Morgaine Gaye

Dairy at the Dairy

adminMG — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 14:58:24 +0000

Home brewing, home smoking, taxidermy and butchering on the increase so now you just have to make your own cheese…this coming year is all about cheese, milk and diary related things. The debate and laws are still being talked about in relation to unpasturised milk -a kind of under the counter product in some countries. The best way to get this fresh is to keep a cow/sheep or goat in you garden or in your living room…etc…

Here is a look at what’s hot in the world of dairy:

DIY cheese and note video next to it...more instructions about cheese related pursuits

One of the many kits on offer - made to create various types of cheese

70's revived. It's all about sharing and performance in food -2 cheesy bits of equipment

Stools at the cheese shop

Most delightful speciality cheese shop - Beechers Cheese, NYC

Cheese-filled chocolates

Lots more yogurt brands and varieties to hit the market, like this one from Iceland

And for the lactose intolerant there are always the nut mylk varieties of drinks and cheeses.

3 fermented nut cheeses made from macadamia, cashew and hazelnuts

Wassail

adminMG — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 13:03:14 +0000

It’s an ancient tradition of the Southern counties of England and ‘Waes Hail’ (Middle English for ‘Good Health’) has been an age old event to bless the apple orchards for the coming season.

I thought you were a futurologist?! (you may have mentally exclaimed) …

The thing with Wassail is that it has all the components of the trends we are seeing emerge right now. Conviviality, sharing of foods with both friends and strangers, celebration, old traditions putting meaning back into our digital disconnection, non-for profit or free, food direct from the source. This celebration is free from Hallmark holidays and puts the magic back into life, as we have come to know it.

I went to the Sussex Wassail this past weekend and it was a cold, clear night. The local farm was filled up with approximately 150 cars and at least double the amount of people gathered round the first part of the evening celebrations which I tried to photograph discretely -hence the quality of these:

One of the groups of Morris Dancers - Hunters Moon

A different group of Morris Dancers

The dancing and drumming went on for a few hours after which the masses proceeded to the barn to buy hot cider and then a procession was lead through the orchards accompanied by the various musicians and bag pipe bands. The whole path was torch lit:

One of the torch bearers, lighting the way

In the clearing of the orchard, a group began to sing the Wassailing songs, they fed the apple trees pieces of toast! and then lit a large central fire which had built in fire works…luckily there were no health and safety requirements on private land!

one of the men who lit the fire

the fire

drummers leave for the barn

At this point – large chunks of home made cake and hot cider were passed amongst us all, as we toasted the Wassail. Slowly people filtered back to the barn to witness more merriment, dancing and singing…

The Barn

One of Hunters Moon making space for the dancing

The caller of the barn dance

The Green Man, watching over the proceedings

Non-Edible

adminMG — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 13:27:08 +0000

Just a few non-edible food related items available.

Cork coasters-pack of 6 slices.

necklace in a jewellery shop made from used tea bags.

Christmas baubles made entirely from sugar

Getting Lippy

adminMG — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 17:06:28 +0000

Food and beauty meet again. OR cake is just everywhere and people are obsessed with baking and caking.

Any flavour of filling you like!

Tastes of the Unexpected

adminMG — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 20:32:05 +0000

tea flavoured biscuits, cakes, creams, chocolates...but not coffees.

Just a few new flavours springing up and hitting the mainstream…

Charcoal flavoured desserts and more tea...

Pig meets it's gold. Lard- food of miners infused with Truffle -food of kings. Who'd have thought?

The easy way to get your tobacco fix...and chocolate hit at the same time...oh and more tea flavoured chocolate for a chaser.

I have no clue what Christmas Crackling tastes like but i think it may involve the pig...most Zotter chocolate seems to sneak in some bacon or scratchings somewhere in the mix.

Instead of having a curry. Garlic beer - drink and food in one. Kebab flavour will soon follow. You heard it here first...;)

Floral

adminMG — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 09:32:14 +0000

Parmaviolets might have been confined to the depths of your grandmas handbag…and I have yet to meet someone who makes violet creams the most popular filled chocolate…but floral is back and flowers are finding their way into everything…starting with Rosy Lee…

Floral jams with suspended petals

Floral infused wafer biscuits

micro leaves and flowers in the raw - the new snack?

