Gower’s Independent Online News, Event and Information Guide

Issue 931st October 2011

www.gowernews.co.uk

INSIDE:

MONKEY CAFEPage 3

Goat’s cheese and pumpkin jam parcels

PAGE 7

EVENTSPAGE 9

THE CHANGING SEASONSPAGE 11

PUMPKIN SOUPPAGE 19

PETS AND FIREWORKS

DON’T MIXPAGE 21

LOCAL PRODUCEPAGE 23

GOWER NEWS

3 Marmalade @ Monkey Cafe

7 Goat’s Cheese and Pumpkin Jam Parcels

9 What’s On

11 The Changing Seasons

19 Pumpkin Soup

21 Fireworks and Pets Don’t Mix!

23 Local Produce

ContentsPumpkin Soup

See Page19

Pets and Fireworks Don’t

Mix!

Mandy Flowers from P.E.T Dog

School in Swansea has some helpful advice for

pet owners.

See Page 21

4

Goat’s Cheese and Pumpkin Jam Parcels See Page 7

31st October 2011GOWER NEWS

Editor / Design / Illustration

Ian Ambrose

Publisher

Gower News | www.gowernews.co.uk

editorial@gowernews.co.uk

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This W

eek’s Contributors

Marmalade: @ Monkey Cafe

Swansea’s latest cookery school launch their new City Centre based restaurant venture.

Marmalade Cookery School, which recently featured in Gower e - N e w s ' 8 t h e - P u b l i c a t i o n Edition, has had a busy, but extremely successful year running cookery lessons around Gower and Swansea.  As well as giving weekly classes in the Monkey Café, they are also giving private lessons and running a ‘Hire a Chef’ and catering service - but now they've opened a restaurant too!

T h e r e s t a u r a n t - c a l l e d ‘Marmalade at Monkey’ - is operating from the kitchens of the Monkey Café on Swansea's Castle Street. From their new base, Marmalade will be serving up some of their unique lunchtime dishes and taking bookings for exquisite evening dinners.

All Photography by Jon LewinPhotography & Design

Global Cuisine

Tatiana Bento and her partner Dave plan to go off on month-long holidays to seek out the best versions of recipes. This year they were in India, France and Portugal sampling some of the best food to inspire recipes at Marmalade.

“In a world where everyone tries to add something new or add their twist to traditional recipes, we like to go back to the original recipes to discover why they are so special and how the tastes and flavours interact.

"Of course, each dish has our own interpretation, but we play with flavours and seasoning and sometimes add our little signature, but we won’t deconstruct a pear just for the sake of it!” said Tatiana.

"We create everything from

scratch - the jams, sauces, pickles

and chutneys are our own

concoctions.  

“”

Traditional Taste

Tatiana is excited about challenging people’s taste buds with something a bit different.

"Some of the traditional Portuguese dishes and desserts we’ll be serving will be the only ones available in Wales, and quite possibly the UK. 

" I f a n y o n e ’ s f a m i l i a r w i t h t h e Portuguese custard tart - also known as the infamous 'Pasteis de Nata' - they’re going to find it hard to leave this place!"We create everything from scratch - the jams, sauces, pickles and chutneys are our own concoctions.  

“We try to use the best quality ingredients we can, and sometimes that means making it yourself or even growing it yourself!” said Tatiana.

Making a Reservation

The restaurant opened for lunches (12noon - 3pm) on the 18th of October 2011. They are also taking bookings for evening dinner.

Goat’s Cheese and Pumpkin Jam ParcelsServes 4

For the pumpkin jam:500 g of pumpkin250 g of granulated sugar1 cinnamon stick0.5 dl of water

For the parcels:4 sheets of Filo pastry4 x ½ inch slice of Goat’s cheese 4 tbsp of pumpkin jam4 tsp of broken up hazelnuts1 knob of butterSea salt and Black pepper

Method:•Make your pumpkin jam by placing the cleaned and chopped pumpkin in a heavy

bottom pan.•Add the sugar, the water and the cinnamon stick. Place on a low heat and cook until

the pumpkin is completely soft and with a shinny jam texture, this may take up to 45 minutes depending how much water your pumpkin releases. Don't forget to stir occasionally using a wooden spoon as metal interferes with pumpkin.

