Glanbrydan’s Weblog

Will they grow up to be frogs?

The Sunday market was a great success, as much as the cold wind and rain kept people away on Saturday, the opposite was true on Sunday. The gentle spring sun warmed people out of their homes to enjoy an hour pottering round the stalls. The change in the clocks confused many of us and one stall holder didn’t turn in. Nobody knows why so conjecture is rife but the most popular theory is she missed the time shift.
Having completed our busy week we now start again. Our first food festival is on Saturday!
I would also like to introduce you to the http://diggroweatblog.blogspot.com. blog which is to be associated with an ebook. I will be making a small contribution with an article or two. The idea behind the book is taking the experiences of a diverse set of people who attempt kitchen gardening/ cooking in some way.  We hope to have a logo soon which we will all add to our blog pages somewhere.

The producers show on Wednesday brought a new selection of visitors while we sat among many familiar stall holders.  After time to set up our stands we went to a distribution seminar where we were encouraged to talk to producers who may share our customer base and want to split distribution costs. A good idea and one we are now thinking about – if we do distribute anything.

A very nice buffet lunch sat amidst the stalls and potential purchasers made their way round the event enjoying free samples while discussing possible future deals. The visitors varied from local B & B owners to a couple of Tesco buyers (don’t worry we are not Tesco material we told them). For some it was a nice day out with a meal while others were more serious about sourcing local foods for cafes and produce shops.Leaving with mixed views and a few good contacts we started the preparation for today’s market at Llandovery.

Home again this evening we are thawing out in front of the fire , the cold wind went through every layer of clothing and reached into the bones beneath our flesh. The shoppers were a steady trickle not hanging around in the cold but occasionally trapped in the market by the frequent sharp showers.

All the stall holders huddled together under the covered market rather than spreading around the square in the usual way. It made it a little more sociable for us all, able to call over to each other every now and then or sidle off to visit each others stalls for a chat and the odd bit of shopping. Liz our markets cake making lady is opening a deli in Llandovery this week, a much needed addition to the small town. So good luck to her!

Off to sit on the carpet in front of the fire now.

Taken on Sunday. This is in the garden but hidden away.

We have been to the producers show and now have 2 markets to prepare for the weekend as well as the day job.

The week has been a blur and I’ve had no time to think about what’s been going on. As soon as I get a few minutes I’ll tell you about  the producers show and how we need to sit down and decide work out what we are going to do with our little enterprise. Who says hard work never killed anyone??? Only joking but it certainly is a full schedule this week.

Doing a good job Mum

It’s been a nice Sunday at home with a roast dinner and little work done. Every now and then it’s good to have a day off and try to relax. Having said a day off T-W-O did cut up a pallet to create a new load on kindling, we did spend a couple of very tortured hours trying to design a kitchen and I’ve spring cleaned a rug for the living room floor.

Somewhere along the line I’ve started to feel a bit unwell. Oddly I’ve had a cold for a few days and now I am feeling very sorry for myself. Stomach pains and a stuffy woolly head feeling. I imagine it is no more than my body complaining about something I’ve eaten mixed with a mild head cold but either way it calls for a nice warm fire, nice comfy clothes and a snuggle up on the sofa.

I’ve got a loaf of sourdough proving in the oven which only needs cooking so that’s tea sorted. It’s the second loaf from the starter I made a couple of weeks ago.

Just in case Ikea is not a worldwide brand it is a Swedish furniture retailer that has become incredibly popular in the UK.

It has to be said that T-W-O is not a lover of Ikea, normally I think he would prefer a trip to the dentist. He appreciates that our budget for the extension wont reach to a high class kitchen. I would love to spend many thousands on a state of the art hand made kitchen with granite work surfaces (and yes I know they can be scratched but….). Having heard of three Ikea kitchens being fitted recently by people in a similar position to ourselves we thought it must be worth a look.

We both understand that there have to be compromises made on our extension budget so after dropping the dogs off at the kennels nice and early we made the trip to Cardiff , as it’s a day where that ancient and revered game of ruby is being played between Wales and Ireland many Welshmen decided to start preparing early and NOT go to Ikea.

Thank goodness, hurdle one overcome. T-W-O would probably turn the car around if he couldn’t get in the car park and yet we managed to park right between the entrance and the exit doors. We went straight for a coffee and T-W-O scrutinised the very cheap breakfast. Probably rubbish he declared until he saw a couple of plates on another table. Doesn’t look bad, but we didn’t buy as we had already had something for breakfast.

Refreshed we made our way into the maze. I very rarely go there but every time you stray off the path you risk getting lost. I wonder if people have spent the night in there, a good way to try out the bed section. Past the ‘made up homes’ section we wondered through areas I cannot even remember and found many things we may possibly need at some point in our lives but like good little shoppers we held off picking anything up.

The kitchens were a pleasant surprise. Some were very cheap and sadly looked it but the mid price units were as good as may more expensive units we have seen. We have found something we both agreed would look good, wouldn’t bankrupt us and would give the room a contemporary look.  They have all the in unit storage goodies like tray and dividers which the expensive kitchens boast as well.

