoes I had already made (from the home-grown glut, you understand *preen*).  You could use canned cannellini beans but one of the best things about this dish was the only-just-tender, firm texture of the beans, and I reckon canned ones could go a bit slushy. So I say live dangerously, do the soaking thing and the result will be much better. I used whatever white dried beans were in the pantry (since I solved my bean dilemmas of yore I have given up caring what the difference may be between navy, cannellini, haricot & so on).

• 1 cup dried white beans
• 4 slow-roasted tomatoes (there’s a bit here on slow-roasting – easypeasy, but takes time)
• 6 anchovies, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• juice ½ lemon
• 1 bunch chives, finely chopped (if you use garlic chives, skip the garlic above)
• 4 basil leaves, cut into fine ribbons
• 1 slug best quality olive oil
• salt & pepper

1. Soak the beans overnight, drain and cook in boiling water until just tender. Drain & cool.

2. Chop the tomatoes as finely as possible without turning to mush.

3. Ditto with the anchovies.

4. Gently toss all ingredients together, adjusting the balance of oil, lemon & salt as you go. Done, and delicious.

]]> http://smcinvestment.wordpress.com/2010/02/06/food-inflation-rises-for-the-second-week/ Sat, 06 Feb 2010 07:05:41 +0000 smcinvestmentindia http://smcinvestment.wordpress.com/2010/02/06/food-inflation-rises-for-the-second-week/

Hello Friends here we come up with the Latest Agri Commodities updates from various parts of the country.

.

Food Inflation Rises for the Second Week

.

Food inflation rises for the second week

.

Annual food inflation rose for the second week on the trot, affirming RBI’s fears of a spill over into other commodities and services and mounting pressure on the government to take more measures to arrest prices.

.

Annual inflation in food articles rose to 17.56 per cent for the week ended January 23 from 17.4 per cent in the previous week, partly due to a poor harvest after the worst monsoon in nearly three decades, according to data released by the commerce ministry on Thursday.

.

While prices of wheat, pulses and vegetables have increased, cereals and rice have become cheaper.

.

Fuel price inflation, in tandem with global oil prices, increased to 5.88 per cent from 5.7 per cent in the previous week, spurred by a spike in light diesel oil and furnace oil prices.

.

The wider inflation, as measured by the wholesale price index (WPI), has already risen to 7.31 per cent for December, forcing RBI to raise its forecast to 8.5 per cent for the fiscal year-end.

.

In Other major Commodities Update, there is a news of Centre approving the largest quantity of wheat under its open market sale scheme (OMSS) for bulk buyers to consumers in the North zone and India’s corn exports could drop by 60 %in the year.

.

Nod for salve of 4.4 Lt wheat in North:

.

The Centre has approved the largest quantity of wheat amounting to 4.43 lakh tonne under its open market sale scheme (OMSS) for bulk buyers to consumers in the North zone.

.

Sources said, for bulk consumers in South zone around 2,01,000 tonne of wheat has been approved by the government for sale from Food Corporation of India (FCI) godowns till now.

.

While for East zone, largely comprising of states like West Bengal, Orrisa and Bihar, around 63,900 tonne of wheat has been approved.

.

Almost 1,07,000 tonne of wheat has been approved for sale in West zone of the country and 9,500 tonne has been approved for North-Eastern states.

.

Of the 8.4 lakh tonne of wheat, approved in total, almost 77% amounting to around 6.36 lakh tonne has been lifted by bulk consumers till Wednesday.

.

.

Corn exports likely to decline 60% this year:

.

India’s corn exports could drop by 60 % in the year to September due to a poor domestic crop, quality issues, lower global prices and good crop prospects overseas, traders and industry officials said on Thursday.

.

Likely exports are between 1.0-1.3 million tonne due to late harvests because of the drought and rising domestic demand, Amit Sachdev, India representative of the US Grains Council said.

.

.

Note : For More Latest Industry, Stock Market and Economy News and Updates, please Click Here

This is one of those ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’ dishes: lentil tabbouleh, from Greg & Lucy Malouf’s Saha book. In fact, this combo is so obvious, you all probably eat it five times a week, but it’s a delicious revelation to me.

While you could easily do this with canned lentils, I used dried Puy lentils as per the recipe and was reminded again how fantastic they are – they hold their shape so beautifully, and the ever-so-slightly-squeaky texture is a brilliant contrast to the soft moistness of the other ingredients.

My only tip is to add the tomatoes at the last minute before serving, as they start to lose their colour a little once mixed in.

100g Puy lentils

juice 1 lemon

1 cup mint leaves, chopped

1 cup parsley, chopped

3 shallots, finely chopped

2 tomatoes, seeded & diced (this is one occasion where I actually do seed the tomatoes, to prevent sludginess)

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground allspice

salt & pepper

I’m pretty sure you can figure out what to do now – cook the lentils in boiling water for 20 mins or so, till just tender; cool; chuck everything in!