•This recipe yields more than the specify amount for the parcels so just save the remaining jam on sterilized jars and use as any other jam.

•Preheat your oven at 180°C.•Brake up your hazelnuts into chunks and roast them in the oven for about 5 minutes

or until they start to golden.•On a clean work surface place 1 sheet of filo pastry, butter it lightly and fold in half.

This will ensure that the layers cook together and become crisp and flaky.•Place 1 slice of goat cheese in the middle, place 1 tbsp of pumpkin jam on top of the

cheese and finely 1 tsp of hazelnuts. Season with some salt and a good pinch of pepper.

•Pull all the corners of the filo together and wrap the top with cooking string forming a bag type of parcel.

•Repeat for the remaining 3 parcels.•Lightly butter an oven tray and place the parcels on it. •Bake for 10 minutes or until the filo is light golden. •Serve hot as a starter. •Bom apetite!

Tatiana Bento is the owner of Marmalade

Cookery School. She has been

kind enough to supply us with a seasonal mouth-watering recipe

this week.

Date Time Details Contact

3/11/11 6.30pm Rural Swansea Action AGM at Penclawdd Community Centre

01792 850092

4/11/11 7pm Loughor Inshore Resuce Charity Fundraising Night: Home for the Sea

01792 891891

9/11/11 6.30pm RSA Action Group Meeting: Tircoed Community Hall

01792 850092

12/11/11 9.30am - 1.00pm

Gorseinon’s Winter Food and Craft Fayre

-

16/11/11 6.30pm A Taste of Christmas at The Buck Inn, Llangyfelach.

-

21/11/11 6.30pm RSA Action Group Meeting: Reynoldston Village Hall

01792 850092

26/11/11 9.30am - 1.00pm

Llangennith Hall Christmas Produce and Craft Market with Christmas Themed Craft Workshop

01792 386262

27/11/11 Weekends 12noon - 4.30pm

Santa Arrives at the Mill. Each year Santa pays a visit to Parkmill and sets up his Grotto at the Gower Heritage Centre, Parkmill.

01792 371206

3/12/11 10am - 3pm Carols and Crafts for Christmas at St. Madoc’s.

01792 386291

5/12/11 - Christmas Jewellery, Clothing, Pet Wear and Accessories Party at The Crofy Inn

-

10/12/11 9.30am - 1.00pm

Gorseinon’s Winter Food and Craft Fayre

-

30/11/11 6.30pm RSA Action Group Meeting: Three Crosses Village hall

01792 850092

WhatsOnGower.co.uk

9

10

Llangennith Hall Christmas Produce and

Craft Market with Christmas Themed Craft

Workshop - 26th November 2011

The workshop will be running alongside the market for kids. Cost £5 - booking essential.

Santa will be visiting to handout goodies to all the

children who attend. Everyone who attends will be entered

into a FREE raffle with lots of good prizes.

WhatsOnGower.co.uk

The Changing Seasons: Autumn into Winter

BY CHRIS RIDGWAY

After a few cold nights last week where temperatures dipped to near 0°C, and with the clocks going back this weekend, it reminds us winter is just around the corner - soon it’ll be time to dig out the scarves, hats, gloves and woolly jumpers!

In a metrological sense, winter represents the three coldest months of the year: December, January and February. These months represent, on average, the coldest months of the year in the British Isles. However, the changes in the seasons are much more subtle, and the start of the transition of autumn blending into winter starts this time of year.

We don’t perceive the winter as vibrantly as the spring or summer, but winter plays an important role in the progression of the seasons and the complex interactions of nature. Winter is important from an agricultural / horticultural perspective: the pasture has given out; livestock are brought indoors; it’s a time to replenish the land with nutrients for the spring sowings; the pruning of fruit trees and bushes; and the laying of hedges and harvesting the winter crops.

