Smy Indoor Garden - Week One 11/02/11

Plants and herbs do not seem to do well inside my flat but there's an unheated area outside our door which catches a lot of sun. I used to keep herbs out there on some wooden shelves and they did really well. I had lent the shelves to neighbours who moved out last week. As soon as I saw the shelves I decided to start a new little project. I knew that I would refill them with herbs but then I thought, why stop there? Ages ago my dear friend Sophie bought me a fantastic book,

Window-box Allotment by Penelope Bennett

, thanks Soph! It's a beginner's guide to container gardening that is full of all sorts of information outlined in what you could be doing month-by-month. I have dipped in and out of the book over the years but thought as I was picking it up again in January I could, should and would follow it throughout 2011.

Most of my family seem to be blessed with different skills, abilities and knowledge of plants, flowers, fruit and veg. My boyfriend thinks that this has skipped me entirely and charmingly has nicknamed me the Harold Shipman of plants. I reject this distasteful moniker and blame the lack of light and balmy nature of our lovely flat. Also, in the past we have both tried to look after the plants and they've end up getting over-watered. But 2011 is about me reclaiming my green fingers - I vow to look after all our existing plants inside the flat, to expand our plant kingdom to outside the flat and cultivate plants that we can bring back inside and eat.

I decided that I would try to sow some seeds and get some container veg going - tomatoes, rocket, etc. I try to get to Columbia Road Flower Market most Sundays for flowers but last Sunday I went specifically for Smy indoor garden. I always buy herbs from

Mick and Sylvia Grover

as they grow all their own herbs, give you great tips and are so lovely. I had a really nice chat with Mick and I was telling him how much I've learned about the market from the The Gentle Author and his amazing site,

Spitalfield's Life

. I asked Mick if anyone on the market sold seeds and he said in his forty years at the market he didn't think anyone had ever traded seeds. I also bought a lovely rhubarb plant and a blueberry bush that are both doing really well.

I found some seeds and supplies and got stuck in. Here is what I have sown thus far:

The first night after sowing the seeds I dreamt that they were unfurling and growing right in front of my eyes,

a la BBC time lapse (this one is great!)

. The next morning there was a wee bit of movement but I will try to post about their progression as a way of keeping a little log for myself. Here are the shelves that my other herbs, fruit and veg are kept on and where I will keep my containers once my seeds have sprouted:

I am really lucky to have my Mum and aunties, as well as the book, to refer to throughout this experiment. Watch this space and hopefully there will be a rhubarb crop with which to make rhubarb crumble!

and remember...

it's not your chutney (or indoor garden)

it's Smy Chutney (or indoor garden).

Smy Mug

I had to post a picture of one of my favourite all-time gifts filled with my all-time favourite tea. It's a Smy Chutney mug filled with sencha green tea. It was given to me by my dear friend Alison and I love it and her! This is the second mug that she has given me and the other one is in steady rotation but now I have a new favourite. Thank you Alison!

and remember...

22 Jan 2011 - Broadway Market Schoolyard

Hello! I've been posting at an appalling rate since Christmas but I have been very busy - haven't we all! I have only been at Broadway Market Schoolyard Expansion (seriously! that is SUCH a mouthful, really wish that it had an easier, more memorable name) twice this year as I've been working on a project and the first week that I went out was during the great big wind gust of 15 Jan and my entire table was uplifted and blown over. Luckily not many jars were broken, at first I suspected that each and every one had been smashed to smithereens. Everyone was so helpful but that's just how lovely everyone is at the market and that's why I wanted to share with you some of the latest traders dahn the market.

First off is Benjamin's Butterflies, whose beautiful jewellery and art are truly stunning, like stop you in your tracks stunning. They are pieces and wall hangings made from butterfly wings. All the butterflies come from the Stratford Butterfly Farm and have all died naturally and the wings are collected from the sanctuary.

The photos do not do them justice and I didn't get any photos of his beautiful wall pieces as they sold out before I could capture them....on my camera.

Next up is Jolly Good Books who have a jolly good selection of books carefully selected by Fiona and Joe. The prices are beyond reasonable and their stall makes perfect sense. Now you can come eat lunch, buy some chutney and terrine for later, buy some cupcakes, coffee and/or organic cocoa then buy some lovely books to curl up with in the comfort and warmth of your own home.

Then we have

JK Keepsake

where Jasmine offers lovely bespoke embroidery gift

keepsakes

for baby products, wedding and special occasions. Your special occasion may be that nap you will need after gorging on goodies at the market!

