All set for the weekend?

Weather
In our house before we consider what to do at the weekend, we first check the met office for an up-to-date weather forecast.  The good news is that it will be largely dry during the daytime this coming weekend...great for all those getting out and about for Halloween or Bonfire evenings.  It will be windy at times - so that is a happy husband for me because he will no doubt squeeze a windsurfing trip in at some point. 

Children
Next on our list of considerations is whether the kids have any commitments.  As it is half term, there are only two things on, so if we do man-on-man marking then that leaves lots of spare adult time.  Oh, while we are on the subject of kids, the wee darlings have been busy carving those pumpkins I blogged about last week:

...and one of them is currently icing some skull biscuits to give away to doorstep callers.

Food
No weekend is complete in our house without some quality food to share around the family table.  As it is Abbey Leys farmer's market (https://www.facebook.com/AbbeyLeysFarmersMarket) this coming Sunday from 10am that is sorted too.  Come Sunday morning, we will be heading down there to buy some truly wonderful grub.  Janet and Tim invite a coffee van every month, and when he isn't available, they lay on hot drinks under a gazebo - so you are always assured of a cuppa to go with your food buys.  They are opening up the old shop for customers to use as a place to eat and drink, or keep the kids busy for a while with a kids activity. 

This fabulous market is very different from those labelled 'Artisan'.  You won't find ornate signage or much gingham bunting.  What you will see is really good food and drink that you can buy from the people who made or farmed it.  That makes a massive difference for lots of reasons.  You can ask the producer any questions you like, which I frequently do; the food hasn't been hanging around in a food chain for ages so it is really fresh; there are minimal food miles; and since the farmer gets loads of direct feedback, the food is top quality. 

Coupled with a hot cup of tea and kids activities, I know what will be top of my list for the weekend.  Hope to see you there.

Lisa Reid

It's a scoop

Spoiler warning: there will be a smattering of pumpkin related puns running through the post!

I officially have pumpkin envy this week.  Regular readers of the blog will be aware that I started to cultivate a friend's unused vegetable plots in January.  I have enjoyed the experience and learned a lot.  Much of what is learned in a food growing situation sticks.  Teachers among us would credit that to the fact that it is learned through doing - 'experiential'.  I am slightly less theoretical than that - if you are faced with literally dozens of radishes to eat because you hadn't realised you should repeat sow them every fortnight - you remember next time!

Harvest
I have harvested 4 pumpkins from the plot.

They are ripening nicely on my window ledge, and I was looking forward to stalking (groan!) the trick or treaters with a scary carving or two. 

New beginnings
At the beginning of September I took on a small allotment at the Star Lane site in Lymm.  It is about 10 x 11 metres and I have had great fun getting the shed, composters and beds ready for action.  My sons came down with me on a beautiful Sunday two weeks ago and we planted garlic, Japanese onions and broad beans.  On a visit this week to check for wind damage, I found that the onions and garlic have sprouted. 

This is no doubt aided by the copious manure I have been ferrying down there from a local stables. 

I remembered that one of the very experienced allotment holders had offered his pumpkins for a small donation.  Hence the source of my pumpkin envy.  They are gargantuan.  He has certainly carved (groan!) up the competition.  Still, that is the beauty of having an allotment: people are always willing to share tips.  Come May 2015 I'll be hot footing it down to Neil's plot to ask how he does it.

Have fun at Halloween, and don't forget to ask if the pumpkins you are buying are UK grown.  Even if they are not, it will encourage the seller to source them closer to home next year.

Lisa Reid

Moss Brow Farm

Last week I had the pleasure of visiting Moss Brow Farm (Paddock Lane, Warburton WA13 9TJ).  I haven't been before because living at the other end of Lymm means I rarely travel down that road.  The first picture is dark because the sun was shining directly into the road that day!

There is a good range of fruit & vegetables, eggs, honey and some marmelade.  Like my other favourite farm shops, they stock as much of their own produce as  is growing in that season (in this case - potatoes, cauliflowers and cabbages), buy local produce directly from other farmers, then top up with items from further afield at the wholesale market to make a full range available all year round. Whilst it would be lovely to shop for local fruit and vegetables all year round, the truth is that in our climate we simply can't grow a wide enough range to satisfy demand

As the Cleggs showed me round their shop, it was clear they were proud to stock a lot of their own produce, and to support their neighbours because most of the stunning vegetables there were local...some more unusual than others.

The thing I liked best about Moss Brow was the value for money. I was about to leave the shop having bought much more than I intended, when a man came in to buy the deal advertised at the gate - '2 caulis for £1'.  My jaw literally dropped.  I was compelled to buy what I can only describe as the 2 biggest cauliflowers I have ever seen.  They were 30cm wide.  I gave one to a friend, who had to remove a shelf from her fridge to accommodate it.

They will have local sprouts soon, so bear them in mind for vegetables to go with your roast dinners. The shop is easy to find, because it is over the read from the Saracen's Head pub and near the corner where you turn to go to Dunham Massey.  Just make sure you take plenty of large bags!

Lisa Reid

Let's Celebrate?

It would be easy at this time of year to be fed up about the passing of a gorgeous summer.  I have found this week, though, that I am embracing the change by getting stuck in to some autumnal recipes - and some of you have written to say that you have too:

Sue O'Connor bought some Carlisle Codlin and Baker's Delicious apples from the Oughtrington community orchard at the Lymm Produce Show.  She created a different version of apple crumble using a Raymond Blanc recipe  http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/778642/apple-and-blackberry-crumble

After a bumper crop of raspberries at her allotment, Zoe Cohen sent in a picture of her raspberry, cinnamon and raisin muffins.  They look healthy enough to eat for breakfast, don't they?

My autumnal fare, has included picking my 2.7metre tall sunflower to use as a centre piece for a family meal on top of a bowl of conkers:

I fell in love with some rainbow chard at the Abbey Leys farmer's market on Sunday and bought far too much.  A quick internet search 'can I freeze chard' revealed that I could (phew!), so that is waiting in the freezer for another meal.

Sometimes we get stuck in a rut, even with our favourite vegetables.  Consequently, I have written some recipe cards for parsnip and celeriac to take to Lymm market on Thursday.  Look out for them next to those two lovely British vegetables if you are stuck for ideas.

Lisa Reid plus help from Zoe and Sue - thanks!

What a big delivery

Abbey Leys Visit
I was out and about today having a chat with a local food suppliers - but more about that in a minute.  I popped in to see Janet and Tim at Abbey Leys Farm on Peacock Lane in High Legh.  They host our most local farmer's market which happens monthly on the first Sunday of each month.  That means that you can pop along this coming Sunday to shop for really super local produce.  Tim had just received a delivery of terrific pumpkins - and as you can see one of them almost filled a wheelbarrow.  Until today I thought huge veg like that was only to be seen in county shows.  It certainly made me smile.  They had a lovely array of veg grown in the Farmstart field - which Andrew and I have mentioned in previous blogposts. 

Low Carbon Lymm
The LCL food team are taking stock of their activities at the moment: ensuring their activities match what the local suppliers want, and thinking up some new ideas to enthuse the public about eating local.  We are visiting some of the suppliers to find out what may have changed since we last saw them, and we are interested in hearing from any of you too.  You are very welcome to tell us what you think about our activities, what you would like to see us doing to support local suppliers, or anything about local food & drink generally.  You can email us at lisa.reid0902@gmail.com or pop along to our next LCL meeting in the function room at the Golden Fleece at 1930 on Monday 13th October. 

Lisa Reid