The winter crops and seasonal food bring vibrancy to the kitchen and comfort-food recipes: Game is widely available as is Shellfish and winter Cod species such as Whiting. Couple this with savoury root vegetables such as Celeriac, Parsnips, Red Cabbages, Pumpkins and Squashes combine to make for hearty eating!

In nature, the subtle signs of change are in full swing: the longer hours of darkness and leaves are dropping more rapidly from our deciduous trees opening up the canopy of the woods. If you’re lucky to live near any Sweet Chestnut groves, now is the time of year to collect the fallen nuts. The autumnal fruits, blackberries, elderberries are long past their best; sloes, crab apples and hips are still around however. Winter bird migrants are arriving on our shores from Scandinavia and Eastern Europe, such as Redwings, Fieldfares and Bramblings, after fleeing the extremities of the Northern European Winter.

Even the vagaries of the winter weather play an important role in the rhythm of the seasons. The storms of late autumn / early winter that blast the British Isles churn the up the sea floor releasing important nutrients into the sea water, providing food for planktonic creatures, creating a food chain and the diverse forms of sea life we find around the British coastline. These storms often bring generally milder conditions to the UK, which makes the British Isles a haven for migrating winter birds. As the winter progress, birds will migrate within the British Isles. When Scotland and the East Coast of England become colder birds will migrate further west in search of food and milder conditions.

Although hard frosts and cold weather are also important - especially for our fruit trees (wild and cultivated) - the plant can truly remain dormant over the winter. Plant expends less “energy” resulting in heavy crops of fruit the following year, which is ultimately good for us and for wildlife.

For many, the transition into winter represents “nature shutting down” - this couldn’t be further from the truth. The dynamic interactions of nature continue unceasingly from season to season from year to year. For our Celtic ancestors, this time of year represented the end of autumn and the start of winter, hence the Halloween festivities: Nos Galan Gaeaf or Samhain. In the Celtic Welsh tradition, Galan Gaeaf - being November 1st - means “first day of winter”.

It’s understandable to see how our ancestors - without the use of modern science and calendars - perceived this time of year as the end of one and the start of another. As a people, they were much more in tune with the rhythm of nature and the seasons than we are today. Their agricultural-based lives meant they observed the subtle changes of nature and the seasons - they clearly new this time of year was the end of the productivity of the summer crops as the days grew shorter and colder. It represented the start of a new cycle of death and rebirth, through the winter into the spring.

“Rain in October gives wind in December”

“If the October moon comes without !ost, expect no !ost until the moon of November”

“When berries are many in October, beware a hard winter”

“When birds and badgers are fat in October, expect a hard winter”

Our modern perception of the changing seasons is dictated to us by the designations of the modern calendar. However, there is credence on how our ancestors recognised and designated the changes of the year. Some would consider then November to be the start of winter - from a generalised perspective, I would agree. However owing to our geographical position, we experience “seasonal lag”. As we are located in the South West of the British Isles, there is a time lag of the “march south” of winter from Northern Britain coupled with being surrounded by a relatively warm sea this time of year, the onset of true winter weather often only arrives in late December / January time. However, global changes in weather patterns can override these regional affects in some years, like we have seen over the past three winters.

So, far from “nature shutting down” the transition of autumn in winter is a dynamic time of year, and although it may lack the vibrancy of spring into summer, the building blocks of the glories of summer are laid down this time of year.

Continuing the theme of the transition between autumn and winter, and being the time of year, I thought it might be appropriate to suggest making a warming Pumpkin Soup.

As some readers may know, I am keen gardener, especially when it comes to growing fruit and veg! Although I grow my own fruit and veg mostly for the dinner table, the scientist in me likes to experiment with different varieties, see what the outcomes of cross-pollination are, try different growing techniques, you could say it’s an outdoor laboratory!