Swedish rose jelly and syrup

Rose and violet creams - the new version

The extending range of floral honey

more roses and violets

...a boiled sweet option?

Chinese floratea to wash it all down with...

Looks like everything is coming up roses…

‘Shrooms

adminMG — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 07:33:54 +0000

Mushrooms have been around a long while…often growing in places with dirty, dank associations. But mushrooms have become the latest indicator of all things artisan and earthy. Here is a selection of the various mushrooms seen at markets in both UK and Europe. Soon we will be using mushroom infused drugs, shampoos, body lotions and potions. There is already medicinal mushroom tea, drops, toothpaste and shampoo (Avalon Organics, Weil…) but it hasn’t hit the main high street…yet. This is a visual stream of mushroom-consciousness…

It’s all in the packaging…

adminMG — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 08:36:48 +0000

In line with the current trend of grow-your-own bacon, DIY everything and knit-your-own shower curtains (or something…) food finds it’s way back to plant pots and paint pots for re-assignment, display or baking. In attempt to make food related items artisan and natural…

10L paint tins filled with Spanish crisps not to confused with a tin of magnolia

Storage

Bread baked in plant pots

Crusty...

Ice cream in a tin bucket, a la seaside!

Planters with cupcakes and tulip cake-pops in a planter – courtesy of http://kissandbakeup.blogspot.com/

With an increasing focus on pots we’re heading back to the pea and carrot-laden 1970′s casserole. A meal to match any outfit.

And to reverse it out…

Strawberry juice

Kiwi Juice

Coconut water in a bag in a shell

Adds pretend mould to any meal...what more could you want?

Tea

adminMG — Fri, 20 May 2011 13:19:17 +0000

Obviously there is so much to say about tea; the varieties, the flavours, the rituals, the habits, the individual peculiarities (ie: warming the pot, milk first, no second, no first… etc) But currently there seems to be a few new things in tea coming to the fore, some newer than others.

Jasmine Green Tea with Chrysanthemum Globe or Lily Sweet Scented Osmanthus (never can tell!)

Almost, your own fish tank...(minus the fish)

Maybe yerba matte isn't quite ornamental but the containers used to drink it from are. A traditional daily drink from Argentina (and other SA countries) this tastes like soil mixed in old cardboard boxes and gives a kick bigger than coffee.

The silver straws (bombillas) and the gourd and silver cups for yerba matte

Move-over, faux-retro printed and quilted tea cosy...the crocheted and pom-pommed is back!

Doubles as a winter hat.

Aged, roasted and smoked tea which is now coming in bricks, like chocolate. No bags, no loose leaves.

The bricks

Green tea just got more sophisticated. Green was the new black. But now 'Matcha' is the new green. Keep up, will you.

Making 'matcha' the proper way. It'll come in bags soon, promise!

But until then you can eat the 'matcha' green tea biscuits...

Or the chocolate (be warned, it tastes worse than it looks)

Fortunately, there is still the stainless steel pot for one - available throughout the world. Apart from the majority of the USA which only deals in java.

Marshmallows…

adminMG — Thu, 19 May 2011 19:51:53 +0000

Oh yeah, they are bbbbback…not necessarily bigger but for sure, better… sexier and oh so, artisan, it makes your knees tremble.

Just a few marshmallow things happening…

These come in a variety of flavours such as white chocolate covered passion fruit marshmallow…

here they are in odd, handmade sizes...

these are kosher using non-porcine gelatin

and oddly, these are the exact opposite 'bovine free'!

the ubiquitous mallows on sticks ready for toasting...

The very popular S’mores in cupcake form. S’more (‘some more’ in American!) is a toasted marshmallow, squished between 2 Graham Crackers (like Digestives) with chocolate pushed in between the marshmallow so that it melts. Summer camping treat. Above is the ‘at home’ version.

Below are homemade marshmallows…it’s going to be the new big thing!