Jo's Recipe Of The Month

December - Roast Turkey - I was going to share with you the way we cook our turkey at Hendra farm but then thought, "hang on, maybe that's a bit presumptuous!" After all, most people have their favourite way to roast the bird and who am I to suggest my way is the best way? If you really want to know, just ask when you pop into the shop next! Mind you, I've had a lot of people ask me about cooking times so I thought the guide below might help a bit.

One tip that's always worked for me is to make a sort of tin foil tent around the turkey. This has the effect of keeping all those tasty juices where they should be. Just make sure you don't wrap the foil too close to the turkey otherwise you will end up steaming the beast instead of roasting it. And in case you need reminding in all the hullabaloo, don't forget to let the bird sit for a bit before you start carving.

You would think with all the bladework I do preparing joints for the shop that I'd be the one that does the carving. Not in our house! Like the BBQ, Daniel has the honours here - it's a man thing!

An average family will usually go for a 12 -14lb bird. I'd preheat the oven to 220C (425F or gas mark 7) and put the turkey in the oven around 8.30am. About 9.10am I ramp down the oven to 170C (325F or gas mark 3). Take off the foil and turn the heat up to 200C (400F or gas mark 6) at 12.45. Then - not forgetting heaps of basting of those yummy juices - the turkey should be cooked by by 1.30, allowed to sit for half an hour and on the table for 2pm.

Jo

Turkey Time At "On The Table"

As if you need reminding, it's that time of year and like me you're probably running around like a headless chicken turkey trying to get presents for those odd relations that have everything, creating the nativity outfits for the kids that should have been handed in for rehearsals last week and generally getting stressed.

If you haven't ordered your turkey, goose or duck already - now's the time!On The Table is supplying free-range bronze turkeys from our own Hendra farm, and as our family can attest, mighty tasty they are too.Nearly all our birds are produced from our own breeding stock so get your order in soon as supply is limited. Quality - not quantity!

The turkeys roam in generously well proportioned paddocks with some tree shelter that keeps the birds happy and content. Healthy, happy birds with a rich, gamey flavour for the Christmas day feast!

If you fancy a goose this year for a change, we have some wonderful birds on offer. And to cover all angles, if you want a duck, we can get you some of Cornwall's finest from The Cornish Duck Company - the only commercial duck farm in the Duchy which can already list two Michelin starred restaurants amongst its customers.

Call us on 01872 571400 for prices and to reserve your bird now!

Jo.

Welcome to On The Table's Blog!

Welcome "Onan Hag Oll" (one and all) to On The Table's blogsite. Many of our customers have asked if we were "on the web" so we thought a blog would be a good place to start.

This is where you foodies can catch up on all the latest goodies that we're stocking, let us know what you'd like to see in the shop and keep up to date with news from Hendra farm.

From time to time, we'll be running some fun promotions with yummy prizes exclusively from this site - so stick us in your bookmarks or favourites folder and visit often. To keep bang up to date with our news (& views), you can subscribe via the Google box at the bottom of the page and get each new post straight to your in-tray.

I'll be sharing some delicious recipes every month to tempt all you chefs out there and would love to hear how you serve up some of the products you buy from us. It's easy to speak your mind - just click on the comment tag at the bottom of each post and get typing - we'd love to hear from you!

Christmas, as if you needed reminding, is coming and over the next few days, I'll be posting snippets with a festive feel. We're already taking orders for our organic bronze turkeys and geese - it's first come , first served!

Share our passion for quality organic food. Pop into On The Table and say hi!

Jo

On Hendra Farm This Week

Welcome to a weekly update of news and happenings from our farm at Hendra. The farm is the heart of our business - after all, it's where most of the veg, meat and bread you see on the shelf at On The Table comes from! It is our home and livelihood. We figure you might be interested in what goes on there!

It has been a busy few weeks. Our big news is that Daniel is just finishing off the conversion of our old dairy into a bakehouse. This is a very exciting development for us that's going to allow us to offer our customers a wider range of fresh, delicious breads. We've been on a superb bread making course run by Linda Tonkin from Blue Mango and will be putting all we've learnt into the baking.

We plan to mill our own grain so we can register the bread as organic. I'm looking forward to us baking a range of olive breads - one of my own favourites - and being able to drop the bread off at the shop just ahead of the school run!

Rural Retailer Of The Year

If we were a supermarket we'd have a mission statement. But that's not our style. At On The Table we like to keep things simple. We want to supply our customers with good quality food that tastes great at a fair price. We've invested a lot in the organic produce we supply because we believe it's best for us and our children. You are what you eat. We won't sell what we wouldn't eat ourselves.

Clearly,we've a lot of fans out there.We've recently been nominated for Best Rural Retailer Of The Year 2006. The results will be out sometime early next year but in the meantime, a big "thank you" to all our customers & friends who voted for us!

Best Bread Freshly Baked!

Say that out loud - it's a tongue twister! Here at On The Table all the bread we supply is produced locally using only the finest flours and ingredients. We're just finishing off our own bakehouse at the farm so we're going to be able to offer an even wider range of loaves. Do let us know if there's a type of bread you fancy we'll see if it's something we can rustle up for you.

Jo's Recipe Of The Month

November - Lamb with Honey and Rosemary

This is a firm favourite at Hendra farm and with the nights closing in, a real "winter warmer". We use one of the Cornish honey varieties that we stock in the shop and, of course, our lovely, local, organic lamb.

Serves: 4
Ingredients:
3lb/1.3kg Shoulder or Leg of Hendra Lamb
Salt and pepper
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp dried or fresh rosemary
3tbsp clear Cornish honey
¾ pt / 425 ml of cider

Preheat your oven to 180C/350F/ gas mark 4. Place the lamb joint in a roasting tin and rub generously with salt, pepper and the ginger. Sprinkle with rosemary (fresh is best!), run the honey over the joint and pour around the cider.

Roast the lamb for about 1.5 hours (or a bit less depending on how you like your lamb), basting from time to time. Once it has cooked, place it on a serving dish and allow it to rest while you make the gravy.

For the gravy, place the roasting dish on the hob, reduce the meat juices slightly (skimming off any fat if necessary) and strain. Slice the lamb and serve with the gravy and vegetable of your choice. I think it goes well with dauphinoise potatoes (thin layers of potatoes with garlic and milk/cream) and a fresh vegetable.

Tuck in!

" The Best Of Cornwall" - XMas hampers For Home Delivery

On The Table are delighted to offer our customers a range of hampers filled with the finest selection of tasty treats. A perfect Christmas gift for the culinary connoisseur, we can ship to anywhere within the UK. Unlike big brand shops and other online retailers, we will offer you a hamper thats tailored to your budget and your taste. Just call Jo at the shop and we'll sort you out! Each hamper will be prepared with TLC - we can guarantee it!

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