Having escaped the maze we found ourselves back at the cafe (what a surprise!) and had a fish and chip lunch. Not restaurant class cuisine but very acceptable. Then down to what they describe as the market place. Here is where they get you. We all know it’s designed that way and you have to go through with your eyes shut not to succumb to pretty glasses, the very reasonable pots, pans, lights……and so on.

We did get a metal storage stand which will be used for holding freshly baked pasty and pies. We quickly run out of cooling space on baking day so this should help us and will be taken into the new work kitchen eventually. Oh yes and 8 glass spice/herb  jars, but you can get a teaspoon in the top of them and they will take a full refill pack which most of them don’t.

I am glad to be back home though!

I have eaten the sourdough bread I made this week and it has a very different texture to normal bakery bread. I am now using the rest of it up as toast and it strikes me it would make very good brochette. The elongated slices, slightly denser than bread made with commercial yeast make a great surface for rubbing garlic into.

Brochette (my way) – a simple starter. The oil mix would easily do 4 – 6 or about 3 people for a nice lunch.

Cut up several cloves of garlic into very small pieces and steep them in a cup of olive oil for a day or 3

On the day you are serving the brochette:

Chop up some tomartoes into 1 cm of half inch cube sized chunks, put them in a bowl then pour over some of the garlic oil mix. You want them generously coated but not swimming around. Any remaining oil can be put back in the fridge and used for cooking anything you like garlic in.

If you have some basil add some torn up leaves to your mix. If not try a few chopped chives or a bit of parsley. If out of season used a dried version of the same, about quarter of a teaspoon

When you are ready to use them;

Take slices of bread and toast them – usually 1 or 2 per person if it’s a starter. Slightly stale bread is best

Cut a fresh clove of garlic in 2, dip it in the olive oil mixture and rub your bread all over with it. Very lightly salt and pepper the toast.

Serve cold with the bowl of the tomarto mix and small spoons for people to pile onto the toast. Or put into individual ramakins on the side of a plate.

Other versions;

Serve the toast with melted cheese on top (Yum Yum)

Serve with some mushrooms cooked in butter and garlic as an additional option for topping the toast with.

Serve with thin slices of grilled courgette.

Gently cook a diced onion for about 15 minutes until it is caramelised and serve in separate bowl.

All of the above for a great lunch or yummy tea time. I am sure you can add to the list…………..smoked salmon, goats cheese…….what do you like.

Other things to add

a Spring lamb in a nearby field

We are attending a local producers event next week in Brecon to show our wares to the tourist and restaurant trade. This is a new world to us. We have spent days deciding what products to take, how many of each and harder still what to leave behind. As well as all this we need to decide what we charge for wholesale and how would we distribute?

As we are ‘fresh’ produce evrything needs to go out in cool containers. Once it gets to the other end it needs signing for and it all needs order forms, invoices, delivery notes……………

The real question is which way should the business go? If we are happy to increase production then it will take more time to produce leaving less time to attend markets,but then we do enjoy being part of the markets. So many decisions when we are happily going along to our markets each month but (sadly) we need a bit more money coming in now T-W-O is leaving his full time job.  

I was reminded last night as I cooked the sourdough bread and prepared quiche with a trial filling of just how much I love being in the kitchen. The hum drum of cooking meals is very  important but it’s the love of making something that people enjoy eating  that drives me.

The experimental quiche is roasted parsnip and cheese which we have yet to try. T-W-O the carnivore is really looking forward to having some for lunch tomorrow!

Fresh sourdough bread

I finally made the bread today! My starter has sat unloved except for one feed for a week in the fridge as I’ve tried to find time to finish the bread making. Yesterday evening I took some of the starter out of the fridge and made a sponge with it (yes it’s all new terms to me as well, but I will explain). Today it was back to the methods I am used to, it all just took a bit longer but no extra effort.

The recipe is as usual a conglomeration of information from the web, books, information passed on and of course other bloggers.

So here is the starter

a sterilised Jar, cooled . You will need a lid or some clingfilm

Mix 1 cup of strong bread flour. I used an own brand strong white flour and 1 cup of warm water in the jar. It needs to be kept warm and stirred with a none metallic implement. I used a plastic spatula. I moved our starter around with us. In the living room on the radiator when it was on. In the kitchen when we were cooking. It must NEVER get near 100 degrees C as that will kill your yeast. Cool temperatures makes it slower to develop.

The lid should just be rested on top or clingfilm with  some in. It has to breathe

Pour off the separated water, add half a cup of warm water and strong flour to the mix each day. Lumps don’t matter.

After a few days it should start to show signs of bubbles. It’s now alive.

I kept this up for about 8 or 9 days. In the end and it smelt like a yeasty liquid and you could watch the bubbles popping by peering over the jar.. NOT A BAD SMELL in any way.

After this put it in the fridge and feed a cup of water and a cup of strong flour every week until you use it.

The sponge

Take 2 cups of the starter, put it in a none metallic bowl, add another cup of strong flour and warm (hot to the touch from the tap) water. Set this aside over night. It should now have a frothy head.

