What a Lovely Birthday Card!

August 21, 2011

Words cannot express how much I love this birthday card that my lovely friend Emma sent me for my birthday....thanks Emma!!!

and remember...

it's not your chutney...
it's Smy Chutney.

please follow Smy Chutney on facebook and twitter...

Marie Curie Blooming Great Tea Party - Saturday 30th July 2011

August 5, 2011

Last weekend I was fortunate enough to be asked to be involved in the

Marie Curie Blooming Great Tea Party at the Avo Hotel Dalston. Lots of care and planning went into an amazing day which saw over £400 being raised for Marie Curie which will help this brilliant charity continue with its work. Delicious food and drink were donated and prepared by generous businesses and lots of locals came out to enjoy cups of tea, sandwiches and the cakes and other goodies that were available. The weather cooperated and everyone was in high spirits and feeling good. Here are just a few photos from the day, apologies on the quality but I lost my handbag the previous weekend which had my camera in it:

This is only some of all the donated food and drink.

My lemon curd cupcakes (curdcakes somehow sounds wrong...) and my chocolate and six-pepper jelly cupcakes. They were very well received!

Strawberry & pineapple jam standing at the ready to be teamed with homemade scones and cream!

Lots of amazing individuals and businesses were involved in this day including:

and me,

(apologies for anyone that I have not included!)

You can see more photos by checking out the

Avo Hotel Dalston's Facebook Marie Curie event photos.

Click on the link to find out more about

Marie Curie Cancer Care

or if would like to donate to the cause.

and remember...

it's not your chutney...

it's Smy Chutney.

Hollie's Raspberry and Lemon Curd Birthday Cake

June 19, 2011

Here are some photos of the lovely Hollie's birthday...which was 17th June... and they are lovely so I wanted to share them. Hollie is a massive Smy Chutney fan as well as a really good friend. Another dear friend Aimee made Hollie's beautiful birthday cake using Smy lemon curd and raspberries:

and remember...

it's not your chutney...

it's Smy Chutney.

please follow Smy Chutney on

facebook

and

twitter

...

Orford Food - Part 1

May 18, 2011

There are famous eateries in Orford including the

Butley Orford Oysterage

Richardson's Smokehouse

and now

Pump Street Bakery

. The commitment to local, seasonal and quality ingredients are natural elements of country living, “sustainability” isn’t a trendy buzz-word, it’s just what you do. I’ve always thought that the village isn’t behind the times but far ahead of the times. The village is also teeming with history and an appreciation for crafts, more of that to come in future posts. Although I haven’t spent my entire life in the village it has influenced my entire life and all the decisions that I have made.

On my recent trip I was very excited to stop into Pump

Street Bakery as I have been tweeting with them for quite awhile now (@pumpstbakery) and hearing from everyone how amazing their baked goods are.

They offer real bread and slow food and are open Wed-Sat 9-4, Sun 10-4.

My cousins, Auntie Chrissie and I stopped in to have a coffee and fresh apple juice. The bakery looks and smells amazing and it was so nice to put a face to the tweets. We were very pleased and grateful for the jam donuts that were kindly given to us and I can honestly say that they were the best donuts I can recall eating for some time. They were fresh, filled with delicious jam, light, with a hint of citrus and sugary. All too often donuts can be stodgy, jam-deficient and a bit of a let down, but these were heavenly, thanks again!

We ended up getting some baguettes and meringues to have with our tea later on and I couldn't resist a photo of the baguettes resting on the grass with their lovely packaging.

The meringues were delicious and we topped them with blueberreis, raspberries, strawberries and oh yeah - lashings and lashings of cream.

We ended up going back for some loaves of bread for Sunday's sandwiches. I will definitely be back and I hear the eccles cakes are very tasty and popular. I almost forgot to mention that the cafe latte that I had was outstanding as well. It's so good to see such a well thought out bakery and cafe operating in one of the most beautiful buildings in the village. I know that for ages people had been saying that it would make a great this or that but it's great that Jo and her family have had such a positive impact on the village and beyond with what is best summed up by their tagline - real bread and slow food, all of which is very good.

Next up is the

Butley Orford Oysterage

which is pretty much a world-famous restaurant offering locally caught seafood. There is also a shop on the Quay that has all sorts of delicious food for sale.

Last but not least is

Richard's Smokehouse

which offers delicious smoked seafood, meat, game, cheese, pates and more. It has an outstanding reputation is as renowned as it's neighbour the Oysterage.

Steve let me have a peek inside, unfortunately nothing was in the process of being smoked but the smoker is fascinating and I loved the textured layers of smoke that over 18 years of use has created.