Above is

Copperleaf Print

who trade in etchings, linocuts and gilcee cards. They are haunting, ethereal and beautiful pieces made by artists Martin and Nesrin Mossop. Their stall is like a mini-gallery so you should come down and have a wander and gander.

Speaking of beautiful products, next we have Mee Time, hand made bath products that are so pretty you may not want to use them but it's what is in the bath products that make them so effective. Jenny's line of soaps, bath salts and scrubs use all natural ingredients and lots of attention to detail goes into the ingredients and design of these beautiful bath products.

There was even a bit of bagpiping going on...all in all it was a lovely day at the market!

I will next be at Broadway Market Schoolyard Expansion in March but can be found at

www.smychutney.com

or on smychutney@gmail.com

and remember...

it's not your chutney...

it's Smy Chutney.

Pineapple and Ella Bella Jelly Crostata

I was listening to the

Angela Hartnett's Best Producer Meal

on Food Programme of BBC Radio 4 on Sunday (6 days left to listen!) which featured Michelin starred chef Angela Hartnett preparing a meal for Sheila Dillon using ingredients from the Best Producer category of the 2010 BBC Food & Farming Awards. I was really inspired by the crostata that they made combining 2010 finalist, Tracklement Company's seasonal medlar jelly, with spiced poached pears. I knew right then that Sunday night's pudding would be a crostata, something I have never tackled before. It was quite an easy tart to make and I will definitely be making this again. Here is a recipe:

225g plain flour

75g demerara sugar

75g butter

1 egg

1 egg yolk

the zest of 1 unwaxed lemon

After sifting the flour and mixing in the sugar, I grated the butter in so it's easier to mix.

Next, I added in the egg, egg yolk and lemon zest

I put the pastry to rest in the fridge for awhile, it can be made and left to rest overnight, and when you are ready to use it leave it out of the fridge for half an hour or so before you start to roll it out.

While the pastry had its feet up I started stewing some pineapple. I would much rather have made this with apples or pears but I had about half a pineapple left over from breakfast so thought it best to use that up. I put about 30ml of muscat dessert wine over the pineapple, popped in a star anise and left it on a really slow simmer for the half an hour that the pastry was resting.

Then it was time to roll out the pasty which I tried to get as thin as possible. I always think my pastry has been rolled out rather thin and then find out it hasn't so when I think it's thin enough I usually go over it a few more times.

I then placed it over my 12 in pie/quiche dish, trimmed off the edges and kept the remaining pastry for the topping.

I then took some of my beloved Ella Bella Jelly and heated it a bit and poured over the pastry. You can use any jam or jelly but apparently it's better to choose something that isn't overly sweet as the pastry is sweet enough. This is why I chose my Ella Bella Jelly which is a damson jelly made from my Auntie Chrissie's Ella Bella tree. It makes a truly wonderful jelly that is nice and tart. I really cherish it and if you've bought or received any of this from me consider yourself lucky. I am to Ella Bella Jelly as Gollum is to his Precious. I only serve it with special roast dinners but thought that it was the natural choice for this recipe.

I then took my stewed pineapple and arranged it on the jammy tart. I started to get creative and then realised that I didn't have enough pineapple to carry out my crostata vision so I just tried to evenly space them out.

I took my reserved pastry and rolled out some thin strips to lattice over the tart. As above, I then folded the edges over a bit, did a haphazard criss-cross pattern and topped it with a Smy Chutney brandied cherry.

I then popped it into the oven which I had preheated to 180 degrees C for 35 minutes. I let it cool for a few minutes and served with Haagen Dazs vanilla ice cream. I was very happy with it but the sweetness of the pineapple meant it was a very sweet pudding. As I said, I would have preferred it with apples as I prefer my puddings to not be too overly sweet. But that's the beauty of the crostata - you can easily make a pudding with whatever you happen to have in the house. I've got some of Auntie Chrissie's blackberry jelly and I think my next crostata will use that with some kiwis or perhaps a Smy Chutney lemon curd crostata. Thanks to the Food Programme for the inspiration and for being one of my favourite programmes on Radio 4.

and remember...

it's not your chutney...

it's Smy Chutney.