]]> http://tjefferson85.com/2010/01/26/thinker/ Tue, 26 Jan 2010 20:08:47 +0000 Tony Jefferson http://tjefferson85.com/2010/01/26/thinker/ http://smcinvestment.wordpress.com/2010/01/18/area-sowing-of-rabi-crops-crosses-last-year-level/ Mon, 18 Jan 2010 06:38:22 +0000 smcinvestmentindia http://smcinvestment.wordpress.com/2010/01/18/area-sowing-of-rabi-crops-crosses-last-year-level/

Hello Friends here we come up with the Latest Agri Commodities updates from various parts of the country.

.

Area sown under Rabi wheat picks up

.

Area sown under Rabi wheat picks up

.

Sowing of Rabi wheat, rice, coarse cereals and pulses has crossed last year’s level but there is a decline of about 6.2 per cent in the acreage of oilseeds.

.

The shortfall in oilseed is mainly due to the decline in acreage of mustard in Rajasthan on account of poor weather conditions.

.

A crop and weather watch group coordinated by the Ministry of Agriculture reviewed the situation on Friday.

.

It was informed that as against a coverage of 88.85 lakh hectares in oilseeds last year, so far 83.33 lakh hectares had been sown this year.

.

The shortfall was in mustard, groundnut, safflower, and Seamus sowing.

The area under pulses, however, increased to 125.60 lakh hectares this rabi, against 120.84 lakh hectares in the corresponding period last year.

.

The highest area coverage was in Madhya Pradesh, followed by Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka.

.

In the case of wheat, the area sown so far is 260.71 lakh hectares compared to 255.62 lakh hectares last year.

.

Sowing in Uttar Pradesh was delayed owing to a late harvest of the kharif sugarcane crop.

The area under coarse cereals stood at 326.20 lakh hectares as against 324.04 lakh hectares in the corresponding period last year.

.

Rabi rice was sown in 4.55 lakh hectares against 3.61 lakh hectares last year.

.

—

In Other major Commodities Updates there is news of government allowing import of refined sugar at zero duty up to December 31 this year.

—

.

Govt allows duty free sugar imports till Dec end

.

The government allowed import of refined sugar at zero duty up to December 31 this year in the wake of sweetener prices nearing Rs 50 a kg in the retail market.

.

The Cabinet Committee on Prices (CCP) also decided to permit UP mills to process imported raw sugar outside the state due to restrictions there.

.

Import of white sugar was allowed till March 31 this year earlier.

.

.

Note : For More Latest Industry, Stock Market and Economy News and Updates, please Click Here

There have been a lot of stews, casseroles and curries cooking in my kitchen recently. I have to admit that salad has not featured very heavily during the cold snap*. After trudging home in the sludge, all I’ve been craving is rich and spicy bowl food, complete with meat and carbs, to satisfy my bottomless hunger and give my insides a good warming. This dish was inspired by Ellie’s chorizo and barley stew. I just can’t get enough of the subtle heat and depth released when chorizo, red wine and tinned tomatoes meet.

I prefer to use chicken on the bone for this casserole, it makes for messy eating but that’s part of the fun.  Find your largest frying pan or hob-safe casserole dish and warm a slug of olive oil. Fry the chicken (legs, breasts, thighs or a mixture) skin side down over a high heat until the skin has crisped, turn and cook the other side until lightly browned. Remove and set aside. Turn the heat down to minimum and add a little more oil, a chopped onion, a finely sliced fennel bulb, 2 finely sliced garlic cloves and some chorizo (diced or sliced and how much is up to you really). Be patient and let everything soften and turn red with the oil from the chorizo. Then pour in a glass of red wine and scrape at the bottom of the pan to release the sticky tasty bits left behind by the chicken. Add a tin of tomatoes (plum or chopped), 500ml of chicken stock, a can of canellini or butter beans, a bay leaf or two, salt, pepper and the chicken. Leave to simmer with the lid off until the sauce has thickened (about 30-40 minutes).

Put some potatoes on to boil in salted water for 10 minutes and turn the grill on high. Slide two or three whole peppers (I used red and yellow) as close to the grill as possible. Let them burn on one side, then turn them over and let the other side burn too. By burning the peppers you give them a wonderful smokiness and soft smooth texture. When cool enough to touch, peel the burnt skin away, discard the seeds, and roughly chop the flesh before throwing into the stew. Drain the potatoes and cut into whatever size you prefer to find in a casserole – this is quite a personal choice I find! Just before you serve the stew, stir in the potatoes and a generous squeeze of lime. Serve with coriander, natural yogurt and a glass of red.

*The snow has melted now so tonight it’s time to get back on the salads… I have squid, broccoli, chicory and radishes in mind.  Watch this space.

While shaking the globe
shiny tiny visions
shook suddenly through the
crystal covered snow fall
dazzling from the outside
sensuous from the inside…
***
Radical dreamers
Rational believers
sharing their visions
in a sensuous snow storm.

