Saturday 4th September

Is it really September already?  The children have gone back to school and the mornings are definitely turning autumnal.

*********** PRODUCER NEWS ***************

At Orford Flower show last weekend, Ali, one of our talented cooks, won the Best Cookery Exhibit for her gingerbread and she has been busy making more for market tomorrow, so get there early or it will be gone.  In fact, I lost count of how many prizes Ali won for her cooking, she must have had a prize in each category.  Well done Ali, also to Roger and Pat who both won prizes at the Flower Show.

Tomorrow there will be amongst other things ....

Lamb

Back by popular demand: Sausage rolls and cheese lattice

Ceese & olive scones ~ White choc fudge ~ Spicy fruit loaf ~ Orange Madeira cake ~ Pear and almond cake ~ Honey cake ~ Cheese, courgette & tomatoe muffins ~ Breakfast muffins ~ Crunchy top lemon cake ~ Double chocolate cake ~ Usual bread ~ Doughnuts ~ Gibassiers ~ Cannele’s ~ And a new and wonderful Canadian Butter tart.. butter, syrup eggs and raisins in a pastry shell (sounds good to me) ~ Butter shortbread ~ Apple and wlanut cake.

This week our recipe No 3 is 'Betroot and walnut dip'.  These recipes are proving very popular.

Winter squash are now arriving as are french beans.

This is a really interesting time of year for veg. We still have a flavour of summer with the last weeks of tomatoes and salad potatoes, but meanwhile the first sense of colder weather is in the air as winter squash begin to ripen, bigger whiter potatoes start to be dug out of the ground and beetroot and chard are swelling.

David and Marlene are often asked about the differences between summer and winter squash ~ here's their answer:

• Summer squash are surprisingly easy to cook. Either boiled in a little water or baked whole in the oven for just twenty minutes, they are firm in texture with a creamy flavour. I even slice mine and fry for a few minutes as part of a cooked breakfast. They hold their shape well. If they are bought as larger squash, the skin will be tough and seeds will have formed in the centre. They are then a welcome addition to the tin of roasted veg and can be prepared into chunks before cooking with seeds removed.
• Meanwhile, now we are later in the season, the grander winter squash start to appear. These take longer roasting and usually the seeds and skin are removed before cooking. The more unusual shapes are roasted whole or halved. This group have a different texture to the summer varieties. They are of more substance with a distinct range of flavours and varied sweetness.
• Winter squash store for months, looks beautiful around the kitchen and can be used in dozens of recipes. From soup to curry to salads to pie they marry well with strong spices and flavours. Coriander, rocket and cumin to name a few.

Cushions ~ Lavender bags

See you tomorrow
Jenny