Pumpkins and Squashes are members of the Cucurbitaceae family; other members include Courgettes, Marrows, Cucumbers, Gherkins and Melons. The word pumpkin originates from the Greek word Pepon, which means “large melon”.

Pumpkins and Squashes have the origins in North America, where Native American tribes have been cultivating them for over 7000 years.

Growing Your Own

Growing your own Pumpkins, Squashes and Courgettes is relatively straightforward and they are an excellent way a getting children into growing vegetables as there are so many shapes, colours and sizes, plus children can look forward to growing their own for Halloween!

A word of warning! These vegetable types do take up some space if you grow a good few, plus be aware the plants have fine hairs on their stalks and stems that may irritate, but nothing to worry about.

Getting the soil conditions and posit ion of p lanting r ight i s essential for success for any of the Pumpkin family. The Pumpkin family love rich soil - in fact, they love growing on compost heaps! In the spr ing , d ig - in p lenty o f compost material supplemented with a couple of handfuls of pelleted Chicken Manure. If you have heavy clay soil, dig out a slot a spade or two wide and a couple deep and fill in the hole with your compost material. Alternatively you can use a grow bag, cut a panel out of the top of the bag, mix in some municipal compost and pelleted chicken manure to bulk it out and plant straight in.

Pumpkins also love warm conditions, so planting them on a south-facing patch of garden, or where the garden gets the most sun, is ideal.

“If ducks do slide at Ha#owtide, at Christmas they wi# swim; if ducks do swim at Ha#owtide, at Christmas they wi# slide.”

Sowing

The best time to sow any of the Pumpkin family (including courgettes) is the start of May. Personally I like to sow my Pumpkin family seeds on May 1st (May Day) - traditionally seen as the first day of summer!

Fill 4-6 inch pots with a good potting compost, push one seed per pot just about a finger tip under the surface, cover the seed over, water place on a rack, shelf or table in a greenhouse or south facing window sill. Cover the pots with some black plastic - this helps to retain the moisture and warmth of the sun. Three to four Courgette plants are ideal for a family to be pretty self-sufficient - the number of Pumpkins is up to you! For Hallowe’en Pumpkins, it depends on how many children you have! If you want to eat them, culinary size Pumpkins may require half-a-dozen or so plants, but this will largely depend on how much space you have!

Approximately a week after sowing, the plants should have germinated - encoura ge s turdy g rowth and water regularly so the compost doesn’t dry out. By the middle of May, gradually think about hardening the plants off. Start by br ing ing the p lants outs ide o f the greenhouse during the day for a week, then start to leave them out overnight. Be careful to try and keep the plants up off the ground at this stage to stop slugs and snails having a munch on them!

Looking After the Crop

Your Pumpkin family plants should be ready for planting out by the beginning of June. Plant them on the prepared ground around 2 feet apart and 3 feet between rows, water in well and feed once a week for the first 3-4 weeks with pelleted chicken manure, about a handful a plant. If conditions are warm and dry, keep watering the plants. After 4-5 weeks the first Courgettes and Pumpkins should start to appear. I grow Sweet corn in between the rows of Pumpkins and Courgettes - again a tradition derived from the Native Americans.

Once courgettes reach 4-6 inches, start picking. Provided you keep picking them, they’ll produce Courgettes all summer into the autumn. In contrast, once you see Pumpkins growing, restrict them to 2 Pumpkins per plant, this will produce tidy size pumpkins for eating or Hallowe’en. It’s important to keep watering the plants when the weather is dry during the summer, as this will help swell the Pumpkins out.

Harvesting

By the beginning of September the plants will start to loose there vigour and the Pumpkins will start to change from green to orange. Don’t be tempted to pick them just yet! The pumpkins need to be left on the vine as long as possible to ripen. By the end of September the Pumpkin plant should look if it has completely withered. Just before the withered vine meets the stalk of the plant, it’s time to harvest. Cut the stalk as long as possible and take them and place them on a rack or table in a greenhouse / polytunnel or a sunny windowsill. Here they can dry out and for their skins to cure (harden). After a fortnight or so the Pumpkins should be ready if you want to eat or keep for another few for Halloween.

