SWYF Find: The Borough Market - London

After roaming the streets of London today, we stumbled upon an amazing open-air market - the Borough Market. Amid pub grub, TESCOs, ASDAs and other familiar big box and fast food establishments, this was an awesome find.

It's definitely a foodie mecca. There's booth after booth speciality, hand-crafted wares from small food producers - organic olives, artisan cheeses and meats, piles of specialty mushrooms and cases of truffles, small-batch jams and preserves, freshly made breads and baked goods, spice mixes, locally sourced produce, craft beers and endless amounts of prepared, yet healthful foods.

Some vendors or traders I liked:

• Oliveology: Organic olives straight from a family-owned farm in Greece. This vendor also sells a unique olive leaf tea.
• The Cinnamon Tree Bakery: Small artisan bakery based out of South London. High quality ingredients, sensitive to dietary needs and offers incredible baked goods. The brownies are unreal - and gluten free!

Courtesy of Kasey Clark/hellokasey.tumblr.com

A word to vegetarians: There are a lot of options open to you, especially cheeses, vegan and vegetarian dishes and fresh produce. However, there is a prominent meat and fish section, which you can choose to ignore. This area is worth looking at for its cultural significance and striking photo opportunities.

Sure, shopping at Borough Market is a bit more expensive than going to a regular grocery store, but if you're a regular at farmers' markets in the U.S., you'll appreciate it. It's an excellent place to find items for a roving picnic as you wander around London.

**BOROUGH MARKET: 8 Southwark St., London; housed in the Jubilee Market, and adjoining Green Market. Open Tuesday-Wednesday (11-5); Thursday (11-5), Friday (12-6) + Saturday (8-5). Check out the Market Web site for more news on vendors, events and additional information.

Ramsbottom + Scout Moor Wind Farm

Where I stayed for the first few days in England, I could see a wind farm from several different angles. We took a hike up there and the turbines are pretty amazing to see up close, especially in contrast to the green and brown hues of the English countryside, sheep grazing in the field and the bustling towns below. 

Here's a few of my favorite shots so far from my pictures from the hike (I'll post a slideshow when I have some more time!)

"Feeding the Faith"

Read my article in the current November/December issue of E Magazine about how "religious orders are growing vegetables, raising cows and making cheese in the name of the spirit."

You can also see my attempt at taking photos for the magazine (sorry to the professionals out there - I did my best.)

What I already love about England

I've only been in the Manchester area for a few days now, and there are already many things I like about it...

1. Afternoon tea. It's real!
2. There's a tax on plastic bags. As there should be.
3. Food labels are super detailed, but user friendly. Not only do all food items contain a country of origin (where they're grown) label [which, again, the U.S. should be required to enact nationally], but almost all the stickers and packages I've seen clearly list if they're suitable for distinct diets and a recycling symbol, which, in some cases, seems to suggests remorse if the package cannot yet be recycled. (Litter is also heavily taxed, so the less, the better.)
4. The 'right of way' policy. If you love hiking or just taking long walks, England - and I think Wales - is an awesome place to do so. Traversing both public and private property are hundreds, maybe even thousands of, acres of foot or bridle paths in which people can walk, free from penalty of trespassing, for recreational purposes or to get to their nearest location. You get a really excellent view and experience of the countryside, and get your exercise for the day as well. Since the towns are so close together, it's a cheap (free) and enjoyable form of travel. 

Pictures to follow and more posts to come.

Speak With Your Food goes abroad!

For the next month, Speak With Your Food will be going global - well at least European. I'll be blogging from there, trying to post as often as I can with pictures and tidbits about local food culture, agricultural and environmental issues in the UK and other countries that I visit.

While I have a general plan of where I'm going, I'm open to recommendations on farms, farmers' markets, restaurants and other food-related suggestions.

Happy reading!