Yo.
Listen.
2009 was a blast. I’m hearing all kinds of folk wishing it was different, wishing it hadn’t happened. People who don’t want to go back.

Not me. I loved the shit out of 2009.

The year started with a continued interest in Sky ‘n Dave. Profound efforts to improve on our sketch comedy bits. Dave and I put out our best efforts and displayed the top of the crop in film for our film elective which opened up the door for individual projects. How fucking awesome.

The music department has become huge in my life now. Magazine Avenue is no longer a small project. We’ve got attention around Savannah and we LOVE the music we put forth. We’re proud of the sound we’ve come to and enjoy playing onstage. Beginning 2010 with not one now, but TWO gigs, I’m hoping is a good omen. Maybe sometime this year we’ll record a demo…or an album…? (Talk to me potential producers).

My involvement in the production department at SCAD blew open. Working in paint on Shape and Carousel. And then building the set for All in the Timing. Up to obtaining a position on the scene shop work study crew while building and painting two shows last quarter. On top of that, busting ass in my production classes and creating my best design work so far. This next quarter is iffy, I’m pretty damn nervous.

As far as theatre in general goes for 2010, I couldn’t be happier. Specifically in Denver, I’ve secured a place in the community where after working for the LIDA project and Vicious Trap they know my work and over the winter break contacted me asking for help with a new show. I think it’s safe to say I have a place in art in the Denver theatre scene.

On top of all of this, I’ve made better friends than I’ve ever had. My best friends are guys I found I can hardly wait to see when I get back to school. Being the first one in town yesterday out of my small posse was a little painful. And with all the work this past year and the fun of starting up a youtube video duo as well as a five piece band that is seemingly going places, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t absolutely love the dudes, Davey and Justin. No poseurs for me.

No real final conclusion, just that I’m nervous to begin 2010 because I dug 2009 so much. Feels like playing with an entirely new deck for some reason. Dunno why.

India claims to have brought in green revolution. The green revolution is reported to have been brought mainly by introduction of high yielding and drought resistant varieties and increased use of chemical fertilizers. It is a fact that more than anything, for increasing production irrigation is required. India has failed to provide irrigation to the extent possible. Rainfall in India is neither low nor high, over large parts of the country. Comparison between India and China shows, how India is failing in agricultural production and yield.

Except in sugarcane, yield is much lower in India than in China.  Government has to take urgent action to increase the irrigation facilities by digging new lakes, deepening existing lakes, connecting rivers with lakes, linking rivers wherever possible, draining rainwater into the nearby lakes and harvesting rain water etc.  If these are done, there is no need to subsidize sale of fertilizers, electric power supply for pump sets etc. as increase in yield will take care of the higher costs of fertilizers, power etc.

Introduction of courses on water management in all major universities could be considered.

Following is a report from expressbuzz.com:

Short supply of certified seeds has hit cultivation of pulses and oilseeds in Kalahandi. After farmers incurred heavy loss in the last kharif season due to moisture-stress condition, the Agriculture Department decided to give priority to cultivation of pulses and oilseeds in the current rabi season considering the favourable climatic conditions.

Besides, farmers showed interest following the intervention of National Food Security Mission which aimed at increasing production of rice and pulses in a sustainable manner, restoring soil fertility and enhancing farm economy.

The department had decided to cover 2,15,433 hectares (ha) under rabi crops. This include 53,913 ha under paddy, 1,00,000 ha for pulses and 27,450 ha under oilseeds cultivation. The remaining land would be used for vegetable cultivation. The department had placed demand for supply of 3,500 quintals of certified pulses seeds for the district with the Directorate of Agriculture to be sold to farmers through the Agriculture Department sale centres. However, just 300 quintals of seeds have been provided to farmers till now.  

Under such circumstances, farmers are forced to buy seeds from local market. As against the target of 1,00,000 ha, so far 40,250 ha have been covered under pulses. Short supply of certified seeds has hit cultivation of pulses and oilseeds in Kalahandi. After farmers incurred heavy loss in the last kharif season due to moisture-stress condition, the Agriculture Department decided to give priority to cultivation of pulses and oilseeds in the current rabi season considering the favourable climatic conditions.

Besides, farmers showed interest following the intervention of National Food Security Mission which aimed at increasing production of rice and pulses in a sustainable manner, restoring soil fertility and enhancing farm economy.

The department had decided to cover 2,15,433 hectares (ha) under rabi crops. This include 53,913 ha under paddy, 1,00,000 ha for pulses and 27,450 ha under oilseeds cultivation. The remaining land would be used for vegetable cultivation. The department had placed demand for supply of 3,500 quintals of certified pulses seeds for the district with the Directorate of Agriculture to be sold to farmers through the Agriculture Department sale centres. However, just 300 quintals of seeds have been provided to farmers till now.