Add in

2 cups of flour

2 tablespoons of olive oil

4 teaspoons of sugar

2 teaspoons of salt.

I used the mixer with dough hooks to bring it all together and had to add a half cup of warm water to it. Mix for about 5 minutes. It needs to be pliable and slightly elastic.

Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel and leave it somewhere slightly warm to prove for a couple of hours.

As per normal bread knock it about a bit and form into a loaf. Then lightly oil a baking tray and put your dough ball on it. Dampen your tea towel again and cover the dough.

The raised dough ready for baking

I ended up leaving our dough for about 6 hours and it had doubled in size.

Put the oven on to 220 degrees C and put the loaf in after a couple of minutes of warming.

Check it after about 20 minutes turn down the heat to 180 degrees C – a quick peak to make sure it is ok. Then after 30 minutes total take the loaf out turn it over and cook for another 10 to 15 minutes on it’s back. Making sure it doesn’t burn .

Take it out, allow it to cool a bit and then try a slice……….

ballooning in the towy valley

On my visit to the office last week I encountered the apprentices. The company I work for is in technology and every year they have an intake of school leavers who receive a good grounding in mobile communications and are then scattered around the business to complete their training. I have no idea about their income  but I know we only take clever kids.

It’s interesting to see them in the work place. So young and yet so grown up. I encountered a small enclave of girls having a chat in the toilets. Funny, I thought to myself how their behaviour probably hasn’t changed that much from their school days. I remember the feeling of having made it into the work place, I felt like an adult!

A few months ago their tutor (for want of a better description but the man they report to for basic training) stormed into the canteen at about 9.10 am. I was getting my toast and coffee, the room was overflowing with breakfasting workers. He hollered ‘We start at 9.00am’ , turned on his heel and stormed back to the training room. A group of sheepish young people quietly removed themselves.

It took me years to realise that school merely prepares you for work. If you don’t learn to read or write you learn to dance to the sound of the bell. They don’t tell you this will happen for years to come – unless you can escape. I think that’s what I want to do but then the sound of the bell is very safe.

My lettuce box

At long last we have a germinated tray of peas. The tender little shoots appear to be the only living things  in the greenhouse at the moment. My improvised heated propagator a.k.a. the radiator is working a treat on the aubergines while the chili seeds are taking a bit long to push through we have a few front runners making an appearance. I’ll be glad when they are up as they are living on my bedside cabinet which is a bit cramped.

The Brecon farmers market went well yesterday as the shoppers made an appearance which we think may be down to a bit of sunshine. It was a steady day rather than spurts of shoppers which makes our lives easier. The pork pies are popular so we will increase production for future markets. I must also get round to making up sausage rolls although for us they cost about the same to make as a pork pie just a bit less meat and we sell them for less so I’m still not convinced about the economics but they make a good option for the younger children.

My knitting has had to be put to one side as we prepared for the market so I’m eager to have a go at finishing off my first little baby cardigan. The parts are all finished it just needs putting together with a collar and borders. I say ‘just’ but this is the bit I muck up normally. I shall be searching for help and advice before I pick up a needle.

The planting continued today

Unwins 1 horseradish root – I have never grown this before. I put it in one of my recycled tyre planters which was composted last autumn.

Unwins pink garlic – a pack of two also in a tyre. They work well planted in a circle

Unwins Red Sun shallots – another tyre full.

Unwins Asparagus Bachlim F1 Hybrid – a pack of two crowns, another first for me I’ve put them in corners of the raised bed.

The real seed company Brussels Sprout ‘Sanda’  – I have planted up a tyre as a seed bed and I’ll move them into a raised bed later

Johnsons Purple Top Milan turnips – A tyre full again

The real seed company Giant Limousin Turnips - A tyre full

Unwins Bunyard Exhibition Broad beans – I’m trying a bed with a weed suppressant cover. I cut little windows, make a little hole and pop the beans in.

Unwins allsorts lettuce – in a lettuce box in the greenhouse

Mr Fothergills  red Cherry tomatoes- in 3 inch pots in the greenhouse

Mr Fothergills Greyhound cabbage – in cell trays in the greenhouse

The real seed company Serpette Guilloteau climbing peas – The weed suppressant cover covered bed and a tyre for comparison.

Lastly I have followed the advice of vegplotting and I have my parsnip seeds on some damp kitchen towel . http://vegplotting.blogspot.com/2009/01/guide-to-parsnips-you-ask-we-answer.html

Unwins Avonresister and The reel seed company tender and true parsnips.

I’ve planted modest amounts of everything. The idea for most things is to plant again in two weeks so we get a cycle of cropping.

My next ‘job’ is to get some herbs for a bargain basement pot I picked up this morning. The pot is quite large and some tiled decorations had dropped off the rim. I like it better without them anyway and my £7 pot should hold a couple of things. We found the pot when we went to a department store first thing to pick up a couple of basins they had in the sale. Compact & modern for our new bathrooms (the ones that have yet to be built).  We are buying up a few bargain things as we see them for the new rooms, there are lots of offers around now.