Happy New Year and Apple Pressing

Happy New Year to all EESG followers. I'm sorry things have been a little quiet on the blog front, but Christmas has been so busy! I hope to be back on full form with my posts for 2013!

Yesterday we pressed the last of this years apples that have been stored since October. 

Some have been bottled and pasteurised for apple juice, some has been put into demi johns to make cider. Whilst the pulp has been re-hydrated with hot water and will be turned into a light apple wine.

We used Spartan, Darcy Spice, Bramley, Russet and Honeycrisp apples.

Georgina and Donna preparing apples for crushing

 

Danni was in charge of crushing the apples ready for pressing

 

Tilly was also helping by clearing up any apples that weren't good enough for pressing

 

 

Maurice was pressing the crushed apples with help from Matt

 

Toni was sterilising bottles, filling them and pasturising them for storing.

 

We has a wonderful day, its such fun and we worked off some of the Christmas Turkey!

Ascott Newsletter January 2013 - January Sales Preview!

January Sale Preview With the Christmas festivities now in full swing, we just wanted to give you an exclusive preview of our January Sale. We have chosen a great selection of products all with fantastic reductions. So why not plan ahead and stock up on poultry electric netting or lighten the load for the new year with our 120 litre wheelbarrow, perfect for any farm or stable. We also have a great saving on our superbly popular Junior Complete Home Hatchery Kit with 24 Eco Incubator and in readiness for early spring prepare for your jam and chutney making now with our traditional and hexaganol jam jars. For your convenience our Online Shop is open 24 hours day, 7 days a week and our Warehouse Shop is open 9am - 5pm, Monday to Friday. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Pinterest Forward to a Friend   If you do not wish to receive ASCOTT emails and newsletters and want to be taken off our email mailing list, then please use this unsubscribe link to remove you from this list. This email has been sent to you from Ascott Smallholding Supplies Limited, Telephone 01666 826931. Registered Office: Units 21/22, Whitewalls, Easton Grey, Malmesbury, Wiltshire, SN16 0RD. Registered in England & Wales No. 4505585 Find out how we protect your personal data by viewing our privacy and security policy. It is our commitment to you in providing a safe and secure online shopping environment. To contact us with any questions, please visit our About Us page. Copyright © 2012 Ascott Smallholding Supplies. All rights reserved. Our mailing address is:  Ascott Smallholding Supplies Unit 21 Whitewalls Easton Grey Malmesbury, Wiltshire SN16 9 United Kingdom

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all our members and followers. I hope you have all had a fantastic day!

Furzedown hosted a Truly smallholding Christmas with home reared
Pork, beef And turkey! We are so lucky. As well as lots of home grown veg from a friend and lots of smoked treats.

Share your Christmas with us. Email Danni: Danielle.perkins@yahoo.co.uk

Mulled Cider

Kindly supplied by Clair Coyne
A lovely Christmas recipe!!
Mulled Cider Recipe-Jamie Oliver, Channel 4
Ingredients

• 2 litres good cider, such as Scrumpy
• 6 cloves
• 3 or 4 star anise
• ¼nutmeg, finely grated into the pan
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 vanilla pod, halved
• Juice of 1 orange
• Juice of 2 clementines
• Juice and seeds from 1 pomegranate
• 4 or 5 tablespoons of caster sugar, to taste
Method

1. Pour all of the cider into a large pan on a low heat and warm it through for a few minutes. Add all of the spices and fruit juices and turn the heat up. Once boiling, turn down to a simmer and leave to tick away for 5 to 8 minutes. As everything infuses you'll get the most delicious layers of flavour. Just because this is a glorified Christmas punch doesn't mean you don't taste it like you would a sauce. Pay attention and add a few tablespoons of sugar to taste. You don't want it to be sweet; you just want the sugar to join up all the different spices so you get a harmonious taste.
2. When you are happy with the flavours, ladle the mulled cider into glasses or mugs and serve while warm and delicious. Personally I think it's nice to leave bits of spices floating around in the cider when you serve it but if you want yours clear and perfect just pour it into the glasses through a sieve.

Free range geese for sale

Free Range Local white Geese For Sale

The Traditional Christmas Dinner.

£50 each

Contact Toni and Georgina
tonimutton@hotmail.com
07739 597185.

The perfect guide to cooking your Christmas Turkey

For the best instructions on how to cook your turkey take a look:

http://www.kellyturkeys.co.uk/kellybronze-turkeys-chickens-default.aspx?m=10&mi=98

What would you like to see from East Essex Smallholders Group?

We are currently planning the 2013 program of Events for East Essex Smallholders Group.

Please tell us what you want!

Who would you like to see as Guest Speakers?

Where would you like to visit?

What courses would you like the group to run?

What competitions do you think we should run?

Currently the blog has has over 50 visits per day.
What can we do to keep you interested in visiting the Blog?

What posts do you like to see of the blog?

More recipes?
More useful Websites?

Take five minutes with a cup of tea, and email me your thoughts: Danielle.Perkins@Yahoo.co.uk 

Tomato Bacon and Lentil Soup

TOMATO BACON AND LENTIL SOUP

Kindly provided by Nick Elcombes

This is for lots of people- a real winter warmer that is filling without too many calories

4 Onions peeled and diced

2 cloves of garlic - crushed

2 tablespoons olive oil

250 grams bacon diced 1cm dice

2 tins peeled chopped tomatoes

2 tubes tomato paste/puree

250 grams red split lentils

6 pints  ( up to) well favoured stock (Vegetable ham or chicken)

Heat oil in a large saucepan or stock pot. Soften onion and garlic.

