tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18971136701088752672024-03-05T13:32:33.144+00:00Mrs Fox's sustainable life, home, crafts and foodUK lifestyle blog by a designer maker mum who tries to live a life gentle on the planet, loves to craft, garden and eat. Little Hadham Stores is her sustainable lifestyle store in the Hertfordshire Countryside.Mrs Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03964628527899832494noreply@blogger.comBlogger284125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1897113670108875267.post-72327242773046297042021-08-01T16:23:00.001+01:002021-08-01T16:23:17.237+01:00Mexican Feast<p><span style="font-family: courier;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgihoc-ADDZZA08MwU_ExDsXmZO7TfJxCOVOtapm8dBOnqlPkZy_SsY501XDGDM4Ykk87ARTMyjxt7HTaxITkPlv2_Sc2ypWgBPqDTwOr4fr6tQs0KHePnH-7Di5jJf0hMuISpohPVZb2Y/s2048/IMG_6556.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgihoc-ADDZZA08MwU_ExDsXmZO7TfJxCOVOtapm8dBOnqlPkZy_SsY501XDGDM4Ykk87ARTMyjxt7HTaxITkPlv2_Sc2ypWgBPqDTwOr4fr6tQs0KHePnH-7Di5jJf0hMuISpohPVZb2Y/w640-h640/IMG_6556.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><p><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">We have some new products on our Zero Waste Shelves; <a data-cke-saved-href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/product/black-eyed-peas-1kg" href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/product/black-eyed-peas-1kg" target="_blank">Black Eyed Peas</a>, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/product/black-turtle-beans-1kg" href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/product/black-turtle-beans-1kg" target="_blank">Black Turtle Beans,</a> <a data-cke-saved-href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/product/mexican-chilli-flakes-100g" href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/product/mexican-chilli-flakes-100g" target="_blank">Pastilla and Jalapeno Dried Chilli Flakes</a> and to accompany these I've also started to stock <a data-cke-saved-href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/product/blue-corn-tortilla-chips-150g" href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/product/blue-corn-tortilla-chips-150g" target="_blank">Blue Corn Tortilla Chips</a>. </span><span style="font-family: courier;">In combination these are great ingredients to put together a Summertime Mexican Feast; with fresh tomato salsa, guacamole and chilli, quesadillas </span><span style="font-family: courier;">or tacos. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">To help, I've listed a few recipes below, and I'd also recommend taking a look at the food in our <a href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/spanish-summer" target="_blank">Spanish Summer Selection</a> to accompany your meal. There are some recipes <a href="http://mrsfoxs.blogspot.com/2020/08/spanish-summer-with-brindisa.html" target="_blank">HERE</a> that I put together for the Spanish Summer that would work well with the recipse below. In fact, you can simply substitute the black turtle beans in the <i>Summer Salad with Butterbeans</i> and a sprinkle of Dried pasilla Chilli flakes for a great Mexican salad.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">I like to add some </span><a href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/product/cooking-chorizo-mild-350g" style="font-family: courier;" target="_blank">chorizo</a><span style="font-family: courier;"> to my chilli. Along with slow cooking stewing beef and then shredding it, rather than using mince.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsXM5M2Pov5krdSZ8cxyRvfrc7b9SwkzNvGEH8FMWLq39kudF77JW3ATC8-Q-x22pEi4TQEyZqHX988ZkZwc0tFMVQiWdTDkGm1p2tE0CeibhjUuVvAdQGDkeGRDNv5qe-pb6BU3H39ew/s2048/9D35239D-DBAA-4575-91B7-C0818843DED9.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsXM5M2Pov5krdSZ8cxyRvfrc7b9SwkzNvGEH8FMWLq39kudF77JW3ATC8-Q-x22pEi4TQEyZqHX988ZkZwc0tFMVQiWdTDkGm1p2tE0CeibhjUuVvAdQGDkeGRDNv5qe-pb6BU3H39ew/w640-h640/9D35239D-DBAA-4575-91B7-C0818843DED9.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;"><u>Salsa</u></span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">Ingredients:</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;">2-4 ripe tomatoes</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;">½ red onion</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;">1 fresh red pepper, stems, ribs, and seeds removed</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;">1 lime</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;">1 bunch of fresh coriander</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;">1 tsp </span><a data-cke-saved-href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/product/mexican-chilli-flakes-100g" href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/product/mexican-chilli-flakes-100g" style="font-family: courier;" target="_blank">Pastilla or Jalapeno Dried Chilli Flakes</a><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span><span style="font-family: courier;"> (more or less to taste)</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;">1 pinch dried oregano</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;">1 pinch <a href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/product/paprika-sweet-smoked-75g" target="_blank">sweet smoked paprika</a> </span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Salt and pepper to taste</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Dice your tomatoes, onion, pepper, add the juice of the lime and mix together in a bowl. Chop fresh coriander and mix in with diced ingredients. Add salt, pepper, dried oregano and chilli flakes to taste. Serve with </span><a data-cke-saved-href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/product/blue-corn-tortilla-chips-150g" href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/product/blue-corn-tortilla-chips-150g" style="font-family: courier;" target="_blank">Blue Corn Tortilla Chips</a><span style="font-family: courier;">. </span></p><div><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><u><br /></u></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><u>Guacamole</u></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Ingredients:</span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>½ red onion</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>1-2 fresh red chillies</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>3 ripe avocados</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>1 ripe tomatoes</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>1 lime</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span> </span><span> </span>1 bunch of fresh coriander</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: courier;">1 tsp </span><a data-cke-saved-href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/product/mexican-chilli-flakes-100g" href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/product/mexican-chilli-flakes-100g" style="font-family: courier;" target="_blank">Pastilla or Jalapeno Dried Chilli Flakes</a><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span><span style="font-family: courier;"> (more or less to taste)</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span> </span><span> </span>1 pinch dried oregano</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span> </span><span> </span>Salt and pepper to taste</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Dice your onion, chilli peppers, tomato and </span><span style="font-family: courier;">avocado </span><span style="font-family: courier;">add the juice of the lime and mix together in a bowl. </span><span style="font-family: courier;">Chop fresh coriander and mix in with diced ingredients. Add salt, pepper, dried oregano and chilli flakes to taste. Serve with </span><a data-cke-saved-href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/product/blue-corn-tortilla-chips-150g" href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/product/blue-corn-tortilla-chips-150g" style="font-family: courier;" target="_blank">Blue Corn Tortilla Chips</a><span style="font-family: courier;">. </span></p><div><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzZhT10zSDKM1dnkIB3QXpdOT0mB9BLIjTfg3lfKZRccQtqvHdfU8F9Tg8B9kQcCXMU9X7LY8O9UGmAgMtX9t0yxzDfUR5leNJQJ1IwULHAnztaapnT9HqcvPxYpvOdaiacBh_N6Lrbw0/s275/chilli.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzZhT10zSDKM1dnkIB3QXpdOT0mB9BLIjTfg3lfKZRccQtqvHdfU8F9Tg8B9kQcCXMU9X7LY8O9UGmAgMtX9t0yxzDfUR5leNJQJ1IwULHAnztaapnT9HqcvPxYpvOdaiacBh_N6Lrbw0/w400-h266/chilli.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div></div><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Chilli</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Ingredients:</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;">100g <a href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/product/kidney-beans-organic-500g" target="_blank">Red Kidney Beans</a></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;">100g </span><a data-cke-saved-href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/product/black-eyed-peas-1kg" href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/product/black-eyed-peas-1kg" style="font-family: courier;" target="_blank">Black Eyed Peas</a><span style="font-family: courier;">, </span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;">100g </span><a data-cke-saved-href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/product/black-turtle-beans-1kg" href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/product/black-turtle-beans-1kg" style="font-family: courier;" target="_blank">Black Turtle Beans,</a></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;">1 large onion</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;">1 red pepper</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;">1 green pepper</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;">2 garlic cloves</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;">1 tbsp oil</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;">1 heaped tsp hot chilli powder (or 1 level tbsp if you prefer mild)</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;">1 tsp paprika</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;">1 tsp ground cumin</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;">400g can chopped tomatoes</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;">½ tsp dried marjoram</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;">4 squares dark chocolate</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;">1tsp </span><a data-cke-saved-href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/product/mexican-chilli-flakes-100g" href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/product/mexican-chilli-flakes-100g" style="font-family: courier;" target="_blank">Pastilla or Jalapeno Dried Chilli Flakes</a><span style="font-family: courier;"> (more or less to taste)</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;">A good glug of bourbon, American whisky or brandy.</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;">OPTIONAL - 500g of beef mince, soya mince or whatever your choice.</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;">1. The night before soak the kidney beans, b</span><span style="font-family: courier;">lack turtle beans</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;">and black eyed peas or chickpeas. Put them in a large saucepan in clean water and bring to the boil, then simmer for 40 minutes.</span><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;">2. Fry off the onion in the oil and then turn the heat down low while you chop the peppers. Turn up the heat a little in the pan add these to along with the crushed garlic. </span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;">3. Add the tin of tomatoes along with the chilli, paprika, cumin, dried marjorm, chilli flakes, chocolate </span><span style="font-family: courier;">and</span><span style="font-family: courier;"> a glug of bourbon</span><span style="font-family: courier;">.</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;">4. If you are going to add meat cook off 500g of your choice of meat with salt, pepper, 1tsp of cinnamon and a </span><span style="font-family: courier;">½ tsp chilli powder.</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;">5. Add the beans, tomato sauce mix and your choice of meat together into a pan and continue to slow cook this for at least 60 minutes.</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Serve with, rice, soured cream and chives, tortilla chips and or cheese.</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p>Mrs Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03964628527899832494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1897113670108875267.post-67121188440923460962021-03-23T22:38:00.004+00:002021-03-24T11:05:47.389+00:00Sustainability 2 - On becoming a Grocer<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXGg636vD750BlS0XBnv5LwyMY8bPEFOpNnIMwfpT4ifIIeR10M2HoMF9SiR4_Nqi2XdHvgT_3VgyNCWNT5BIQT3-gDB-UaW11QeoQX2uLr8sN8SWu8hMLqMj9A4BIlfL8eWSZygHT3NA/s1024/EditedLittleHadhamstores-16.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="little hadham stores" border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXGg636vD750BlS0XBnv5LwyMY8bPEFOpNnIMwfpT4ifIIeR10M2HoMF9SiR4_Nqi2XdHvgT_3VgyNCWNT5BIQT3-gDB-UaW11QeoQX2uLr8sN8SWu8hMLqMj9A4BIlfL8eWSZygHT3NA/w640-h640/EditedLittleHadhamstores-16.jpg" title="little hadham stores door portrait" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 17px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: courier;">I am working on a new website and as a result have to work on an "About Me" section. On the one hand, I find this difficult. Just as I find the photoshoot I needed to do DIFFICULT, despite the best efforts of the lovely <a href="https://www.eatbreathecreate.photography/2021/03/03/the-good-egg-bagel-kit-photography/" target="_blank">Natalie Aubry</a>.</span></span><div><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 17px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 17px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: courier;">On the other hand, it is a great exercise in thinking about, and defining once again, what I really want to do with this business/<a href="http://littlehadhamstores.co.uk" target="_blank">STORES</a>/my life...</span></span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 17px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: courier;">I never intended to be a shop keeper, but I believe strongly that we need to make conscious, sustainable, choices about how we consume. I believe that food is a great way for people to start to think about many of today's environmental issues on a personal level. And, that it is easy to feel overwhelmed by the, often conflicting, environmental advice. </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Poppins; font-size: 17px; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjomIYz3z18UqTgK1tzsPuwhfo1rxAxfVaa8BOGvA3aWZvgKHPHc83jGk9lYCYQWLUVjks4LoK-Tz6cyETyiNy1nKznN_qe1I2OhP1j6ik-FhLaR6BjaefJ_iRpM0lE2jM61XJzHC1g9pM/s1536/EditedLittleHadhamstores-15.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="little hadham stores village grocers" border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="1024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjomIYz3z18UqTgK1tzsPuwhfo1rxAxfVaa8BOGvA3aWZvgKHPHc83jGk9lYCYQWLUVjks4LoK-Tz6cyETyiNy1nKznN_qe1I2OhP1j6ik-FhLaR6BjaefJ_iRpM0lE2jM61XJzHC1g9pM/w426-h640/EditedLittleHadhamstores-15.jpg" title="little hadham stores" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Poppins; font-size: 17px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: courier; font-size: 17px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I try to look at things holistically, aiming to tread as lightly on the planet as possible, without compromising quality, or beauty, or the need for us to share our creativity and knowledge with the widest community we can. When I choose goods and suppliers I always work to the simple principle:</span><p></p><h2 style="background-color: white; font-size: calc(2.16vw + 1rem); font-weight: 500; line-height: 1.2992; margin: 2rem 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: courier;">"BUY LESS, CHOOSE WELL"</span></h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQWyZGknBv4oCnld7YO87TwZEaVnI4cxGiJSkRuml5l7FrylAbJMFK3PV3YClKlzim5_vv23SPWeFjk33ynCFn-SKigXUW7XGJVb8Et-DC9Wmj5h0-n1uetSwgcgX8oXRfeYUqtvj-Jgk/s1536/EditedLittleHadhamstores-22.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="1024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQWyZGknBv4oCnld7YO87TwZEaVnI4cxGiJSkRuml5l7FrylAbJMFK3PV3YClKlzim5_vv23SPWeFjk33ynCFn-SKigXUW7XGJVb8Et-DC9Wmj5h0-n1uetSwgcgX8oXRfeYUqtvj-Jgk/w426-h640/EditedLittleHadhamstores-22.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: courier; font-size: 17px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Anything else is an attempt to cut corners and it will end up biting you on the butt in the long run. It seems to me that one of the biggest problems with the food industry is that in it's continued attempts to create cheap food it has created the problems of industrialised agriculture. The constant downward pressure on price is what leads to; inhumane farming practices, lack of respect for animals, land and consumers, toxic chemicals being used on the soil, a disconnect from the earth itself. And we, the consumer, are often complicit in this.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: courier; font-size: 17px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div><p style="background-color: white; font-size: 17px; margin: 1rem 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: courier;">I try to bring my customers the </span><strong style="font-family: courier; overflow-wrap: break-word;">freshest </strong><span style="font-family: courier;">food available, with a minimum of food miles and food waste. I support </span><strong style="font-family: courier; overflow-wrap: break-word;">local,</strong><span style="font-family: courier;"> like-minded, business, small producers who make an ethical choice about how goods should be produced, sold, packaged and consumed. Not only is this great for our community, but we all get to eat </span><strong style="font-family: courier; overflow-wrap: break-word;">seasonally </strong><span style="font-family: courier;">and </span><strong style="font-family: courier; overflow-wrap: break-word;">sustainably. </strong></p><p style="background-color: white; font-size: 17px; margin: 1rem 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: courier;">I also want to choose from artisan makers and the best quality producers worldwide, to support traditional, sustainable production practices and nutritionally valuable and great tasting food.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-size: 17px; margin: 1rem 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj09-SMzrs_mHoXreKvR6HG-bzjUJKfS4IPyePMbMrgldqHpiZ6e8ipMP_CupItngMBB8IMbCworuScntPpr8aakSJ19dPd59fhJHVEgDDnGZfI4oUmTbHLfFN85sxRlo3Fqfyh_I_u8vs/s1536/EditedLittleHadhamstores-23.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="dog at shop door" border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="1024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj09-SMzrs_mHoXreKvR6HG-bzjUJKfS4IPyePMbMrgldqHpiZ6e8ipMP_CupItngMBB8IMbCworuScntPpr8aakSJ19dPd59fhJHVEgDDnGZfI4oUmTbHLfFN85sxRlo3Fqfyh_I_u8vs/w426-h640/EditedLittleHadhamstores-23.jpg" title="dog at Little Hadham Stores Shop Door" width="426" /></a></div><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span><p></p><p id="yui_3_17_2_1_1616525183468_479" style="background-color: white; font-size: 17px; margin: 1rem 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> <strong style="overflow-wrap: break-word;">SUSTAINABILITY IS AT OUR VERY CORE :</strong> - </span></p><ul data-rte-list="default" style="background-color: white; font-size: 17px; margin-bottom: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><li style="list-style-type: none; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Organic first is our motto; and reducing the toxicity of my environment, and the food I eat, is a life long journey. We supply weekly organic veg boxes, organic artisan bread, organic whole foods from our zero waste shelves (anything NOT organic is listed as such).</span></p></li><li style="list-style-type: none; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Reducing consumption is an aim in itself, but specifically of animal products is environmentally important. We stock vegetarian and vegan alternatives as the norm, rather than the alternative. However, I believe in nose to tail eating and believe the emphasis should be on making sure there are high welfare levels and no waste when we do consume other animals.</span></p></li><li style="list-style-type: none; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Minimise packaging. It should be compostable, recyclable or re-useable. Bring your own bags, boxes, tubs, jars, any container and we'll fill them from our shelves. Return your veg boxes, egg cartons, glass and plastic containers and paper bags and we will re-use them or compost them.</span></p></li><li style="list-style-type: none; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Cut single use plastics. Plastic is an amazing product in some circumstances but OUR use of it is killing the planet, and WE can do something about that. It’s not that we never use plastic, but we believe we can re-duce, re-use & re-cycle the minimal amount that we do use.</span></p></li><li style="list-style-type: none; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Sustainable palm oil - the West's rampant consumption of this is what drives countries to destroy their rain forests, yet like any other crop it can be sustainably grown.</span></p></li><li style="list-style-type: none; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: courier;">I believe in a co-operative approach and work WITH my local suppliers. My main wholesaler is the UK’s biggest worker’s co-operative; who have been supplying natural, responsibly-sourced products since 1977. They have ethical policies on the environment, trade, palm oil, workers rights, animal welfare, toxic ingredients, and regularly review their supply chain.