Ummera without any wild………

Sad to say, but for the first Christmas that I can recall, Ummera Smoked Wild Salmon will not be available; our stocks are exhausted, our order book exceeds our stock!

But we do have our Smoked Organic Salmon and that will be available at theMarket on Saturday along with our Smoked Chickens, Eels and Rashers.

We will also have some small “joints” (around 250gms) of our Smoked Dry Cured Bacon for you. Something a little different……………….

CHRISTMAS IS COMING!

Well it’s only taken me two months to get to grips with this blogging thing but hopefully now I have broadband it will be a piece of very nice cake (preferably artisan made!) …

As Anthony Creswell of Ummera Smoked Proudcts says, we are having a big Christmas Farmer’s Market bash in Bandon on Saturday morning 16th December.  All stallholders have promised to wear silly hats and sparkly things so that will be worth seeing anyway!  On the food side, which is really what it’s all about, Susan Fehily will be doing tastings of her fantastic home made Christmas pudding, made to an old family recipe, as well as gorgeous quiches and tarts to buy or order for Christmas.  Ruth Healy of Urru will have lovely mulled apple juice, dried fruits and a superb selection of Christmas cheeses, Anthony will have his delicious organic smoked salmon, perfect for a Christmas first course or brekkie with champagne (in bed hopefully if someone can be bothered to get up a make it – hint hint!) and smoked bacon and chicken too.

Alan Hassett’s  fish counter will be gleaming with all sorts of fabulous specimens straight from local waters – and he’ll also have an oyster bar where you can buy half a dozen freshly opened Roaring Water Bay oysters served au naturel with Tabasco, chopped shallots and lemon juice in traditional style .  Great aphrodisiac for this time of year, when everyone gets to kiss under the misteltoe!  Aaron McDonnell of Finders Inn is making up Christmas hampers of his super salad dressings and dessert sauces, and he’ll also be making that gorgeous red cabbage thingy he does so well.  It goes  great with roast goose or turkey, and with the cold ham and stuff too.  The famous Cornish pastie lady, Ann Bradfield  is already thinking of seasonal fillings for her pasties and pies, which freeze well for those days over the holiday when you really have had enough of the stove.

Of course, the whole thing about having a farmer’s market is to be able get all your food  necessaries in one place  and this Christmas you can find everything for the feastin Bandon.   Beechwood Farm’s free range white or bronze feathered turkeys are already being snapped up fast, so come and place your order quickly .  Martin Carey will have his award winning spiced beef for sale on the  16th,  as well as fresh farmhouse duck from the Hickeys in Ballydehob.  He’ll also be sponsoring the fresh turkey for our free Christmas Raffle, where everyone who buys something gets a ticket, and will  be drawn on the day.

Traditional vegetables from the Higgins’ of Ballycotton this festive season include homegrown parsnips, swedes, carrots and Brussels Sprouts.  Exotic fruit can be found on the stall of J&D Organics, and Sarah Devoy’s chemical free veggies from Rosscarbery include unusual bits like squashes, kale and beetroots.  All those lovely treats that make Christmas so good are now avaialable from Heaven’s Cakes, Baking Emporium and of course, the skilled bakers that are the Ballinascarthy Ladies!  All stallholders are taking advance orders now – so don’t wait till the 16th to place yours.  But do come along on the day to grab a hot coffee or hot choccie from Cork Coffee Roasters, or a glass of mulled apple juice, and enjoy one of Lucy Noake’s delicious hot crepes while listening to our angelic carol singers from Lauragh National School,  Bandon. Then stick around for the visit from the Big Man in the Red Suit, who’ll be bringing Mrs. Claus along too, to help him hand out goodies for the kids.

Don’t miss it!

Dianne Curtin

Telly & National Organic Week

Email from Di Curtin, one of the Committee of the Bandon Farmers Market and Journalist, Food writer and cook, to say that she is appearing on the Seoige and O’Shea Show today, Friday, at 4.30pm.

It is also National Organic Week and we at Ummera will of course be tasting our Smoked Organic Salmon on our stall this Saturday at the Bandon Market.

We are now thinking about Christmas and are already taking orders for collection at the Market on the 16th December – which I gather is going to be full of fun and entertainment that day. Snow, Christmas Trees, Carols, Reindeer…….

Terra Madre, Salone del Gusto and Bandon Farmers Market!

A glorious Saturday morning and I hope that the market is really busy. Ralph is manning Ummera’s stall and with National Organic Week next week, hopefully selling plenty of our Smoked Organic Salmon.

I am still recuperating from last weekend in Turin at Slow Food’s amazing international food fair held in the Lingotto Centre (remember Michael Caine in The Italian Job driving mini’s around a roof top? That’s the very same building! At the fair they brought in Turin’s Food Market which was quite brilliant. If only Bandon could emulate such a market……….

I should urge you to join Slow Food; as an organisation it is helping the world become a better place and by bringing people from many different cultures together (there were 150 nations represented at Terra Madre) Slow Food is acting proactively to help all the world. Visit www.slowfoodireland. com   to learn more and to join.