Belsize Pesto is here!!!

The Local Food Production Group of Transition Belsize has produced its first pestos, partly made from foraged ingredients, and I'm delighted with the results. We had loads of fun making them - although we really need a better blender if we're going to do it regularly and in any quantity!

You can test (and buy) the Belsize Pestos on Saturdays between 10am and 1pm on Haverstock Hill outside Budgens for the next three weeks. We're also hoping that a few local eateries will start serving it soon.

Why did we start making Belsize Pesto? Partly to raise awareness about local and foraged foods. Some of the ingredients are what most people would think of as weeds but they're not - they're free foods with loads of goodness in them. We're also trying to source as many of the other ingredients as possible from the London area.

Another key aim is to create livelihoods. If Transition is to survive and prosper then I firmly believe that we have to find ways to create jobs for people so that the movement is not just dependent on well-meaning volunteers. Wild foods production is one way. The Belsize Energy Company, which is seeking to advise residents on solar panels and the Feed-in-Tariff, is another way.