I don’t know if you guys were already around when I wrote this list, but one of the things I wanted to focus on this year was being less dependant on supermarkets.

Since January, I have tried quite a few things, most of which I wasn’t entirely convinced by; it was always too far, too complicated, too inconvenient, too expensive, too something.

And then I tried Farmdrop. And that was just what I had been looking for (and no, this is not a sponsored post, I just really, really love them!)

Farmdrop is a bit like an online farmers market: it’s a place where you can get delicious food directly from local producers. Except you don’t have to wake up super early in the morning for it.

You click & pick everything, from fresh fruit and veggies, to meat, poultry, fish, pantry supplies and much more online, and Farmdrop takes care of the rest, getting it all to your door a few days later.

Producers get more money for their hard work (70-75% against 25-50% from supermarkets), there’s virtually no food waste (producers only harvest after your order has been placed) and you get much fresher, local produce. And all in all, it’s not much more expensive than the supermarket for infinitely higher quality!

Win, win, win!

I’ve already ordered through Farmdrop a couple of times and each time, I’ve been super impressed with both the service and quality of produce delivered.

Veggies were super fresh and crisp, lemons were very juicy, tomatoes super sweet. Some of the fish I ordered had been pack the same day it was delivered to me! Take that, average 105.6 hours for supermarkets!

Another definite advantage to getting such great ingredients delivered straight to your door is how much time it saves you. You don’t have to go to the supermarkets, walk miles to find everything you want, probably go to a different supermarket before they had run out of something you needed, go back home, unpack it all, start making dinner, only to realise half-way through that you’re all out of something and have to run back out again.

But once you have a fridge full of beautiful ingredients, things become much simpler. When what you’re cooking with is top quality, the simpler the better… so I’ve been cooking loads of simple, healthy, seasonal plates to try and make the best of them!

Vegetarian schnitzel & cheat’s tartare with roasted veggies

Fry’s Family’s Vegetarian schnitzel with roasted tomatoes (bake at 180°C/gas mark 6 for 35 min with olive oil and sea salt), wilted cavolo nerro (pan-fried with olive oil, sea salt, lemon zest until just cooked), cheat’s tartare sauce (chopped capers + red onion + pickles + sour cream), lemon wegdes & Newton & Pott’s amazing Gin pickled cucumber.

Ready in 20 min and one both vegetarians & meat-eaters will love!

Bacon & egg fried rice with wilted spinach

In a pan, fry up the bacon until golden and crispy, then remove from pan and set aside. In the same pan, heat up a little bit of sesame oil, throw in your cooked, cold rice and cook for a few minutes (until it starts crisping up). Move the rice to the edges of the pan, then crack in an egg. Cook for a minute or so, then stir in the rice and keep stiring until the egg is fully cooked. Top with chopped bacon + spring onions.

 

If you want to give Farmdrop a go (again, they’re not paying me anything, I just love what they’re doing!), you can get £10 off (and more freebies down the line) by using this link.

And if you do, please make sure you tag me (@sndguerin) in Instapics of what’s cooking!