</span></p></li></ul><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: courier; font-size: 17px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: courier; font-size: 17px; white-space: pre-wrap;">It has been an iterative process, finding my way to define this approach. And it will continue to develop. </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: courier; font-size: 17px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: courier; font-size: 17px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Despite my local prejudice, I find myself wanting to stock my favourite foods from overseas. I have been brought up eating West Indian food, I can't suddenly turn off that need for spice and sunshine. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: courier; font-size: 17px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I am starting to stock more lifestyle products, natural materials, traditionally made, often vintage and I'm not sure if this is pushing me away from the original plan for the shop.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: courier; font-size: 17px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: courier; font-size: 17px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Anyway, I had to fill in the census form last weekend and I am now officially a grocer, so there I am. Come on in, I love to talk!</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: courier; font-size: 17px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4srGsskhlKY0UQJHvdNpB4U-HhqgM3p0x5mp4xTJb_72LtdYHvmXTbeCA1AgsfBN2jg9JMWUWV5akFyrwQvzrpM4rTq54W9hi74KQHNRt-Z9FkiNDyjxndkFZRg2DlRYR7lkNjtiAieU/s1536/EditedLittleHadhamstores-21.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="1024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4srGsskhlKY0UQJHvdNpB4U-HhqgM3p0x5mp4xTJb_72LtdYHvmXTbeCA1AgsfBN2jg9JMWUWV5akFyrwQvzrpM4rTq54W9hi74KQHNRt-Z9FkiNDyjxndkFZRg2DlRYR7lkNjtiAieU/w426-h640/EditedLittleHadhamstores-21.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: courier; font-size: 17px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></div>Mrs Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03964628527899832494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1897113670108875267.post-51983801838971107882021-02-15T14:34:00.002+00:002021-02-15T14:34:53.960+00:00Bread Matters<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNYTLAVKFHilOqPNn7EssOmIbuYNue90beHJPCgRwT5n8F7f_Sm5l1uAqNsuaOaH7AdoVsFusJnMkus-_Ga1NHz4N5Vve1sFIoInMK884akCPyi76HPowlvBGzE9v91FKBnv_IG0J9_Rc/s600/Screenshot+2020-08-16+at+14.11.29.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="597" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNYTLAVKFHilOqPNn7EssOmIbuYNue90beHJPCgRwT5n8F7f_Sm5l1uAqNsuaOaH7AdoVsFusJnMkus-_Ga1NHz4N5Vve1sFIoInMK884akCPyi76HPowlvBGzE9v91FKBnv_IG0J9_Rc/w636-h640/Screenshot+2020-08-16+at+14.11.29.png" width="636" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: courier;">We have wonderful bread in Little Hadham Stores. Fiona's <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Organic Irish soda bread</a> is simply amazing. Made fresh the morning you pick it up with certified organic ingredients, apart from those locally foraged. The plain soda bread is deliciously hearty, can be made vegan at no extra cost and is the basis for 16 different speciality breads she makes. This week Fiona is offering a taster of her bread for <a href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/soda" target="_blank">every customer who orders from her</a>, so it's the perfect week to try it. </span><div><br /></div><div><div><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace;">Matt at <a href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/jigsaw-bakery" target="_blank">Jigsaw Bakery</a> is an absolute genius baker and I challenge you to find better sourdough anywhere. I've tried a few others and I stick my neck out and say his is the best. And that is why I drive to Linton, Cambridge every Thursday morning, it's why the shop doesn't open until 11am.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTf1pzPdzEDIURqk0l3-ktjqdOy-NfQzAWbCl1-fKlvKWqb9RLgtApz6zQuDNRDoVDdr_QQHOdJ61JjHMEvXp0-9QVQUnLT6oUPKv5F973mpg5RLWasqzkxH19DBBw9WgvSJaBBuMWnkM/s1600/fullsizeoutput_641.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1445" data-original-width="1600" height="578" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTf1pzPdzEDIURqk0l3-ktjqdOy-NfQzAWbCl1-fKlvKWqb9RLgtApz6zQuDNRDoVDdr_QQHOdJ61JjHMEvXp0-9QVQUnLT6oUPKv5F973mpg5RLWasqzkxH19DBBw9WgvSJaBBuMWnkM/s640/fullsizeoutput_641.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div></div><div><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace;">Over the first lockdown I returned to making my own bread and reading my favourite book on bread (Yes, I have one!) Andrew Whitley's </span><u style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace;"><a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/a/5390/9780007298495" target="_blank">Bread Matters</a></u><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace;">. </span><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace;">It reminded me again of why a thoughtful approach to the food we eat is so important. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace;">Andrew Whitley is the founder of the celebrated Village Bakery in Melmerby. An organic baker he writes of the deplorable state of British bread, explains the baking process, demystifies the science and shares the practical craft of bread making.</span></div><div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I've been avoiding processed bread from supermarkets for over 20 years now, and can hardly eat the stuff these days, though my children - LOVE IT - when they go to someone else house, they act like it is some kind of miracle food. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Bread Matters reminds me to think about the whole process of making a food; not just how the wheat is grown - organically or not?, But also the source of the bread flour, how it is milled, the process under which it is made into bread and the additives that are put into it before baking. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Particularly interesting is that the long fermentation times that used to be the norm, before modern yeasts were isolated - along with the </span><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace;">increased instances of wheat intolerance, and coeliacs -</span><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace;"> have implications for gut health and wheat intolerances.</span></div><div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;"><br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp9-jSKFO1UPfwAv1HW-GadGoDjVEvuzNxA7S19V0P-LM2MHZ843neQedqPGT7thklZBGvoLF43GE5QHCxM6vcIEnihes0Quo_dO3ryPI9d8VtvWYDPG-UADpiZ03MXxvbC_djnNLOw_w/s1600/fullsizeoutput_642.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp9-jSKFO1UPfwAv1HW-GadGoDjVEvuzNxA7S19V0P-LM2MHZ843neQedqPGT7thklZBGvoLF43GE5QHCxM6vcIEnihes0Quo_dO3ryPI9d8VtvWYDPG-UADpiZ03MXxvbC_djnNLOw_w/s640/fullsizeoutput_642.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></div>Mrs Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03964628527899832494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1897113670108875267.post-74153418281037252932021-02-06T09:58:00.000+00:002021-02-10T10:29:00.628+00:00Sustainability 1 - Zero Waste Shops<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://sugarandscoop.com/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="sugar and scoop" border="0" data-original-height="1834" data-original-width="2048" height="574" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBzHWx5opK_RaNzZN_e3GuzAQIUhDkYbrM2gHvpuNfEc0VjzuslzHuzzTmtp-OUwslsH1QcfgPwuR6pLu2ff-iNxDsW-5GVdiltzM-jZW1BlXdTk7jVBbcbPrlIwBcLQMXyOTO9ev01Wk/w640-h574/25AA13F7-D9F0-4CAA-9D7C-799293F023AC_1_201_a.jpeg" title="zero waste shop" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: courier;">As I am sure you know sustainability is hugely important to me. The Christmas break and new year always gives me the opportunity, and head space, to think about what sustainability really means and what my goals for the new year are. Looking back at my blog I find this post from the beginning of last year; <a href="http://mrsfoxs.blogspot.com/2020/01/a-new-year-but-no-new-plant.html" target="_blank">A New Year but No New Planet</a>. I found myself liking this quote:</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #545454; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.5px;"></span></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #545454; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">I think a good start is to focus on the many, small changes that are compatible, and therefore sustainable, in our own lives. It is all about our individual priorities and making active choices, even if the science tells us next year they were wrong. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #545454; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">Conscious choices lead to </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #545454; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">meaningful action.</span></span></blockquote><p></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">It made me realise I wanted to do a series of posts on other people's thoughts on sustainability and maybe introduce you to some local, ethical and sustainable businesses. So, I am starting with <a href="https://sugarandscoop.com/" target="_blank">Sugar and Scoop</a> a zero waste shop in Ware. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">Reducing plastic waste is crucial to the future of our planet. That’s why Sugar and Scoop sell fantastic, high-quality products that help you to cut down on the single-use plastics you get through in daily life.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: courier;">Kirsty Taylor-Moran set up Sugar and Scoop with a crowd funding campaign, gaining support of her future customers in Ware to help establish the business. I asked her to tell me more:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;"></span></p><blockquote><p><span style="font-family: courier;">We were motivated to set up Sugar & Scoop after becoming increasingly concerned about climate change and the government inaction. We realised recycling, where possible, was not enough and started to make meaningful changes at home to reduce our impact on the environment. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">Food packaging, cleaning, toiletries and baby hygiene products were obvious areas for us to target. We were trying to do our best to reduce our single use plastic waste but found it really wasn’t very easy for us to do without travelling miles, at the time our nearest ZW store was in St Albans and was logistically difficult for us. </span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: courier;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://sugarandscoop.com/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="zero waste shop" border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA_yX-B19HgucHf52G7t7PNLjr85gg54XhSh_fKL9GCeeLEXqsVpL_lPhXNqDymnHEEXQIs_8nvMPKYdmo6QuHDF1SGuAA6db5yOAungZRFAOwvB_exxXWZ-Z8jLFHCQMdGCrVell_7GE/w480-h640/IMG_3845.jpg" title="sugar and scoop" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: courier;"><div><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div>Kirsty's shop is beautiful and she believes that reducing your plastic waste shouldn’t mean compromising on choice or quality. Kirsty seeks out the best quality plastic-free products so that you can buy them locally. If there’s something new you’d like to see in her store, just let her know and she'll try to source it.<br /><br />Sugar and Scoop offers refills of food, toiletries and cleaning supplies along with treats like her nut-butter station. Kirsty says:</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><blockquote>We feel very strongly that everybody should have a refill shop in their town and we wanted to help others in our local community reduce their household waste too but with a real focus on convenience, accessibility and offering a broad enough range of products to make it feasible to skip the big supermarket shops.</blockquote></span></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://sugarandscoop.com/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="sugar and scoop" border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKJkqtcxJtJBuAoEywKxwt8V6eqtCrjfc3sWzRFp7glx3BJVCb1aV4xrZLmQVRPciOp6swyEppP8v1DgDHhbNwhU_aFWSZ-v0Ot_bExsAmJhMHCI3p2AV5-HKY_XJb3Ws6v3R6qvh7pkI/w480-h640/IMG_3847.jpg" title="zero waste shop" width="480" /></a></div><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /><br /><br />Sugar & Scoop </span><span style="font-family: courier;">Zero Waste Refill & Eco Lifestyle Shop</span><div><span style="font-family: courier;">76 - 78 High Street,</span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier;">Ware, SG12 9AT<br /><br />Email - Hello@sugarandscoop.com <br />Instagram - <a href="http://www.instagram.com/sugarandscoop">@sugarandscoop</a></span><br /><br /></div>Mrs Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03964628527899832494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1897113670108875267.post-75836134016789425752021-01-30T09:43:00.007+00:002021-01-30T10:41:09.941+00:00How was your January?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/product/organic-barista-oat-milk-1l-by-minor-figures" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Minor Figures oat milk" border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLYbACLy3iA_0503NCSKZOd-qslXsZDEfUulVqcLgCb1W2Uv4l9D1I4llebPGvnsTr-tcHpoErgrgo_3otA_fG44akO4Mn_xlTVIAOKQFtMILSHl33Snw0mPiJIEiykY31gLR-sB9zlnY/w640-h640/MF-ORGBAR.jpg" title="Minor Figures oat milk" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div><span style="font-family: courier;">I try not to commit to those new year resolutions that only last for January, and often can't decide how I feel about things like "Dry January" or "Veganuary", is it anything more than a marketing ploy? </span><div><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier;"> I asked one of my favourite vegans, Tom, 17, what influenced his decision to become vegan: <br /><br /></span><blockquote><span style="font-family: courier;">When discussing why I first went vegan, I found that people always seemed to find it “too difficult” or “confusing” or need an overwhelming reason to be a vegan out of obligation. While I do understand the reason people may perceive veganism like that, and while I do believe that people have a moral obligation to go vegan, I won’t get into those things now. I’m here to talk about why I went vegan. <br /><br />The reason, unlike what many would think, was simple. I like animals. I don’t want to hurt them. And once I had found out that contributing to the dairy and egg industry was doing just that (I was already vegetarian at the time for a similar reason) I felt the weight of my actions and just… Stopped (Sorry, this is a remarkably uninteresting case. Go watch Gary Yourofsky’s* speech if you want a more in depth look into the vegan mindset, he explains it pretty well)</span></blockquote><span style="font-family: courier;">Tom is one of the reasons I decided to stock these Suma Organic Baked Beans which are Vegan Society approved.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/product/baked-beans-organic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_s-JGb6AwNBkYso1CasgamGQzVzwLgZ8Habjx88vYDrR2UKkTB336nwhJK_CRsiD37LjQboj9rbniGies_OM5mxrMARrBBYtebnu8yBTEo3-eWBqF1bMutyrcEfPSjC9M0RrvW5o9AGs/w640-h640/BAKEDBEANS.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><span style="font-family: courier;">In STORES we always have a wide range of vegan foods, purely because we should eat a diverse range of plant based foods to make up any healthy diet. However I do have some favourite vegan finds:</span><div><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: courier;">My addiction to coffee has lead me to try a number of different dairy alternatives and Minor Figures Organic Oat Milk is my favourite so far. Oat Milk has proven to be one of the most sustainable and eco-friendly plant milks. Production of Oat Milk demands less water usage than that of cow’s milk and most alternative milks. Don't get me started on Almond Milk my friends, having spent many years in California, I am biased against it on exactly the basis of it's water consumption.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier;">Many factors contribute to a smaller carbon footprint when compared plant milk and cow’s milk. A single cup of coffee using cow’s milk has roughly double the CO2e than a cup of coffee with a dairy free alternative like oat milk. Or of course you can drink your coffee black.</span></div></div><div><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier;">To be honest, I still have milk in my morning coffee and then often drink it black for the rest of the day or with oat milk. I find that I use Oat Milk for all my other breakfast foods, smoothies, porridge, granola & cereal and actually I can tolerate it in tea, while my husband can't abide oat milk in tea but finds it perfectly fine in coffee.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier;">Finding ethical swaps that fit into your life is often a work in progress, and persisting until you find what works for you is what is important. You don't have to be perfect. Just start the process of considering what is best for not just you, but the planet and your community as a whole, it is not something for a single month, but is an ongoing and ever evolving commitment.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><br /><br /></div>Mrs Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03964628527899832494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1897113670108875267.post-15042374926033549742021-01-10T10:34:00.000+00:002021-01-10T10:34:06.150+00:00Smoothie Sachets<p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP_0UxY1_Hwp4NQQTTz0F4oCT7Q6UADN3kWqmwr0AShFaCy0MPYFoBWSi3bPHSmAQmsC5vj4WwLw1GqoTBwDBD_gYOEtM-Jroa5uGYXcGxWveQIU4-ElgRsUSidrM92oVU4_0XfZAdAfI/s2048/6BE1CE01-81C0-4D07-9F6D-22EAAE797409_1_201_a.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="healthy smoothies for kids" border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP_0UxY1_Hwp4NQQTTz0F4oCT7Q6UADN3kWqmwr0AShFaCy0MPYFoBWSi3bPHSmAQmsC5vj4WwLw1GqoTBwDBD_gYOEtM-Jroa5uGYXcGxWveQIU4-ElgRsUSidrM92oVU4_0XfZAdAfI/w640-h640/6BE1CE01-81C0-4D07-9F6D-22EAAE797409_1_201_a.jpeg" title="smoothie sachets" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: courier;"><br />With schools closed again, and home schooling back on the agenda, I wanted to recommend one of my favourite products for kids at <a href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/">Little Hadham Stores</a> - <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Alex's Smoothie Sachets</a>. I mean, they are not only for kids, but I buy in bulk and put them in jars on my children's "snack shelf", so they can help themselves. <br /><br />If you have a smoothie maker, they are an easy way to get extra goodness into you and your children. Each packet will make either one really big smoothie (a pint glass) or two regular sized smoothies. All you need to add is a banana (we sometimes also add a handful of frozen fruit) and </span><span style="font-family: courier;">milk, or </span><span style="font-family: courier;">your favourite dairy free alternative.<br /><br />I love them as a quick breakfast, that the kids are happy to sort out by themselves, as elevenses or an afternoon snack. Una and Louis enjoy the process of making them. And although we do do dairy, I've discovered I prefer them with the <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Minor Figures Oat Milk </a>that I stock at LHStores, something about the slight sweetness of the oat milk I think. </span><div><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier;">Alex's passion for healthy eating and organic food extends over two decades. From her Masters degree, where she studied organic farm families, to growing her own food, to spending most of her formative years on a farm. She has brought organic and locally grown food to people’s plates for a long time.</span><div><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ3TV3Rp97TEusEcCbVYwWWXfy9l73xyswzTmwmABA9djBjaKZ3R7PVCY5EADN0C39s9g9kPgLJUX6UIgaN4c85DLrxIuSr-H-qHCbCEvnfJxkYpv4yqeTRsug_peq1RI_lo0FbeZNKAQ/s2048/E494EA70-E17C-47F3-A14E-FBBE0518CDD7_1_201_a.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ3TV3Rp97TEusEcCbVYwWWXfy9l73xyswzTmwmABA9djBjaKZ3R7PVCY5EADN0C39s9g9kPgLJUX6UIgaN4c85DLrxIuSr-H-qHCbCEvnfJxkYpv4yqeTRsug_peq1RI_lo0FbeZNKAQ/w480-h640/E494EA70-E17C-47F3-A14E-FBBE0518CDD7_1_201_a.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><p></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 1.5; margin: 4px 0px 16px; padding: 0px;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: courier;">Alex has created smoothie recipes that are tasty, packed with whole foods (nuts, seeds) and have no gimmicks or fillers. She offers probiotics as an option with all of the smoothie sachets, for an extra boost to your </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: courier;">gut</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: courier;"> health</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: courier;"> (another passion of ours). </span></p><span style="font-family: courier;"><br />While we are not qualified to make any health claims about the smoothies, all the </span><span style="font-family: courier;">ingredients</span><span style="font-family: courier;"> are good for you, certified organic, full of protein and a host of other macro and micro nutrients. Nutritional information is readily available online, so feel free to google them for a more well rounded picture of what you are drinking. The five flavours are:-<br /><br /><b>The Coffee One</b>: cocoa, cashews NUTS, golden linseed, coffee <br /><br /><b>The Spiced One</b>: cinnamon, turmeric, golden linseed, pumpkin seeds <br /><br /><b>The Peanut Butter One</b>: peanut butter powder (NUTS), Golden linseed, cinnamon, sunflower seeds, oats <br /><br /><b>The Green One</b>: Greens plus superfood powder, oats, chia seeds, sunflower seeds (This one is a powerhouse so you might want to add a teaspoon of honey)<br /><br /><b>The Energy One</b>: “the perfect energiser” a naturally caffeinated Yerba Mate superfood powder (34 nutrient dense berries, herbs and greens), oats, chia seeds, sunflower seeds</span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3FK9TphT5jSEVhRJdiJbkD6_pxEVJgQZ9c6q_sluuhGf2-KaB2BCMq6kcjMvPRrlJHa4vYd2NrpGgOxphxYbgXVHretEs3tRzzlYQrARXjt5K3kXCGzY5qAVEAAYJlTeldzBETHzchTo/s2048/3788FADB-7372-46C4-AE65-46459D141BE4_1_201_a.