Farmshare Open Day!

We had such an amazing and inspiring day at Norwich FarmShare today! Thank you to James Frost for inviting us and to all the Farmshare folk who help run such a wonderful community. We can't wait for next year! 

Thanks to everyone who came, said hello, bought cakes and made it a sell out day! 

To find out more about how to join and get involved with Norwich Farmshare please click here!

UEA Media Day Stall

I have been slightly rubbish with keeping up with blogging everyday but I have a good excuse! It is because I have had the busiest bakery week on record! So I am sorry for my lack of posts, recipes and videos. It should all get back to normal next week I promise!
Today we were at the Student Union at The UEA selling our cakes and talking about how we use social media to promote our small business. It was lovely to meet so many new people and a little strange to be interviewed on camera for UEA TV and Concete Magazine which is the uni newspaper. My mouth went dry and my heart raced but it went fine and I don't think anyone noticed!
We met lots of our lovely customers and sold out of giant cookie sandwiches pretty quickly!
Thanks to everyone who came and to Kathleen who organised it!

My Week According To My Camera

1) Booja Booja and some yummy Tea Pigs teabags from our lovely neighbours for looking after their cats while they were on holiday.
2) Pizza Express Pizza after a long weekend. I can't remember the last time I had a takeaway pizza! Their website makes it so easy to add and take away toppings to make the perfect pizza.
3,4,5,6) More pictures from my weekend at Castle Acre
7) A beautiful wind turbine I saw on my weekend travels. How I love these things, and perfect to see one when it was the Climate Change March that day!

(castle acre pictures by Lisa Bowles)

A Busy Weekend!

We have had such a busy weekend with all our orders and with running the cafe at Castle Acre Arts and Crafts Fair! We had such a great time and met some lovely new people including people from Vegan Norfolk and Chrissianne and Ralph who drove all the way from Ely in Cambridgeshire for our cakes! Thank you to everyone who came and we can't wait for next month! 

Coming Up this Month!

The next couple of weeks are super busy here at Deerly Beloved! 

On sunday we are running the cafe at The Castle Acre Art and Craft Autumn Fair. We will have cakes and savouries so why not come and join us for a brew!

Then next friday the 26th of September we will be at the UEA Media Day with a stall selling all our yummy cake and bakes and a few samples too. We will be there chatting to people about how we have used social media, blogging and vlogging to grow our business and to spread the vegan message. There will be loads of other bloggers, small businesses and local media there so make sure you get down to the LCR to check it out!

Then the next day on Saturday the 27th of September we will be at Norwich Farm Share's open day! We will have a stall selling our cakes and bakes in the lovely setting of the vegetable farm. There will be a seed swap, nature walks, music and even Bob Flowerdew will be there! 

Hot Miso Soup with Shiitake, Buna-Shimeji and Eryngii Mushrooms.

This soup is soooo delicious. The rich earthy mushrooms, warm chilli and nourishing miso make this the queen of soups in my house. You can use noodles in this but I used Orzo pasta which is the same size as rice, cooks in 10 mins and gives a lovely thickness to the soup. It's also amazingly good for you and if you start adding this soup to your diet it will help boost your immune system against the autumnal chills that are just around the corner.

2 Tbsp of Sesame Oil
2 Spring Onions, chopped into small ovals
2 Cloves of Garlic, finely chopped
Half a Red Chilli, finely chopped
5 Cups of Water
1 Cup of Orzo Pasta
1 Cup (100g) Pack of Asparagus or Green Beans
1 Pack of fresh exotic mushrooms including Shiitake and Eryngii. (available from most supermarkets)
2 Tbsp of Miso
1 Tsp of Mixed Herbs
Pinch of Black Pepper

In a stockpot gently fry the spring onion, garlic and chilli. You just want to release the flavours, you don't want them to brown. Then add the water and pasta and bring to the boil. Boil for 8 mins.
Next chop the asparagus/beans and mushrooms into bite sized pieces. Add to the pot.
Cook for another 4 mins. Then take off the heat and add the miso, herbs and black pepper.
Check the seasoning. Does it need more miso? More pepper or maybe a dash of agave if it's too salty?
Once you are happy with the seasoning serve in warm bowls.

My Week According To My Camera!

1) Hello little friend!
2) Beautiful flowers from my friend Julia
3) Handpainting our whoopie pies
4&5) Lemon Meringue Pie Recipe! To watch the recipe click here!
6) My sister enjoying said Lemon Meringue!

Lemon Meringue Pie Video!

If you can't see the above video please click here!

Here is our recipe for Lemon Meringue Pie!

Pastry Case:
2 Cups Plain Flour 
1 Cup of Pure Margarine
1/2 Cup of Icing Sugar
Enough Soya Milk to combine

Lemon Curd:
Juice of 5 Lemons
1/4 Cup of Corn Flour
1 Cup Sugar
2 Cups of Soya Milk

Meringue
6 Tbsp of No Egg Replacer
1/4 tsp of Bicarbonate of Soda
2/3 Cup of Ice Cold Water
1/2 Cup sugar
1 packet of Vege Gel

In a bowl mix the flour and margarine with the icing sugar and rub between your fingers to make 'breadcrumbs' add a splash of soya milk to the pastry to bring it together. 
Roll into a ball, wrap in clingfilm and rest it in the fridge for half an hour. 
Roll out with a roling pin and line an 8'' pie tin with the pastry. Prick the base all over with a fork. Pop into an oven at 200c for 25mins until golden.
Next make the curd. In a saucepan mix the lemon juice, cornflour, soya milk and sugar together and stir vigerously over a medium heat until thickened. Spoon the lemon curd into the baked pastry case. Next in a stand mixer, mix the no egg, bicarb and a third of the cold water at the highest speed. Slowly add the sugar and water a bit at a time until it is all incorporated and the meringue froths up. Mix at high speed for a further 3 mins. Then add the vege gel. Continue to mix the meringue at high speed for a further few minutes until glossy firm peaks form.
Spoon over the lemon curd and then bake in a cool oven 100c for 20 mins until firm. 

Equinox Kombucha

A month a go I was asked to sample some delicious organic Kombucha from Equinox Kombucha who are based in Hebden Bridge.
I actually first tried Equinox Kombucha this time last year while on my honeymoon in Hebden Bridge, so was so pleased to try some again!

Kombucha is a fizzy sweet tea which is bursting with good bacteria and yeasts from the fermentation process it goes through. As it ferments it creates a Scoby which eats the added sugar, so doesn't have the negative effects of other sugary beverages!
It is also full of B vitamins, vitamin c and all the great antioxidants from the tea itself.

When they arrived I was so excited. They were packaged so nicely and I got 5 bottles! 2 of the Original Flavour and 1 each of the other flavours.
So after trying each one here is what I think of these yummy beverages!

Original: Chun Me Tea a light fizzy kombucha with a great refreshing zing!

Ginger: One of my favourites! I love ginger beer and this is a super healthy version! Very, very fizzy with a hit of fiery ginger. Lovely!

Wild Berry: Gorgeous and fruity. Slightly sweeter than the others but delicious.

Raspberry and Elderflower: My husband chose to drink this one but I did nick a little and it was wonderful. This was probably my favourite but I am a sucker for anything elderflower. Light and fruity with a sharpness from the raspberry. Very refreshing.

To find out more about Equinox Kombucha go to:
 www.equinoxkombucha.com
 www.facebook.com/equinoxkombucha