Volume 1 Issue 7 (July 2006)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
July 2006, Volume 1 Issue 7
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
In This Issue:
Welcome to the July Foodletter
Alan's Recipes of the Month: Melon Soup and Summer Pudding
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Welcome to the July Foodletter
We opened our doors for the first time July 29th last year. And what a year it's been! We've learned a lot, made a few mistakes, taken the occasional misstep and felt a little silly at times....



....but we persevered, made adjustments and lightened up when we needed to. And here we are, an established business, ready to face the future!



What have we learned in the past year? Well, eight years of bed and breakfast doesn't actually prepare you for running a bakery/food shop. Life is unpredictable, so it's best to stay flexible. And Sebringville really is the Hamlet with Heart. Our neighbours have been so helpful and encouraging while we settled in and got set up.

What does the future hold? We will continue looking for the best locally made food we can find. Alan will keep refining his bread techniques (the sourdough is coming along nicely). We hope to start shipping very soon. It's more complicated than we originally thought, but we'll keep working on it. And e-books! We have more ideas than a little foodletter can hold. It's time to branch out. Alan's collecting recipes as we speak. We'll keep you posted.

After that, who knows? We're open to new ideas, new challenges and a whole lot of fun.

Hope you're enjoying life in your corner of the world!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alan's Recipes of the Month

Chilled Melon Soup

Ingredients
4 cups (approximately) ripe melon (any will do - watermelon, casaba, crenshaw, honeydew, etc)
1 knob fresh ginger (about the size of your thumb from the knuckle to the tip), finely grated
1/2 bunch fresh basil leaves
1 cup white wine, such as a Riesling (or champagne or water or something like elderflower presse)
pinch salt
fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Method
To prepare the melon for the blender, place it horizontally on a cutting board and cut off each end (the top and bottom of the melon). Next, stand the melon up on one of the cut ends and run your knife down from top to bottom along the outside to remove the rind (this allows you to remove all of the unripe parts next to the rind). Vertically cut the melon in half from top to bottom. Remove the seeds and chop roughly. Place in the blender along with the ginger and basil and buzz until smooth. If you like, pass through a strainer.
Add the wine, pinch of salt (which will help accentuate the sweetness) and the pepper, if you are using it.
Chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Serve in chilled bowls with thinly sliced fresh basil leaves and/or small cubes of the melon.

To really impress, make this soup a second time with a different melon and substitute fresh thyme leaves for the basil. Place the soups each in their own pitcher and gently pour at the same time into chilled bowls (so that there is one soup on each side of the bowl).


Summer Pudding

Ingredients
1 loaf day-old white bread, sliced (or you can use egg bread, or brioche)
3 cups mixture of fresh, summer berries - raspberries, red currants, pitted cherries*, blueberries, etc
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract

* I know that cherries aren't berries, but they are tasty!

Method
You will need a slope-sided bowl for this one (or in a pinch an 8 x 8 inch pan will do). Cut the crusts off the bread (and toss outside to feed the birds). Line the bowl with the slices of bread - push the slices together so that there are no gaps. You may have to cut some slices to fit.
Place the berries, sugar and vanilla in a non-reactive pan over medium heat and bring just to a gentle simmer - just enough so that the sugar melts and the berries release their juices. Remove from the heat, stir and pour into the bread-lined bowl. Top with a layer of bread to encase the berries. Place the bowl inside a larger bowl, or on a plate. Place a small plate on top of the pudding - one that just fits into the bowl. Place a can of tomatoes (or similar weight) on the small plate to weigh it down and place in the refrigerator for a couple of hours or overnight.

To serve, remove the weight and the small plate. Place an inverted serving plate over the pudding bowl and carefully turn the whole thing over, so that the pudding unmolds onto the centre of the serving plate. The juices from the berries should have soaked through the bread and bound the slices together. Slice into wedges and serve with a good quality vanilla ice cream.

This recipe can be expanded or reduced to fit a larger or smaller bowl.

Cheers!

Barb & Alan