I have been wanting to go to the Farmers Market at the new venue underneath the windmills at the Cobb and Co Museum since it moved from the showgrounds... so today was the day. After our much warmer than usual autumn it was back to our typical weather today and was cold and windy which was a bit of a shock and I had to scramble to dig out some warm clothes which were packed away. My friend and I bought some veggies before heading to the coffee shop to warm up. A forum was held before the market finished about the current dairy farmers' crisis . There is some info about that on 4 Real Milk. It is amazing to see consumers getting behind the dairy farmers by not buying the $1 a litre milk when you visit the supermarket. Anyway back to the market.
I was greeted by line dancing as I walked in which quite surprised me as I didn't realise people did line dancing anymore. It was hugely popular many years ago.
While I was taking a photo someone else was taking a video which you can view if you scroll down the page here . I watched it the whole way through in case I ended up being in it :-)
Of particular interest to me was the soap made by Petra Kalinin from Enchanted Essence. We had a chat about soap and how expensive it was to pay for insurance and to register with NICNAS in order to be able to sell soap at markets, etc. I mentioned that there was a need for somewhere to buy soap supplies from locally for those who liked to make their own soap and she said she was willing to order for me and then I wouldn't have delivery fees so I might take her up on that in future. If anyone else is interested let me know.
Her soap didn't look like mine. LOL! This is my latest experiment which I will do a post on next week. I had goats milk to use up and also some Carotino oil which has been sitting in the cupboard for some time. Its use is controversial so I will bring up the subject of using palm oil soon and get your opinion. Anyway, the soap was a creamy colour in the morning with a blue base from the ultramarine I am trying to use up and by the afternoon it was turning yellow ;-) I always enjoy seeing the changes that come about when making soap.
The cold weather has also brought about changes to my Gertrude sourdough starter which bubbled up quite nicely when I fed her but I had trouble with the dough rising on a cool day which probably wasn't helped by me taking it out of the bowl I had it in when it started rising and putting it into a larger bowl in case it overflowed overnight...not a chance of that obviously. So it is back to the drawing board for the next lot of baking as I think our warm days have gone now until spring arrives...but I might be wrong as who knows what kind of weather we are going to have these days as it is all over the place and unpredictable.
Actually while at the market I saw some sourdough at The Baker's Duck who I have never heard of before but apparently they are opening for retail on Saturdays from 7am to 4pm at 1/55 Bellevue Street so I am going to buy myself some sourdough (which I think is $8) and compare it with mine so that I can get a better idea of what it is supposed to look and taste like when made by the professionals.
Now I think I will go and climb under the doona which I just unearthed. Enjoy the rest of the weekend everyone!
That's a great day Chel! Your soap looks and sounds fabulous, and the sourdough...yum! Cuddling up under the doona is a great plan...very frisky and windy here today. Love, Mimi xxx
ReplyDeleteMimi, the wind has died down so we will probably have a frost tomorrow. Winter is just around the corner I think.
DeleteInteresting that the same problems are had by farmers worldwide! Having grown up on the farm I remember the shock when I was old enough to realize what we were paid for corn say, and what they charged for it in the store, same with milk, we dairy'ed for years and it just wasn't profitable. Now the government is subsidizing dairy farmers to keep them in the business, but that can't go on forever. Not sure what the answer is but we are going to have to find one someday if we want to keep eating. Don't know about Australia, but they say the average farmer is 60 years old here. That is a recipe for disaster!
ReplyDeleteInteresting post.
Kathy, that is interesting that the same thing happens in the US. I really feel for our hard working farmers.
DeleteIt has been a bit cooler here to Chel, we are supposed to get down to 9 degrees tonight and a few nights back our low was 19 degrees. I can't make up my mind whether to unpack the winter gear or not, though I have put flannelette sheets on the beds. Your soap looks very pretty.
ReplyDeleteSherri, I bit the bullet today and got my winter clothes out at long last. This sudden change in the weather has come as a bit of a shock :-)
DeleteThe markets look like heaps of fun! I buy 4 Real Milk 99% of the time and Norco the other 1%. The former has a terrific story behind it, which was covered by Landline some time ago. If only everyone would care enough (or know enough) about the plight of dairy farmers to boycott cheap milk. I speak to anyone who will listen about this very thing.
ReplyDeleteCheap milk is certainly being boycotted at the moment as consumers are being made aware if the plight if the dairy farmers in the news. Hopefully it is not too late to save the remaining ones from going out of business.
DeleteSourdough can be so finicky at times, that's why I always use the no-knead method as time is on your side. If the weather is cool I always add a little brown sugar to the dough for the yeasts to feed on. Also but spraying the lump of dough with spray oil it 'seals' the dough and it retains its moisture and microclimate on cooler days....certainly not fool proof but worth a shot.
ReplyDeleteI don't knead much either. I was rereading the tutorial I follow on Fig Jam and Lime Cordial and realised that it is for a closed crumb bread rather than a holey one and also that I probably need more dough for the bread tins that I used so I currently have two loaves in the oven after making one and a half times the recipe. Hope it works out this time.
DeleteI went to the markets too and bought the sourdough (white), its really yummy. I have the fire on tonight, as the house was so cold. Hooray winter is here at last. I will have to check out the soap next fortnight. Take care, Guida.
ReplyDeleteGuida, I only saw one place that was selling the sourdough and I think that is the Baker's Duck which is going to be selling on a Saturday so I might nip down and buy a loaf as I don't think I have ever bought sourdough before.
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