Food For Fork #7
For Starters...
Welcome to Autumn! I love this season. There is honestly nothing better than it being dark in the evenings, putting the fire on, wearing big socks and switching the menu to include more seasonal soups and Sunday Roasts.
The changing of the seasons also reminds me how far I've come since the start of the year, and how much more I still want to learn about eating sustainably. I'm making mixed progress with my 2023 Foodie New Year's Resolutions but attending a fermenting workshop with Get Pickled Somerset reignited my desire to preserve more.
My apple tree is producing more apples that I know what to do with, but I'm trying my best by making apple sauce, apple cake, freezing apples for future crumbles and throwing the rotting ones onto the compost heap.
If you haven't yet seen Riverford's petition asking government to "Reform the Grocery Supply Code of Practice to better protect farmers", please take a look. It feels important, we need to spread the word.
Oh and before I forget, I wrote a new blog post "What's on the Menu in... Bruton". Let me know if you think I missed anything :)
The Main Course...
Pumpkins
We are about to see A LOT of pumpkins in the shops and you might be wandering what role they play when it comes to sustainable eating and food waste. To learn more read Caroline's fantastic piece, Pumpkins: The Scary Truth.
Roth Bar and Grill pay homage to the Pumpkin with their annual Pumpkin Festival on the 29th October.
Not sure how to cook pumpkin? 7 Ways with Pumpkin: Zero Waste Recipes
Wells Food Festival
I've heard loads of great things about this one. It's free and features 200 traders selling food and drinks from across the South West. There is a new Food for Thought area highlighting current food related, social issues, and there is a children's zone with kiddie sized street food and cookery workshops.
8th October
Wells
Click to find out more
Workshops
Forage and Ferment with Get Pickled Somerset, Nr Frome, 8th Oct
Fish Cookery Course at Vale House Kitchen, Nr Bath, 8th Oct
Introduction to Salami at Glebe House, East Devon, 11th Oct
Easy Autumn Suppers at The Cooking School, Warminster, 13th Oct
Wild Winter Medicine Making at 42 Acres, Nr Frome, 19th Oct
No Dig Veg Growing at Vallis farm, Nr Frome, 20th Oct
Fermenting on the Farm at Radford Mill Farm, Timsbury, 21st Oct
What We Need to Know About Bees...
Award winning TEDx Speaker Paula Carnell will be at Wraxall Vineyard to give a talk about bees and the connection between bee health and human health. As well as enjoying a glass of Somerset Sparkling wine you will have the chance to sample & compare honeys sourced from bees that have foraged different habitats.
19th October
The View @ Wraxall, BA4 6RQ
Click to find out more
Feasting at Pennard Hill Farm
You, my dear readers, love a good farm feast so I'm very excited to have found the newest family to have flung open their barn doors. "Expect a celebration of wild food, regenerative farming and some of the most delicious produce Somerset has to offer".
21st October
Pennard Hill Farm, Shepton Mallet, BA4 6UG
Click to find out more
Fire and Folk
What better way to honour the changing of the seasons than by getting outside to enjoy food, fire and folk music. There will be Halloween and Harvest activities for the kids, a farm tour, stories and live music around the fire as well as mulled cider and apple juice.
28th October
Vallis Farm, Frome, BA11 3JQ
Click to find out more
A Little Something Sweet...
I keep an eye on new eateries opening and closing around Somerset to help with articles like my "What's on the Menu..." series (I most recently covered Bruton). Food Mag wrote a nice piece about FARA which opened in Glastonbury earlier this year. Have you been yet?
I know I immerse myself in all this food stuff so maybe I'm just living in a bubble but I do feel there is a of momentum towards better farming and food practices. I enjoyed this article from Wicked Leeks, Queen of Organic; do you buy organic? Do you look at labels like LEAF and Red Tractor? And are you up to speed on the latest buzz word, "regenerative"?
That's all for now folks. Follow me on Instagram @thetaleofateaspoon for more food sustainability musings.
If you have enjoyed this please forward to your foodie friends and family.
If you know of food experiences or relevant podcasts, books or other media that I should feature in a future newsletter just hit reply and let me know!
Thank you from The Tale of a Teaspoon