Well, no Indian Summer for us this year. Instead some rather miserable, dull, wet days with the odd afternoon of golden light. Many customers are already suffering with the usual coughs and colds and the doom and gloom of economic warnings from the Government do not help one's feeling of optimism!
We do have, however, a glut of apples at the Store and, try as we might, we cannot make use of them all. They are called Keswick and fluff up in a similar way to a Bramley although they don't keep as well. We have baskets of windfalls in the Store and are asking customers to take some and make a donation to our Water Aid tin. I have been lent The Brogdale Apple & Pear Recipe Book (ISBN 1 873953 21 6) by a friend and there are some unusual ideas to try out. Our Scandinavian Apple Charlotte derives from this book and combines smooth apple puree and a crispy light breadcrumb topping.
If you're feeling out of sorts or short on time, try the Gustosecco range that has just come in. The porcini risotto is dead easy and makes a base for adding other ingredients if you want to. We were very impressed with the Pear and Cherry Compote. Delicious with yoghurt or creme fraiche. The Seggiano risottos are also worth trying and the jar they are in acts as a measuring jug as well so what could be simpler than that?! Lots of you are great fans of our Clarkes frozen meals already but for those of you who have yet to be converted these are excellent. They are homemade on the premises at Clarkes, have no nasty additives that leave an unpleasant aftertaste and are not far off what you can make yourself. Chicken in Stilton and Celery Sauce is my favourite, while Sue ferrets away Lamb Casserole with Minted Dumpling on a regular basis. We send 20 of these meals to my Mum in Surrey every month and she says that no supermarket meal compares. She loves the fish pie!
We are gradually changing our Saturday evening menu to Autumn favourites and are open on 9th. and 23rd. October. More and more people are getting to know about our evening dates, so do book early.
Our stock for the Store is coming in fast now and we have lots of new things to tempt you. Apart from packs of Christmas cards displayed on one of our card fixtures, there will not be a Santa in sight until November! Instead feast your eyes on lovely padded vintage print coat hangers and toilet bags. Or scented sachets in muslin and calico. Or giant bags of lavender bath salts.....
For those of you who have just invested in a 'must -have' winter coat or jacket, you have to see the new classic Vintage handbags Jan from Bags of Style has just delivered. In beautiful crocodile or snakeskin, they are the perfect ladylike shape and most are under £100. What's more, you're not likely to meet someone coming round the corner carrying one the same as yours!
Finally, I want to ask for your help. Eighteen months ago, the Parish Council published a Traffic Report outlining the concern the residents of Colston Bassett had for the safety of our motorists, pedestrians, cyclists and horseriders and this was presented to the Highways Department. As our customers, you will know that there are several blind bends and narrowing of the road as you travel through the village. One of the sections of the Report asked residents to fill in an Incident Report if they had had a near miss or accident or any concern while passing through. Two particular areas where minor accidents occur are on Church Gate where the road and pavement are very narrow. These incidents are not serious enough to report to the Police BUT they are happening frequently and we are trying to collect evidence. Have you experienced anything that concerned you? If so, please fill in one of our Incident Reports kept at the Store Counter and help us to make some changes.
See you soon.
Jan
p.s. The fungus I mentioned last month is called Chicken in the Wood and is edible!!
