There used to be an ad on TV (revealing my age here) with the refrain "Back to school, back to reality!" which would evoke a sense of doom in many a kiddo's heart towards the end of a school holiday. I can pleasantly report that my return to work this past week has been far from gloomy, and getting to do my day job (albeit through screens and on plastic coated surfaces) has been a most satisfying way to spend my mornings. I'm also very blessed to have colleagues (friends) who support our Rooted Herbivores venture and are benefitting from the central product collection point!
The cold snap this week had me rushing out to cover the seedlings with frost protection blankies, and I'm happy to report that all the cabbages, spinach, carrots, pepperdews and peas survived. Well, not all the spinach plants. There's a particularly curious hadeda who patrols the rows of plants and seems intent on snacking on earthworms directly below spinach seedlings. He/she plucks the seedling out, tosses it aside with reckless abandon and zooms in on the soil beneath. Great for aerating the soil, not so great for keeping the plants IN the soil.
As we improve our network of suppliers of organic veg, we have managed to get our hands on some frozen organic strawberries and blueberries. This means strawberry and blueberry jam is added to our list of jam offerings, yay! Our frozen organic fig supply is dwindling however, so be sure to get that fig jam order in! We'll only be able to get organic figs next season again, so it is only available while stocks last.
There's nothing as satisfying as knowing where your food came from, and better yet, knowing the farmer. Our good friend, home gardener (her garden is seriously a life goal of mine!) and fellow dog mom, Vicki, has supplied us with some GORGEOUS organic surplus from her garden. We were able to trade bread in exchange for veg and it has been such a joy to make our new doggy treat offering (training bites) from her organic orange sweet potato! We had a request from a client whose pooch is carb-conscious and she'd like to hand out treats in bite sizes to use as rewards in training, while keeping her furkid's sleek shape. So we now offer a pack of training bites (approximately 80 grams) for R20, made using the same recipe as our usual bone-shaped treats, in portion-controlled bite sizes. We will also be sponsoring some goodies for an event hosted by Pug Rescue South Africa taking place next week. Keep an eye on our social media platforms for further information!
Celia (aka Mombles) has added a crunchie recipe she adapted for my little one (Arienne, who has an allergy to wheat and a few other foods) to our list of offerings. Replacement of our stone-milled cake flour with coconut flour and flax has resulted in some rather delicious gluten-free crunchies. If you know someone following a gluten-free diet in need of a sweet treat, these delicious morsels will hit the spot.
Hannah, our in-house expert crunchie maker, has become a pro at beetroot stamping our paper bags, and has impressed me by not losing any fingers when using our new guillotine to cut out the labels that get attached to our yummy goods. What is beetroot stamping, I hear you say? We try to minimise the use of commercial ink as far as possible. Production of ink is an environmentally taxing process and includes the use of single-use packaging which ends up in landfills, not to mention the fossil fuel cost to transport the ink to where it needs to go. We figured that a locally-grown, packaging-free beetroot can do the job in a much more environmentally friendly way, and we think it looks kind of cool too. So we basically smoosh up a beetroot, pass the pulp through a muslin cloth and squeeze some pink juice out to apply to our stamp (which we get multiple uses out of, minimising waste, yay!). The fibrous pulp goes to the worm farm and the brown bags and boxes that we stamp can be composted or recycled, with a bit of natural pink.
Marijke has also enjoyed a return to work this week, as relaxations of travel restrictions means that domestic travel is open again! Be sure to contact her to book a local break at one of the many beautiful destinations our country has to offer. At the same time, order a few Rooted Herbivores breads for padkos and take along some spreads, preserves and fresh veg for your stay. Not keen for the hassle of leaving a car at the airport? No problem, Andrew is open for airport transfers and will get you where you need to go, safely and on time. Local is lekker and there's nothing lekkerder than supporting local business!
Sven (or Dad, as I know him!) has been peeling pecan nuts at a serious rate and I'll soon be turning these into delicious pecan nut butter. Available in cinnamon or dark chocolate flavour, made with organic ingredients and sweetened only with coconut sugar, this stuff will have you reaching for the spoon to eat every last drop. The pecan season is ending, and supplies are nearing an end, so be sure to buy your peeled pecans (available in 100g snack packs or 500g bulk packs), pecan nut butter (cinnamon or chocolate flavour) or unshelled pecans (1kg for DIY peeling, I'm told it's therapeutic...) while stocks last!
Byron has been baking, baking, baking in between his day job and delivering the freshly baked goods. A couple of hundred loaves in, and the breads keep coming out more beautiful than the last. He has taken on a few apprentices in the form of Celia and Marijke. Both students are hard workers and skills are developing rapidly (some more rapidly than others, but we're not about to hand out teacher's pet badges just yet, ha ha!).
We're looking forward to spring, and with all the new growth in the garden, we also hope to see new growth in our little family business as well growth in our product offerings.
Thank you for having faith in our products and supporting our dream to become a reality!
Claire
Speechie
Hippie
Gardener