Hot Potato, Hot Potato
Well, I did it!
On Sunday Edible Things stall had its debut at the Neighbourfood Market. It was a good turnout, despite changeable weather, which included both hail and snow at various points throughout the day.
The stall went well, and it was a lot of fun, despite first night nerves at the start of the day. Both kinds of Chilli were really popular. One person was really happy when she realised I could do her a vegan meal with olive oil instead of butter, that she also got all of her friends to come and order. I think offering hot food was just the ticket, considering the weather.
A Successful Practice Run
There were couple of things that didn’t work out. Firstly, I couldn’t work out a way to keep the kale for the stamppot warm. I could have used other brassicas, but this would have had the same problem. I am sure we all remember the cabbage of our school dinners, that was over cooked by roughly a week, and unpleasant to eat and smell! I could also have used sauerkraut (zuurkool in Dutch) but I prefer kale. In the end, I decided not to offer it at all. This is the benefit of a test or two!
My First Customer (also a friend, which is not cheating)
Unfortunately, the homemade baked beans were not that popular as a choice. People with children appreciated them, because little people will often not like chilli (although one little boy of a friend couldn’t get enough chilli, so it definitely varies), but this is probably not one to offer to this audience in the future. Actually, that’s OK. I usually make tomato sauce from fresh, roasted tomatoes, and then usually have some in the freezer. Last year’s tomatoes got blight, due to us having the wettest summer since the 1920s, so I didn’t have any to hand. This meant I made the tomato sauce with passata, because I prefer not to encourage the use of the out of season greenhouse tomatoes you can get at this time of the year. As you would expect, this was not as tasty as the usual sauce. They are still superior to the tinned versions everyone is familiar with, but not as good as with my fresh tomato sauce.
More Happy Customers - also friends, but I had to take photos in the quieter times...
I didn’t get around to as many of the other stalls as I would have liked, but I did get talking to a few people who I hope will be able to give me some much needed advice. I was also the grateful recipient of a lovely cranberry and orange scone from Ben at the Calibakery, who was also doing his first market, as well as a food swap with Nina of Nina’s Kitchen.
All in all, it was a good day, and I had the support of some very good friends. I would consider it doing it again, although definitely not next month, as it falls on my birthday.I really put everything into it, and had to take yesterday to recover. I expect most of this was nerves, so this should be better next time. It is also why I am only posting about it now. I was shattered!
Things I will remember for next time include the white board to advertise my wares (we forgot it twice, then the big guy forgot the car keys before it arrived); to eat myself – I managed on a slice of toast and that scone for the whole day, but it wasn’t pretty; and finally if I buy sweet potatoes, I will remember to take them.
Does anyone have any good recipes for 5 kg of sweet potatoes, that will be good for someone who doesn’t really like sweet potatoes?
ediblethings 
Yay – good for you! I don’t think I’d ever be brave enough to do something like that. Do you think you’ll do similar food again or go forsomerhing completely different? I’m curious how you kept the potatoes warm?
Thanks Heather. I was terrified at the beginning of the day, and nealy chickened out, but I am glad that I didn’t 🙂
I inted to do different things, as the mood takes me. I was lucky enough to be able to borrow a catering oven, so I cooked the potatoes on site, although I had cooked a few before the market in case of early customers.
Does wet weather normally give tomatoes blight? And if so, could over-watering be the culprit in warmer climes?
For sweet potatoes (although you’ve probably used them by now) try boiling, mashing and adding cream (coconut cream also good) some cinnamon (spekulaas spices?) and if you’ve got a really sweet tooth, sugar. Nice dessert.
Hi Glen,
Tomatoes, potatoes & aubergine are all susceptible to blight in wet weather. It is a fungus, so technically could exist in warmer climates, although tomatoes are very thirsty plants, so it would be fairly difficult (not impossible) to over water them. Don’t water the leaves, but rather the roots. I imagine that it would be down to humdity at the wrong time. If you catch it early, just remove the affected leaves, and hope it doesn’t spread to the fruit. Whatever you do, do NOT compost blighted leaves, as you will be storing up trouble. Removing the side shoots and excess foliage should also help, by reducing overcrowding and allowing air to circulate round the plants.
Thanks for the sweet potato tip. I still have plenty left, so I will give this a go.