Drop 4
Rachel's Meat Trifle, Fab Fava Farmers and Passing the Mic.
Hello everyone - it’s time for Drop 4!
We have some autumnal pumpkin spice peanut butter made by a lovely chef called Harry; my go-to protein-packed fava snack; and more artisanal pasta from Yorkshire, after their ‘conchiglie’ received a stamp of approval from one of our Italian subscribers (“it’s so so good”). Read on to see the full list of products in Drop 4.
I will be taking a little break this fortnight but will be back with more yummy goods on the 14th of November for our 5th Drop!
Amy x
The password this week is: AUTUMNLEAVES - you can find the online shop here!Kitchen experiments
When I was about 6 or 7, one of my favourite things to do was to run so-called ‘experiments’ in the kitchen. These typically consisted of putting on a tiny apron, mixing herbs with whatever I could find in the kitchen cupboards, covering it in chocolate sprinkles, then proudly presenting it to my mum as ‘my latest creation’. For those of you that watch Friends, let’s just say that the result was always somewhat reminiscent of Rachel’s meat trifle.
Thankfully, there are people out there whose food ‘experiments’ turned out a bit better than mine. Take 11-year Frank Epperson who, in 1905, left a glass of powdered lemonade with a wooden stirrer outside overnight. The next morning, Frank found it completely frozen over, and rushed to share it with all of his friends. The original ‘eppsicle' was later patented by Frank as the ‘popsicle’, and our summers have been better for it ever since.
Similarly, in 2019, Harry was working as a chef at Fumbally cafe in Dublin 8 when, without cause or thought, he added a sprinkle of hot spices to the house nut butter before sending it out to accompany customers’ food orders. The jars of nut butter were sent back to the kitchen completely empty - wiped clean - with pleading requests from customers to bottle it up so that they could take it home.
Fast-forward a few years, and Harry’s chance discovery has turned into a range of award-winning spiced nut butters, still made in small batches by Harry and his mates. I managed to get a batch of their limited edition Pumpkin Spice flavour, which will take your morning porridge to the next level. If savoury is more your thing, go for their chunky, sweet & salty peanut butter, which works brilliantly in Harry’s 10 minute spicy peanut udon recipe.
Pumpkin spice or Salty & Sweet Crunchy peanut butter - £4.20 (RRP £6.99, 40% off). (It’s £7.99 at Selfridges!)
Fab Fava Farmers
A couple of weeks ago, I watched this short video by Riverford’s Guy Singh Watson (well worth a watch, if you have a spare 5 mins). It sheds light on what it’s like to be a farmer in the UK at the moment. In sum, it’s so bloody hard that almost half of British farmers fear they'll go out of business within the next year.
I always get really moved by videos like this, but struggle to know what to do about it. Luckily, I have met loads of small businesses through The Drop that are figuring out what can be done. Like setting up responsible supply chains that pay farmers fairly; or working with nature rather than against it, all while making quality food for us.
With that in mind, the next producer in this Drop is The Honest Bean Co, run by Adam and his sister Zoe on their family farm! Adam took over the family farm at just 19, and was soon driven to find new and sustainable ways to diversify their crops. Enter: the humble fava bean.
Packed full of protein, fava beans are incredibly nutritious and a brilliant crop for regenerative farming. I’ve never thought of fava beans as particularly delicious, but Adam and Zoe have definitely changed my mind on that. The beans are delicately roasted and generously seasoned, turning them into ‘a cross between a crisp and a nut’ that make for a perfect, nutritious snack.
Chilli & lime or Sea Salt & Cider Vinegar roasted fava beans - £1.36 (RRP £2, 32% discount). (We still have a few bags of the much-loved BBQ flavour left too!).
That’s enough of me doing all the talking…
After flooding your inboxes with my chatty write-ups over the past few weeks, I think it’s time to pass the mic over to you lovely lot. Here is what subscribers have written about the yummy goods in our recent Drops (there are a few still left in-stock for any newcomers!):
“Ok so these beans have changed my life a bit. What wizardry is this, why am I suddenly eating beans straight from a jar and enjoying it” - Rosie
Queen Butter Beans by Bold Bean Co - £2.95 (RRP £4, 26% discount)
“This is like everything my taste buds have ever wanted. I need to order another” - Ciara
Dr. Sting’s Hot Honey - £4.20 (RRP £6.99, 40% discount), by MOB Kitchen chef Ben Lippett
“This pasta is banging - thick and really holds lots of sauce” - King
The Yorkshire Pasta Co - £2.90 (RRP £4.25, 32% discount). We have almost sold out of the shapes in our previous Drop, so I have added 3 new ones: Fusilli, Penne and Mezze Maniche Rigate. Enjoy!
You can find all of these products, along with a few new ones for Drop 4, on the online shop - the password this week is: AUTUMNLEAVESI hope you enjoy our 4th Drop - I will be taking a little break this fortnight but will be back with more yummy goods on the 14th of November for Drop 5.