Come and see us at this EWT event. We will be making Sausages, Jam, Chutney, Bread, Smoking. 

As well as selling EESG Jams, Chutney and Jelly's.

Not forgetting members Pumpkins and Herbs will be for sale.

A lovely family afternoon out.

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Hen Keeping Course - by Essex Wildlife Trust

10:00-16:00 HEN KEEPING FOR BEGINNERS

This course is for anyone who is thinking about or who has just acquired some hens. The course looks at the essential needs for the both hens and a new hen keeper. There will be plenty of opportunity to practice live hen holding and hen health checks. Tea, coffee and homemade cake provided…Free range eggs of course! Please bring a packed lunch. Donation £30.00 per person Booking Essential

http://www.essexwt.org.uk/eventsactivities/talks_and_courses/”

The Blackwater Wild Food Festival - Report

Don't forget the 2013 EESG Calender is going to be launched at the next meeting, 23rd October 2012 @ THE BELL PURLEIGH Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. Report on The Blackwater Wild Food Festival 6th October 2012    What a wonderful day we all had at the The Blackwater Wild Food Festival at Abbots Hall Farm The Farm is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), Special Protection Area for birds (SPA) and Special Area of Conservation (cSAC). The Farm is also the head office of Essex Wildlife Trust.  It links together over 3,000 acres of wildlife-rich land along a 25 km stretch of the Essex coast.  The farm is situated on the Blackwater Estuary. The 700 acre farm shows how sustainable coastal defences can lead to the creation of coastal marshes which are vital for the future of both wildlife and people.  This is a working farm where Essex Wildlife Trust is aiming to show how wildlife can flourish alongside profitable farming. Although a working farm there are many footpaths for visitors to enjoy.  Essex Wildlife Trust has made changes to the farm, such as improving the farm for wildlife. We arrived at 10.30am to see all member of the trust busy about their work preparing for the day ahead. This was the first outing EESG had attended with no animals in tow and it seemed very strange! Today was to show people the other end of the EESG spectrum, What we produce! We had only had a few weeks to decide and organise what we were demonstrating but in true EESG style all hands to the “The grind stone” a perfect day was soon put together. The Trust had kindly provided a marquee with electrical supply! With in no time at all, the scene was set and the tea was flowing and soon people were arriving. Danni, Phil and Toni were doing “sausage making “from preparing a Hand and Belly of pork ready for mincing, to the end product, a string of wonderful homemade sausages which the visitors to our area were most impressed with, resulting in a round of applause! Phil did mention that Maria has never given him a round applause at home for his sausage making! Georgina was the star of the day. She sat preparing Partridge for many hours with a crowd around her most of that time. Old and young seemed to be amazed at her skill one little lad asked to take some feathers for school on Monday so he could tell his teacher what he had been doing this weekend. Wonderful that so many people seemed interested and more importantly, inspired by what we do as a group What’s our slogan  ............ “The Only way is East Essex” A big thank you to everyone who help make it such a wonderful day. Georgina with her new friends! An amazing selection of Chutneys, Jams and Honey! The apple press. Puffing Billy, the hot and cold smoker. Everyone was so interested in sausage making! Make your own or grow your own! Darren with his loaf of bread! The team at work. Phil and his sausages. | friend on Facebook | Copyright © 2012 East Essex Smallholders Group, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you are a member of EESG.  unsubscribe from this list | update subscription preferences

A classic white loaf - Darren

A classic white loaf - simple and good for experimenting as you can easily add flavour ingredients.

500g very strong white flour plus extra for dusting

1 tsp salt (vary according to own requirements)

2 tsp dried yeast

1 tbsp sunflower oil plus extra for greasing

330ml warm water

Put the flour and salt into a bowl.  In a small bowl dissolve the yeast in 330ml warm water.  Once it has dissolved add the oil.  Make a well in the centre of the flour, pour in the water and stir to form a dough.  Use hands to bring the dough together.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface.  Knead for 10 minutes until smooth, glossy and elastic.  Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover loosely with cling film and leave to rise for up to two hours, or until double in size.

When the dough is risen turn it out onto a floured surface and knock it back to its original size.  Knead it further, then form into the desired bread shape.  Place the dough on a baking tray, cover with clingfilm and a tea towel and leave in a warm place until risen to double its size - this is proving, which acts to identify that the yeast is still active.  The bread should be ready to bake if you poke the dough with finger and it springs back quickly.  You can score the bread if you like, which can aid the bread rising while baking.  Dust with flour.