I also love the Richardson's Smokehouse bicycle which is used for deliveries. It makes me think I should brand up my bicycle a bit better than the stickers that I have on there now.

There are many more shops and pubs in the village that I will feature in future. There are also amazing events going on throughout the summer that will be featured as well. You can find out more information by clicking on the links or checking

Well Associates

who have details of activities going in and around Orford, such as the

Jazz at the Pavillion Picnic

which will be held on Sunday 24 July. It should be a great day and all the proceeds go to local charities.

and remember...

it's not your chutney...

it's Smy Chutney.

Long Weekend in Orford - May 2011

May 18, 2011

I come from a small village in Suffolk, called Orford, where there is such a connection to the countryside. My auntie says she used to find me as a toddler, sat in her cupboards taking fistfuls of sultanas out of her jars and stuffing them in my mouth. My earliest memories are of picking potatoes and strawberries, making mudpies in Granny and Grandad’s garden, being down the quay or on the castle green and getting my wellies stuck in the mud on long country walks.

Last weekend I went home to Orford, Suffolk - it was well overdue. I've lived in a lot of places but Orford is my first home and I have always considered it my true home. A lot of my family are there and the memories always come flooding back. It may only take a few hours to get from London to Orford but it sometimes feels like I've travelled through a space-time worm-hole and I end up somewhere where time behaves differently. Perhaps it's hearing the birds instead of hearing the traffic that leaves me so relaxed. The village is lovely and beautiful and faces a lot of the issues that many British villages face. I relish my time there and do hope to one day live there again. This would complete the full circle of local turned world traveller turned Londoner turned Londoner who moves back into the village.

Whenever I'm in Orford I always spend a lot of time in Auntie Chrissie's garden and alottment, both of which are lovely. I always end up taking loads of photos of the hard-working bees who go from flower to flower in her garden. They always seem so focused and massive.

Speaking of hard-working, we went past Orford Castle on our way to Auntie Chrissie's alottment.

Through the gates we went...

Until we got to Auntie Chrissie's alottment.

We picked a few bunches of asparagus

Auntie Chrissie picked some sweet peas.

And then we went home to put the sweet peas in some water and to have a nice cup of tea before meeting up with my cousins, their partners and children for lots of good food and drink and even more laughs. A massive thanks to them for another lovely weekend.

and remember...

it's not your chutney...

it's Smy Chutney.

Orford Country Market - 14 May 2011

May 17, 2011

During my long weekend in Orford I was looking forward to visiting the

Orford Country Market

again and it did not disappoint.

The Market operates 9.30 am - 12.30pm, every Saturday morning in the Town Hall, Orford, Suffolk, IP12 2NZ. As well as yummy hot food, teas and coffees there is a wide selection of cakes, preserves, eggs, truffles, plants, herbs, books, knitwear, jewellery, home furnishings and more! All set in the beautiful village hall.

The photo below shows some of

Jenny Cooper's

amazing handmade cushions and quilts. Jenny makes everything herself from her studio in Suffolk and even has a bespoke service that allows you to turn your most treasured clothes into treasured memories. The photos do not do them justice but you should check out her website on the link above.

Some of the many delicious cakes on offer.

Lovely homemade jams.

Lots of marmalade, chutney and more jam.

Next up are

B Chocolates

, who offer delicious handmade honey truffles made from their own honey collected from hard-working Suffolk bees. They also have sea-salt caramels and other fine chocolates made from Suffolk produce wherever possible and everything is made free of any artificial flavours or preservatives.

There are many different herbs and plants available.

I didn't get any photos of

Gedgrave Wensleydale's

lovely items as she was busy and I wanted to ask her permission before taking any photos but you will have to trust me that they are gorgeous. The link to the website is above but there is also a fun

blog

which tells you all about their lovely Wensleydale sheep that produce the wool that their products are made from. The products range from brooches, gloves, hats, jumpers and more.

It's really nice to see the Market and hear how well they are doing, I really recommend that you check it out!

and remember...

it's not your chutney...

it's Smy Chutney.

Chee Rabbits' Tasty Prediction

April 5, 2011

This was waiting in my inbox this morning. How could today be anything other than amazing. I am always saying how versatile Plum Gumbo is but Chee Rabbits' pictures are worth a thousand words, a thousand thank yous, thousands of pounds and sum it up better than I ever could!

and remember...

it's not your chutney...

it's Smy Chutney.