Another word of warning: If you intend to keep the seeds of any of the Cucurbitaceae family, be aware that next year you may not get a round orange Pumpkin! The Cucurbitaceae are very promiscuous plants and will readily cross-pollinate with each other, so you could end up with some unusual but perfectly edible offspring!

How to Eat Them

There is nothing better on a damp or cool autumnal day or evening than a bowl of home made Pumpkin soup.

A ver y s imple rec ipe adapted from a number of Pumpkin Soup recipes , taking the best bits of all.

Ingredients:

Home made Chicken Stock or stock cube;2 Carrots;2 Sticks of Celery;2 Potatoes;1 Onion;2 Cloves of Garlic;1 Leek; and1 Bay Leaf

Method:

Firstly cut the Pumpkin in half, scope out the seeds and pith, then cut the two halves into quarters, place on a baking try with oil, salt and pepper and roast in a hot oven 180-200°C for 50-60mins.

Chop and dice an Onion finely along with 2 crushed and cloves of Garlic. Put some oil into the base of a stewing pot, add the onion and garlic fry gently. Peel and dice the carrots and add to the pot. Top and tail the celery, dice, and also add to the pot. Clean the leek, trim and slice add to the sautéing vegetables. Lastly, peel and dice the potatoes and add. Allow to soften for approximately 10mins then add the Chicken Stock, add enough liquid just to cover the vegetables, pop in the bay leaf and gently boil with the lid on for 30mins.

After the Pumpkin is roasted remove from oven, scope the flesh away from the skin with a spoon, add this Pumpkin flesh to boiling vegetables. Remove the pot from the heat, (also remove the bay leaf) and use a either a hand-held blender or food processor the puree the mixture. The mixture should thicken and turn a golden yellow colour, taste and add seasoning of Salt and Pepper as required.

Either serve warm straight away with crusty bread or leave to cool, as it is ideal soup for freezing (always handy to have a supply to hand over the winter in the freezer!).

Bonfire Night may go with a bang for you and your family, but it is estimated that approximately 80% of pets become stressed and fearful during the firework season. To make matters worse, not only are many owners unaware of how to help their pets with firework fears, Vets believe 71% of owners are unable to spot the signs that their pets are unhappy.

Fear of fireworks is normal pet behavior. Pets have 3 ways of dealing with fear: hiding, running away or fighting. However, they can’t  fight  firework  noise  by  biting it; home is the safest place to be, but there is no escape; and even if they hide, they can still hear it!

With fireworks dogs  don’t  know  when  the  next  bang  is  going to happen and have no way of coping with the fear  it  causes.  They  can’t  predict  it,  control  it, or escape it! This can become a major source of anxiety for dogs, resulting in symptoms ranging from depression, to panic attacks and aggression. Dogs that fear fireworks may also generalise that fear to other noises, becoming oversensitive and generally noise phobic. This can reduce their quality of life and also place severe stress on their owners.

SSiiggnnss ooff ssttrreessss && ffeeaarr ttoo llooookk oouutt ffoorr iinn yyoouurr ppeett::

* trembling & shaking

* staring eyes with whites showing *panting

* tucked tail & ears back * clinging to owners

* cowering & hiding behind furniture * walking in slow motion

* freezing on the spot * refusing to eat

* whining & barking excessively * restlessness

* trying to escape by running or digging * being destructive * soiling the house

Article By: Mandy Flowers at P.E.T Dog

Schoolwww.petdogschooluk.co.uk

By: Mandy Flowers Oct. 2011 www.petdogschooluk.co.uk P.E.T Dog School

TTiippss TToo HHeellpp YYoouurr PPeettss CCooppee WWiitthh FFiirreewwoorrkkss:: Being prepared is key

Make a  ‘den’, using a crate or cardboard box. Place it away from outside walls and windows, but make sure the dog is used to it well in advance. Some dogs will hide in an existing safe place e.g. under the bed – these can also be adapted into dens.