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="healthy smoothies for lockdown lunches" border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3FK9TphT5jSEVhRJdiJbkD6_pxEVJgQZ9c6q_sluuhGf2-KaB2BCMq6kcjMvPRrlJHa4vYd2NrpGgOxphxYbgXVHretEs3tRzzlYQrARXjt5K3kXCGzY5qAVEAAYJlTeldzBETHzchTo/w640-h640/3788FADB-7372-46C4-AE65-46459D141BE4_1_201_a.jpeg" title="smoothie sachets" width="640" /></a></span></div><p></p><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">The idea for Alex's smoothie sachets came to her through her friend Laura who had injured her leg and was gifted smoothie mixes from another friend, Lucy, to support her healing. Laura knows Alex's passion for great food, supporting people’s healthy eating journeys, and from there the spark was ignited.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Alex says; "Another blessing from this journey has been my kids‘ love of my smoothies. I believe in kids eating good whole foods, but I am not opposed to hiding good ingredients from them until they are big enough to accept these, sometimes, less palatable tastes (ie greens plus powder, one of the nutritional powerhouses in my smoothies)."<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMUcaIlXpXloEa9pcwFr-gWWgLg9Oil2neN_vfbOyR0UjDxBQQtd_eXCdCmvMCWwS2Dqa9-768BhoMhqone30gDer-UP7ec7cH-KW_1DZ1IuQkuIvBPsURXIUH_SyVeOuY1QpqIhlUurY/s2048/E6178122-EEAB-4E07-965B-CB63B9EEE66D_1_201_a.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMUcaIlXpXloEa9pcwFr-gWWgLg9Oil2neN_vfbOyR0UjDxBQQtd_eXCdCmvMCWwS2Dqa9-768BhoMhqone30gDer-UP7ec7cH-KW_1DZ1IuQkuIvBPsURXIUH_SyVeOuY1QpqIhlUurY/w480-h640/E6178122-EEAB-4E07-965B-CB63B9EEE66D_1_201_a.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div></span><div style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: courier;">The <a href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/product/smoothie-sachets" target="_blank">smoothie sachets</a> are available to order from <a href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/" target="_blank">LHSTORES</a> and we can also mail these out to you - Royal Mail, 1st class - if you are too far away to pick up. Alex says: <span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">"I hope you find these sachets an easy and tasty way to boost your health and your snacking pleasure."</span></span></div></div><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: courier; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: courier; text-size-adjust: auto;">If you would like to receive our weekly specials list direct to your inbox each week <a href="https://mailchi.mp/97ebf80e19c8/lhstores">CLICK HERE</a> to join our mailing list.</span></div>Mrs Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03964628527899832494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1897113670108875267.post-10272256180552139862021-01-03T12:03:00.002+00:002021-01-03T12:05:56.394+00:00Welcome 2021...<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8nzap7YlmPbHS8EpPwHQtPOuzV-wzCx-v2XwuC7PQp4elVrhcq2MOzMAd0cENoSY6ogxFolTCw0zkw3TpCUvPzVsSjNPfFg-AGakRepLaqp41ZaC-J48Cu6VBktc3StCCjHMJs3oK1LY/s2048/76817943-474B-4393-B105-5956E9B948FD_1_201_a.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1927" data-original-width="2048" height="602" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8nzap7YlmPbHS8EpPwHQtPOuzV-wzCx-v2XwuC7PQp4elVrhcq2MOzMAd0cENoSY6ogxFolTCw0zkw3TpCUvPzVsSjNPfFg-AGakRepLaqp41ZaC-J48Cu6VBktc3StCCjHMJs3oK1LY/w640-h602/76817943-474B-4393-B105-5956E9B948FD_1_201_a.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><p style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Like most of us I welcomed in the new year with particular enthusiasm. I mean, what is there to say about the s*#t storm that was 2020. So instead here are three, slightly disperate, things that make me hopeful for 2021:</span></p><p style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></p><span style="font-family: courier;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5NdCXUMLeMIt0EDRVDwTuqmQw1W1WqSCJ4Iq7InvqWPWJoggBoYioD2LX9dsbMf6_7EBXXmwpCxNnINz65xWuz0Cel4xKGvBo0uoluhTHoAuJZUbzEAeHSwIiXj9O44ELwJR4mSJeisQ/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="2000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5NdCXUMLeMIt0EDRVDwTuqmQw1W1WqSCJ4Iq7InvqWPWJoggBoYioD2LX9dsbMf6_7EBXXmwpCxNnINz65xWuz0Cel4xKGvBo0uoluhTHoAuJZUbzEAeHSwIiXj9O44ELwJR4mSJeisQ/w640-h320/image.png" width="640" /></a></div></span><br /><div><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier;">I am not going to add to the many trillions of words already used to write about the chaos of last year, I don't think I have anything unique to say. But I wanted to share a link to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/10/business/biontech-covid-vaccine.html" target="_blank">this article</a> from the NY Times on </span><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit;">Dr Ugur Sahin and Dr Özlem Türeci, the couple who founded BioNTech. This is not a comment on the vaccine but on the scientists, about whom there is much that gives me hope.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk9iSQa9Q9Wcss_nkXp0xoLRjeFog4VR-hWcNAW37ENalsPBQMmu5XhhJHsAlm56TKebu4Fa1xDjlctUArXu4G8CYnWBX3GShI903TWHEPNpkGKgfqIhVHWf0yJ64B8i_CzffqrQWE-oY/s2048/A7E44722-AFBE-4AB3-BB67-12250D1ABC85.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="christmas cake" border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk9iSQa9Q9Wcss_nkXp0xoLRjeFog4VR-hWcNAW37ENalsPBQMmu5XhhJHsAlm56TKebu4Fa1xDjlctUArXu4G8CYnWBX3GShI903TWHEPNpkGKgfqIhVHWf0yJ64B8i_CzffqrQWE-oY/w640-h640/A7E44722-AFBE-4AB3-BB67-12250D1ABC85.jpeg" title="christmas cake" width="640" /></a></div></div><div><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier;">I made my first Christmas Cake for at least 15 years this Christmas. I bulk bought the organic ingredients from my wholesaler and split it with a group of friends and customers that were baking their own cakes too. I will be more organised and hopefully there will be an even bigger group of us to share the cost and minimise the packaging this year. I love </span><a href="http://carolinegaskin.co.uk/can-you-still-have-christmas-cake-for-breakfast/" style="font-family: courier;" target="_blank">this post</a><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span><span style="font-family: courier;">from my old homeopath Caroline Gaskin where she explains why Christmas cake for brekkie is a GOOD THING!</span></div><div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></p><p></p><span class="css-cnj6d5 e1z0qqy90" face="nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif" style="border: 0px; color: #888888; display: inline; font-size: 0.8125rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.01em; line-height: 1.125rem; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="css-1ly73wi e1tej78p0" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; clip: rect(0px, 0px, 0px, 0px); font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; height: 1px; letter-spacing: 0.13px; line-height: inherit; margin: -1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-size-adjust: 100%; vertical-align: baseline; width: 1px;">Credit...</span></span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDj-KuEI10YOWwh34UOM4lC7A9DSt9FCH_fDaOd7USHyycLeSVyLM8_vNYvXoXxNobHUpJATuC_GTejyiIKe61E4G44f684541EKJHiX61TSsL7D1iimNEN1ixM3H3f2iQ8NwTjMs5ZiY/s2048/E8A83527-0A85-4B72-9DB7-1DB73291792D.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1153" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDj-KuEI10YOWwh34UOM4lC7A9DSt9FCH_fDaOd7USHyycLeSVyLM8_vNYvXoXxNobHUpJATuC_GTejyiIKe61E4G44f684541EKJHiX61TSsL7D1iimNEN1ixM3H3f2iQ8NwTjMs5ZiY/w360-h640/E8A83527-0A85-4B72-9DB7-1DB73291792D.jpeg" width="360" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-family: courier;">It may not seem likely that a book on fungi would be the best book I've read all year (I'm counting 2020 as the year not 2021!) but <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/a/5390/9781847925190">Entangled Life - How Fungi Make Our World, Change Our Minds and Shape Our Futures.</a>* is just brilliant. On almost every page there is something that I did not know and have to read out aloud to my family. It's e</span><span style="font-family: courier;">loquently written, </span><span style="font-family: courier;">stunningly informative and it is truly making me think differently about everything from gardening, to evolution, to what it is to be an individual, and I am only on the Chapter 4. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;"><span>* This is an affiliate link to the </span><span style="color: #2c293b; font-size: 16px;"><a href="http://Bookshop.org">Bookshop.org</a>, an online bookshop with a mission to financially support local, independent bookshops, details of which are below.</span></span></p><div style="border-color: var(--color-border); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2c293b; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div><div style="border-color: var(--color-border); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2c293b; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div><div style="border-color: var(--color-border); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2c293b; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><a href="http://Bookshop.org">Bookshop.org</a> believe that bookshops are essential to a healthy culture. They’re where authors can connect with readers, where we discover new writers, where children get hooked on the thrill of reading that can last a lifetime. </span><span style="font-family: courier;">They’re also anchors for our high streets and communities.</span></div><div style="border-color: var(--color-border); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2c293b; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div><div style="border-color: var(--color-border); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2c293b; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: courier;">As more and more people buy their books online, they wanted to create an easy, convenient way for you to get your books and support bookshops at the same time.</span></div><div style="border-color: var(--color-border); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2c293b; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div><div style="border-color: var(--color-border); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2c293b; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: courier;">If you want to find a specific local bookshop to support, <a class="hotlink" href="https://uk.bookshop.org/pages/store_locator" style="border-color: var(--color-border); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: inherit;">find them on their map</a> and they’ll receive the full profit from your order. Otherwise, your order will contribute to an earnings pool that will be evenly distributed among independent bookshops.</span></div><div style="border-color: var(--color-border); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2c293b; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div><div style="border-color: var(--color-border); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2c293b; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: courier;">They also support anyone who advocates for books through an affiliate programme, which pays a 10% commission on every sale, and gives a matching 10% to independent bookshops. If you are an author, a website or magazine, have a bookclub, an organisation that wants to recommend books, or even just a book-lover with an Instagram feed, you can sign up to be an affiliate, start your own shop, and be rewarded for your advocacy of books. Bookshop.org wants to give back to everyone who promotes books, authors, and independent bookshops!</span></div><div style="border-color: var(--color-border); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2c293b; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div><div style="border-color: var(--color-border); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2c293b; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: courier;">By design, they give away over 75% of our profit margin to stores, publications, authors and others who make up the thriving, inspirational culture around books!</span></div><div style="border-color: var(--color-border); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2c293b; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div><div style="border-color: var(--color-border); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2c293b; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: courier;">They hope that Bookshop.org can help strengthen the fragile ecosystem and margins around bookselling and keep local bookshops an integral part of our culture and communities.</span></div><div style="border-color: var(--color-border); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2c293b; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div><div style="border-color: var(--color-border); border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2c293b; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Bookshop is a B-Corp - a corporation dedicated to the public good.</span></div><p></p></div></div>Mrs Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03964628527899832494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1897113670108875267.post-53319733349305338042020-08-04T15:03:00.006+01:002021-08-02T10:49:13.557+01:00Spanish Summer with Brindisa<font face="courier"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRxjtJRxooE4fTNC41ena755_5ZTkkhhqhsvNoe1d22FwejLFHJJ5woaH6jQaBW6C8fW_Rj1rYHVcsPtj3WvUY3dx6dZyIxvOeizXhvoPT3GlNv8J4okkUP0Wc6csJWFkPDwWaBp38CCQ/s870/FI01661-Ortiz-sardines-in-olive-oil-a-la-antigua-3-4-fish-tin--brindisa.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="751" data-original-width="870" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRxjtJRxooE4fTNC41ena755_5ZTkkhhqhsvNoe1d22FwejLFHJJ5woaH6jQaBW6C8fW_Rj1rYHVcsPtj3WvUY3dx6dZyIxvOeizXhvoPT3GlNv8J4okkUP0Wc6csJWFkPDwWaBp38CCQ/s640/FI01661-Ortiz-sardines-in-olive-oil-a-la-antigua-3-4-fish-tin--brindisa.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>With the Covid pandemic meaning that many of us are staying home instead of going to Europe for our hols, I thought it would be nice to bring some Spanish summer sunshine by way of the food that we eat. I wanted to highlight <a href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/spanish-summer" target="_blank">Spanish flavours and products at LHStores</a> so I am bringing some lovely products in from the Spanish wholesaler, <a href="https://brindisa.com/pages/our-story" target="_blank">Brindisa</a>. Founded in 1988 by Monika Linton, Brindisa provide hundreds of different Spanish products to many of the country’s finest restaurants, delis and food halls. And were one of the first retail outlets in Borough Market, Southwark, now regarded as being among the finest food markets in Britain.</font><div><font face="courier"><br /></font><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEUHZBtyLMtcKMx9qyu109OkPseIWS8FzqaghyNwvM78Yw1tUxBj09VSROtIi-y8MxfCADSqMEDhKPvmaRZ4aBnLMkALL_rCNMUJkP90FskqoCqfzB93Xtq7YDIkyQADJlBzmpA4XL4SE/s900/CM01934-alejandro-magno-velita-chorizo-charcuterie-brindisa.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEUHZBtyLMtcKMx9qyu109OkPseIWS8FzqaghyNwvM78Yw1tUxBj09VSROtIi-y8MxfCADSqMEDhKPvmaRZ4aBnLMkALL_rCNMUJkP90FskqoCqfzB93Xtq7YDIkyQADJlBzmpA4XL4SE/s640/CM01934-alejandro-magno-velita-chorizo-charcuterie-brindisa.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;">To help get the most out of these lovely products I thought I'd share 2 quick and easy recipes, let me know if you like them and if you would like more.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><h3><font face="courier">Summer Salad with Butter Beans</font></h3></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL47zvZ6GvVSHNCID5qrxKd_CDm2nRAzoS6IqhKOHge866a131u1HaNlBuJrcA_O_ZDYNzFillJUMyljOq8YCU0IjeouV1GZxnjvha8ORtXv4u56tlEMyIlKSkMbukznb6KcEF7358_S4/s2048/IMG_5155.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL47zvZ6GvVSHNCID5qrxKd_CDm2nRAzoS6IqhKOHge866a131u1HaNlBuJrcA_O_ZDYNzFillJUMyljOq8YCU0IjeouV1GZxnjvha8ORtXv4u56tlEMyIlKSkMbukznb6KcEF7358_S4/s640/IMG_5155.JPG" /></a></div><font face="courier"><b>Ingredients:</b><br />300g <a href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/product/butter-beans-organic-500g" target="_blank">butterbeans</a><br />400g tomatoes<br />small cucumber or courgette - <i>w</i></font><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>hichever cucurbits is going crazy in your garden at the moment!</i></span><font face="courier"><br />onion - <i>red is a good choice</i><br />fresh coriander - <i>or if you have marjoram in your garden use that.</i></font></div><div><font face="courier">lemon juice<br /><a href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/product/organic-ev-olive-oil" target="_blank">olive oil</a><br />salt<br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><font face="courier">Soak the butterbeans overnight. (You could use a mixture of butter beans and haricot beans.) Bring to the boil and simmer in salted water for about 30mins or until soft. Strain, let them stand in cold water so they stop cooking then strain again and let them sit drying in the colander.</font></li><li><font face="courier">Cut the tomatoes and cucumber into half-moons. You can cook the courgette if you prefer to use this and allow it to cool. slice the onion thinly, wash and chop the herbs.</font></li><li><font face="courier">Combine the ingredients and dress with lemon juice, olive oil and salt.</font></li><li><font face="courier">This salad is hearty enough on it's own but you can add the Ortiz sardines or tuna on the side, or serve with cooked or cured chorizo from our <a href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/spanish-summer" target="_blank">Spanish Summer range</a> add <a href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/product/preserved-lemons-with-pink-peppercorns-rosemary-organic" target="_blank">Preserved Lemons</a> for an extra zing.</font></li></ul></font><h3 style="text-align: left;"><font face="courier"><br /></font></h3><h3 style="text-align: left;"><font face="courier"><b>Patatas Bravas</b></font></h3><font face="courier"><b>Ingredients:</b><br />onion<br />mixture of rapeseed & olive oil<br />potatoes<br />red pepper - optional.<br /><a href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/product/salsa-bravas" target="_blank">Salsa Brava</a> - available from our <a href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/spanish-summer" target="_blank">Spanish Summer Range</a>.<br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><font face="courier">Slice the onion finely and sautée in a mixture of rapeseed and olive oil in an oven proof pan, slowly allowing the onions to soften and start to caramelise. If you are using red peppers sautée them too.</font></li><li><font face="courier">Scrub the potatoes and dice. Place them in a saucepan of cold water and bring them to the boil. Drain and add them to the onions in the oven proof pan. Put the whole lot in the oven for about 30mins until the potatoes are just starting to crisp.</font></li><li><font face="courier">Add the Salsa Brava and return to the oven for 5 mins.</font></li><li><font face="courier">Serve straight from the pan with bread (our <a href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/product/tordu" target="_blank">tordu</a> is fantastic for wiping up the sauce) the <a href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/product/sardines-in-olive-oil" target="_blank">tinned sardines</a> or <a href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/search?s=chorizo" target="_blank">chorizo</a> are</font><span style="font-family: courier;"> wonderful on the side. Or add a Spanish cheese like Manchego and create your own tapas night.</span></li></ul></font></div>Mrs Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03964628527899832494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1897113670108875267.post-41155299588307352542020-07-27T16:08:00.001+01:002020-07-27T16:08:35.249+01:00A well stocked Larder<style type="text/css">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVA9Arplg-rH1YA2U85ELvj9JfyC9QnKRV4ca_OJloMk5imM3jHw0AAl1fao-l_ejB1OQVOCTwj396pA9GuEu6Frnw2KOeMGa_GDUcRnX1clV9Q3PTmCwjM3FKG7AEZaxIJlfEa6uM81o/s1600/fullsizeoutput_19d1.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="kilner jars dried goods" border="0" data-original-height="793" data-original-width="1600" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVA9Arplg-rH1YA2U85ELvj9JfyC9QnKRV4ca_OJloMk5imM3jHw0AAl1fao-l_ejB1OQVOCTwj396pA9GuEu6Frnw2KOeMGa_GDUcRnX1clV9Q3PTmCwjM3FKG7AEZaxIJlfEa6uM81o/s640/fullsizeoutput_19d1.jpeg" title="little hadham stores weigh and take away" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div class="p1"><br /><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Establishing LHStores dried goods section for customers to <a href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/weigh-and-take-away" target="_blank">"Weigh & Take Away"</a> in their own containers meant I had to really think about what a well stocked larder looked like. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu8synK9kKu6RvOKJyygkz4DNN1AN4T4ETmrk0UABwcu6x9CVq2YygJmeqAdyQmlqUbHZ7_51FSnVEs9tnsfg8Aym9b0ZoAR9nIjIxB5Xd1FV8KF2QFJXwGhp7LliYi4SOBrV-dKpDnTE/s1600/IMG_3618.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu8synK9kKu6RvOKJyygkz4DNN1AN4T4ETmrk0UABwcu6x9CVq2YygJmeqAdyQmlqUbHZ7_51FSnVEs9tnsfg8Aym9b0ZoAR9nIjIxB5Xd1FV8KF2QFJXwGhp7LliYi4SOBrV-dKpDnTE/s640/IMG_3618.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span class="s2"><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">My dried goods are all stored in <a href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/product/kilner-jars" target="_blank">3L Kilner jars with clip top lids</a>. Set up took a while, washing, drying and filling each jar, but they look beautiful, I can see what I have at a glance and they keep the food </span>fresh and safe from cross contamination.</span></span><br />