Fresh Fruit Pavlova

I love pavlova and they are so easy to make. I make them all year round and top with seasonal fruit. I also freeze fruit throughout the year so that I always have something on hand to top a pavlova with. I use Delia's recipe and instructions for pavlova which is:

3 egg white

175g sugar

Whisk the egg whites until they are peaky and the bowl can be turned upside down without the mixture falling out. I then add the sugar in tablespoon by tablespoon and whisk until all the sugar is added and the mixture is very peaky and has a slightly glossy sheen to it. I like to make individual sized pavlovas or as in the above recipe I made one whopping big pavlova by spooning the mixture onto a sheet of baking paper and taking a skewer you give it some swirls and peaks. You then pop it into a preheated oven at 150 degrees Centigrade. As soon as it goes in you turn the heat down to 140 degrees and leave it in there for one hour. When the hour is up you turn the oven off and leave it to cool. Delia says preferably overnight and I do agree with her on this and so I usually make a pavlova in the evening and put a note on the oven so that it doesn't get accidentally turned on that night or in the morning. You can make pavlova and storing it properly they will last for a several weeks in an airtight tin. I did manage to take all the whizzz out of a hand-held blender this summer making pavlovas. Since then I have discovered that I believe my pavlovas taste better when whisked and beaten by hand than by blender...any thoughts on this?

For dressing my pavlova I take a tablespoon of Smy Chutney strawberry and pineapple jam and a handful of different frozen berries and blend them...for this I do use an electric blender! For the above I used frozen blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and blackberries. I spread the pasted thinly over the base of the pavlova. Then I sliced fresh mango and strawberries and added them to the pavlova. I then whipped some cream, or regular cream will do, and added this. Lastly I topped with a few strawberries, dusted with icing sugar, sliced and served.

This year for Christmas I took individual sized pavs and topped with a mixture of cranberries, blackberries, red currants, brandied cherries and their accompanying brandy:

I put them together and heated gently with a bit of brown sugar, sugar and orange juice. I let the mixture cool overnight (with the pavs!) and the next day I topped the pavlovas with the fruit mix some fresh blackberries and a bit of cream. They were a big hit, so big that I forgot to take a photo, but I will definitely be recreating these.

and remember...

it's not your chutney...

it's Smy Chutney.

Ellie's Christmas Cheeseboard

I love seeing where Smy Chutney ends up and in this case it was Ellie's Christmas cheeseboard that she shared with her family.  Thanks Ellie, it looks delicious!!!

and remember...

it's not your chutney...

it's Smy Chutney.

please follow Smy Chutney on

facebook

and

twitter

...

Walking in a Winter Wonderland - Broadway Market 18 Dec 2010

It was the last Saturday before Christmas and after checking about six different weather forecasts about six times a day and making an informal pact with the fellow traders from the Broadway Market School Expansion (BMSE) I decided to trade. This was largely because I had promised some regulars, a lovely elderly couple, that I would bring them some lemon curd and I did not want to have Christmas guilt by failing to provide them a lemon curd fix.

It wasn't snowing when I woke up early on Saturday so I decided I would indeed go. I stuck to the main roads but managed to hit a patch of black ice on Goldsmith's Row and came off my bike. Lot's of lovely people came to help after me, my bicycle and trailer came to a sliding halt. Luckily I was fine and suffered no bruises, probably due to the fact that I had on four layers of clothing in order to survive a cold day at the market. I pushed my bike over the canal and made it to the market and just as I crossed the threshold into the schoolyard I saw the first snow flake of what would be many that day. I quickly set up and within an hour the snow was starting to settle. There was a steel band playing Christmas carols and lots of people were out and it felt like the week before Christmas. A few hours later and the snow was blizzarding sideways and I had lots of friends and regulars picking up chutney for gifts and themselves. My lovely couple came and bought three jars of lemon curd and after that I felt that I should pack up and go home as the snow had covered everything on my table.

I had been planning on sticking to the main roads and trying to cycle home but it soon became evident that this would not be possible or safe. I decided to get home as the crow flies and push my bicycle/trailer over the crunchy snow through the back roads. My first hurdle was getting back over the canal. I tried to build up momentum to get over but the weight of my snow laden cargo proved heavier than I thought and I didn't get too far and could feel myself about to slide back down. I tried to lower my center of gravity and was starting to panic when a lovely passerby saw my predicament and helped by pushing my trailer so that we could get it over the canal. Many thanks to you kind sir!!!

I felt like a hobbit on Hoth in a disaster film pushing my wares through Whiston Road in Hackney.

My hands were so cold and wet from packing up my stall that about a third of the way into my epic journey I needed to have a chat with myself to just stay calm and be grateful that I didn't have very far to go and that a nice warm flat was waiting for me at the end.

About half of the way into my epic journey I started to revel in the beauty of the day and I had started to warm myself up.

