The Village Picnic

It was Bikefest, in the middle of the heatwave. We were in a tent. People came and tasted preserves and some entered them into competion. Thank you people! We had a Blood Orange Jelly, a Fresh Mango Chutney, a Chilli Jam and a couple of Fig Jams as well as some of our own preserves to try. We also had shiny black judging ribbons, which might've been my highlight, seeing everyone looking so official. Some more over on the Squeaky Wheel blog.

The Village Picnic

Chutney Club will be hosting a preserves competition as part of Bikefest's Village Picnic on the 9th of March at Abbotsford Convent. If you've been meaning to make something with the last green tomatoes, or your larder is full of the year's harvest, whether it be jams, marmalades, pickles, relishes or sauces you are welcomed to bring along your best jar to the Village Picnic's Feast Table on the day. Enter the preserves competition, sample your competitors creations, swap ideas and recipes, get some inspiration and let the judges decide who's the award winning preserving champion of the day.

Enter from 12noon-2.30pm - winner being announced at 3pm.

Entries are judged on flavor, consistency and appearance. All jars must be labeled clearly, including the date they were made and we'll also want to know what is in it.

Preserve!

Autumn at Don's

We had our Autumn meeting at Don's warehouse in Northcote. It was such a good day.
Nice to be in such a big open space, the rope swing was very popular. As was the record player.




There was quince chutney, rhubarb chutney, homegrown cherry tomato chutney, peach brandy butter and National Trust pickled onions. Nomnomnom.




I made a brioche plait, all soft and sweet. I also made watermelon rind pickle, the recipe is from the Time Life Good Cook Preserving book. It's a weird consistency, but tastes good! I also bought a couple of jars of bread and butter pickles, as I wasn't sure how well received the watermelon rind would be, and I have been making lots of pickles and jam. I also took a few jars of fig and vanilla jam, the neighbour's tree has been very abundant, and still has fat figs ripening. They aren't so good to eat fresh, but make very nice jam.

Totes!

We have amazing new Penelope Durston black denim Chutney Club totes to carry all the hamper goodies. With a logo designed by Thought and Deed you'll be toting your picnic to the park in style. It's sure to be both the envy and the confusion of your friends. Chutney Club? What?

There is a spare one too, which I think may become the ticket seller prize if chutney club members need a reason to sell more tickets. I am thinking of holding the draw on wednesday night next week, so only a few more days to buy tickets.

Tickets available online!

As promised, tickets are now available online HERE. Massive thanks to Thought and Deed for designing the poster and a new logo to print on the bags. Also thanks to Trotski and Ash who have donated a beautiful calender to the winning hamper. I have had a sneak peek at the recipes, and with those amazing photos, I suspect they will be making you hungry and inspired all year.

Remember, all proceeds go to charity and all goods are donated by the chutney club and friends. I wrote a little about our experience with Kiva here.

Bird's house

These photos from the weekend meeting at Bird's house. A really good bunch, including Don's green tomato, Drew's pickled cucumbers, Fleischmann's eggplant relish, Rachael's szechuan peppers in tomato, Dell's piccalilli, Simon's Baltic Sea relish, Bird's beetroot and horseradish, Kate's tomato relish, the Ward's tomato chutney and Estelle's hot Rococo chili sauce. Everything was very tasty, and we made plans for the annual Christmas Hamper raffle. I'll keep you posted!

The farm gate

What a good bunch. Including Jalamato! Apricot and Amaretto, Whiskey Marmalade, Kumquat, Thyme and Peppercorn Jelly, Lilly Pilly Jam, Quince and Apple Chutney, Marinated Feta, Green Tomato Chutney and Ponzu Sauce.

Last Chance

These are some of the preserves we have stockpiled for the hampers. They will be divided up and stashed in these handsome hessian totes from the very talented and clever miss Penelope Durston. There are three, yes three prizes!




Tickets are still available up until saturday night, so only a few more chances to win, what are you waiting for? Each of the hampers will also contain a copy of the CWA Tasmania Cookery book, and various other bits and pieces too.

All proceeds go to Kiva and Oxfam. I will update with photos from the draw after it happens on Sunday. Good Luck!

OMG! You can buy tickets online.

HERE.

People

Kiva

We just made a loan to a woman in Nigeria, a co-operative in Bolivia , these beautiful women of the Makotekokoumana Group in Mali and another group in Vietnam using a new website called Kiva. For more information our lender page is here.

You can go to Kiva's website and lend to someone across the globe who needs a loan for their business - like raising goats, selling vegetables at market or making bricks. Each loan has a picture of the entrepreneur, a description of their business and how they plan to use the loan so you know exactly how your money is being spent - and you get updates letting you know how the entrepreneur is going.

The best part is, when the entrepreneur pays back their loan you get your money back - and Kiva's loans are managed by microfinance institutions on the ground who have a lot of experience doing this, so you can trust that your money is being handled responsibly.

It's finally easy to actually do something about poverty - using Kiva you know exactly who your money is loaned to and what they're using it for. And most of all, you know that you are helping them build a sustainable business that will provide income to feed, clothe, house and educate their family long after the loan is paid back.

Join us in changing the world - one loan at a time.

A Hamper list

There are two prizes and between them the hampers include, but are not limited to...
Hoop's Aligator Sauce
Mango Chutney
Drew's BBQ Sauce
Birdie's Bahart
Quince Jones Jelly
Estelle's Mint Sauce
Big Red Tomato Relish
Barbie Sauce
Loquat and Mango (hot) Chutney
Frankie's Famous Relish
Chutney Club Label Sparkling Rosé, Sparkling Shiraz, a Marlborough Sauv Blanc and a Cruickshank Cabernet Franc...

Christmas Hamper

It's happening again. Go to your friendly chutney club member for your chance to win one of two prizes. Tickets are $2 each or three for $5. Here is a sampler of some of the goods.



Each Hamper will also include some crackers and other tasty goods to round out your chutney club experience. As well as giving you the chance to win some of this loot, proceeds will allow us to contribute gifts to Oxfam.

Working in 26 countries, Oxfam Australia is providing people with the skills and resources needed to develop their own solutions to poverty. Simple things like seeds, clean water systems, and skills training can mean the difference between desperate poverty and hope for the future.

With the proceeds from the last fundraiser we bought goats, chickens, piglets and a veggie patch for families in need. Perhaps this year we can provide some chutney related gifts of fruit trees, some breakfast and also some eggs.

The raffle will be drawn at the end of year BBQ on December 15th. We will endeavor to deliver prizes before Christmas to help with festivities. Get in touch if you want a ticket!