Under such circumstances, farmers are forced to buy seeds from local market. As against the target of 1,00,000 ha, so far 40,250 ha have been covered under pulses.

There has been no shortage since November of news reports and analyses about the food inflation. The 19% annual rise in fact masks widespread individual urban centres’ price shocks and individual food item trends. I have tried to unpack the year-on-year ‘national’ food inflation number using data from the Ministry Of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution – Department Of Consumer Affairs (Price Monitoring Cell). My guess is that this data is an under-estimate but is useful for spotting trends.

I collected prices for the 36 cities tracked by the PM Cell, monthly from 2007 December. Based on a small basket of staples (rice, wheat, atta, tur dal, sugar, gud, tea, milk, potato, onion, salt) a crude index shows that in 33 out of 36 cities, the 24 month (07 Dec to 09 Dec) rise in prices of items in this basket is more than 24%, and that in 23 cities it is more than 50%.

Food inflation 2009 over 2007 in Indian cities

About price increases in rural settlements I can find no organised information at all, although direct experience in western Maharashtra, Karnataka and Goa tells me that a staples basket can cost up to 2-3% more than in urban areas. (Agmarknet collects and maintains detailed mandi prices for farm produce but there is no comparable effort for rural retail food staples.)

The National Sample Survey 61st Round (2004 July-2005 June) on ‘Household Consumer Expenditure in India’ put down the finding that out of every rupee that the average rural Indian spent on household consumption, 55 paise was spent on food and mainly:
18 paise was spent on cereals
8 paise on milk & milk products
6 paise on vegetables
5 paise on sugar, salt & spices
5 paise on beverages, refreshments, processed food, purchased cooked meals, etc

Of the non-food expenditure 10 paise was spent on fuel for cooking and lighting.

I have tried to maintain this weightage in my calculation, but it is really no more than a crude reckoning because I haven’t been able to spend the time to clean up the publicly available data – querying the website database of Dacnet (Dept of Agriculture and Cooperation) or FCAMin returns report formats that are terribly messy, even though they contain useful data. (Although I think there may be differences even between these for the same foods and same date ranges.)

Based on what I have seen and heard on the field in Karnataka, Goa and western Maharashtra (and learnt about Gujarat and eastern UP from others) the available food basket seems to be shrinking (the so-called ‘coarse’ cereal group is conspicuously less), and where families have young and teenaged children there is pressure to buy processed and packaged snack foods (which is really a blight in our small rural markets). There are all sorts of oddities about the form that food takes in these markets – the price of a 50 gram pack of biscuits for example (Parle Glucose is the standard) has hardly moved in the last 3-4 years yet at the same point-of-purchase end, look at the way the prices of ground wheat have moved.

Then there’s fuel and transport to account for, more about which you’ll find here. This question needs much more work in 2010 to strengthen some of the reliable data we have with updates, and to try to build in what we see and hear and sense from conversations with those who live and work in all those tahsils and talukas and blocks and mandals. I feel very strongly that we are lacking in our data the presence and impact of the many linkages that connect and influence the rural farming/labour household. Many of the measures we have have served us well but I think need to be supplemented – how to integrate the lessons and findings from the comprehensive National Family Health Survey, the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, the many studies into the income-providing measures of NREGA.

Even though we worry about what the rural/urban poor household must spend on, the attraction to buy mobile phones amazes me. I have met young men who earn around Rs 4,000 a month but who have bought Samsung mobile phones costing Rs 5,000! Imagine spending more than a month’s income on a phone, I asked them, but they saw nothing worrying about their expenditure. Retailers who sell mobile phones used to keep the low cost and hardy Nokia phones which 3 years ago cost around Rs 1,700-1,800 (mine is still working), but not any longer, or they work at discouraging those who ask for the relatively cheaper phones. Much more than the hundred-dollar laptop we need the thousand-rupee mobile phone.

The image is of a chart I made for the project group I work with (part of the National Agricultural Innovation Project, it’s called Agropedia and you can read more about it here). This chart helps point to some patterns (you can download the hi-res image here). I’m curious for example about Gujarat, whose grain and commodity traders have a long and murky history of hoarding. The North-Eastern cities could be insulated to some extent from the regional transport subsidy (road and rail). Cities in the Deccan are relatively better off than North Indian cities. The big difference between Chandigarh and Mandi is puzzling.

In his hugely interesting paper, ‘India And The Great Divergence: Assessing The Efficiency Of Grain Markets In 18th and 19th Century India‘, Roman Studer (University of Oxford, Discussion Papers in Economic and Social History, Number 68, November 2007) has written: “Prior to the mid-nineteenth century, the grain trade in India was essentially local, while more distant markets remained fragmented. This is not to say that no grain was traded over longer distances, but the extent was very limited, as the prices from some 36 cities all over India still exhibited various characteristics of isolated markets.”