Chee Rabbits and Snaekdog: Smy Chutney Super Fans

April 4, 2011

Lately I've been meeting amazing people and sometimes becoming good friends with people on Twitter. It's often the case where I may start following someone whose blog I have found helpful or

Tweetdeck

highlights something of interest. Sometimes it feels like Twitter is tapping into the same cosmic stream that makes

iTunes

seem to predict what music you need to have "shuffle" into your life at exactly the right time. Several weeks ago I saw the following tweets pop up on my

Tweetdeck

does water really need a f*@!ing day?

worldchutneyday

22 March

I absolutely love chutney. Is there some kind of chutney lovers website or committee I can join? I wish to talk to like minded chutney lovers

22 March

Both tweets were from

Chee

Rabbits, they made me smile and I started following him immediately. Entertaining discourse ensued and two people with similar interests and senses of humour forged a friendship. Together we have not succeeded in a

worldchutneyday

however we have gone on to recognise an entire Chutney Kingdom full of kings, queens, princes, folklore, creatures and music where every day is World Chutney Day. As you should know

Chee

Rabbits is himself a talented musician, writer and artist (

www.snaek.org

) as well as the Royal Sweetness of

Confettiland

, so it is a great partnership, friendship and alliance for all involved.

Chee

Rabbits kindly placed an order on

www.SmyChutney.com

and since receiving his order he has been giving me lots of feedback and recipe ideas. I asked him for some pics and what I received today had me welling up as they are just SO fabulous. I am, as ever, so touched that someone would take such time and effort to celebrate

Smy

Chutney. I sometimes forget that jars of

Smy

Chutney have a whole other life that I don't often get to glimpse once they've been sold on. It's these glimpses that make me the happiest as does making new friends. So let me introduce you to

Snaekdog

I've added this to my website as I do all feedback and pictures sent in but I will be putting this up on my actual wall as well as my virtual ones.

Chee

Rabbits and

Snaekdog

will obviously be rewarded in free chutney samples for their contribution to the chutney arts and as a show of thanks. I can't say thank you enough to

Chee

Rabbits for his amazing artwork and support and to everyone who enjoys and supports

Smy

Chutney.

and remember...

it's not your chutney...

it's

Smy

Chutney.

Hackney City Farm - 31/03/2011

March 31, 2011

For several weeks I have been selling my chutney on Wednesday evenings at

Hackney City Farm

while people come and collect their fruit and vegetable boxes from

Growing Communities

. You can also buy delicious bread from

E5 Bakehouse

. It has been a lot of fun and has also made me realise what an amazing resource Hackney City Farm is and how lucky I am that it is right on my doorstop. I knew that they had a lovely, functional and informative farm and I knew that the

Frizzante Cafe

was amazing. What I didn't know was that they offer courses in pottery, beekeeping, as well as courses on gardening and garden restoration courses to name a few. Everyone who works and volunteers there are exceptional as well so I really recommend that you go visit the animals, the cafe or......their brand new Farm Shop!

Last Sunday Hackney City Farm opened their shop for the first time. There are toys that you may remember from your childhood...

...and more children's learning tools, books, gifts, t-shirts, cards and chocolates.

You can buy plants or seedlings:

You can also buy chicken or duck eggs from the farm, lots of vegetables from the farm and oh yeah:

Smy Chutney can be bought from the Hackney City Farm Shop! We are really excited about this! We stopped by today and bought some eggs to make our lemon curd and lemon curd cupcakes. And just look at that cabbage - it's in season, picked from the farm and begging to be bought, boiled, steamed, served with your Sunday Roast Beef Dinner or bubbled and squeaked. I once couldn't eat a cabbage as it was just too beautiful, so I ended up making prints from it and made a painting out of it. I recommend the above vegetables and Smy Chutney for eating though...I don't think this world is ready for mixed-media vegetable and chutney art.

Hackney City Farm is a community project that for over 20 years has offered free access all year round so that children, adults and the whole community can experience farming, learn about animals and where food comes from. Being from the countryside, my earliest memories are of picking strawberries and potatoes and seeing newly born piglets.

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Commitment to local, seasonal and quality ingredients are natural elements of country living, “sustainability” isn’t a trendy buzz-word, it’s just what you do.

Connecting with animal and plant life within London is really important, inspiring and a valuable life skill. It is a total win-win to visit and support Hackney City Farm and the work that they do.

and remember...

it's not your chutney...

it's Smy Chutney.

Smy Indoor Garden - Week Three 25/02/11

February 28, 2011

Here is Smy indoor garden at week three. I have added two rhubarb plants and put all three into a large container. My basil isn't doing too well and I might bring it indoors to see if it approves of a warmer location.

I've pruned off some leaves from the blueberry bush and tidied up the weeds and it seems much happier.

My happy bunch of rhubarb.

Of the seedlings, the rocket continues to thrive and the spring onions are trying to catch up but besides that there isn't too much going on.

In the next few weeks there will be some additions and hopefully more movement on the seedlings front.

And remember...

it's not your chutney...

It's Smy Chutney.