Two-thirds of the way into my epic journey I spotted three young boys on a balcony at Pitfield and Mintern Street and I instinctively knew that a snowball attack was eminent. I stared them down in an attempt to avoid the attack. This worked until I was fully on Mintern street and my status as a slow moving target was too much to be ignored and the snowballs came my way. Despite wearing a massive tartan cloak I only was hit by one snowball. I did have some choice words for the culprits but not as many as the woman who was travelling down Mintern Street about five minutes behind me. I know that snowballs are an obvious outcome of snowfalls but the woman was right to call them 'COWARDS' about twenty times because they did have crates of snowballs and were really going for their targets. I met and chatted to lots of lovely people really enjoying themselves and the snow. I also encountered lots of lovely snowmen....

The maker of this asked me to come back later as he wasn't quite finished...he was also puzzled as to why I was lugging my trailer through the snow and thought I had picked a horrible day to move house.

Finally I made it home and was welcomed by the last snowman I met that day who had popped up directly outside my door. He had such a lovely smile and so did I after making it home.

and remember...

it's not your chutney...

it's Smy Chutney.

Whitecross Street Market - 16 December 2010

Here we are on our second day at Whitecross Street Market. I say we as you can see my trusty Bobbin Bicycle to the left, she goes by the name of the Bicycle formerly known as Purple Princess. Hidden under the table is her partner in crime my Y-Frame cycle trailer. I am working on a blog piece on just how amazing these two key pieces of Smy Chutney kit are.

It was one of the coldest days ever spent at any market. This was largely due to the rain and icy wind. I think that I showed my true amateur stall-holder colours as most of the other traders didn't even have gloves on and at one stage I tried to put my mittens on top of my gloves. Whitecross St is a brilliant market and it is great to be in a different spot interacting with people passing by as well as the traders who have all been so lovely, friendly and helpful. I have even had customers recognise me from Broadway Market Schoolyard Expansion and other events I have done, which was a great feeling. Here's just a few more photos from yesterday. I will be at Whitecross on Thursdays and Fridays....I am not there today as I have large orders to deliver this afternoon, one of them headed to Spain!

I love this photo as it has captures Whitecross Street's present and past. You may recognise the lovely stall holders selling delicious pastries and veggie burgers as they are both at Broadway Market on Saturdays. They are in front of the recently boarded up storefronts which have been vacant for ages. They have always seemed vaguely sad to me and a reminder of what the Street once was but there are now some amazingly diverse shops up and down Whitecross St and it'd be great to see buildings alive and in use rather than deserted and dusty.

Whitecross St Market is my local market and looking to the left of my stall if you have exceptional eyesight you will see two of my other favourite haunts, the Barbican and Waitrose. I just love where I live and am really looking forward to getting to know Whitecross St and the market that much better. Again, apologies for not being down there today but do come down and visit me next week!

and remember...
it's not you chutney...
it's Smy Chutney.

Can you believe this is a cake?!?!

Please behold the beautiful sponge cake made for

Smy

Chutney by cake-

ologist

Ellie

Spatchet

. I did toy with the idea of saving it forever by shellacking and/or varnishing it but thought this might be bad luck and/or a waste of cake and/or disrespectful to said

Spatchet

. So I ate half and froze half and thought this would make everyone happy. I have made chutney-

ology

my life's work and this cake is a celebration of that. I will now dedicate part of my life's work to get Ellie to make cake-

ology

part of her life's work as this is just one of the amazing cakes made by Ellie in the past two months alone! If she won't make cake-

ology

her life's work....I believe

motorsport

has already staked a claim in this area (exhibit A: her cool blog -

In the Kitty Litter

- check it out!)...I implore her to at least make a blog for her amazing cakes and if she won't do that then in the new year I will do a post on this blog on her cakes.

Seriously...thank you SO much Ellie, it was delicious and thoughtful and I'm so grateful. You are brilliant...as are all people from East Anglia!

and remember...

it's not your chutney...

it's

Smy

Chutney.

Christmas Catalogue

Hello!

I hope that everyone is faring better with their Christmas preparations than me. Luckily for fans of Smy Chutney, I am working furiously to prepare orders and fill gift boxes so that everyone can make their Christmas and holidays that much more tasty by giving, sharing and tasting Smy Chutney with their friends and family. Smy Chutney is on sale for a limited time for the holidays so be sure to order now. There are just a few days left to order your homemade luxury chutney, jelly and jam. You can email me at smychutney@gmail.com with any orders, questions or comments or alternatively to get a higher resolution pdf version of the catalogue.

If you would like to come and sample before you buy you can find Smy Chutney at:

Whitecross Street Market

on Thursday and Friday

Broadway Market Schoolyard Expansion

on Saturdays.

I can usually deliver orders over £20 within London, just drop me an email.

and remember...

it's not your chutney...

it's Smy Chutney.