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<span class="s2"><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">In order to cook good, wholesome, food for your family every day, you need a well-stocked larder full of good-quality essentials. So, I made a list, there have been several iterations, a fair bit of asking friends and family what they'd call “essentials", and I thought after that much work I should share it.</span></span></div><div class="p1"><span class="s2"><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimSCh5A04HkgAeu_CK1QbvS85plUWiShKBKvcX-1X4f_7cPFvCDkg6nczsUGoR-YePz59AYI28brTQoOOK6Ec-HsFOPE-eazk25pt1_iNzwJfnDurqd5xh0rI56IJlTpbddFbwqYAX5Zo/s2048/fullsizeoutput_19cd.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Dried goods" border="0" data-original-height="1857" data-original-width="2048" height="580" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimSCh5A04HkgAeu_CK1QbvS85plUWiShKBKvcX-1X4f_7cPFvCDkg6nczsUGoR-YePz59AYI28brTQoOOK6Ec-HsFOPE-eazk25pt1_iNzwJfnDurqd5xh0rI56IJlTpbddFbwqYAX5Zo/w640-h580/fullsizeoutput_19cd.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="p1"><span class="s2"><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;"><div class="p1"><b><i><span>Dried Goods:</span></i></b></div></span></span></div>
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<span class="s2"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Rice</span></i></span></div>
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<li class="li3"><span class="s2"><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">I choose organic basmati, brown wholegrain rice, full of fibre and slow-release energy,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>and organic white basmati, for when brown just seems wrong, (in a jambalaya for example), an organic arborio rice (for risotto) and an organic red and black rice for salads, or to mixing with the other rices for colour and interest.</span></span></li>
</ul>
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<span class="s2"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Lentils</span></i></span></div>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li3"><span class="s2"><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Organic puy lentils and orange lentils. Great with slow fried onion as a substantial side dish, as a Dahl or thrown into soups and stews.</span></span></li>
</ul>
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<span class="s2"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Quinoa</span></i></span></div>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li3"><span class="s2"><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Great source of protein, a base for salad, a side dish, or thrown into soups and stews.</span></span></li>
</ul>
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<span class="s2"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Corn Couscous or Polenta</span></i></span></div>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li3"><span class="s2"><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Ours is a rougher grain than the classic polenta, but is just as good boiled in salted water.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>As it thickens, and just before you take it off the heat, stir in cheese (a soft blue cheese is especially luxurious) for a simple, hearty Italian supper.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Tastes good with ratatouille too.</span></span></li>
</ul>
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<span class="s2"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Wholegrain Couscous</span></i></span></div>
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<li class="li3"><span class="s2"><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Full of protein couscous is a beautiful accompaniment to a tagine, or stew, and makes the perfect base for a salad.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Add cinnamon, Z’atar, chopped dried apricots, preserved lemon & almonds for a North African flavour.</span></span></li>
</ul>
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<span class="s2"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Chickpeas</span></i></span></div>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li3"><span class="s2"><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Yes it’s good to soak them, but don’t let that put you off using this wonderfully versatile pulse in your stews, salads and in that tagine you are making.</span></span></li>
</ul>
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<span class="s2"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Buckwheat - Unroasted</span></i></span></div>
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<li class="li3"><span class="s2"><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">A new one for me, and not easy to find this organic.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Use it as you would cous cous,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>for slightly denser, nuttier flavour.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Great in salads and with roasted veggies.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<div class="p3"><span class="s2"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Beans</span></i></span></div>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li3"><span class="s2"><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Kidney beans are obviously great in a chilli, refried beans or in rice with a curried goat or chicken. I love these and although, again, they should be soaked, it doesn't take as long as you might think to cook them. I also like to have berlotti, butter and canalleni beans in my larder. </span></span></li>
</ul>
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<span class="s2"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Porridge oats</span></i></span></div>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li3"><span class="s2"><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Perfect for a filling breakfast, porridge in the winter, granola, muesli or bircher in the summer. We sell a granola kit with our oats, seeds, nuts and dried fruit measured out for you.</span></span></li>
</ul>
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<span class="s2"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Pasta</span></i></span></div>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li3"><span class="s2"><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">I’ve simply not found organic, or the quality I want for my <i>“Weigh & Take Away” </i>service.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>So, I am selling it bagged from Bio Idea; penne, macaronni, spaghetti & wholemeal tagliteli.</span></span></li>
</ul>
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<span class="s2"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Grains (bulgur wheat, pearl barley, split peas)</span></i></span></div>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li3"><span class="s2"><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Great and relatively cheap bulkers for stews and soups. Cook a larger batch than you need and turn into delicious salads, warm or cooled.</span></span></li>
</ul>
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<span class="s2"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Nuts and seeds*</span></i></span></div>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li3"><span class="s2"><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">So far I have gone for pumpkin and sunflower seeds and an Omega Seeds Mix. Almonds and cashews are the only nuts I have, but I am thinking I need to add hazelnuts, pistachios, walnuts and peanuts. Great for snacking or toasting and sprinkling over salads, soups and stews, or onto yoghurt. Or mixing with some of our other dried goods to make your own museli.</span></span></li>
</ul>
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<span class="s2"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Dried Fruit</span></i></span></div>
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<span class="s2"></span></div>
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<li class="li3"><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">I have organic dried apricots, raisins, cranberries and mango. Great for snacking or that personalised museli I keep talking about.</span></li>
</ul>
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<span class="s2"><b><i><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Tins & Packets:</span></i></b></span></div>
<div class="p3"><span class="s2"><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;"><i>Whole & finely chopped tomatoes and passata</i></span></span></div>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li3"><span class="s2"><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Essential for sauces, soups, stews, casseroles - we all agreed on the use of ESSENTIAL for this one!</span></span></li></ul>
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<span class="s2"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Coconut milk, oil & water</span></i></span></div>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li3"><span class="s2"><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Coconut water for our smoothies, and in the summer as a refreshing addition to juice it quenches your thirst like nothing else. Add coconut milk and oil to soups and curries for a mellow, creamy flavour - in my house these are essentials.</span></span></li>
</ul>
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<span class="s2"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Good-quality tinned fish; tuna, sardines, anchovies</span></i></span></div>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li3"><span class="s2"><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Great for simple pasta dishes, pizza, on toast for supper and as fishcakes. And anchovies are the perfect salty seasoning for sauces and stews<i>. _ I hope to have </i></span></span></li>
</ul>
<div class="p3"><span class="s2"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Tea & Coffee</span></i></span></div><ul class="ul1"><li class="li3"><span class="s2"><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Good quality loose leaf tea is not always easy to find and coffee beans store better and a fresh ground coffee is worth the extra expense for your favourite cuppa.</span></span></li></ul><div class="p3">
<span class="s2"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Good-quality stock</span></i></span></div>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li3"><span class="s2"><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">The flavour base to loads of different dishes.</span></span></li>
</ul>
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<span class="s2"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Plain flour, self-raising flour (wholemeal or white), bread flour</span></i></span></div>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li3"><span class="s2"><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">For thickening sauces, coating meat, fish and veggies for frying, and baking</span></span></li>
</ul>
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<span class="s2"><b><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Jars & Bottles:</span></b></span><br />
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<span class="s2"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Rapeseed oil</span></i></span></div>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li3"><span class="s2"><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Good flavourless oil, with a high burn temperature for everyday cooking. Ours is grown and bottled locally in Sawbridgeworth and we will refill your empty bottle at a discount.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<span class="s2"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Olive oil</span></i></span></div>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li3"><span class="s2"><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">We have a lovely organic Italian oil from Suma.</span></span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<ul class="ul1">
</ul>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s2"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Mustard</span></i></span></div>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li3"><span class="s2"><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Add a bit of a kick to stews, sauces and marinades, or use as a condiment.</span></span></li>
<li class="li3"><span class="s2"><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Tip: a tablespoon of grainy mustard and a tablespoon of honey make a great coating when roasting sausages.</span></span></li>
</ul>
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</ul>
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<span class="s2"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Soy sauce</span></i></span></div>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li3"><span class="s2"><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Seasoning for Asian dishes, marinades and sauces.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s2"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Vinegars (red wine, cider, balsamic) </span></i></span></div>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li3"><span class="s2"><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Lots of dishes benefit from a little vinegar – think dressings, marinades, sauces and stews.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s2"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Olives<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></i></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s2"></span></div>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li3"><span class="s2"><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Again a bit of debate about these as an essential, but in our house they are. A great snack, with cheese, on pizza, in pasta dishes add to salads. Sometimes we just eat them out of the jar. </span></span></li>
</ul>
<div class="p4">
<div class="p3">
<span class="s2"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Honey</span></i></span></div>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li3"><span class="s2"><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Our honey is from local bee keepers in Wareside. Add a touch of sweetness to your life knowing that you are supporting local bee keepers.</span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoZqqi4gUbpDIcB9a47Isy9JxhZQOGDVM8VTEu082bzGthypRkl7wiy4Gzym6Y6Re3tehg1USiS9QlhMaJ7iGt5aiU5G8wXbgvNxyDHV1prV21EbIARLs9DjEmyGRBehk4-4s6v6eMhq0/s1600/IMG_1803.JPG" style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoZqqi4gUbpDIcB9a47Isy9JxhZQOGDVM8VTEu082bzGthypRkl7wiy4Gzym6Y6Re3tehg1USiS9QlhMaJ7iGt5aiU5G8wXbgvNxyDHV1prV21EbIARLs9DjEmyGRBehk4-4s6v6eMhq0/s640/IMG_1803.JPG" width="480" /></a></li>
</ul>
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<div class="p3">
<span class="s2"><b><span><font face="courier" size="2">Good-to-haves (extras but not essentials)</font></span></b></span></div>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li3"><span class="s2"><span><font face="courier" size="2">Capers</font></span></span></li>
<li class="li3"><span class="s2"><span><font face="courier" size="2">Tomato purée</font></span></span></li>
<li class="li3"><span class="s2"><span><font face="courier" size="2">Dried yeast</font></span></span></li>
<li class="li3"><span class="s2"><span><font face="courier" size="2">Cocoa powder</font></span></span></li>
<li class="li3"><span class="s2"><span><font face="courier" size="2">Sugar (golden and brown)</font></span></span></li>
<li class="li3"><span class="s2"><span><font face="courier" size="2">Maple syrup</font></span></span></li>
<li class="li3"><span class="s2"><span><font face="courier" size="2">Baking powder</font></span></span></li>
<li class="li3"><span class="s2"><span><font face="courier" size="2">Your favourite condiments (ketchup, brown sauce, mayonnaise, Tabasco – I have to admit we love em all)</font></span></span></li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwiW3wfuCSxdPGiEdKgig1wdG-pEWh39PCKC9uwTQPAq_Nhk6UZyDGuLW-R_H8q_5A_edWRlmHUTjw9DO6lTAd6n8Y4HtRSC-DwIkc63jiv0Rguf27iC3-gp7-A-BMo0JGikt_ad3js5E/s1600/IMG_3622.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwiW3wfuCSxdPGiEdKgig1wdG-pEWh39PCKC9uwTQPAq_Nhk6UZyDGuLW-R_H8q_5A_edWRlmHUTjw9DO6lTAd6n8Y4HtRSC-DwIkc63jiv0Rguf27iC3-gp7-A-BMo0JGikt_ad3js5E/s640/IMG_3622.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span class="s2"><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;"><div class="p3"><span class="s2"><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>And then of course there are your herbs & spices. We have bundles of fresh garden herbs available in the Summer and have just started to stock dried herbs and spices. But it's a whole new list, and so far it's as follows (please feel free to let me know if I've missed something)</span></span></div><div class="p3">
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<span class="s2"><b><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Herbs & spices</span></b></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s2"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Oregano</span></i></span><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Smoked paprika</span></i></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s2"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Chilli</span></i></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s2"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Cinnamon</span></i></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s2"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Cumin</span></i></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s2"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Coriander</span></i></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s2"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Curry powder</span></i></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s2"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Five-spice</span></i></span><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Sea salt</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Black peppercorns</span></i></div><div class="p3"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Tumeric</span></i></div><div class="p3"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Garam Masala</span></i></div><div class="p3"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Ground Ginger</span></i></div><div class="p3"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Fennel Seeds</span></i></div><div class="p3"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Z'atar spice mix</span></i></div><div class="p3"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Sumac</span></i></div><span style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><span class="s2" style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace; font-size: small;">So, what have I missed? </span></span><span>LHSTORES</span><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace;"> can provide you with most of these items for your larder, where we can't, you know that it is on my list to source and find the best quality version I can.</span><br /></span><div class="p3"><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div class="p3"><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">*Our dried nuts are kept completely separate from our other dried goods to prevent cross contamination. As is our Omega seed mix, that includes sesame seeds. I will be weighing all items in the shop to prevent cross contamination, that could have consequences for allergy sufferers.</div></div>
Mrs Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03964628527899832494noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1897113670108875267.post-61211289582446606562020-06-22T15:37:00.001+01:002020-06-22T15:41:30.657+01:00Wet (Green) Garlic<div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLg1j1Xa0FN2Ev5eAL8FlrJr1l9M2MylpAnwhdOhqgm-Aonu0naxmW5KldQZI99gy8Qsu-jrkY8ZPULsjSzSZpHbmisouLIQjbdpcEPuAjqXMJJnUKltu7gXejOcycy8rzWeHDqVaOvFw/s1600/fullsizeoutput_1dbf.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="wet green garlic" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1367" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLg1j1Xa0FN2Ev5eAL8FlrJr1l9M2MylpAnwhdOhqgm-Aonu0naxmW5KldQZI99gy8Qsu-jrkY8ZPULsjSzSZpHbmisouLIQjbdpcEPuAjqXMJJnUKltu7gXejOcycy8rzWeHDqVaOvFw/s640/fullsizeoutput_1dbf.jpeg" title="wet green garlic" width="546" /></a></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4zBlwsRGgJ0dgy7UX1RrZZgMlU5hRHLWUOHAtAA76AeMdJNoMq_DyugfcpsHGwXhf0QogiCXAXYv3XzcrRk0r5rh2hFJwLXe6F4T90ATC8oF36Eia6GujBlgh0h2fmpkGYIAzeVyabDA/s1600/IMG_4899.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4zBlwsRGgJ0dgy7UX1RrZZgMlU5hRHLWUOHAtAA76AeMdJNoMq_DyugfcpsHGwXhf0QogiCXAXYv3XzcrRk0r5rh2hFJwLXe6F4T90ATC8oF36Eia6GujBlgh0h2fmpkGYIAzeVyabDA/s1600/IMG_4899.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4zBlwsRGgJ0dgy7UX1RrZZgMlU5hRHLWUOHAtAA76AeMdJNoMq_DyugfcpsHGwXhf0QogiCXAXYv3XzcrRk0r5rh2hFJwLXe6F4T90ATC8oF36Eia6GujBlgh0h2fmpkGYIAzeVyabDA/s1600/IMG_4899.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4zBlwsRGgJ0dgy7UX1RrZZgMlU5hRHLWUOHAtAA76AeMdJNoMq_DyugfcpsHGwXhf0QogiCXAXYv3XzcrRk0r5rh2hFJwLXe6F4T90ATC8oF36Eia6GujBlgh0h2fmpkGYIAzeVyabDA/s1600/IMG_4899.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4zBlwsRGgJ0dgy7UX1RrZZgMlU5hRHLWUOHAtAA76AeMdJNoMq_DyugfcpsHGwXhf0QogiCXAXYv3XzcrRk0r5rh2hFJwLXe6F4T90ATC8oF36Eia6GujBlgh0h2fmpkGYIAzeVyabDA/s1600/IMG_4899.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4zBlwsRGgJ0dgy7UX1RrZZgMlU5hRHLWUOHAtAA76AeMdJNoMq_DyugfcpsHGwXhf0QogiCXAXYv3XzcrRk0r5rh2hFJwLXe6F4T90ATC8oF36Eia6GujBlgh0h2fmpkGYIAzeVyabDA/s1600/IMG_4899.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4zBlwsRGgJ0dgy7UX1RrZZgMlU5hRHLWUOHAtAA76AeMdJNoMq_DyugfcpsHGwXhf0QogiCXAXYv3XzcrRk0r5rh2hFJwLXe6F4T90ATC8oF36Eia6GujBlgh0h2fmpkGYIAzeVyabDA/s1600/IMG_4899.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Old gardening wisdom says that you should plant garlic on the shortest day and harvest it on the longest. So, I have an abundance of wet garlic to sell in STORES at the moment. Wet, or green, garlic is freshly harvested garlic that hasn't been hung up to dry. It's milder in taste and less pungent in odour than the usual kind and so can be sliced straight into salads.<br /><br />To be honest, I'm a bit of a garlic fanatic and will eat it raw anyway. I love to crush garlic into my vinaigrette and slaver my greens in it.</span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4zBlwsRGgJ0dgy7UX1RrZZgMlU5hRHLWUOHAtAA76AeMdJNoMq_DyugfcpsHGwXhf0QogiCXAXYv3XzcrRk0r5rh2hFJwLXe6F4T90ATC8oF36Eia6GujBlgh0h2fmpkGYIAzeVyabDA/s1600/IMG_4899.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4zBlwsRGgJ0dgy7UX1RrZZgMlU5hRHLWUOHAtAA76AeMdJNoMq_DyugfcpsHGwXhf0QogiCXAXYv3XzcrRk0r5rh2hFJwLXe6F4T90ATC8oF36Eia6GujBlgh0h2fmpkGYIAzeVyabDA/s640/IMG_4899.JPG" width="480" /></a></span></div>