“First, annual price fluctuations were extremely high. Second, differences in price levels between markets were very pronounced and persisted until well into the nineteenth century. Third, apart from neighbouring villages or cities, price series from different markets did not show comovements at all.” Studer looked at century-old data, but we still have 36 cities to tell us about staple food retail prices! Also, the three characteristics he mentions can be seen today too.

Happy New Year!

Hello Friends here we come up with an extension of our previous blog, INFLATION

–  “THE SILENT CREEPER” Part 2.

.

INFLATION – “THE SILENT CREEPER” Part 3

–

In previous Blog we had touched upon the possible Measures to check inflation.

.

Now in this part we would look into other concerns in Indian economy regarding the parameters to check inflation.

.

–

Concerns in Indian Economy Regarding Inflation :

.

Apart from reasons and measures to check inflation, other concern in Indian economy is the parameters to check inflation.

.

It is well known that India is the only country which considered WPI (Wholesale Price Index) while rest of the countries measured CPI (Consumer Price Index).

.

WPI consists of 435 goods over 1993-94, as base year in which the weightage of food items is only 16%, which has large weightage of consumer spending in India.

.

Though WPI in India is still in single digit, if we consider CPI it is already in double digit due to dearer farm articles and their higher weightage in measures.

.

In CPI, food articles have 50% weightage.

Hence there is a wide gap between the weightage of food articles of WPI and CPI, which are unable to give the clear pictures.

.

Furthermore, 2/3rd of the price quotations used to calculate the WPI are sourced from only four metros.

Hence to get the real picture, area should be widened.

.

comparison between food inflation and WPI from January, 2008 to October, 2009.

.

In the above chart, it is a comparison between food inflation and WPI from January, 2008 to October, 2009.

.

Line chart is representing WPI monthly inflation whereas bar chart is indicating food article inflation.

.

It appears that food article inflation is on continuous rise while WPI monthly inflation saw both side movements.

.

It has started its northward journey in the month of March-April and it is still continued.

.

Arrival of kharif crop is less likely to cool it as we are expecting 18% decline in kharif crop.

.

Hence downside will be limited, rather it may move in a range with upside bias.

.

–

The words of future RBI (Reserve Bank of India) has revised its outlook for inflation and expecting that it should be between the range of 5% to 6-6.5% for the year ending March 2010.

.

There is a fear in the economy that the real impact of almost 18% drop in kharif rice production is to reflect in inflation.

.

It would occur when kharif produce; rice, pulses, oilseeds and cereals would start coming in the market.

.

With witnessing favourable weather conditions, economy is expecting strong rabi produce, which may cool off inflation of food articles to some extent.

However, we cannot rule out the possibility adverse weather.

.

Ultimately what matters is final produce and yield.

Government has to take care of everything like, demand –supply equilibrium, money supply, distribution etc.

.

Otherwise it will become nightmare for “aam admi” and hamper the economic growth.

.

.

Note : For More Latest Industry, Stock Market and Economy News and Updates, please click here

111. My Young Nose

Jerusalem has one delicious smell -

a fried chickpea
raucous savoury

cooked in tantalising mouthful balls
it sizzles aroma from grubby stalls

suffused with donkey and camel
my first taste of street falafel.

- From ‘Jerusalem‘, in The Bee Hut*

Dorothy Porter, the sassy, electrically vibrant poet and writer, died a little over a year ago. She was loved by many people; not just those who knew her, but her readers – and her students. I’m not sure if she taught regularly but many years ago, when she had just published a collection of poetry called Driving Too Fast, Dorothy Porter came to a university writing class of mine to give a one-hour workshop.

This was an important lesson for me as a young thing; not just about writing, but about sensitivity and compassion. I was in my early twenties, and most of the class were just out of school. But there was another woman, aged maybe about thirty-five or forty, in our class. I am ashamed to say she was pretty much routinely ignored by the younger people in the room. She was quiet, and seemed downcast much of the time.  There were occasional rumours about her being a junkie, and a single parent, but most of the time she was invisible to us. Except, that is, for the day Dot Porter came to class.

We did some writing exercise I now can’t remember, but it involved having to put some emotional truth on the page. Young people are not so equipped for emotional truth on the page, I recall from my own early writings and from much of what I’ve seen as a teacher. My own writing at that stage involved either still trying to protect myself from that kind of thing (truth, that is) and instead impress with my world-weariness or – sadly, I suspect, more often – I self-dramatised, exaggerating every workaday observation into Art, which at that age so often equated with Angst. Lyrical as hell, full of texture and colour and Beauteous Sensuous Detail but you know … lordy, I am weary just remembering it. Erk.