Try to make it noise & light proof by draping blankets over it. Place cushions and blankets on the floor to muffle sounds of loud bangs. Make the inside comfortable with dog’s  normal  bedding  and  extra  blankets  to  burrow  into.  Include some worn clothes to provide a comforting scent. Add favourite toys and treats, such as a Stuffed Kong to encourage positive associations. Never be tempted to shut the dog in the den – they should WANT to go in not HAVE to!

Install a Dog Appeasing Pheromone (DAP) diffuser, or Feliway for cats, 2 weeks before the fireworks. DAP has been shown to have anxiety reducing effects for dogs. Site  it  as  close  to  the  ‘den’  as  possible.

On the day of the fireworks

Keep pets indoors and make sure you provide a calm, happy environment. Walk your dog before dark to help then feel more relaxed in the evening. A fearful dog will not eat, so feed their meal earlier if necessary. Avoid comforting pets as they may think you are afraid too, which will make them worse.

Instead, praise and reward your pet with their favourite treat or toy when they are calm & ignore any anxious behaviour.

Play games or do some training to occupy them. If there are several dogs, play or train the less affected dog as this may help the more stressed one to calm & join in.

Ensure pets are wearing ID tags and are microchipped in case they escape. Draw curtains and blinds. Switch on TVs or radios (not too loudly) in different rooms to help

drown out firework noise. Try not to leave your pet alone if they are stressed on fireworks night. Do NOT be cross with them. Telling off a scared animal will just make

them much worse. Do NOT take a dog to a firework display in the hope they will get used

to it – this is unlikely to work and will probably make his fear even worse!

Try  using  a  ‘Thundershirt’  on  your  dog  - an anxiety wrap, that looks like a dog coat, that is easy to put on. It uses Tellington TTouch principles to apply gently constant pressure to the dog that creates a calming effect on most anxious, fearful & noise sensitive dogs. In some cases it will work on cats too!

Long Term Solution?

If fireworks happened all year round, dogs would eventually understand that they do no harm. It would become a normal part of their environment. In the long term, your pet needs to learn to be less afraid of loud noises. In cases of severe fear or phobia of noises, a Vet may recommend behavioural training from a pet or dog behaviourist/trainer. They use specific techniques over time to help change a pet’s emotional response, so they are better able to cope in the future.

Pontarddulais Produce and Craft MarketSecond Wednesday of every month between 9.30am - 12.30pm

The Institute, 45 St. Teilo Street, Pontarddulais

Mumbles Produce and Craft MarketSecond Saturday of every month between 9.00am - 1.00pm

The Dairy Car Park, Oystermouth Square, Mumbles

Gorseinon Canolfan Food and Craft FayreSecond Saturday of every month between 9.30am - 1.00pm

Canolfan Centre, Millers Drive, Gorseinon

Pennard Produce and Craft MarketSecond Sunday of every month between 9.30am - 12.30pm

Pennard Community Centre, Pennard

Penclawdd Produce and Craft MarketThird Saturday of every month between 9.30am - 12.30pm

Community Centre, Banc Bach, Penclawdd

Clydach Produce and Craft MarketLast Saturday of each month between 10.00am - 1.30pm

Moose Hall, Beryl Road, Clydach

Local Produce

The Funky Craft Fayre Second Saturday of every month between 10.00am - 4.00pm

Ostreme Centre in Mumbles, Swansea

& Craft Markets

‘Highlight of the Week’

What?

Rural Swansea Action AGM

When?

Thursday 3rd November 2011 - 6.30pm for a 7.00pm start. A light buffet will be provided.

Where?

Penclawdd Community Centre

~~~

With guest speaker Dr. Liz Bickerton, a freelance consultant who specialises in

partnership working and the development of new projects. The theme of her talk will

be 'Keeping it Local'.

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