Today on the Farmer's Market...

This is my friend Debbie's stall, to my right! The day was beautifully mild - not warm exactly, but I didn't need the thermal underwear this month! It makes such a difference to everyone's spirits when we're not shivering & sheltering from the wind for 5 hours. I didn't even wear a coat until the last 45 minutes - amazing!

Selling well today:

Cranberry Carmelita Bars. My own recipe - chewy, caramelly, crunchy, buttery & with a little tang from the dried berries.

Sticky Jamaica Ginger Cake...made with wholewheat flour & stem ginger for extra gingeriness! Keeps so well as it gets a sticky top to it after a few days...irresistible (if you like ginger!)

Double Chocolate Brownies...ahh, my all-time best sellers. The bread & butter of the Blue Angel Bakery! What would I do without them?!

The Apricot & Ginger Flapjacks you saw being created yesterday. Always very popular, especially with those who prefer not to eat wheat. Some people make a bee-line for the crunchy corners, others prefer the softer middle squares. Everyone's so different!

My brownie of the month. Each market I create a new brownie flavour, so that regulars don't get bored. March's offering was Cookies & Cream - topped with mini Oreos as well as filled with the chunky pieces of the larger version. These flew off the stall so fast - I sold all I had before lunchtime! I make a note of all the bestsellers so I can repeat them somewhere down the line.
I also had the cheese scones, walnut brownies and loaf cakes...quite a loaded table!

It wasn't the busiest market, but still quite good. I have a 'Quote of the Month' too: these are the funny (or ridiculous) things that people sometimes say to me behind the stall. A woman asked me if the Carmelita Bars were Date Slices. I said no, and went to some lengths to explain exactly what was in them...cranberries, chocolate, caramel....etc etc. She tasted a sample, wrinkled up her nose and said 'I can't taste any dates in there!!' The great British public!

Happy Tuesday xoxo

My second home...

The Coffee Tree delivery today was Sultana Scones...tasted lovely but I've shown you my scones before & I thought they didn't look special enough to warrant a whole post! So instead, I thought that I'd introduce you to my work kitchen. This is the view I look out on when I'm washing up! I think I said before that the industrial park that it's built on is a former WW2 airfield. It's surrounded by farm land and we're lucky that the unit is at the far end of the site...so it backs right onto rural green! Rabbits regularly put on a display for me on this patch of grass...so cute!

Inside is big and spacious and full of stainless steel! I actually took lots more photos than this, but not having the hang of my new phone completely yet....for some reason they didn't all download correctly! Duh..still, here's a feeling. You can see 2 big bowls of the ingredients for Apricot & Ginger Flapjacks. I have the Farmer's Market tomorrow and another big order for the end of the week. In the past 2 days I've made 72 trays (approx 9 servings to each tray) which will probably be enough. But it all depends on how tomorrow goes!

I finished by making 120 cheddar scones. I have so many regular customers at the stall who just come for these...so I have to bake plenty!

Busy days...but I love to be occupied. I'm happy in my little unit, radio on, gas humming, bowls and ovens full of good smells & mixtures. How lucky I am that I get to do what I love every day and get paid for it! I try to never take it for granted.

Hoping you've had a wonderful day too xoxo

On the Farmer's Market...

For just over four years now, I've had a bakery stall on our local Farmer's Market which takes place on the 4th Tuesday every month, between 9am & 2pm. It's very hard work...but I also greatly enjoy it. I'll get back to my daily Coffee Tree posts tomorrow, but for now I thought that you might like to revisit yesterday's market with me....

I usually arrive around 8am to set up. The stalls are provided for us, we just have to supply our own tables...

Then, it's a question of unpacking the boxes & boxes, and dressing the stall. As the name of my business is The Blue Angel Bakery, I try and keep that colour predominant...but I like to be seasonal as well, so on the Summer markets I bring bunches of fresh herbs & flowers from the garden and set them in pretty jugs to brighten the tables, at Christmas there's lots of tinsel and a mini- Christmas tree (one year I had fairylights too!) and in the Autumn I decorate my gingerbread with fondant leaf cutouts and have pumpkins too. And always I have my beloved Susan Branch's latest calendar, turned to the correct page (and much admired!)

I don't put everything out at once...many of my customers are office workers who visit at lunchtime, so I try and keep a good selection back so that everything still looks good a few hours later...

my youngest sister, Lucy, gave me the lovely pastel food flags for Christmas, so this month I used those to  decorate & display prices...they looked lovely! On the napkins in front, you see my samples...very important! So many people change their minds and buy something when they taste a piece first. Others just stand and eat handfuls before walking away...but that's another story!!

I try and have a few new products every month, but if I missed out brownies (3 types) or gingerbread I'd be lynched...

We 'regular' traders are always put in the same place, as we become known by people who expect to see us there every month. So I am always surrounded by friends - to my right is Debbie Grant, who makes wonderful home-made meals, specialising in dietary requirements. She's especially popular with older people who still enjoy good, homecooked food but find it difficult to cook themselves. We always have a good gossip and she's a lovely lady. To my left is Simon the Pieman helped by his wonderful wife Margot...

seen here bagging another order! They have probably the most popular stall on the market - their wonderful meat & vegetable pies are all handmade by Simon at his butcher shop, Parminters, in the nearby village of Haddenham and people queue at the stall almost before they've stopped the car!

And you all know what I sell....these Carmelita Bars...

Jamaican Ginger Cake...

sometimes Raspberry Muffins...

Apricot & Ginger Flapjacks...Brownies, Cheddar Cheese Scones, loaf cakes (yesterday Lemon Drizzle, Ginger) and anything else I have time for!

It can be cold, it's certainly tiring getting everything ready alongside my other orders (on Monday nights I stopped baking at 3.15am!) but I'm always glad I did it because it's really the only chance I get to stop and chat with 'real' people. It's wonderful and heartening to see the same faces month after month...to hear the lovely compliments and feedback they give me...even the difficult people are ok, because they provide some light entertainment! I collect 'quotes of the month'...my favourite of all time is ' Is there any meat in your brownies?'! Ah, the Great British public - what would we do without them??
Happy Wednesday and thanks for reading! xox