Anyway, we read our bits and pieces, desperate to impress Dorothy, who was kind and funny and sexy and generous. And then the woman we all ignored read; something simple – and if I had even paid it any attention, I would have presumed it dull – about loneliness. We rolled our eyes, if not directly at Dorothy, then at each other, or just in our own minds. And then I learned my lesson. Dorothy Porter rested her gaze – that powerful, thrilling gaze of hers – on this woman, and listened intently. Then she allowed a silence before praising the woman’s work. And then she said, looking coolly around the class at the rest of us, that throughout history artists had wrestled with the psychological and spiritual demons that this piece of writing – a truthful piece of writing – was showing us. And she turned her life-giving smile and warmth back to the woman and thanked her for her work.

A big, important, kick up the arse for young smartypantses, and I never forgot it.

From that day I was a huge fan of Dorothy’s, and was lucky enough to meet her a couple of times many years later, when I had published my own work. She was electric. Anybody who ever heard her read knows how the air crackled when Dorothy spoke. It’s what I remember most – the physical charge you felt fizzing through you when she read poetry.

A few weeks ago I went to the new Meanjin Dorothy Porter Prize announcement here in Sydney, where the writer Andrea Goldsmith, Dorothy’s beloved partner, spoke of ‘Dot’, as those close to her knew her, and read from her posthumously published new collection, The Bee Hut. This collection is pretty breathtaking. If you’ve sometimes felt shut out from poetry, as I occasionally do, buy this book. You will be drawn in and demolished by it.

The other day I heard Andrea Goldsmith (whose own novel Reunion is urgently on my must-read list)  talk about writing, about grief and about Dorothy, and read from The Bee Hut on The Book Show. The interview is riveting; her reading of Dorothy’s ‘The Ninth Hour’ is devastating.

Anyway – I thought of Dorothy Porter the other night, because I was making chickpeas for dinner. Not falafel – I tried that a few weeks ago and ended up with a miserable disaster as they repeatedly dissolved into a fizzy mess – but an easy chickpea fritter. It’s quite delicious, and holds together just fine. We gobbled up lots, and then froze the leftover mix for later.

Chick pea fritters – makes about 16 biggish fritters

• 2 cans chickpeas, rinsed & drained
• 1 leek, finely chopped
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1-2 tsp cumin
• 1-2 tsp ground coriander
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 carrots, grated
• 2 baby fennel bulbs, finely chopped
• ½ bunch parsley / coriander, finely chopped
• 3 eggs, lightly whisked
• 3 tablespoons rice flour
• salt & pepper
• rice bran or vegetable oil

1. Gently fry onion, garlic, leek & fennel in a little olive oil with cumin & coriander for a few minutes.

2. While that’s cooking, roughly mash chickpeas with a potato masher.

3. Mix together chickpeas, onion mix, carrots & fennel and herbs till well combined.

4. Add eggs, then flour, and mix well, then season. Clump mixture into a ball – if it seems too loose, add another egg & a little more flour. Form mix into flattish fritters.

5. Heat a centimetre of rice bran or veg oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat. When hot, cook fritters a few at a time, turning once. Drain well on kitchen paper.

Serve with salad and a dollop of yoghurt sauce: mix yoghurt with finely chopped dill or any other soft herb, a drip of honey and lots of sea salt.

* My thanks to Andrea Goldsmith for generously allowing the reproduction of Dorothy’s poem here.

Woops, forgot the Christmas Excess Antidote.

Try this one, which I found via stonesoup – food bloggers around the world do this nice thing each year,  called Menu for Hope, which raises money for the UN World Food Program. An excellent cause, I am sure you agree. Give it a shot – you can donate any small amount you wish, I think. I just did fifty bucks, which makes me rest a teensy bit easier about all the money our family is spending on lavish food this Christmas.

Okay, I know Christmas isn’t strictly related to that particular miracle (reminds me of the time my heathen brother-in-law demanded of my mother what the hell Easter eggs had to do with Jesus being born in Bethlehem anyway…), but one of the things I really like Christmas & New Year holidays is the tendency toward spontaneous and sprawly gatherings over food.

You know the kind of thing, two people for lunch turns into ten, and an instant party ensues. But to make that kind of thing fun it’s gotta be stress free – so here’s my list of good stuff you can pull out at the last second for lunch or picknicky dinner, or take to a friend’s place to blast off their Christmas stress.

Some are old summer holiday faves, and some gleaned from these pages this year. Most of this stuff can be bought in advance and shoved in the fridge, freezer or pantry to pull our for miracle-working when requried…

