News from the Farmette.

[Ricard with an H]

Im still making an absolute mess of myself and parts of the kitchen every-time I prepare cooked beetroot, they slip out of the skins and daub our white painted cabinet doors with red, thankfully it doesn't stain if I mop up quickly. The red gets everywhere though each time I prepare some I get a little more organised.

I coping a lot better now with the loss of Molly even though I'm crying as I type because I found this photo I would like to share.

Also, my first ever decent bread though I still prefer the open texture.

[oldherbaceous]

Nothing wrong with spilling a few tears Richard.

Bet the bread smells just wonderful, you just can't beat it....

[Redfox]

Bread looks great .

Try to do the beetroot over the sink, that way it will just go into your sink and not on the cabinets. It's where I usually do it.

[robo]

A shop around the corner from our house sell a beetroot and apple bread it is nice especially with soup , could help you from making a mess in the kitchen

[Ricard with an H]

Nothing wrong with spilling a few tears Richard.
.

Thank you OH, I'm sure many of you have suffered as I have. Right now my face hurts from producing sorrow and self-pity.

On beetroot, The sink is the answer, like both sides. I always fall for the slippery ones all over my shirt. Even though I don't enjoy pickled I was introduced to cider vinegar and a sprinkle just does the trick.

What about mixing in salads ? More skill required Eh ? Last time I did it everything was beetroot. Is the bread made with beetroot all red ? I tried beetroot with apple and love it though mixed with other stuff it takes over visually.

[alan refail]

Richard

1 Boil beetroot till cooked
2 Pour off hot water
3 Fill pan with warm or cold water
4 Slip peel off underwater

[Ricard with an H]

Well-yes, and of-course.

Underwater is a good idea and I'll hazard a guess your technique came about after a few spoilt shirts and t-towels.

Whilst I'm growing Hungarian grazing rye in two raised beds to be dug in during December there are 100's of acres sprouting around me called Italian grazing rye. The leaf pattern looks similar and I'm wondering about using the same seed next year.

This crop is hammered with nutrient, mine hasn't had any. I suppose the main difference is that the farm uses the growing rye to feed sheep then they dig it in during early spring and sow wheat.

Italian ? Hungarian ?

[Primrose]

Alternstively wrap a sheet of kitxhen roll tissue around the beetroot ball and rub until all the outer skin slips off.

[Ricard with an H]

All these good ideas and I've been spreading beetroot around our pristine white kitchen on-and-off for two years.

Mr Messy Eh ?

[robo]

No the bread is speckled with little pieces same with the apple

[Ricard with an H]

Hi robo.

Those bread rolls are supposed to be ciabatta though I stll need more work experience, they are rolled in polenta purely to stop them sticking though the polenta does add crunch.

Every year about this time I fiddle with bread making, it's because I make a lot of soup and there's something comfy about home made bread. Last, but not least, there have been times when it's been difficult to go out to buy bread so I practice.

My lovely lady went on a bread making course in Yorkshire a couple of years back, I'm attending a bread making course in November but to honest I find it difficult to be regimented enough to keep a culture going for my favoured sour-dough.

A local informant tells me my dog was probably poisoned by the dead sheep she was nibbling at. His theory is that the sheep was put down by a vet who should have entered the procedure into the poisons-register then supervised it's removal but didn't because the farmer promised to bury it but didn't.

None of this will bring my dog back so in true British style I wont make a fuss. I'll probably be told a bunch of lies anyway and make an enemy of myself, at the end of the day my dog had no business in being in that field amongst sheep. In Yorkshire they would probably have shot her without considering she wasn't a threat to sheep. They loose a lot of sheep to stray dogs and dogs off the lead and out of control.

I did a walk over the top fields last evening, crying most of the way because I dont remember ever doing that walk without my dog dashing to-fro checking out the new smells and raising pheasant.

[Primrose]

Richard. I am sorry the loss of Molly still continues to hurt. But I would question whether you are right not to make a fuss about what possibly killed her. If vets and farmers are being sloppy and not following proper practices , then a whole load of other people and wild life could be put at risk.
I would be tempted to throw a number of leading questions in the direction of any suspected parties, and let them know you are considering bringing the matter to the attention of the press. If nothing else, if they are guilty of poor practice it may have the effect of making them be more careful in future.

[oldherbaceous]

Afternoon Richard, all sheep should be ear-tagged with there own trackable number, then if one dies they have to be taken to be disposed of correctly, which you should get the paperwork for. And i don't think a farmer would pay to have a animal put down if it was ill, it would either have gone to the slaughter house alive, or died of illness.

[Ricard with an H]

Thanks for both replies and your views, the information I got was from another farmer who may have an axe to grind. I questioned that a farmer would pay a vet to put a poorly sheep down, he said it happens. What I do see is dead sheep being ignored when they should be collected and disposed of rather than building up toxins for the wildlife to ingest. The farmers regard this as helping the wildlife, we have fox and buzzard together with the occasional kite venturing into buzzard territory plus the crows, they turn a body into a skeleton in a couple of days. Who's to say that is bad ?

I'm not sure about this whole matter but what I know about is the likely conflict-of-interest between a vet and his regular client. I also understand malicious gossip.

When Molly was being treated the vet did have the opportunity to divulge if he had treated an animal in the field close to us, he did show concern for the possibility that Molly may have injested toxic (His words) matter, I was also told a few years back when I had a similar concern that most dogs are able and happily eat faecal and rotting matter.

[oldherbaceous]

Dear Richard, the farmers should not be leaving dead sheep laying about at all. I would ring them the first day to advise them, the second day to warn them, then i would report them, as there is no need for sloppy stockmanship under any circumstances.