FEBRUARY EDITION 1
WELCOME!
We've been meaning to get this newsletter out since jack slipped away from rose's arms... absoflutely ages! So, "what's this all about?" Well, we wanted to create a place to constructively share the diversity of things going on at Summit Good! Basically watching The Social Dilemma stopped us flinging out content into the ether of instagram.
In amongst the chaos of 2020 we had a super productive year - we grew loads of food, we got a bunch of animals and we started inviting a load of local blokes to hang out once a week and just be blokes together. We made some room for "field friends" and have invited 8 local projects and businesses to setup on the field with us!
Don't get us wrong, we've had some testing learning curves - mainly around working with animals, experiencing the circle of life up close and personal and also learning the ins and outs of local authorities and governments *insert staring face emoji*
So, without further a do, let’s get into some awesome content…
EAT SUMMIT GOOD
With Niaomh from The Shared Plate!
Niaomh Convery is the chef, facilitator and co-founder of The Shared Plate, a community interest company with people and food at it’s heart that has recently opened a café in Mumbles.
This month she hooks us up with a beautiful seasonal, locally sourced dish to have you dribbling over your best shirt!
"I love this dish as it can be slung together relatively easily, is delicious served hot or cold and you can easily swap out the beetroot and potato for any other veg that you have. Great vegan or vegetarian, and if you are hankering for meat chuck in some crispy bacon."
Beetroot, Potato and Thyme Gratin
INGREDIENTS
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
400ml of Oatley cream or double cream
400g of beetroot, peeled and very thinly sliced
400g of potato, peeled and very thinly sliced
2 tsp of fresh thyme, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
150g of bread
1 tbsp of olive oil
1/2 tsp of fresh rosemary, finely chopped
Zest of half a lemon
salt and black pepper to taste
HOW TO ACTUALLY COOK THE THING…
Heat the oven to 180C∞
Add the garlic, 1 tsp of thyme (reserve 1tsp for the crumb), bay leaf and a good pinch of salt and pepper to a small pan with the cream. Slowly bring to a simmer. Once it has come up to temperature remove from the heat and leave to infuse, the longer the better.
Next, layer up your beetroot and potato alternating the vegetables with each layer. Sprinkling of salt in between each layer. Really pack them down as you lay them.
Remove the bay leaf from the cream and give it a good mix to make sure the thyme and garlic don’t fall to the bottom. Pour this over the beetroot and potato mix. Cover with tin foil and bake in the oven for one hour, until the vegetables are tender and a knife easily slips through.
Whilst you’re waiting, make your breadcrumbs. It’s best to use slightly stale bread here but if you have none cut your bread into chunks and dry it out in the oven for five minutes. Pulse in a food processor until you have a rough crumb, then add your remaining teaspoon of thyme, chopped rosemary, lemon zest and seasoning. Add the oil and lightly pulse again to evenly mix together.
Remove the gratin from the oven and take off the tinfoil. Sprinkle generously with your breadcrumbs, add seasoning to your liking and return to the oven for 20 minutes until the breadcrumbs are golden on top.
Serve with delicious Winter salad leaves (we love the peppery leaf that Winter has to offer) or a simple steamed kale. Yum!
FEBRUARY FOOD FINDZ!
Flynn’s Coffee
“Absolutely banging speciality coffee served out the back of a VW Caddy!”
These guys are all about top quality speciality coffee and it's about time we had more of this in Swansea! Go check them out and if you don't fancy a coffee they have some beautiful tea and hot choc all served from a Caddy alongside the Swiss Cottage - with plant based milks, dairy and gluten free hot chocolate and confectionary available!
Location: Singleton Park, Swansea
Stuff we’re DOING…
2020 Saw the start of our new Men’s Shed!
Our plan is simply to provide a space in Dunvant / Three Crosses for local blokes of all ages to come hangout every Friday at 10am, grab a cuppa and chip in with some good old fashioned manual labour around the farm! From harvesting veg and turning compost to laying pathways and shovelling Woodchip! A great way to meet other local guys, get outside and get a workout - before having a biscuit!
Due to the pandemic our shed had to close but keep an eye out in next months newsletter for updates along with other events we'll be running when restrictions are lifted!
#DOSUMMITGOOD @ HOME
Doing Summit Good helps us all make the world a better place, so we've come up with some ideas for February and if you've got others share them with us @summit_good
Make a playlist for a friend
Write someone a letter
Call that person you've been meaning to catch up with
Pick up some litter on your walk
Send flowers to someone, just because
Plant a tree
Grow Summit Good
This is all about updates from our field, top growing tips and an exciting new podcast with all the collabs happening over at our HQ this year!
Meet our new Head Grower Laura
"You may have started the year with big ambitions to produce food from your garden, balcony, or window sill. However the trick for the first six weeks of the year is to curb your enthusiasm and be patient - the daily sunlight hours and temperature are still too low for most things to grow. Instead make the most of the time by planning the year ahead and getting tools and materials ready for when things kick off."
"I’m taking on the veg growing at Summit Good this year part time, so I am trying to get all I can done now while there’s not much practical veg work. This means writing crop plans to aim for a steady supply of veg through the year, buying seeds and tools and other potterings. I’ve cleared the hedges of brambles, planted a willow windbreak, wood-chipped the paths in the polytunnel and composted and covered the empty veg beds with tarp. I’ve been told the fertility and quality of the soil in the field is pretty poor, so in an attempt to revitalise it a bit, I’ve set up a wormery and a bokashi compost bin at home. The plan is to use the worm poo (vermicastings) and bokashi compost, both rich in beneficial microbes, to make compost ‘tea’ and inoculate the soil to give it a bit of a boost. Recent soil science suggests it’s the soil life we need to establish and feed up, rather than the plants, in order to grow food successfully."
PODCAST TIME!
EPISODE 1
THE BLOOM ROOM
The Bloom Room
Firstly: GO CHECK OUT THEIR NEW WEBSITE!
In the first of our monthly podcasts we talk to Mel about her decorated life in floristry, starting up a business in a pandemic and converting a secondhand shipping container!
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