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In the garden my garlic and onion bed this year makes me really happy. Not only have I got good sized onions and loads of garlic, but I've allowed the poppies to grow as weeds between the alliums and it looks gorgeous.</div>
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</span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">For thousands of years diverse cultures have believed garlic to have beneficial medicinal propert</span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">ies, modern science seems to be confirming this. Scientist believe that most of garlic's health benefits are caused by the sulphur compounds formed when a garlic clove is chopped, crushed or chewed. The best known of these is allicin, </span>however this is an unstable compound only briefly present in fresh garlic after it has been cut.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHETohxSdRa6pzaqLzuk4BWVIn0dXEjprBA598MMQIvkK8lXI1EQCt7OJGqNkbXHg_6KQ_KELzUjCgiOn_v0sOUJnR8TRztg7Fg7xTC8BNQPwga6lh6gQYLNij7HDORaU-7Y9OK1E_9dM/s1600/IMG_4888.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="wet green garlic" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHETohxSdRa6pzaqLzuk4BWVIn0dXEjprBA598MMQIvkK8lXI1EQCt7OJGqNkbXHg_6KQ_KELzUjCgiOn_v0sOUJnR8TRztg7Fg7xTC8BNQPwga6lh6gQYLNij7HDORaU-7Y9OK1E_9dM/s640/IMG_4888.JPG" title="wet green garlic" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /><br /><b>Six Health Benefits of Garlic.</b><br /><br />1. Low in calories and rich in vitamin C, vitamin B6, manganese, selenium and decent amounts of calcium, copper, potassium, phosphorus, iron and vitamin B1<br /><br />2. Garlic has long been believed to help prevent and fight the common cold and flu. Trials using garlic supplements suggest garlic boosts the function of the immune system and seem to support this. <br /><br />3. High doses of garlic appear to improve blood pressure for those with known hypertension. In some instances supplements may be as effective as regular medications.<br /><br />4. Garlic contains antioxidants that protect against cell damage and so it is believed has beneficial effects on Alzheimers, dementia and other chronic diseases. <br /><br />5. It appears garlic may have some benefits for bone health by increasing estrogen levels in females.<br /><br />6. Garlic supplements appear to reduce total and LDL cholesterol in those have high cholesterol. HDL cholesterol and triglycerides do not seem to be affected.</span><br />
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Mrs Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03964628527899832494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1897113670108875267.post-2185059437515778502020-05-10T15:06:00.001+01:002021-08-02T10:06:37.750+01:00The Perfect Granola<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOwoogRlQ0-exRXdKF-BEVV86Iyn2aUg9dsuG6hEQItmZY2geIObucdP23QylvwjfQlBE4clPAVVdIfvhvyHtXKmT9PRufYrVz52dSrmVsNdp-ZP-DIs9g9KOrj8oFncd8EWS5m0Xhyphenhyphen-o/s1600/IMG_4399.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Granola recipe" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOwoogRlQ0-exRXdKF-BEVV86Iyn2aUg9dsuG6hEQItmZY2geIObucdP23QylvwjfQlBE4clPAVVdIfvhvyHtXKmT9PRufYrVz52dSrmVsNdp-ZP-DIs9g9KOrj8oFncd8EWS5m0Xhyphenhyphen-o/s640/IMG_4399.JPG" title="make your own granola" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">We don't really do cereal in our house*. I like breakfast to have more protein and less sugar and additives than your typical store bought cereal contains. We have hens so lots of our breakfast are using fresh eggs, otherwise our typical brekkie is porridge, with all kinds of stuff mixed in, added as toppings or even on the side. The present favourite involves bananas, brown sugar and cocoa nibs. However, everyone needs a break now and then at which point we like to repurpose our oats into muesli and, the kids favourite, granola.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I always thought of granola as fancy American muesli, until my son Louis got really into it and I bought the stuff a couple of times from the supermarket. Only to realise that what it is is, EXPENSIVE posh museli. And I am sick to death of buying a box only to get it home and find it's only half full and barely enough for one breakfast. So, I started making it myself, which is really not so onerous and at least that way we get to have exactly what we like in it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I've tried a fair few recipes and now have a pretty clear idea of the "<i>dried stuff to sticky stuff ratio"</i>, - I think this is the key to good granola. Well that and salt! So, take a look at the recipe below, but explore using your own favourite seeds, nuts, grains and dried fruits and let me know how you do. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_mRoo4KgJyn6H1i-zUPLPpL_cc_xFtjJYmfra3FPQL45gl2MQKC9z4xEWcPLSKaLW0472Pgm-vlW6EFYkzpPm8PHcDWtzjFgEaDwvH3PR1K_UdDnMO6OwmvGKp3Qvqeagt7uIAKidR28/s1600/IMG_4400.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="how to make granola" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_mRoo4KgJyn6H1i-zUPLPpL_cc_xFtjJYmfra3FPQL45gl2MQKC9z4xEWcPLSKaLW0472Pgm-vlW6EFYkzpPm8PHcDWtzjFgEaDwvH3PR1K_UdDnMO6OwmvGKp3Qvqeagt7uIAKidR28/s640/IMG_4400.JPG" title="make your own granola" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #121212; font-size: 1.25rem;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Ingredients:</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #121212; font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: 17px;">(makes 1 large Kilner jar)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">40g coconut oil<br />150g Maple syrup - approx (120ml) or use honey, golden syrup, agave etc<br />a good pinch of sea salt</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br />340g Grain - at least half is usually oats, but use the grain, or grains, of your choice, buckwheat, spelt, barley or rye flakes for example</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">200g mixed nuts, roughly chopped<br />50 - 100g mixed seeds, I use pumpkin, linseeds and sunflower seeds regularly in mine</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br />80-100g mixed chopped dried apricots, dates or dried fruit of your choice</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Heat your oven to about 120 degrees and line a baking sheet with <a href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/product/if-you-care-parchment-paper-bags" target="_blank">grease proof paper.</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I've deliberately separated out the ingredients above as I think you need these basic proportions, but you can substitute whatever grains, nuts, seeds and dried fruit you prefer. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmPDZxLHqGzFkH3E2b8ky8RjgxsgpkeMe601BkNct8kAu_-zMKwjGd1LeB-wS7LtSrfAlnPcLelwjqukO6uBWtQ0cYklY2mBIRFvYJDCje2z7Tl2vU5AAvBUT8uc9X8alpK_N6EXVu8Hw/s1600/fullsizeoutput_1d70.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="how to make granola" border="0" data-original-height="1492" data-original-width="1600" height="596" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmPDZxLHqGzFkH3E2b8ky8RjgxsgpkeMe601BkNct8kAu_-zMKwjGd1LeB-wS7LtSrfAlnPcLelwjqukO6uBWtQ0cYklY2mBIRFvYJDCje2z7Tl2vU5AAvBUT8uc9X8alpK_N6EXVu8Hw/s640/fullsizeoutput_1d70.jpeg" title="make your own granola" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">The coconut oil, maple syrup and salt is the "<i>sticky stuff" </i>I was on about. Combine them in a saucepan over a low heat, then remove from the heat and allow them to cool down while you put the dry ingredients, except the dried fruit, in a large bowl.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">The 200 - 300g of nuts and seeds are entirely your own choice. I like almonds and cashews, and use </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">pumpkin seeds, linseeds and sunflower seeds regularly in mine.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Whip your egg white in a separate bowl until frothy. The egg is supposed to make the mixture more crunchy, and I also like the addition of a bit more protein.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Then pour your cooled coconut oil, maple syrup mixture into the bowl of dried ingredients, mix well. Add the egg white and mix well again.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Pour this mixture onto the baking sheet and press down a little, bake it for approximately 30 - 35 minutes, taking it out at least once to give it a bit of a stir, to make sure it is baked evenly. Break up the mixture as much, or as little, as is your preference. Don't over bake it; if your oven runs a little on the hot side, use a lower temperature and cook for longer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">While it's baking chop up the dried fruit - I use dried apricots, dates, figs and cranberries. The reason you don't add this to the ingredients you are baking is that a bit of the fruit always seems to catch and burn. There's nothing worse than a little burnt, sour bit of fruit in your granola. It didn't occur to me until quite recently that the way round this is just don't add it until the end.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">So after 30 minutes take your golden granola out of the oven, leave it to cool and then mix in the dried fruit. Eat straight away and/ or store in an airtight tin or Kilner jar to get the most out of your efforts. Not that mine has ever had to last fo r longer than a week; it gets poured over yoghurt and scoffed within a day or two.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1LnKE8CUNGMKzGs0CNY45RjuCW_JrP0YTzct76piZaeWiG493nBratLydz_2jQ85oo_X_fn7kkqo9QNLIE2_9polI5VIyjUGqIA8nhU_lKXGhBHS81s2c8ZhSo3SAiymbyAPfy2LqS6I/s1600/IMG_4403.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="granola recipe" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1LnKE8CUNGMKzGs0CNY45RjuCW_JrP0YTzct76piZaeWiG493nBratLydz_2jQ85oo_X_fn7kkqo9QNLIE2_9polI5VIyjUGqIA8nhU_lKXGhBHS81s2c8ZhSo3SAiymbyAPfy2LqS6I/s640/IMG_4403.JPG" title="make your own granola" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: small; font-weight: 400;">*The one concession is to the Doves Farm Gluten Free Chocolate Stars.</span></h2>
Mrs Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03964628527899832494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1897113670108875267.post-83458082478904711102020-04-26T13:26:00.001+01:002020-04-26T13:26:27.870+01:00Meet the Makers - Part One<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">At Little Hadham Stores I work with some wonderful suppliers. I simply refer to them by their first names in the order email that goes out every week. So, as we have many new customers I thought I should take the time to introduce them. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><a href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/paola-s-dalla-mia-cucina" target="_blank">Paola makes our Italian meals</a> and is an <b>amazing</b> cook. I do not know how she puts exactly the same ingredients into her sugo (passata) as me and yet hers tastes so much more complex. I love Italian food; I lived in Bologna for 6 months, travelled throughout the country and have close friends that I have visited regularly in Florence, Venice and Sardinia. Paola's food is still some of the best I have ever tasted. And my children are massive fans of her cooking, I quote; "...anything Paola makes will be perfect" (Louis, aged 11) </span></div>
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<span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Paola grew up cooking with her Nonna (grandma), mother & aunts. She loves the very simple thing of ingredients turning into something that is delicious. Very interested in regional Italian cooking, </span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Paola has travelled extensively in Italy, trying all the regional foods, Emilia Romangna is one of her favourites. </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Poala's Nonna was from Venafro a beautiful little town in between Rome & Naples. On her paternal side she is Pugliese. She hopes to gather her knowledge and pass it on to her customers with her cooking. She is increasingly becoming more adventurous in her handmade pastas stuffed or otherwise</span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: 12px;">!</span></span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: 12px;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: small;"><br /><a href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/soda" target="_blank">Fiona I secretly think is a magician</a>. For me it all started with her soda bread, but Fiona's cooking is an adventure with seasonal, foraged and forgotten ingredients. My weakness is the food of my childhood, I love sweet potatoes and coconut and Fiona can make them into muffins and macaroons to die for. I had the absolute pleasure of going on my first fermentation course with Fiona and I love her kimchi and krauts. In fact if you tell me Fiona has made it I will eat it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Her ingredients are always certified organic and she sources what is available in the UK & locally as a rule. The traceability of ingredients is hugely important to Fiona.</span><div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Fiona also forages in Bishop’s Stortford in order to appreciate nature’s pantry and the changing seasons. This also adds flavour & important nutrients to her selection of products so they can be at their best.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br />Fiona is a member of the slow food movement, & believes in the sustainable food system and local food economy which they support; she wears her snail with pride.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br />Part of Fiona's interest in slow food is the cultivation of wild bacteria, to transform raw ingredients into products far more complex, flavourful and digestible to us, which give us the all important healthy gut we need right now to boost our immune system.</span></div>
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Mrs Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03964628527899832494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1897113670108875267.post-28950082101061871602020-04-10T10:18:00.003+01:002020-04-26T13:28:17.892+01:00Ugly Veggies and Seasonal Eating<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Along with environmental impacts on food production; organic verses intensive farming techniques and packaging for example, I am also very conscious of food miles and food waste. </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I believe that seasonality is the key to mitigating many of these issues. So, please understand that when I describe our veg boxes as fresh, local and seasonal this is not marketing speak. </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I work with a very committed and hard working farmer who believes in organic production and sustainable agriculture systems whole heartedly. He leases his land in Sawbridgeworth and Stanstead Abbotts, which he has had organically certified, or is in conversion. He lives and grows on the land and sells his produce to an organic wholesaler in Cambridge, COFCO. Where he uses the produce from his and other organic farms, mostly in Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Kent and Suffolk, for our veg boxes. COFCO do also import organic produce, mostly crops that do not grow in the UK climate, ie lemons, ginger and tumeric. A lot of the fruit in the boxes right now is from overseas. Because we do not have fruit in season in the UK in April.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />We are entering what used to be called the hungry gap. (A great description on the <a href="https://wickedleeks.riverford.co.uk/features/local-sourcing-news-farm/what-hungry-gap?q=features/local-sourcing-news-farm/what-hungry-gap" target="_blank">Riverford blog</a>). Our latitude and temperate climate puts us in this position in April, May & Early June. It is when we are coming to the end of our winter stored veg, the over wintering crops are starting to bolt as the weather warms up, making them woody and inedible, and new spring crops are not yet ready to harvest. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">We now import produce to cover this period in the UK, and we also grow things under cover - but this can have real negative impacts on the environment. (There is a great local exception to this; <a href="http://www.guyandwright.com/" target="_blank">Guy & Wright Tomato Farm </a>) I'm not suggesting that this should change, I don't want people to starve. But we are also, at times, unnecessarily picky about what our fruit and veg looks like and how it arrives with us, and this creates waste. I'd suggest if we were a bit more tolerant, so that producers did not throw away these blemished or misshapen veg, we might need to import less. Our veg boxes are therefore tolerant of "ugly veg". It's no less fresh than the same washed British produce you buy in the supermarket, or even some of the imported "fresh" veg that may have taken weeks to get here from the other side of the world.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">My bedtime reading at the moment is Mike Berners-Lee's <u><i><b>How Bad are Bananas? - The Carbon Footprint of Everything</b></i></u> (Bananas - not quite as bad as you might imagine actually, which is great cos I love bananas!) </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">A carrot's carbon footprint is about 2g of C02e (carbon dioxide equivalent) per calorie, carrots and other root veg are some of the most climate friendly foods available - and healthy too. If you buy 1 kg of carrots you are looking at; </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">0.25kg CO2e, </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">local in season veg</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">0.3kg Co2e, </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">on average </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">1kg co2e shipped baby carrots</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I get one of our regular organic veg boxes most weeks. Right now they are full of root vegetables. </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">These have been lifted (taken out of the soil) before Christmas and stored. Studies comparing conventionally grown versus organic carrots show evidence for greater nutrient richness. Level</span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">s or carotenoids, phenols and vitamin c were compared, with greater amounts observed in all three categories in the organic carrots.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">If you spotted those plastic bags in the picture this is because of my issues around food waste. The soft leaves of salad crops like rocket, winter purslane and spinach do not tolerate even the relatively short distances that they are transported to us. The amount of food waste is not only shocking in itself, but you have to take into account the energy the organic farmer has put into growing the crop, water use and even the petrol/diesel used by farm machinery. There is sometimes a genuine need for plastic bags and these ones can and should be reused. (Not only that, there is some debate on the carbon foot print of paper v. plastic bags.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Anyway, back to our root veg: Carrots and potatoes after harvest are stored still covered in mud in the dark. You will not find UK grown carrots and potatoes in the ground at this time of year. They are lifted because they are not frost resistant. Our ancestors, or those of us with veg gardens or allotments, will be eating the last of these stored winter potatoes now. This is almost as fresh as your British Potatoes will be in April. Jersey Royal potatoes, which now have a protected designated of origin, are the UK exception. Available from around now, they are usually the first "fresh" new potatoes to come into the shops in the UK. Possible only because of Jersey's more southern latitude and their development of the International kidney potato.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">So, if you find blemishes in your veg box potatoes, cut them out, you only need to cut a small area around the blemish. You only need to be concerned if the skin is green. This is chlorophyll pigmentation, not in itself harmful but a sign that there is the toxin solaine in your spud. That said, toxic levels of solanine are 100th of an ounce for a 200 lb person, which translates to that person eating 20 lbs. of whole potatoes in a day! I mention whole potatoes, as the green skin on a potato is the area with the highest concentration of solanine and thus, the most toxic.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2YIlWUtJFOhyGdolvBVr-8eK87Yw-AFaQzs7evodTxOh4hTcpC85eOmRrOPKMsRbIGq3QuqA8tGWFU8QNz99K3VRGD6WhyWtb-0RMyiBzDn_w3ESSQXq3xYqcfIcdILgwr5mjRmutvfo/s1600/fullsizeoutput_1d30.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="willow fencing garden" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2YIlWUtJFOhyGdolvBVr-8eK87Yw-AFaQzs7evodTxOh4hTcpC85eOmRrOPKMsRbIGq3QuqA8tGWFU8QNz99K3VRGD6WhyWtb-0RMyiBzDn_w3ESSQXq3xYqcfIcdILgwr5mjRmutvfo/s640/fullsizeoutput_1d30.jpeg" title="willow fencing" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I'm getting my veg patches ready for a new year of growing and I also hope to have some herb and veg seedlings available to buy in LHStores. I'd really recommend you try growing your own and enjoying not only the process of gardening but also preparing and eating your own produce.</span>Mrs Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03964628527899832494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1897113670108875267.post-59140379706960332072020-04-05T13:50:00.004+01:002020-04-24T09:34:57.345+01:00The Roots of LHStores<style type="text/css">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifH56TwFphU60YGIqZ81uHYgpn8RkS70oieTKECUZ7eIgFbyvOYkJq2jtLLik378l2zf-ZkprcVT3H-N3T8SBgZcIDR9ScPlubLjexT-voIS2vZNHRzYaGPivs1rJ1Vs5A-OvrrWNKAp8/s1600/IMG_2006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Traditional rural grocers" border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifH56TwFphU60YGIqZ81uHYgpn8RkS70oieTKECUZ7eIgFbyvOYkJq2jtLLik378l2zf-ZkprcVT3H-N3T8SBgZcIDR9ScPlubLjexT-voIS2vZNHRzYaGPivs1rJ1Vs5A-OvrrWNKAp8/s640/IMG_2006.JPG" title="Outside Little Hadham Stores" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">We have a lot of new customers and it has made me really aware that maybe not everyone really knows what we are about. So...</span><br />
