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Latest News - May 2008
This year with Easter coming early plus the strange weather we are having has confused many of us but now the light evenings are here things just start to feel so much better! We are very pleased with the new shop extension. It has been done so well that it feels as though it’s been there all the time! The extra space gives an inviting shopping experience with room to do product tastings plus the chance for us to increase our product range, so keep your eyes open. If there is a range of foods you think we should stock, do tell us.
News from the Farm
April showers! Spring has been a ‘stop start’ affair as no sooner had we started sowing then the heavens opened and we had to retreat to the shed until another dry day appeared. Drilling is now complete and barley and oats are slowly coming through the ground as soil temperatures are still low.
Winter crops are now beginning to grow away as temperatures and day length increases. Oil seed rape is about to burst into flower, brightening up the countryside. Last year’s crops have been sold but a tonnage of oats and wheat has still to be moved off the farm Grain prices over the last year have risen dramatically because of world demand which has given a huge boost to the arable side of our industry. This has enabled reinvestment in machinery and equipment that could not be contemplated in the previous few years.
Unfortunately input costs are also increasing dramatically especially over the last few months. Fertiliser, diesel, chemical and power costs have all risen making budgeting very tricky indeed. Our walking path has been sown out in grass seed and will be ready for use in a few weeks time.
We have sown a 3 metre wide strip of grass round the field to the east of the farm shop and next to the road to Tibbermore which hopefully you will enjoy a gentle stroll in the summer sunshine. Dogs are welcome if you have ‘doggie bags’ to clear up after them! Sown in the same field is winter wheat which will be used either as animal feel or for making white spirit for the spirits trade.
So all we need now is a long hot summer!
News From The Shop
Our home reared beef is now ready for sale and will be available every week fresh or frozen plus great beef sausages. We are proud of the quality, taste and tenderness of this meat. Those of you who have tried it are already coming back and buying more, really pleased not only with the quality but the competitively good value price. Why oh why didn’t we do this years ago?!!
Staying with good value those of you that know the farm well realise that when we have our new pullets in they lay the most gorgeous little eggs that we sell for a great price, but only for a short while as they soon grow up into hens and lay bigger eggs so don’t miss them.
Soon the long summer evenings will be here, just think of relaxing in your garden with a glass of delicious wine! To this end we have special offers on some good value wines from around the world, £5.50 a bottle or a case of 6 for £30 which can be mixed. The stock will be constantly changing so if you find a wine you like buy it quick before it goes! To help you decide we will be having some wine tastings.
How about some wonderful Scottish cheese to go with your wine? We are proud to stock around 12 Scottish cheeses, here are some of them – Caboc creamy cheese rolled in pinhead oatmeal, Gruth Dhu soft cheese covered in oats and crushed peppercorns, Strathdon Blue made with pasteurised milk, Dunsyre Blue tangy and delicate made with unpasteurised milk and matured for 12 weeks, Isle of Mull Cheddar their own herd of cattle milked in the morning and the raw milk taken straight to the cheese making vats, Isle of Arran Dunlop cheddar cheese in texture and matured for 9 months using the milk from their own herd, from the Loch Arthur Creamery comes Criffel an organic and biodynamic cheese, smooth texture with a tangy, floral taste, made from unpasteurised milk from their own herd. New Cheese from Fife by Jane Stewart called Anster, a Cheshire texture, crumbly, medium flavoured white cheese. So go on try some real cheese!
News From The Café and Kitchens
Through the rest of the year we are creating new sandwiches so look out for the sandwich of the month. We have already had The Ploughman’s Sandwich consisting of Ham, Cheese and Pickle and the open sandwich of Egg, Spinach and Pimento, it looks like an edible work of art with the vivid green, red and yellow colours!
Have you tried one of our extra special meringues made from free range eggs? We are serving the most delicious handmade soft centred meringues that just melt in your mouth; flavours are strawberry, raspberry, vanilla, honeycomb mint crunch. Next time just be naughty and try one!
Over the next few months, fancy a picnic but can’t be bothered or don’t have the time to put one together, it’s such a lovely day and you want to go out straight away. Then give us a ring and tell us what sandwiches you want, slices of quiche, cakes, crisps, drinks, bottle of wine and we will have it already waiting for you. No excuse to go out and enjoy the fresh air!
Many of you have requested our Salad Dressing Recipe so here it is again! Use a good quality Virgin Olive Oil and a product we sell called Honeygar which is honey and cider vinegar specially blended together.
Take 2 parts Olive Oil to 1 part Honeygar, add salt and pepper to taste, mix well. Make a good quantity up and keep in a bottle so you always have some to hand. It’s fun to make up several bottles adding different herbs or garlic to them so you have a choice of flavours.
Honeygar is also good to drink first thing in the morning as it helps to flush the system through! Pour 1 tablespoon of Honeygar into a cup and fill up with hot water.
Spotlight on a Product, Lazy Day Cakes
Many of you with food intolerances have told us how impossible it is to buy delicious treats that are good enough for the whole family to enjoy. Now with the help of Lazy Day Foods, everyone will be able to have their cake and eat it!
Lazy Days Foods was started by Dr Sally Beattie and Emer Bustard, both professional food scientists, with a personal interest in food intolerances. Sally is a Dunblane mum with a number of food intolerances, including ones to dairy and gluten. Several members of her family are also dairy intolerant so she knows firsthand the difficulties that accompany a food intolerance.
Sally and Emer’s mission is to provide a delicious and convenient solution for people with food intolerances, making it easy to enjoy the best quality free-from foods. They have turned their knowledge and experience to create a range of biscuits and cakes, high quality allergy friendly foods. Millionaire’s Shortbread, Belgian Dark Chocolate Dipped Ginger Snaps, Chocolate Chip Shortbread, Ginger Snaps, Fruit Shortbread and Scottish Shortbread.
Don’t forget the gluten and wheat free delicious steamed Tilquhillie puddings made by Jill Adron in Bancory. Being made with special oats, these puds are light in texture making them easy to digest. Also Tilquillie’s porridge oats and muesli. All these products have the Celiac approved symbol.
Opening times
We are open daily all year round January to December
Shop: 9.00am – 5.30pm
Café: 9.00am – 5.30pm (last orders from the kitchen 5pm)
Gloagburn Farm Café and Shop,
Tibbermore,
Perth PH1 1QL
Tel. 01738 840864
Email: ian_niven@btconnect.com
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