Add bacon . allow to just colour

Add lentils stir until oil and bacon fat absorbed.

Add tomatoes and Tomato puree bring back to a simmer

Add as much stock as wish to get consistency that you wish for. Remember that the lentils will absorb liquid. They vary a bit dependant on where they are sourced from. I tend to add between 5 and 6 pints of stock

Simmer for at least 30 minutes. It reheats well !

Serve with good crusty bread.

Pigs for Sale

Pedigree, registered Gloucestershire Old Spot Inpig Sow and Boar for sale.

Princess sow aged 3 1/2 yrs, has healthy strong litters with her latest size litter of 15. She is friendly and nice natured, is bucket trained so easy to move and load onto a trailer, wormed and vaccinated up date.

Patrick boar aged 2 1/2yrs, has sired many excellent litters of good sizes, very easy to handle and good natured, also bucket trained, wormed and vaccinated.

Delivery can be arranged. To kind knowledgeable homes only, usual Defra rules apply, genuine enquiries only please. Can go together or separately , open to sensible offers either monetary or for weaners in return.

Call Fiona 07834 030560 or email madaboutpigs@btinternet.com

Keeping Chickens Warm in Winter

One of my favourite sites www.lowcostliving.co.uk has a fab article on keeping chickens warm in winter.

http://www.lowcostliving.co.uk/chickens/chickens-warm-winter.php

Take a look at their useful tips. Its really hard on our livestock in such cold temperatures. We are trying to keep them topped up with bedding, feeding a little extra and trying to make sure they have access to water all the time, which is difficult when it keeps freezing over.

Quiz Night - 8th December 2012

Thank you to everyone who supported The EESG Quiz night . It was a great success .

·        
Woodham Walter Village hall was filled to the brim with teams and Christmas cheer.

·        
Quiz Master Trevor was a star as always.

·        
Congratulations to winning team The Ulting Warriors and two Townies.

·        
Once again thank you all for your support and Merry Christmas.

Thank you also to the local business's that supported our raffle in aid of the Rare Breed Survival Trust:

Marriages

Dengie Feeds

Meatline

Certificate of Competence for Transporting Livestock

Did you no, that if you are transporting livestock (Cattle, Sheep, Goats, Pigs, Horses and Poultry) over 65KM you must have a Certificate of Competence.

You need a certificate per type of animal.

East Essex Smallholders Group are in the process of arranging a course locally to achieve this certificate.

If you are interested please contact Danni: danielle.perkins@yahoo.co.uk

 

Competence Certification

Those transporting and handling domestic species of cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, domestic equidae and poultry by road on journeys over 65km in connection with an economic activity must be independently assessed in their competence.  Those assessed as competent will receive a certificate of competence.  The certificate will be specific to the role the transporter or attendant is charged with, the length of journeys to be undertaken and the species to be transported.

• assessment of those involved in journeys over 65km and up to eight hours may be made by means of a theory test;
• assessments of those involved in journeys over eight hours must also include practical assessment of their competence including animal handling, and if required, driving skills.

Further information of this element of the Regulation can be found in chapter 4 of the main guidance document.
As the competent authority in England, Defra has designated the following independent bodies to undertake assessments for competence and award competence certificates.

Please See:
http://www.defra.gov.uk/food-farm/animals/welfare/transport/competence-cert/

The Tree Council December Bulletin 2012

Welcome to a bulletin from The Tree Council Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.

Give a greener gift At The Tree Council we're proud of our beautiful, informative books, high quality eco-bags and evocative Christmas cards. By buying a gift from our online shop, not only will you be getting a special item, but you will also be supporting our vital work across the UK, making trees matter to everyone. We have just launched our Friends of The Tree Council scheme. From as little as £3 per month (or £33 per year) you can give Friendship as a gift, which comes with a bi-annual copy of our tree magazine, Tree News - perfect for any tree lovers in your life. Our last posting day is Monday 17 December, so get your orders in before then > Visit our online shop Give the gift of Friendship Our new Friends scheme not only supports the work of The Tree Council nationally, but also puts funds at the disposal of local Tree Wardens to use in their communities. This makes an ideal gift, with differing levels of giving attracting discounts on trees, holidays and even original signed artwork. > Read more Trees and how to grow them Published to celebrate the 10th anniversary of The Tree Council's Seed Gathering Season, this book is a guide to everything you need to know about growing trees from seed. Featuring 80 native and ornamental species, Trees and How to Grow Them gives growing tips, facts, statistics and tree trivia as well as colour illustrations of each tree. Each tree is detailed with height, shape, fruit, leaves, flowers, bark and more. Illustrated with photography and line drawings throughout, the book is an ID guide as well as a practical handbook for growers. Original price £20 - on offer at the special price of £10 > Read more Heritage Trees of Wales calendar 12 stunning images of heritage trees in Wales sit above month-by-month planners in this unusual calendar. > Read more Follow on Twitter Forward to a Friend Sign Up Direct Visit our website Tree Care Campaign 21st March - 21st September 2013 Change your view - take care > Read more Walk in the Woods 1st May - 31st May 2013 Change your view - look up > Read more Seed Gathering Season 23rd September - 23rd October 2013   > Read more National Tree Week 23rd November - 1st December 2013   > Read more The Tree Council needs your support. Every donation makes a difference. Thank you.   > Make a donation

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