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Little Hadham Stores is a tiny shop in rural Herts, we have been open since May 2018, (2 days a week since last September), our fresh food is all seasonal, local and cooked, baked, and delivered on a Thursday, to order.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>We have mostly organic dried goods available to weigh and take away in customers’ own containers, artisan crafts and environmentally friendly body, lifestyle and household products.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">When my husband and I bought our house in Little Hadham, it was mostly for the big, wild, over grown back garden.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>The attached Victorian butcher’s shop was in a pretty poor state.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>After much work (it has been a store room, our children's playroom and our kitchen) the shop has finally been returned to its’ original purpose, a traditional village store, selling fresh, local, seasonal food.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj18CDmMG-yljP2PfqnzJdqzxd4lV8sToxDgqYXeMBpcB2EqzJjtv-fpeBq3NhpR6GkH8PILPguhpbIlOPRN-gUGrd9n59hQzcjrqEG7KwTH_s1Amk-uUOPkJlq74cPvFrdey_02umHL4Y/s1600/fullsizeoutput_150d.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="chez panisse inspiration" border="0" data-original-height="1383" data-original-width="1600" height="552" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj18CDmMG-yljP2PfqnzJdqzxd4lV8sToxDgqYXeMBpcB2EqzJjtv-fpeBq3NhpR6GkH8PILPguhpbIlOPRN-gUGrd9n59hQzcjrqEG7KwTH_s1Amk-uUOPkJlq74cPvFrdey_02umHL4Y/s640/fullsizeoutput_150d.jpeg" title="outside chez panisse" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I lived for 8 years in the San Francisco Bay Area and volunteered with friends on amazing edible school yard and permaculture projects in Northern California.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Upon returning home to the UK, in 2000, I found the lack of environmental awareness amongst my friends and family amazing.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>But, I think, like many people, it was having my first child (Una) that really opened my eyes to the toxicity of the environment that we are creating on our beautiful planet. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I very much believe in sustainability as the key to solving so many problems.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>As such, my business's sustainable ethos is based on the carefully curated and tested products we stock, it's support of small, local, ethical, businesses and in its’ evolution.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>My business has to be sustainable too.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>It has to fit into my family’s life and be a warm and welcoming place for my community, it’s growth can be as slow as it likes, as long as it is going in the right direction.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">When I first moved from East London to Hertfordshire I assumed I would be connected into a wonderful network of local food growers and producers.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>It’s the countryside right?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>It’s where the food comes from.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>But I actually found it quite hard to find good quality, ethically produced food.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>In 2017 I took over the running of Little Hadham’s monthly farmers’ market.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Already a great way to reduce your food miles, I banned plastic bags and have been trying to improve it’s eco credentials ever since. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">In the process of trying to increase numbers at the farmers’ market, I surveyed our regulars and asked them what they would like to see more of.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>The most typical response was simply; more market.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>For the stallholders that attend the farmers’ market this wasn’t possible.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>And so Little Hadham Stores was born in a very organic way; in an attempt to offer customers access to some of the market’s produce during the rest of the month.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">But I also support an organic smaller holder based in Sawbridgeworth, not just by stocking their veg boxes, but also giving my time to help with their online presence and promotion.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Little Hadham Stores regularly changing, fresh, seasonal food includes foraged ingredients and tries to highlight great under-rated British crops; like winter purslane and medlars. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>We sell beautiful British cut flowers from a local grower in her first year of business, another mum inspired to find<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>work that fits with her children.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I like to think that when you come into Stores, you’re being welcomed into my home.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>The eggs in the shop are from my own hens, herbs and some veggies, from my garden, beeswax products from my bees.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I know the story of and I’m passionate about everything in my shop, from the bread to the gluten free pasta, the rapeseed oil to the tinned tomatoes, everything has been chosen carefully by me. </span><span class="s1"></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">But Stores has evolved so much since we opened, and we offer more than just food. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>We have regular evening events, including talks, craft workshops and Supper Clubs.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Little Hadham Stores is all about a community of makers and growers supporting each other.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>And trying to offer their community another way of consuming that is gentler on the planet.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>The fact that Stores is also my home I think makes it all the more special, as we are literally welcoming our community in.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg81N7PJij4bhdLXiFSjyXAIp_kSBeWH4vaSRsRf_I6n1aV0c1QY8k4t9lxU-SzDNB6PJQSUjLiFk3z4VDD3yTqhYBNDnkmtt6r-8lsLDHgCo2RKoHFLftFaeuT55Rq46728soElZVykZU/s1600/fullsizeoutput_4a.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="dogs outside vintage grocers" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1398" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg81N7PJij4bhdLXiFSjyXAIp_kSBeWH4vaSRsRf_I6n1aV0c1QY8k4t9lxU-SzDNB6PJQSUjLiFk3z4VDD3yTqhYBNDnkmtt6r-8lsLDHgCo2RKoHFLftFaeuT55Rq46728soElZVykZU/s640/fullsizeoutput_4a.jpeg" title="dogs outside little hadham stores" width="558" /></a></div>
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Mrs Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03964628527899832494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1897113670108875267.post-78076367632722715352020-02-10T09:52:00.000+00:002020-02-10T09:52:02.441+00:00Cleaning Without Chemicals - 10 Uses For Vinegar Around The Home
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I am a fan of vinegar.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>There I’ve said it, and you can mock me, but I am.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>In cooking I use it a lot, from dressings and pickles, to a spoonful of organic apple cider vinegar in water daily as a tonic.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>And as a cleaning staple it is second to none.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I’m continuing my efforts to banish plastics and ban all but natural cleaners, from my home this year. I know vinegar will be an essential ingredient in my quest.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">From windows to scummy shower heads, vinegar is a versatile and environmentally safe alternative to manufactured cleaners, and is inexpensive too.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>When combined with the our <a href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/search?s=dr+bronner" target="_blank">Dr Bronner’s Castile Soap </a>it is a veritable cleaning wonder.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> Although never mix the 2 directly as the vinegar (acidic) and castile soap (base) cancel each other out. </span></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">For the tips on using vinegar in the home below you will want to use, <a href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/product/distilled-white-vinegar-5l" target="_blank">distilled white vinegar</a> and you’ll probably want to stock up on litres of the stuff, so look no further than <a href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/" target="_blank">STORES</a>. </span></span><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Here are 10 traditional uses for vinegar that your granny, and probably her's, used:</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>1.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Windows</b></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Mix equal parts water and vinegar in a spray bottle and apply to your windows, mirrors etc.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Wipe with a clean cloth, chamois leather, or newspaper is a great lint free cloth for the final polish. If you are doing the outsides of windows you can add a </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>2.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Refrigerators</b></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">You can use the same solution (equal parts water and vinegar) to clean the inside of your fridge without worrying that you are spraying chemicals all over your food.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>3.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Rinsing Fresh Produce</b></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">In our house, both store bought and fresh from the garden produce gets rinsed in the sink with a glug of vinegar.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Salad in particular benefits from a rinse in vinegar water, before I stick it in the salad spinner and whizz it.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>4.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Fresh Cut Flowers</b></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">To keep fresh flowers for longer add 2 tablespoons of vinegar and 2 teaspoons of sugar to the flower stems, and refuse those little plastic sachets at the shop.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>5.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Limescale</b></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Taps - Soak a towelling rag in vinegar, wrap it round the tap and leave it for about 30 mins to an hour.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Use the same rag to rinse the vinegar and limescale build up off.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Shower heads - soak for several hours in a bowl of one part vinegar to three parts water.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Or if you can’t get the head off, use a plastic bag (yes I know, but re-use one!) with the solution tie it onto the show-head over night.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Showers - To prevent soap scum build up wipe ceramic tile, glass shower screens or doors with a rag or sponge soaked in vinegar.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">To be honest the limescale removal bit of this list could become a list of its’ own.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>You can use vinegar on limescale stains in the loo, to unclog steam irons and for bath scum too.</span></span></div>
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6. Drains</b></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I put a cup of vinegar down the kitchen and bathroom drains to clean and deodorise, then flush with running water.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>A mixture of bicarbonate of soda and vinegar does the job even more thoroughly. Two tablespoons of bicarb, followed by a half a cup of vinegar and left for 30 minutes before running the cold tap to flush it through.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>7. Wooden chopping boards</b></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Wipe down with a vinegar soaked cloth, this removes odours and has a disinfecting properties, without adding chemicals to the food you chop on your board.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>8. Boiling an Egg</b></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">If the shell cracks add vinegar to the water to stop the white escaping.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> Ok, not actually cleaning but m</span>y granny taught me this one.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>9. Dishwasher Rinse</b></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Add 1 1/2 to 2 cups of vinegar to the bottom of the dishwasher.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Wash on your regular cycle using your usual detergent and look at the sparkling results.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>10.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Washing<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">So vinegar helps to break up uric acid (that lovely yellow staining on white cotton!) and soapy residues in your wash.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Adding a cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle should do the trick.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I am still experimenting a bit with washing my clothes chemical free.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I have to admit I am a Fairy Non-Bio powder girl (At least it is in a cardboard box!) I’ve tried a couple of environmental friendly brands, had a brief flirt with soap nuts and been put off silver balls by a scientist friend who says they are toxic to water life.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I live in a very hard water area, so I’ve started to add vinegar to my wash and will test out the eco friendly brands (including Dr Bronner) again with vinegar when this lot of Fairy runs out. So, watch this space for an update.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Otherwise I’ve regularly tried all of the above.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I’ve also seen recommendations for using vinegar to clean stains on carpets and soft furnishings, kill grass, clean microwaves, as a hair rinse, on copper, brass and pewter, to clean automatic coffee machines, to soften paint brushes, remove deodorant and antiperspirant stains on clothes, the list seems endless.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></div>
<br />Mrs Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03964628527899832494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1897113670108875267.post-8120386929697633842020-01-20T18:57:00.001+00:002020-01-20T18:57:27.545+00:00A New Year, But No New Planet<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Qb_vL939aFH9RYjwOELaC-ne1IlWYBlrvgMvrygzdVZ8sQ8U2KqGH60uMOp96J-sSbQbCVg5PRD7Sf-6DTWQWzlZXvT7TdZ1ZX32wt2H8wy_9Nbb67LxNJqaTuJY-m0F4mA8F176PVo/s1600/fullsizeoutput_1c33.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1225" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Qb_vL939aFH9RYjwOELaC-ne1IlWYBlrvgMvrygzdVZ8sQ8U2KqGH60uMOp96J-sSbQbCVg5PRD7Sf-6DTWQWzlZXvT7TdZ1ZX32wt2H8wy_9Nbb67LxNJqaTuJY-m0F4mA8F176PVo/s640/fullsizeoutput_1c33.jpeg" width="490" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">The start of the new year and everyone is on health kicks, full of good intentions and inspirational plans for the rest of 2020. January often seems to knock all of those positive goals right out of you though, doesn't it? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">By the time you have waded through the cold, wet days and cold, dark nights of the month of Janus, (who is the Roman God of doors, representing all beginnings, possessing the ability to see all things both past and future) you've forgotten most of those New Year Resolutions. </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I admit, I try to avoid making them, mostly to avoid the disappointment of failure. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Over the years I've come to realise that there seem to be two paths to success. The first is to make such general resolutions that you can more or less claim success, no matter what you do. The second is to make changes that, as much as possible, fit into your existing life. It makes sense that small, compatible changes are easier to sustain.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">If, after events in 2019 pushed climate change to the top of the global agenda, you've decided that this year you want to do your bit, where do you start?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I've taken an interest in reducing my impact on the planet since my early 20s. I don't want to make any claims to being someone who is an expert, or even especially effective at this. But I do know it can be easy to feel overwhelmed; by the enormity of the problem and by the often, seemingly contradictory options presented to us in the name of environmental action. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">So, I think a good start is to focus on the many, small changes that are compatible, and therefore sustainable, in our own lives. It is all about our individual priorities and making active choices, even if the science tells us next year they were wrong. </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Conscious choices lead to </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">meaningful action.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">When it comes to your shopping this is often called "Conscious Consumerism", and it is an often criticised stance, but I think it is the starting point for many of us. At the very least, if you are thinking about your purchasing choices,</span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> you are trying to make a difference.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Here are my top 3 tips for developing & sustaining a conscious consumer mindset: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">1. Be critical when you are shopping, really look at the products you buy. Do they represent your stance on the environment? W</span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">hat they contain, how they are produced, w</span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">here they are from, how they are packaged? If they don't, but you've not thought of an alternative, buy it this time and figure out what you can replace it with later. Maybe you just don't need it. Or, maybe you're not ready with an alternative yet. I think you'll figure one out over time, you'll maybe buy the offending item 2 or 3 more times, but, there will just be that little niggling voice, and when it's loud enough you'll make a positive change. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">2. Make choices based on your needs, lifestyle, family, time in life, whatever... Environmental action is as fadish as any other area of modern life, so don't feel pushed into doing something out of guilt. But then, on the other hand, explore that guilt, are there small changes you could make? </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Often, the small changes lead to bigger ones, or greater understanding of the issues and our options.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">3. Ask questions, ask for help, discuss your choices with like minded people, but also, gently, with those with different opinions. I often realise I am in a bit of a silo with so many of my friends having similar opinions to me. But, I do genuinely love to learn and one thing that <a href="https://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/" target="_blank">Little Hadham Stores</a> and the <a href="https://www.littlehadhamfarmersmarket.co.uk/" target="_blank">farmers' market</a> has brought to me is both the support of like minded people and the experience and knowledge of others. These days my children can tell me something new or that I didn't know about the environment, almost weekly.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">My daughter, Una, made me a poster for the shop, it says; </span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - There is no Planet B. I try as I go to purchase something, anything, for the business or our home to think about those 4 Rs.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I wrote this for my village's Parish News, and then over analysed it and couldn't decide if I even agreed with myself! After all the simple fact is - we MUST just buy less. Only through this denial are we really going to make an impact on the planet's environmental crisis. Don't you think?</span>Mrs Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03964628527899832494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1897113670108875267.post-48438605681830293352019-07-01T14:03:00.002+01:002019-07-01T14:46:57.272+01:00Grocer's Jars and Flagons<div class="p1">
