Demi Ladwa's cookery at Hemington WI's last event

Eight members from Leigh joined a packed hall at Faulkland for the final meeting of Hemington WI. The speaker was Demi Ladwa, who gave a fascinating talk and demonstration of Indian cookery. She made a delicious potato dish and onion bhajis - enough for all 60 of us to have a taste!
Potato curry
2 large Desiree potatoes, peeled and diced into small chunks
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp chilli power or 1/2 tsp garlic paste
2 tsp coriander-cumin powder
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
2tbs sunflower or vegetable oil
1/2 tin tomatoes or fresh tomatoes

Heat oil in large saucepan until hot. Add mustard and cumin seeds, wait to hear them make a popping sound. Place a lid on the pan whilst this happens.
Add the potatoes and stir. Add salt, chilli powder, turmeric and stir for a couple of minutes. Lower the heat until the potatoes are half cooked. Add tomatoes, coriander and a little water. Cook until the potatoes are done.

Add more chilli powder if you prefer the curry to be hot.
Use this method to cook any vegetables.

Onion Bahjis
6-8oz gram flour (chick pea flour, available in most big supermarkets)
Salt to taste
2 large onions
1/2 - 1 tsp chilli powder or garlic paste
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp coriander powder
Optional: fresh chillies
Fresh coriander
Sunflower or vegetable oil for deep frying

Peel and thinly slice the onions. Sieve the gram flour and add salt, chilli, coriander powder and mix well. Gradually add hand hot water and keep mixing until you have a soft but thick batter. Add onions and mix well until they are coated.
Heat the oil over a medium heat, test to see if it has reached the right temperature by dropping a little of the batter in. If it rises quickly to the top, the oil is ready. If it goes dark brown or black, the oil is too hot! Drop small amounts ( a teaspoonful or less) into the oil. Cook until golden brown all over. Lift out carefully and drain on kitchen paper.

Serve as a starter or snack. Can be frozen.

Add spinach to the mix, or any other veg.

Add your comment when you have tried the recipes!

Another successful village clean-up!

2012 collection

Once again, many villagers came out to help clear the rubbish from our lanes and streets! Thank you very much to everyone! There were plenty of children helping, too; all ending up at the Memorial Hall for tea and cakes.
It was interesting to notice that some areas had less litter than in previous years, but very sad to see how much waste has been dumped in the lanes around the village. (big lumps of plaster, blocks of cement and broken paving stones, old rabbit hutches, lots of soiled cat litter and many, many plastic bags of dog waste). This is clearly in part as a result of the changes at Coleford tip. A very sorry sight indeed.
What can we do? Inform our local and county council - and ask people to stop throwing their rubbish in the streets and lanes. We don't want it!

2011 collection - considerably less!

March meeting and a visit to the Strawberry Line

Our meeting on Monday was most interesting and informative; we listened to Ken Holdsworth who told us about his work with the charity for the homeless, Crisis. He began volunteering with them at Christmas 1986, so he had plenty of experience to draw on. He is committed to the charity and spoke passionately about it.
Linda made some absolutely gorgeous chocolate brownies for us.... Wonderful!

Tonight, Sandra and I went to visit Cranmore WI, the Strawberry Line. They had an open evening and had sent out an invitation to WIs in the area. The speaker was inspiring! She told us how she feeds her family, friends and a local restaurant from her vegetable garden and allotment - in addition to having a full time job and three teenagers! She follows a 'no dig', organic method which is clearly very effective and efficient. She had plenty of photos and examples of her produce to show us. We both came away determined to adopt her approach.... Time will tell!

International Women's Day Event 8th March

What an excellent day! Eileen Hurd & her team organised another thought provoking and very enjoyable event. We heard from two charities who work to improve the lives of women in Africa, India and Sri Lanka. Created and African Initiatives. The talk from a worker at the women's refuge in Yeovil was full of quite shocking facts: 1 in 4 women are victims of violence or abuse at home(1 in 6 men), human trafficking and female genital mutilation continues in this country. Any help we can offer them, especially in the way of vouchers, will be very useful.
We went for a walk to Long Sutton village green and took part in a treasure hunt around the church yard. what a beautiful church! Built in the 1400s with an intricately carved wooden pulpit, it really is worth a visit.
In the afternoon I described our Let's Cook Local course and the treasurer of ACWW spoke to us about their work.

The last few days......

Hazel, Caroline & I spent a very productive evening on some rag rug "prodding"! Some rather beautiful items were created, just in the space of an hour or so. The prospect of making a whole rug in this way really isn't too daunting.

Today 4 of us met at The Bell for a very enjoyable and sociable lunch time. We were extremely well organised and booked our meals in advance. Unfortunately it still took an absolute age for the food to arrive. However, the pub is going to open during the day as a tea room, serving morning coffee and afternoon tea as well as lunch.... So perhaps for our next month's effort we could sample afternoon tea on Friday 13th or 20th April? What do you think?