• Oysters - of course! Buy them unopened a few days before Christmas and keep in a bucket with a wet towel over them in a cool place – they keep for a couple of weeks.
• Glazed ham – leftovers, for weeks. Mmmmm.
• Chutneys & pickles - years ago the Empress introduced me to the killer recipe for Christine Manfield’s eggplant pickle.
• Smoked salmon – or Virginia & Nigella’s cured salmon! – w creme fraiche and/or salmon roe & sourdough
• Smoked trout –  keep a couple in the freezer and pull them out any old time
• Cooked prawns, green salad, mayonnaise
• Bread – keep a supply of sourdough in the freezer
• Green salad, nicely dressed with good oil & vinegar
• Chickpeas – of course! Chuck em in a bowl with bottled roasted capsicum & marinated feta or labneh, or try these ideas
• Baba ganoush & Steph’s beetroot dip – plus packets and packets of rice crackers
• Quinoa salad or citrus couscous (make a huge batch – both of these keep forever)
• Lots of luscious, ripe avocado – buy a heap of those rock hard ones now to have softies on hand for later.
• Lots and lots and lots of ripe tomatoes
• Devils on horseback – everybody loves them! And you can keep sealed pancetta & pitted prunes on hand for months…
• A couple of fillets of salmon in the freezer and a couple of spuds can yield a heap of salmon patties for a crowd.
• Peas! I am never without a huge bag of frozen peas in the freezer. Actually there will be a new post on peas coming shortly…
• Eggs – chuck a few halved, hard-boiled eggs in a green salad with some chunks of fresh, cured or smoked salmon and you have a delicious twist on nicoise.
• Labneh - mmmm.
• Quiche - if you have frozen shortcrust pastry in the freezer, a quiche takes about fifteen minutes to throw together and another twenty to cook. Fast and fab.

Okeydokes, that’s Santa’s (or Jesus’s?) list of magic expandable food for now – but you must have lots of things to add …

*Oh, and today’s Christmas Excess Antidote is courtesy of www.kiva.org- I absolutely love this site. At the click of a mouse you can provide a micro-loan (as little as $25) to someone in a developing country who’s making a go of things with very slim pickings indeed. I love it so much because your loan just keeps on giving – you can either get the money back (though what kind of a person …) or choose that it goes to someone else in the chain. Perfect!

it’s been a while since I’ve loved a music video and single by Weezer THIS MUCH.

(Quote borrowed from: Song: Under African Skies//http://lala.com/ztNB//Album: The Essential Paul Simon/Paul Simon)

Note to a “colleague of life”

I can always tell when you (and others) are not so busy… you talk more to the world.  Or maybe “we/they” just get something in our craw that just won’t let go until we vent.

In either case I really enjoy theses implicate/explicate-like rhythms -  people’s pulsing in and out with a certain and interesting periodicity – in the socnet spaces. Not so much the people trying to draw up business and/or to impress for the sake of impression; more the one’s who have a “purposeful gift-driven life”, conscious or not, and just have something to say that they have a deeper sense of being worth sharing and now simply saying out loud to the world and from one moment of explication to the next.

I have called this a hot-pot for more than one reason, it’s a lovely warming one pot dish, but it also has a fresh chilli and my local butcher’s spicy sausages in it, which are indeed spicy, making it a very hot pot indeed.  You can of course use any sausage you prefer. It’s an easy and quick supper which is lovely served with purple sprouting as we had it, or with pasta or rice or just some good bread to mop up the tomato-ey juices.

6 sausages (spicy if you like)
1 fresh chilli, deseeded and chopped finely
1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped finely
1 small onion, peeled and chopped finely
1 400g tin tomatoes
1 215g tin of butter beans in water, drained
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper

Method

Place the sausages in a large pan with a little olive oil over a medium heat and brown all over.   Add the onion and cook for a few more minutes until beginning to soften, add the chilli and the garlic and cook for a further two minutes, until the onion is translucent.  Add the tomatoes, the butter beans and the bay leaf and season with pepper (don’t add the salt yet or it will toughen the beans). Stir to combine the ingredients and then cook over a gentle heat for at least 20 minutes until you have a rich tomato sauce. Add salt to taste just before serving.

If you have used spicy sausage and you find it too hot for your taste buds you can serve plain greek yoghurt alongside or stir in 2 tablespoons of yoghurt just before serving.

Get printable version

Hello Friends here we come up with the Latest Agri Commodities updates from various parts of the country.

Food inflation at 17.5%, households pay price

..

Food inflation at 17.5%, households pay price:

.

The government on Thursday said that the average wholesale price of food items had increased by a whopping 17.5% in the past one year.

.

The figure was 15.6% a week ago.

.

RBI to shift to a tighter money policy,which in turn would lead to a rise in interest rates.

.

The Centre has blamed this year’s poor monsoon for high food prices.

.

It also put the onus on state governments to control prices through better management of food supply through ration shops.

.

.

In Other major Commodities Updates, we bring you the news of Govt opting for transgenic tech to boost pulses production and Natural rubber prices going double in a year.

.

.

Govt looks to transgenic tech to boost pulses production:

.

The Union government is drawing up a comprehensive programme to introduce transgenic technology to improve the productivity of pulses.

.

Bt refers to a gene sourced from a soil bacterium that is transferred to plants and acts as an insecticide.

.

The Bt gene activates a toxin that kills a class of pests largely responsible for damaging plants and, thus, denting yields.

.

They are genetically low yielding and less responsive to inputs compared with other cereals and oil seeds.

.