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I have something of a collection of <a href="http://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/product/vintage-stoneware" target="_blank">old grocery bottles, jars and bowls.</a> I’ve been collecting them since I was a teenager. I have sold, broken and given away lots of my collection over the years but I still have a number of these always on display at home.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br />They are solid and simple, natural, neutral colours; brown, beige, cream and white. Some have their provenance stamped on them; Boots or Manchester Brewery... many do not.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Stoneware was the Victorian and Edwardian storage jar of choice, while flagons were used for beer and spirits. In the kitchen fruit & vegetables would be salted and laid down for winter in large jars. They would be covered with cloth or paper & tied with sturdy string.<br /><br />These days the jars are ideal for preserving, holding kitchen utensils or for use as a vase. Along with the bottles and large flagons they are terrific for decorative purposes.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSGvPEL1C-R95qmF-T7Az8NUtzFqPdnRuLPFE3_BppB24pscf8V8adUfERb-mlyAkQkBo0YO-U_MnKIoPnYBliYnmkRq_gCyQj4k5oHW9fnGR5KQdqaW4YYH4m8gkBPl-dh01Taxns2xQ/s1600/IMG_2324.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSGvPEL1C-R95qmF-T7Az8NUtzFqPdnRuLPFE3_BppB24pscf8V8adUfERb-mlyAkQkBo0YO-U_MnKIoPnYBliYnmkRq_gCyQj4k5oHW9fnGR5KQdqaW4YYH4m8gkBPl-dh01Taxns2xQ/s640/IMG_2324.JPG" width="640" /></a><span class="s1" style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I love the simple functional nature of these pieces of ceramic. They had a simple purpose usually to hold or cook food in. They are always the same, yet each piece unique, the shape and glaze never identical from one piece to the next.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Most of all, in this time of throw away consumerism and plastics destroying our environment, they show another way. We could reuse and recycle our packaging, if we only had more traditional grocers that would weigh and measure out our dry goods into containers that lasted, were beautiful enough to want to display on our shelves and keep in our larders. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwdLCXhmZNgdbgbhoH39eWR0amIqkb8s3ewTBrikD5XMztHglwPpBC__kmBCs-z_GI2xq-aldbm0FYUVXrNxO_W2evC_3_Sa03SnLqHX9o2VMT-IH6yKfO4KZSN40TdSyZobCS5k6lyZ0/s1600/8eeda4ae-f286-49c5-9f88-1188ca4f615c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwdLCXhmZNgdbgbhoH39eWR0amIqkb8s3ewTBrikD5XMztHglwPpBC__kmBCs-z_GI2xq-aldbm0FYUVXrNxO_W2evC_3_Sa03SnLqHX9o2VMT-IH6yKfO4KZSN40TdSyZobCS5k6lyZ0/s640/8eeda4ae-f286-49c5-9f88-1188ca4f615c.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Then we could return with them to the grocers time and again to be refilled and returned to the kitchen. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">And so that is what we are doing at <a href="http://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/" target="_blank">LHSTORES</a>. At the moment you can buy; o<a href="http://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/product/lentils-organic-1kg" target="_blank">rganic red or green speckled lentils</a>, <a href="http://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/product/rice-organic" target="_blank">organic brown or white basmati rice</a>, organic corn cous cous, organic omega seed mix and <a href="http://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/product/oats-organic-1kg" target="_blank">organic oats </a>to weigh and take away in your own containers. We plan to expand this offering as demand increases.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 15px;">The jars & flagons </span><a href="http://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/product/vintage-stoneware" style="font-size: 15px;" target="_blank">on sale in Little Hadham Stores</a><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 15px;"> are all original grocer's stoneware and each is unique. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglrti1oRUeo2rhwH4zW-GMgOVoKFpTA_Jvauz3xpIGDaQ15TgI_V-GsGWPIpRevciiLlMuPurbTKvSkO5OS0lVT-EGjWedI-pxnNIHvAjkm8S_PuxlTwVpi8jC1-JQsre_Gpb92V-zabM/s1600/fullsizeoutput_639.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1201" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglrti1oRUeo2rhwH4zW-GMgOVoKFpTA_Jvauz3xpIGDaQ15TgI_V-GsGWPIpRevciiLlMuPurbTKvSkO5OS0lVT-EGjWedI-pxnNIHvAjkm8S_PuxlTwVpi8jC1-JQsre_Gpb92V-zabM/s640/fullsizeoutput_639.jpeg" width="480" /></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: 15px;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Small Jars - 20cm tall, diameter of base 14cm, diameter of opening 10cm (All measurements are approx)from £12</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Large Jars - approx 30cm tall, diameter of base, 16-17cm (All measurements are approx)from £20</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Flagons - approx 31cm tall, diameter of base, 16-17cm (All measurements are approx)from £25</span></div>
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Mrs Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03964628527899832494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1897113670108875267.post-10395091939787792882019-06-11T11:37:00.000+01:002019-06-11T11:37:16.710+01:00Wake Up to Organic - Date & Apricot Oatmeal Cups<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ-kChqrcu10vSs5C3_kBNTniKPDqxopsgXaI-Qm1TeU0bQoT4GzdpRsLH0kI40FYzkPIFxeFArnyeCFR5ldbrytgZevGwUVJjk02rv_O4Q3oEbN_J83dTROLqIu2QkZiH1rEhP8FzklY/s1600/fullsizeoutput_18f6.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="wake up to organic" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ-kChqrcu10vSs5C3_kBNTniKPDqxopsgXaI-Qm1TeU0bQoT4GzdpRsLH0kI40FYzkPIFxeFArnyeCFR5ldbrytgZevGwUVJjk02rv_O4Q3oEbN_J83dTROLqIu2QkZiH1rEhP8FzklY/s320/fullsizeoutput_18f6.jpeg" title="date apricot oatmeal cups" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY6P-sn_54vPkMtihEsNX1N8IMG4zVA3fd4FxjJTNV0g6oeG4Va139V-eFpTGIpRaikibvgheHINwxVnLQgHbR-pKS0qYVl1WN62n4j-hKmFLUA0qkyW3kqleXryA95w3_WtNrSebvc5c/s1600/fullsizeoutput_1900.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="wake up to organic" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1211" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY6P-sn_54vPkMtihEsNX1N8IMG4zVA3fd4FxjJTNV0g6oeG4Va139V-eFpTGIpRaikibvgheHINwxVnLQgHbR-pKS0qYVl1WN62n4j-hKmFLUA0qkyW3kqleXryA95w3_WtNrSebvc5c/s320/fullsizeoutput_1900.jpeg" title="date apricot oatmeal cups" width="242" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">We're celebrating breakfasts, and more specifically organic breakfasts, this week in <a href="http://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/" target="_blank">Little Hadham Stores</a>. We are taking part in the <a href="https://www.organictradeboard.co.uk/" target="_blank">Organic Trade Board's</a> national campaign <a href="https://www.wakeuptoorganic.co.uk/" target="_blank">Wake Up To Organic</a> to encourage our friends and customers to switch to an organic breakfast, as a first step to eating more sustainably.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Tomorrow, in Stores we'll be giving away Wake Up to Organic's Little Book of Breakfast Recipes, so I thought I should try at least one of the recipes out on the kids. This morning we had date & apricot oatmeal cups with poached pears for breakfast.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqB1C_SNiWU62SLwJkIy0BhRfSin_ko7W9rB7HGouQtKrh6hMwR3q4Atn7RY_xuKOj4a2StKcSUVmlyUgzPGdUSELdMwUKE1R4p0WHonb0VPjXf0nujohX8hlJ56aJ2tHQWwhOk_Bs3WY/s1600/fullsizeoutput_18f4.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="WakeUpToOrganic" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqB1C_SNiWU62SLwJkIy0BhRfSin_ko7W9rB7HGouQtKrh6hMwR3q4Atn7RY_xuKOj4a2StKcSUVmlyUgzPGdUSELdMwUKE1R4p0WHonb0VPjXf0nujohX8hlJ56aJ2tHQWwhOk_Bs3WY/s640/fullsizeoutput_18f4.jpeg" title="date apricot oatmeal cups" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Sweetened with dates, apricots and maple syrup, these oatmeal cups make a tasty summer alternative to porridge. We eat a lot of porridge in the winter, but tend to switch to muesli or granola, </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">with fruit or yoghurt, </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">in the summer.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I love oats as a breakfast ingredient; they are an incredibly nutritious, gluten-free wholegrain, rich in antioxidants; contain a soluble fibre that we believe helps reduce cholesterol, improves blood sugar control and helps the growth of diverse bacteria in the digestive tract.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-bXfkwWt9WE8CWccBCgJEHxMU7K2tyevbcuw9OOGqNZ6yiDt6BNMxrN7c3HmWIEKum7zdqZkCzKnWSSl2cIY-8oQGutFAaFV_cdeFLtx8F6u7RAWqB_gvbw_MbFeap8S7oGiD1mCnjoo/s1600/fullsizeoutput_18ff.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="WakeUpToOrganic" border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-bXfkwWt9WE8CWccBCgJEHxMU7K2tyevbcuw9OOGqNZ6yiDt6BNMxrN7c3HmWIEKum7zdqZkCzKnWSSl2cIY-8oQGutFAaFV_cdeFLtx8F6u7RAWqB_gvbw_MbFeap8S7oGiD1mCnjoo/s640/fullsizeoutput_18ff.jpeg" title="date apricot oatmeal cups" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">These oatmeal cups were a great, nutritionally dense, breakfast; full of wholegrain, seeds, fresh and dried fruit. They can be made vegan and dairy free, there is only a small amount of flour, which you could probably just omit with no negative effects to the recipe.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">They were delicious, the kids definitely preferred to have them with fresh fruit on the side. But considering how often my daughter runs out to catch the bus in the morning with an unfinished breakfast on the table (she is the world's slowest eater) they're a perfect "to-go" food too. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">To get this recipe and others put together especially for Wake Up to Organic, pop into <b>Little Hadham Stores tomorrow 8am - 2.30pm</b>. We've also got organic mini breakfast and delicious organic foods to buy and try, lets start the day the organic way!</span><br />
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Mrs Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03964628527899832494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1897113670108875267.post-37740056469813964682019-06-04T11:20:00.001+01:002019-06-11T11:37:29.610+01:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">All around the country on the 12th June independent shops and cafes <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.85098); caret-color: rgb(77, 77, 77);">will be dishing up free organic mini breakfasts as part of their <a href="https://www.wakeuptoorganic.co.uk/" target="_blank">Wake Up To Organic</a> events. The aim is to show how easy it is to switch to an organic breakfast, and to showcase the fabulous range of organic food and drink that your local independent stores and cafés offer.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><a href="http://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/" target="_blank">Little Hadham Stores</a> is taking part, (we're the only shop in the area doing so) we'll be open on Wednesday 12th June from 8am with FREE mini breakfasts and a build your own bircher bar, organic coffee and croissants to buy, samples of our wonderful organic fruit and veg boxes, and much more, so pop in and find out more about us and what we do at Little Hadham Stores. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">We also have a great competition to win an Organic Breakfast Box.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">To win all you have to do is <a href="https://mailchi.mp/97ebf80e19c8/lhstores" target="_blank">be on our mailing list</a> by 12th June or come into the shop and sign in on 12th June, we'll be open from 8.00am - 2.30pm. The winner will be drawn at the end of the day, and must be able to come into the shop and pick up their prize.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Not everything we sell at Little Hadham Stores is certified organic, but we always take the utmost care in <a href="http://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/about-us" target="_blank">our choice of producer</a>. I blogged about our commitment to organics and four great reasons for choosing our organic fruit & veg boxes <a href="http://mrsfoxs.blogspot.com/2019/05/four-reasons-to-order-our-organic-fruit.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">They often say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so make it organic! </span></div>
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<br />Mrs Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03964628527899832494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1897113670108875267.post-27416283308193077312019-05-08T19:13:00.000+01:002019-06-04T10:00:34.605+01:00Four Reasons to Order Our Organic Fruit & Vegetable Boxes<style type="text/css">
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Little Hadham Stores'</span> <a href="http://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/product/organic-fruit-and-veg-box" style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;" target="_blank">organic fruit & veg boxes</a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> are a great deal at £12.45. The other day I went into Waitrose and bought an equivalent amount of organic veg as is in one of our boxes and spent considerably more. And it goes without saying that our fruit and veg is likely to be more local and fresher.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Organic tomatoes of every colour</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Making small healthy changes in your life is much easier to maintain than a huge lifestyle change. A veg box is just such a small change which could make a big difference to your eating habits, health and overall lifestyle. Here are my top four reasons why they are a </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Fresh rhubarb, straight from the field</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b><span class="s1">1. Fruit and v</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">eg will taste better.</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="text-align: center;">Really, until you have tasted a</span><span style="font-size: small; text-align: center;"> cucumber straight from your garden, allotment or a local farm, you have not tasted a cucumber. Veg box tomatoes, asparagus, even the humble pea will</span><span style="font-size: small; text-align: center;"> awaken your tastebuds and will inspire you to eat better quality produce as a result. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Because they are not being picked before their prime to be transported hundreds of miles, the fruit veg in your box will be the freshest, crunchiest, and most flavoursome you have ever tasted. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Quince a great British seasonal delicacy</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>2. You will eat with, and so appreciate, the seasonality of food.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">It's too easy to get anything you want from the supermarket at any time of the year. But you are increasing the food miles of your meal, which is bad for the environment, but also not great for you. By eating with the seasons you are likely to get fresher food, picked at it's peak and </span>tastier. Importantly it will be more nutritional because it's had more exposure to the sun and the elements and will have increased levels of antioxidants.</span><br />
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">The season’s bounty will also expose you to a wider range of vegetables. You’ll broaden your horizons (which have most likely been drilled into you by your upbringing and culture) from carrots and potatoes to whatever’s available that month, asparagus, butternut squash, broad beans, Jerusalem artichokes, quince...</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Another British seasonal hero, asparagus</span></td></tr>
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<b style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">3. You will be supporting your neighbours</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span class="s1">Our veg boxes are run by Stort Valley Organics, based on an organic smallholding in </span></span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Sawbridgeworth</span><span class="s1" style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">. The boxes are supplemented by fruits and vegetables from The Cambridge Organic Food Company (COFCO). </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> COFCO </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">collect produce from lots of organic farms in and around Cambridgshire. And some things from further afield, such as lemons, or ginger. </span><span class="s1" style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">They are </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">organically certified, which means they have an annual inspections to prove that all their fresh produce is organic.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>4. And finally our veg boxes are good for the environment. </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Organic production is good for the environment </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222;">–</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> both for the wildlife in and around the fields in which the food is grown, and for the planet as a whole. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Organic production is good for your health reducing the environmental toxins that we all ingest along with our food when grown conventionally.</span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">By prioritising local produce, we keep food miles to a minimum, helping to minimise carbon emissions.</span></span><br />
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">We think about packaging, minimise the use of plastics and save on packaging by packing our veg in the empty boxes which some of our wholesale veg comes in – and we hope to re-use the boxes as many times as we can, so please return them each week!</span></span></div>
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Mrs Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03964628527899832494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1897113670108875267.post-30136431818063645632019-01-24T07:00:00.000+00:002019-05-02T19:00:53.854+01:00Little Hadham Stores <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">It's our first birthday. I've been thinking about what Little Hadham Stores needs to do going forward to remain sustainable.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQYxApwErBLv0o-tSh7jDVcXX5K2ze47iZb85h79O4szyHidJbNChsFTNz85KLjQOMis3BlowvmZJmtJC8cozX1jWDxcUBt0ssMtL3CaijezjpXc88ZsOxi5X27Nfiy0bOlzWsaARGGJY/s1600/IMG_1853.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQYxApwErBLv0o-tSh7jDVcXX5K2ze47iZb85h79O4szyHidJbNChsFTNz85KLjQOMis3BlowvmZJmtJC8cozX1jWDxcUBt0ssMtL3CaijezjpXc88ZsOxi5X27Nfiy0bOlzWsaARGGJY/s640/IMG_1853.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Since we opened our doors that's what we have been all about, sustainability; from our stance on plastics;</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm7rLttNE0gltxETbbl76z5MLtsLJpe1OmR7CS5OTMh5By26SxKdolY0y283o06Kzw2y_-gxYjqoy27_NFEUHncfAJjgWFW8WdReNs1onoU4JZF_Y8ubHQnA8LIdLPpjDOg7U6L-12iHk/s1600/IMG_1110.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm7rLttNE0gltxETbbl76z5MLtsLJpe1OmR7CS5OTMh5By26SxKdolY0y283o06Kzw2y_-gxYjqoy27_NFEUHncfAJjgWFW8WdReNs1onoU4JZF_Y8ubHQnA8LIdLPpjDOg7U6L-12iHk/s640/IMG_1110.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/product/bees-wax-wraps" target="_blank">Beeswax Wraps - from £15</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">to our organic fruit and veg boxes;</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUB84fOrckZYk5MywXCMz-owJ5thrMNYJapFeRn0S0YAAHnPGmBEi9Qd3DzELDl4SjK6YekyaCZuj9wjEMTKiTO6z09AM2qlaJK-V8gNpks11IP0j9HW1x8OyJWXGGKf3tzPmJl5Q0AMQ/s1600/IMG_1854.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUB84fOrckZYk5MywXCMz-owJ5thrMNYJapFeRn0S0YAAHnPGmBEi9Qd3DzELDl4SjK6YekyaCZuj9wjEMTKiTO6z09AM2qlaJK-V8gNpks11IP0j9HW1x8OyJWXGGKf3tzPmJl5Q0AMQ/s640/IMG_1854.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/product/organic-fruit-and-veg-box" target="_blank">Organic Veg Boxes - £12.45</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">to supporting small local producers;</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic270HZvUWSoTXf0seDGNBRUjkatbxOrzJp8iwZsGP4l7rFj5E21OWQ1dMKDbE9Z4HOH1MUET7ZPDrXCpO14Tgp_mGWRFdTCXNcTHCT0iGiQoXNuTxQOvjRpO5uIuggqefSpU1AyiV8ew/s1600/fullsizeoutput_65b.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic270HZvUWSoTXf0seDGNBRUjkatbxOrzJp8iwZsGP4l7rFj5E21OWQ1dMKDbE9Z4HOH1MUET7ZPDrXCpO14Tgp_mGWRFdTCXNcTHCT0iGiQoXNuTxQOvjRpO5uIuggqefSpU1AyiV8ew/s640/fullsizeoutput_65b.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJU_ixu281ZizmY_tVTzJqMjKBiEjTHas_Z7KQKbryEaWXxRGeaqVWUDmJ3Sxnwo52ble6T9ftpb9kdUErm0W2NbwQ4PgnGAugPCMqsKPVjkqa4Zjjyz0_eg1TJhr-Wrc7907xCpNay9M/s1600/d4688249-5055-4ae3-b69b-71cb52ac75bd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJU_ixu281ZizmY_tVTzJqMjKBiEjTHas_Z7KQKbryEaWXxRGeaqVWUDmJ3Sxnwo52ble6T9ftpb9kdUErm0W2NbwQ4PgnGAugPCMqsKPVjkqa4Zjjyz0_eg1TJhr-Wrc7907xCpNay9M/s640/d4688249-5055-4ae3-b69b-71cb52ac75bd.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">to how I run the business. We are a conscious retailer, being aware of the choices we make, from how we make our signs, to who we choose to stock. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_-NUzGTIGxT1sVDVATxRWLkJNxdJxzueABuma2qgQo-psgugw6mB0n4OxS63PZVQV8pZKahGHUXIT-X99XckBtb-_nfHwT5_X0j9hEOVcrxSAStjryPbP_FZLBRPrpV2LzzX53xEbU-E/s1600/IMG_1108.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_-NUzGTIGxT1sVDVATxRWLkJNxdJxzueABuma2qgQo-psgugw6mB0n4OxS63PZVQV8pZKahGHUXIT-X99XckBtb-_nfHwT5_X0j9hEOVcrxSAStjryPbP_FZLBRPrpV2LzzX53xEbU-E/s640/IMG_1108.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">It's all our there for all to see in everything we do. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I am a maker, a doer, not a user, not a junk addict. I believe in "Buy Less, Choose Well". And so I have tried to <a href="http://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/about-us" target="_blank">write down a ethical statement for Little Hadham Stores</a>. It may need updating over time, it may need to change altogether, but the point is to think about these things and so, I want to:-</span><br />
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<li style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Support sustainable, organic production methods, like our <a href="http://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/product/organic-fruit-and-veg-box" style="border: 0px; color: #292e31; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">organic veg boxes</a>; artificial compounds need not be present in our food.</span> </li>