Preheat the oven to 220C (Gas mark 7).  Place the dough in the middle of the oven for about 10 minutes and then reduce to about 190 C (Gas mark 5) for a further 30 minutes or until the crust is golden and the bottom sounds hollow when tapped.  You can reduce the heat at any point if the bread is browning to quick and it hasn't had sufficient time to bake.  Remove the bread and rest on a rack for about 30 minutes before eating.

A tip for increasing the crust of the loaf and it rising is to add a pan of just boiled water to the bottom of the oven when you first put the dough in.  You can always add other ingredients such as chopped sun-dried tomatoes, herbs etc to give a little twist and variation.

Artisan Raspberry Jam

Artisan Raspberry Jam

Ingredients:

500g raspberries – previously frozen

500g granulated sugar

Tools:

Large steel heavy based pan

Oven mitt

Wooden spoons

Cold plate (put in fridge)

7  x 227g ( ½ lb) jars

Method:

§  Put raspberries into pan.

§  Simmer fruit for 30 minutes until lovely and soft.

§  Slowly dissolve the sugar until you don’t hear any “crunching” on the bottom of the pan.

§  Bring to boil over a high heat.

§  Reduce heat to a rolling boil and stir with a wooden spoon in figure of eight for 15 minutes (wear an oven mitt to protect your hand).

§  Remove from heat and test a small amount on the cold plate.  If you get slight ripple in jam when pushed with your finger – DONE.  If not, return to heat for 5 minutes and then re-test. 

§  Whilst raspberry jam cooking – heat jars in hot oven.

§  When raspberry jam ready, pour hot jam into hot jars sealing with lid immediately. 

§  Allow to cool before labeling.

§  Store in cool dry place.

Once opened, store in fridge and use within 4 weeks.

Lovely with hot buttered white toast, on a Cornish vanilla icecream or straight off a spoon from the jar (as my son does!).

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Chutney

 Pumpkin chutney 

• 2lb (900 g) pumpkin, peeled and chopped
• 1 lb (450 g) tomatoes, peeled and chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 pint (570 ml) white vinegar
• 1 ½ teaspoons allspice berries
• 1 ½ teaspoons white peppercorns
• 1 lb (450 g) onion, peeled and sliced
• 1 ½ lb (675 g) brown sugar
• 1 ½ tablespoon salt
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 ½ teaspoons of black peppercorns

Step by Step Instructions

1. Place the chopped pumpkin in a pan and cover with vinegar, add the sliced onions, chopped garlic and chopped tomatoes.
2. Crush the allspice and peppercorns, add both to the pan then stir thoroughly and leave for about 1 hour.
3. Add the ginger, salt and sugar to the mixture and bring it to the boil slowly. Simmer for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally and taking care that the consistency does not get too much like that of jam.
4. Allow the chutney to cool, pour it into clean jars, cover and store.

Notes

This recipe originally appeared in the National Vegetable Society Bulletin.

Plum Chutney

This recipe is from The Preserving book – Lynda Brown

Plum Chutney

Makes approx 3lb – 1.35 kg

Takes 1 – 2 hours

Keeps 12 months

Ingredients

1kg   (2 ¼ lb) plums

350g (12oz) cooking apples

250g (9oz) Onions

125g (4 ¼ oz) Raisins

300g (10oz) light soft brown sugar

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon allspice

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon coriander

1 dried chilli or ¼ teaspoon chilli flakes

1 teaspoon fennel seeds (optional)

600ml (1 pint) white wine or cider vinegar

1 .Halve the plums and remove stones cut into ¼

2. Core peel and dice apple into bite size pieces

3. Peel and finely chop the onion

4. Place all ingredients into preserving pan or a large saucepan

5. Bring slowly to the boil stirring to dissolve the sugar

6. Simmer gently for 1 ½ to 2 hours until a wooden spoon drawn across the base of the pan leaves a trail.

7. Stir frequently towards the so the chutney doesn’t burn

8. The chutney should look thick and glossy

9. Check the seasoning add more salt if needed

10. Pot into warm sterilized jars making sure there are no air gaps

Maturing chutney

Chutney can taste harsh and flat if eaten straight away

So leave them to mature for 1 – 2 months before eating