Not only are they more prone to pests and diseases, hybrids and genetically modified varieties are not available to enhance productivity.

.

The agriculture department has said it plans to increase pulse production by 2 mt and acreage by 4 million ha by 2012.

.

.

Natural rubber prices double in a year:

.

The natural rubber (NR) prices have almost doubled in a year.

.

The benchmark grade RSS-4 variety was quoted at Rs 128 a kg on Thursday compared with Rs 65 a kg on same day last year.

.

The rubber market is now poised to break all records despite good production this season.

.

The local market follows its global peers resulting in a sharp increase in the prices in the futures trading.

.

According to Rubber Board estimates, production in November increased to 103,000 tonnes compared with 95,550 tonnes in the same month last year.

.

Production is expected to be at its peak in this month due to the winter season and supply is expected to improve further.

.

The board estimates also revealed that the total stock in the country increased to 247,000 tonnes.

.

This is due to the sharp increase in imports and a drop in exports during April-November.

.

.

Note : For More Latest Industry, Stock Market and Economy News and Updates, please Click Here

I had some chicken left over from a roast we had the other day and I was trying to think of something to do with it.  I had a can of borlotti beans in the cupboard, a swede and some cranberries I bought when they were on special offer the other day, so this soup seemed like the thing we should have for tea.  It was tasty and the cranberries added an interesting colour and a zingy bitterness that added and interesting and good dimension to the soup.  If you have celery or carrots in the house then add some of these; I didn’t have any in the cupboard.

I served it with parmesan croutons which are very easy to make.  Just cube some bread and place on a baking tray with a light sprinkling of olive oil.  Place in a preheated oven at 200°c (400°f, gas mark 6) for about 7-8 minutes until golden all over.  As soon as they come out of the oven finely grate some parmesan over them so that it melts on contact.

1 onion, sliced finely
100g swede, diced
splash of Marsala or Madeira wine (optional)
1 dessertspoon plain flour
the leftover meat from a roast chicken ( I had two drumsticks left over for this soup)
400g tin of borlotti beans, drained and rinsed (or any other pulses you may have)
a handful of cranberries (fresh or frozen)
570 ml (1 pint) vegetable or chicken stock
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper

Method

Sweat the onion and swede for about 10 minutes until the onion is translucent and the swede is beginning to take on a little colour. Add the flour and mix well, cook for a minute or so to cook out the taste of the flour.  Add a splash of Marsala if you are using it.  Add the stock and stir well to mix it with the flour. Add the rest of the ingredients except the salt (adding salt will make the bean tough). Cook for about 15-20 minutes on a gentle simmer.  Add salt to taste just before serving.  Serve in warmed bowls with the parmesan croutons or fresh bread.

Get printable version

Hello Friends here we come up with the Latest Agri Commodities updates from various parts of the country.

'Futures trading in rice, sugar and pulses should be banned'

‘Futures trading in rice, sugar and pulses should be banned’:

A parliamentary panel today suggested that futures trading should be banned in case of wheat, rice, sugar and some pulses till the country becomes self sufficient in these food items.

The Estimates Committee asked the government to bring a new legislation to control the retail prices of essential commodities like rice,wheat, pulses, edible oils, sugar, milk and vegetables.

On futures trading, the report said: “Since food security of the country is at the stake, the Committee recommends that futures trading in wheat, rice, tur dal, urad dal and sugar should be banned till the country achieves self-sufficiency in the production of these items on a continuous basis”.

In Other major Commodities Updates we can see exports of Spice declining and on the other hand price of pulses rising up 80% in a year time.

Spice exports decline 1.3% in April-October:

Exports of spices fell 1.3 per cent in volume and 1.6 per cent in value during the April-October period of the current financial year.

According to the latest estimates of Spices Board, total exports in the period were 280,885 tonnes valued at Rs 3,031.59 crore against 284,560 tonnes valued at 3,080.25 crore in the same period last year.

Pepper exports suffered a serious setback as the figures dropped to 11,500 tonnes valued at Rs 179.16 crore as against 14,750 tonnes valued at Rs 246. 70 crore in the same period last year.

Export of chilli also declined to 100,500 tonnes valued at Rs 706.50 crore as against 121,500 tonnes valued at Rs 660.17 crore.

Coriander exports had a better performance at 25,250 tonnes valued at Rs 128.12 crore against 17,100 tonnes valued at Rs 116.80 crore.

Pulse prices rise up to 80 per cent in one year:

The government today said prices of pulses have surged by up to 80 per cent in the national capital over the last one year.

While prices of tur have gone up by 80 per cent in the last one year to Rs 90 a kg, that of moong dal surged 74 per cent to Rs 82, according to the data presented by Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

Even import of about 16 lakh tonnes of pulses between April and October has not eased pressure on the prices, the data showed.

Not just pulses, prices of sugar have almost doubled to Rs 38 a kg.

Note : For More Latest Industry, Stock Market and Economy News and Updates, please Click Here