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<li style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Reduce consumption of animal products, and making sure there are high welfare levels when we do consume them. </span></li>
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<li style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Making available great tasting vegetarian and vegan products, to be consumed by everyone because they TASTE GREAT. Just try <a href="http://little-hadham-stores.simpleshop.com/product/organic-vegan-macaroons" style="border: 0px; color: #292e31; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Fiona Meade's organic vegan macaroons</a>.</span></li>
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<li style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Minimise packaging, it should be compostable, recyclable or re-useable. Bring your own bags, boxes, tubs, jars, any container and we'll fill them.</span></li>
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<li style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Cut single use plastics. Plastic is an amazing product in some circumstances but OUR use of it is killing the planet, and WE can do something about that. Bring back your clean veg boxes, egg cartons and paper bags and we will re-use them.</span></li>
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<li style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Sustainable palm oil - the West's rampant consumption of this is what drives countries to destroy their rain forests, yet like any other crop it can be sustainably grown. </span></li>
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<li style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Supporting local, like-minded business, cuts down on food miles and is great for our community. I believe these suppliers are more likely to be responsive to my customer's needs. Jigsaw Bakery's organic sourdough is made in Linton , Cambridgeshire.</span></li>
<li style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I believe in a co-operative approach and work WITH my local suppliers. My only wholesaler is the UK’s biggest worker’s co-operative; who have been supplying natural, responsibly-sourced products since 1977. They have ethical policies on the environment, trade, palm oil and toxic ingredients, and regularly review their supply chain. I am very proud to work with <a href="http://www.suma.coop/about/" style="border: 0px; color: #292e31; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">SUMA.</a></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">You've got to start somewhere right?!</span></div>
Mrs Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03964628527899832494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1897113670108875267.post-4852461530529505402019-01-21T18:55:00.003+00:002019-01-21T19:04:30.074+00:00 Little Hadham Farmers’ Market - A Year On<div class="p1" style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq0t01IJztVkNKqs8_u0yUs2lyiy9ZhMo31uwiAhB6GH8rFMIFpi-ARNKaiFAqATz51jRrwrsh_caU8u-aFFn9pmlfkDXnrv43aE6QmQQHyXbFkTIBWId95WchK7JAxC_TeS-J1mPEkT0/s1600/Farmers+Market+-+June+18-14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1159" data-original-width="1001" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq0t01IJztVkNKqs8_u0yUs2lyiy9ZhMo31uwiAhB6GH8rFMIFpi-ARNKaiFAqATz51jRrwrsh_caU8u-aFFn9pmlfkDXnrv43aE6QmQQHyXbFkTIBWId95WchK7JAxC_TeS-J1mPEkT0/s640/Farmers+Market+-+June+18-14.jpg" width="552" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">It has been one year since I took over running the Little Hadham Farmers’ Market. Running the market involves EARLY mornings, an aching back and a belief in it’s core values; “<i>To promote the best of local produce...”</i> established by it’s founders, Brian & Brenda Kain. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">The market is usually on the last Saturday of the month, 8.30 - 11.30am in the Village Hall. </span> <span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">We now have around 200 people attending, numbers have been increasing by an average of 30%. We’ve a new kitchen regime; the Ladies of the Hadhams have taken over making home cooked breakfast.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace;">We’ve got new stall holders bringing everything from gin to sparkling English wine, Italian food to Indian breakfasts, artisan bread to fresh flowers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace;">I’ve tried to find the produce our customers ask for; and so we’ve had an unending search for a reliable fishmonger. And new soft fruit producers with more variety. </span> <span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace;">While I have enjoyed the innovations, I have also learnt a lot, and been incredibly supported by the old guard at the market. </span> <span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace;">My admiration for these farmers who are out there finding ways to make their family run farms sustainable in these uncertain times is ineffable.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace;">To further support our local food producers Little Hadham Stores has been running since May this year. </span> <span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace;">Housed in the Victorian butcher's shop on the lights in Little Hadham we have been supplying fresh, local, seasonal produce to order. An order list is sent out weekly and Stores are open for pick up on Thursdays. If you are local to Little Hadham, get in touch via the Facebook page </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/LHStores/" style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace;" target="_blank">@LHStores</a><span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace;"> to join our order list.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace;">I have met some absolutely lovely people, stall holders and customers alike, and I would like to say thank you to them all. </span> <span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace;">My family have been incredibly supportive too; Neil, Una and Louis are there every month helping, and I love that my children are learning that money does not grow on trees but is earned.</span><br />
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<span class="s1"><a href="http://www.littlehadhamfarmersmarket.co.uk/" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">http://www.littlehadhamfarmersmarket.co.uk</span></a></span></div>
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<span class="s2"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/lhfmlh" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">www.facebook.com/lhfmlh</span></a></span></div>
Mrs Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03964628527899832494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1897113670108875267.post-54254616759561257062018-08-11T12:07:00.000+01:002018-08-11T12:07:18.756+01:00Greengages<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Hi, my name's Catie and I'd like to tell you about my favourite fruit. I am a lover of greengages.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br />They are a group of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultivar">cultivars</a> of the common European <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plum">plum</a>. The first true greengage came from a green-fruited wild plum that are apparently originally found in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Name_of_Iran">Persi</a>a. However they are a generally seen as a traditional fruit of the British summertime.<br /><br />Whoever came over from Persia and planted them in my garden is a hero in my eyes, as I love them.</span><div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; line-height: 22.4px;">My buddies like them too. The flesh is sweet yet the skin slightly sharp, delicious. Their sharp green colour is sometimes tinted by a slight chalky bloom on their skin.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'courier new', courier, monospace;">Unfortunately our human servant, does tend to round as many as she can up and disappear with them into the kitchen. Apparently they are good in jam, gin, chutney, and are great for desserts. They retain their vivid green colour in cooking, and anything you can do with a plum you can do with a greengage. Personally I like them best straight from the tree.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">We will no doubt have to have words with her about sharing!</span></div>
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Mrs Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03964628527899832494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1897113670108875267.post-77800076127076684762018-07-06T14:37:00.001+01:002018-07-07T09:56:03.426+01:00Cherries<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Q14GWNC1wYpuhu5y6PFqB2jY6kYIw0X46qn1rReu8mQjbSbGeYEOwYSrn5lxw9aJQRgcXf0fq9gJPqK7yegVW7zh2_Y9Z9_quYjRcDx4aJ2pU8_-Mawl-25SToM80teSdW9hCeATxlg/s1600/IMG_1179.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="hadham cherries little hadham stores" border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Q14GWNC1wYpuhu5y6PFqB2jY6kYIw0X46qn1rReu8mQjbSbGeYEOwYSrn5lxw9aJQRgcXf0fq9gJPqK7yegVW7zh2_Y9Z9_quYjRcDx4aJ2pU8_-Mawl-25SToM80teSdW9hCeATxlg/s640/IMG_1179.jpeg" title="Hadham Cherries" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I have a cherry tree in my garden. It looks lovely in the spring covered in blossom, but we never get a single cherry from it as they are all eaten by the birds long before they turn red. A few years ago, opposite my friend Charlie’s house in Much Hadham, somebody started planting cherry trees and I must say from my personal experience I was sceptical.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span class="s1">But the week before last, through one of the farms I am working with on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/LHStores/" target="_blank">Little Hadham Stores</a>, I met that someone and he had cherries galore. </span> Christopher and his brother have grown gorgeous, juicy, sweet cherries that beg to be eaten by the kilo. <span class="s1"> They have </span>leased the<span class="s1"> </span>13 acres that they've planted with 7000 young cherry trees, that have just started to come into fruit now, and they also grow apricots and brew beer. Good guys to know.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgen5OLHLtaP5lz1P9xtn2Yyk8SSVUWYyXlOS-TmTl9w2tdhNkJ-cGGTu0GO9sjfKw55ALkauUnMrW_5AxyJbzpmfE1mXuFMy1vLZ2fWCI3Pfpw10nldICQR7wg5er6nygX4QZAyEz9S0s/s1600/IMG_1176.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="cherry orchard" border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgen5OLHLtaP5lz1P9xtn2Yyk8SSVUWYyXlOS-TmTl9w2tdhNkJ-cGGTu0GO9sjfKw55ALkauUnMrW_5AxyJbzpmfE1mXuFMy1vLZ2fWCI3Pfpw10nldICQR7wg5er6nygX4QZAyEz9S0s/s640/IMG_1176.jpeg" title="Hadham Cherries" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">They use sustainable farming methods as much as possible, mulching instead of using herbicides, organic fertilisers, and sourcing organic based pesticides. They keep bees on the farm to help with pollination. Judging from the growth of fruiting buds in the orchard at the back end of last season and all of this season they have high hopes for the coming two years of production, which should make up for this year.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">With a young orchard and short season, they’re not producing the quantities needed to fulfil the supermarket minimum orders. Which has been a wonderful bounty for us locals. I’ve been selling Hadham Cherries through <a href="https://www.facebook.com/LHStores/" target="_blank">Little Hadham Stores,</a> and the <a href="https://www.littlehadhamfarmersmarket.co.uk/" target="_blank">Farmers’ Market </a>and they are delicious.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Most of them simply get washed and eaten fresh, but I managed to save a few that were given to me as they were a little over ripe and I have made one of our absolute favourite desserts; Cherry Clafoutis. Now I am no great baker, but this is a pretty fool proof and absolutely delicious dessert. The most fiddly bit is getting the stones out of the fresh cherries.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">For this I used a paperclip having <a href="https://youtu.be/19Z2T2ECyZA" target="_blank">googled it</a>, and after a couple to tries I really did find it as simple as it seems in the video.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span class="s1"></span>I originally found the recipe in Raymond Blanc's, <i>Foolproof French Cookery. </i>I tend to play pretty fast a loose with precise amounts, as long as the flour to egg to milk/cream ratio is about right. Also, I don't like kirsch, so I use Cassis or Black Raspberry Chambord instead.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">So, here's the recipe:</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Ingredients:</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">500g fresh cherries</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">2 tbl-spoons of golden caster sugar.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">1 tbl-spoon Kirsch/Chambord/ Cassis</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">100g plain flour</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">6 tbl-spoons golden caster sugar</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">vanilla extract</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">grated rind of a lemon</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">melted un salted butter</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">150 ml (1/4 pt) milk</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">150ml (1/4 pt) whipping cream</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">75g unsalted butter</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">grated dark chocolate optional</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span class="s1">Oven should be set to about 180ºC/ 350</span>ºF</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">1. Stone the cherries and sprinkle sugar, Chambord and leave to stand.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTyEWeus3SZ03tJXBkD16rGNJHHi7kdRdJPFMbHHfzgcTLviVDQmyIZbEbqdiua5xxy4PfKIRlbPzFDALQxy7vldyBv6fu4RArAzvIqX92QzbUEf6EzPLekZK_p884OUeb0NdN0bhDsc4/s1600/IMG_1211.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTyEWeus3SZ03tJXBkD16rGNJHHi7kdRdJPFMbHHfzgcTLviVDQmyIZbEbqdiua5xxy4PfKIRlbPzFDALQxy7vldyBv6fu4RArAzvIqX92QzbUEf6EzPLekZK_p884OUeb0NdN0bhDsc4/s640/IMG_1211.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">2. Take a ceramic or cast iron dish and coat the inside in the 10g of butter then sprinkle the 3 tbl-spoons of sugar over it so that it sticks to the butter</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFJwG9mcCDFG1XYr43kSsmPegEnGaTb6S9H4jrHodHxeIKhqaP9vRY9Kb-VIo_gggsjE6LRFMYvzNF88bdm9jTfsBfpIxDgYLy7kZO9c3I69Sfg4APZnmcYrAlYuQ6WcFNg2RAATcPuWY/s1600/IMG_1214.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFJwG9mcCDFG1XYr43kSsmPegEnGaTb6S9H4jrHodHxeIKhqaP9vRY9Kb-VIo_gggsjE6LRFMYvzNF88bdm9jTfsBfpIxDgYLy7kZO9c3I69Sfg4APZnmcYrAlYuQ6WcFNg2RAATcPuWY/s640/IMG_1214.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">3. To make the custard: pour the flour and salt into a large bowl, make a well and add the eggs and egg yolk. Add the vanilla essence and lemon rind and combine. Melt the butter and add to the mixture. Then add the milk and whipped cream and whip together until you have a smooth batter. Finally add the cherries and pour into the prepared dish.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">As I’ve an Aga I cook mine in the baking oven on the bottom shelf with the cold shelf over the dish for about 35mins. If by then it is beginning to brown but not set in the centre I move it to the bottom oven to finish.<span class="s1"></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Take the clafoutis out and serve warm with chocolate grated on top. It is still lovely cold a day or two later. Now, at this point a better blogger than I would have a wonderful picture of a completed clafoutis for you to wow over. But, I had to get Louis to his music lesson and left it for Una to take out of the oven. Which she forgot to do, distracted by her phone! So it is a little browner than it should be, however, it still tasted great and as you can see we didn't have any problem eating it.</span></div>
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Mrs Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03964628527899832494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1897113670108875267.post-56483541615122559452018-05-28T18:25:00.001+01:002018-05-28T18:26:05.170+01:00Little Hadham Stores<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnzOs3uU8ZbH05ONp7hPCAH4JftgCFdAG-IOUR-hJ9_i773eetgWs81Rz_uJ_6ljBtwAWyN3zp5bmNY1wUGeAsXg5I9phtyHhM6b4j_5tPkAuoLYqihtAwTeQIbj_yVu7Su6rvbb89NRY/s1600/LH_stores_Logo_landscape.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="751" data-original-width="811" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnzOs3uU8ZbH05ONp7hPCAH4JftgCFdAG-IOUR-hJ9_i773eetgWs81Rz_uJ_6ljBtwAWyN3zp5bmNY1wUGeAsXg5I9phtyHhM6b4j_5tPkAuoLYqihtAwTeQIbj_yVu7Su6rvbb89NRY/s320/LH_stores_Logo_landscape.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Last week I went on a course organised locally by <a href="https://www.wenta.co.uk/training-events/be-your-own-boss/" target="_blank">WENTA</a> to help people planning on starting their own businesses. It was useful, I came away with pages of notes and then found myself needing to just sit quietly yesterday and process. Because I think this means I am really doing it. I am opening Little Hadham Stores. Our old butchers shop is going to become a shop again. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">One of the things we were asked to do was focus on the end goal and write what we wanted to achieve, our vision of our business. I wrote:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">A beautiful little shop where people come to pick up their fresh, local, sustainable food and stop to chat and share.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">We were also asked to write our mission statement, why we want to start our business. Now there is a lot to be said here about wanting to be at home and be with my children, as well as wanting to do something worthwhile within my community. I wrote:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I believe we need to change our relationship with food. And to that end I want to support local producers that share my vision.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">How do I think people need to change their relationship with food and why? I want to think about that a bit more before I write. As I want to reveal an authentic voice to these thoughts, not just regurgitate ethical marketing speak. All in all the course has set me to thinking.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I need to succinctly and accurately describe my store concept. It started as a spin off from the Farmers' Market. Little Hadham Farmers' Market is only once a month. Little Hadham Stores was to be a way to give us all access to the wonderful producers at the market during the weeks in between. Since then I have thought more about which producers I want to support and why. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">As many others have I'm sure, I have also been thinking about the need to reduce consumption, stop filling landfills and our oceans with single use plastic and just generally living with our surroundings and treading lightly on this beautiful planet of ours.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZqOGXRJqMWPWEgRqXv6LdYBxITR9RZjSfovx4dXE-5xZ3tbQ9sGkIIhFgC6lNpn0z1YKCYxsBDEjakN8oQC9dh8E-QvZ1RSsdXClXf-igF2aHwVv8MLpzZXE6HvcstVjRZWorXA4d_zw/s1600/IMG_1032.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><img alt="sourdough rye beeswax wraps" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1408" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZqOGXRJqMWPWEgRqXv6LdYBxITR9RZjSfovx4dXE-5xZ3tbQ9sGkIIhFgC6lNpn0z1YKCYxsBDEjakN8oQC9dh8E-QvZ1RSsdXClXf-igF2aHwVv8MLpzZXE6HvcstVjRZWorXA4d_zw/s640/IMG_1032.jpg" title="rye sourdough beeswax wraps" width="562" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">So Little Hadham Stores is indeed to be beautiful. I hate those health food shops that look like medicine cabinets. And the idea that seasonal natural food that is free from gluten, sugar, preservatives, dairy, e-numbers... (whatever) will not taste, look, smell as good as, nay better, than over produced, cheap, supermarket junk. Ok so price is something that I probably can't compete on. But everything else Stores will do better than the best supermarket chain.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Little Hadham Stores will let people <a href="http://www.mrsfoxs.com/shop/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/LH-Stores-Price-List-May-2018_1.pdf" target="_blank">order from our list of wonderful local producers</a> and then pick up their order all packed and ready to go from our shop. We have seasonal organic veg boxes, bread and pastries, organic Irish soda bread, hummus, seasonal wild garlic pesto, vegan biscuits and macaroons. I hope to add coffee, Italian food and dried goods next.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I want my shop to be a place to share good food, and ideas that will help to find more producers and better ways to shop, store and cook our food. I've already invested in Beeswax Wraps to replace cling film and been in touch with kilner to see if I can stock their jars.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">So, as I said I need to get more succinct in my description. And today my first veggie boxes arrived only 3, but a start.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixuLrs1qbqCV4O6i3ORJ991SCmlWPbhploO6OFYy3r-vxeH5XEpVcCMW8URwZzeiKjRdAmZJGznmEyMNwgnRBmmGppPZQjQ4jXYKHu8ch37q8xqNshJ_RMKbJtLUYtNUnDrewJrLuKj-Y/s1600/IMG_1037.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="sourdough rye beeswax wraps" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixuLrs1qbqCV4O6i3ORJ991SCmlWPbhploO6OFYy3r-vxeH5XEpVcCMW8URwZzeiKjRdAmZJGznmEyMNwgnRBmmGppPZQjQ4jXYKHu8ch37q8xqNshJ_RMKbJtLUYtNUnDrewJrLuKj-Y/s640/IMG_1037.jpeg" title="organic vegetable box" width="480" /></a></div>
<br />Mrs Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03964628527899832494noreply@blogger.com1