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March 2006, Volume 1 Issue 3
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In this issue:
Welcome to the March Foodletter
Recipe of the Month: Leek & Potato Soup and Irish Soda Bread
Supplier of the Month: Glen Farms
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Welcome to the March Foodletter!
Hello from Sebringville, where Spring is in the air and mud is on the ground. It's been a couple of weeks now since they've had to close the highway due to snow. One minute there are transport trucks lumbering down the road and the next thing you know - Snowmobile Heaven! It's a bit disconcerting for a couple of city kids like us, but we're getting used to it.
We've been working away here, getting ready for the coming busy season. We finally seem to have the lighting right. And the fridge situation is sorted for now. Our building was once a bank. There's an amazing brick safe right next to the prep kitchen. We're using it for dry storage right now, but the plan is to put a compressor on it and turn it into a walk-in fridge. This will allow Alan to make all of his bread using the "cold rise" method that is so wonderful (we're using a modified version of it now). Until that happens, the fridge we have is doing double-duty as retail space and supply storage, which can get a bit confusing. People would keep asking what we're charging for the buttermilk and eggs. But we've solved the problem with some window vinyl and a promise to be more organized. Looking around the shop today, it looks like we're nearly ready to open a business here!
Which brings me to our website. It was the other big project for the month. Alan designed it himself, with not so top-of-the-line software. We felt a presence on the Internet was more important than perfection. Then we tried to fix it, just a little bit, and discovered that we couldn't upload any changes without major interventions from Barry in Tech Support. For those of you who don't have experience with websites, you're supposed to be able to make changes all by yourself, preferably while in your jammies. Alan's spent the last week or so (in between baking bread and several huge batches of granola) calling and e-mailing both our local service provider and the people who wrote the software. The changes have been uploaded, Barry's moved on to other projects and one of these days we might even figure out how to put a photo or two on the site!
Check us out at www.pannifers.com And check back often to see the changes we'll be making.
Hope the Spring breezes are warm and soothing where you are!
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Alan's Recipes of the Month
Leek and Potato Soup
Ingredients
1 T unsalted butter
2 oz white wine
1 med onion, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
2 leeks, white only (save green tops for adding to the stock pot), cut in half lengthwise and then in quarter inch half-rounds
2 med potates, peeled and diced (or grated on the side of a box grater with the largest sized holes)
6 sprigs fresh Thyme, leaves stripped from the stems and coarsely chopped
4 cups chicken stock or water (or a combination of the two)
salt & pepper to taste
2 T unsalted butter (optional)
Method
Melt butter with white wine in a small soup pot over low heat. Add the onion, garlic and leeks (after rinsing them under cold water in a strainer - to wash away the sand). Stir the ingredients and then cover the pot with a lid. Cook gently until everything is soft (add a bit of water to keep the bottom from drying out).
Turn up the heat to med-high, add the potatoes, thyme and chicken stock. Simmer gently until the potatoes are tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
The soup may be left this way (rustic) or pureed in a blender until smooth (with the optional 2 tablespoons of butter).
It is also quite nice to garnish the soup with a small amount of grated cheddar cheese.
Serve with crusty bread and a light salad.
Irish Soda Bread *
Ingredients
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 T baking powder
1 t salt
1/2 t bicarbonate of soda
1 T sugar
3 T butter (or good dripping)
1-3/4 cups sour milk or buttermilk
1/2 t chopped onion or parsley (optional)
Method
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Sift the dry ingredients together, cut in the butter with a knife (or fork or pastry cutter) and mix well.
Stir in the milk (being careful not to over mix). Turn the dough into a well buttered loaf pan and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees F and bake for 40 minutes (or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the loaf comes out clean).
Turn out to cool on a wire rack.
* Recipe from The Joyce of Cooking, Food & Drink from James Joyce's Dublin by Alison Armstrong. Station Hill Press, Inc. Copyright 1986.
Got any food questions? Email Alan and he'll try to help you out.
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Supplier of the Month: Glen Farms
After we opened last July, we started looking around for products to feature in our store. We wanted top-quality, Canadian-made foods that would go well with our breads. An internet search turned up Glen Farms. After a few e-mails back and forth, we decided to take a road trip. We met Judie and David Glen at their farm near Listowel where they have been making and selling their fine jams and preserves since 1985. Judie showed us around the shop and explained their philosophy. Their mission statement (from 1993) states:
Our mission is to
create, manufacture and distribute the finest specialty food
products in the world.
Judie and David have been making fine jellies, preserves, flavoured oils and vinegars for over twenty years. All in small batches. Very small batches. Judie explained to us that they had tried to make one of the jams in bigger batches, but somehow, doubling the recipe had changed the jam in ways they didn't like. They cut it back to the single recipe. I was impressed by this kind of dedication, and by the love of family evidenced in the many pictures of their children hanging on the wall, along with the paintings David's grandmother had done, which they've incorporated into their label design. We bought our first order and loaded up the car. Judie also sent us home with some samples...
Isn't it nice when you agree with someone's way of doing business, and their product is also wonderful? Judie explains by stating simply, "You must love what you do to do a good job". Judging by their product, these two really love what they do!
I think it's time for another road trip.
You can find their website at www.glenfarmsgourmet.com
Cheers!
Barb & Alan
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