February Newsletter
Welcome to our February newsletter. Please do encourage friends and neighbours to sign up to our monthly newsletter, you can forward this email and they can sign up HERE
PHOTO BY Sarah Hardaker The Old Bakehouse catching the late afternoon sun
Every month we start the newsletter with a local, seasonal photo, would you like your photo to be featured as the ‘photo of the month’? Pop us an email to newsletter@amberleyshopandcafe.co.uk with your photo attached as a jpeg (not too high res) and we will try and feature it.
SHOP NEWS …….
The Shop team have been struck by cupid and have stocked up on some LOVE-ly chocolatey treats for Valentines Day.
January and February always feel a bit gloomy on the food front. I have been listening to Hugh Fearnley Wittingstall’s short series “The Fibre Factor” about increasing your fibre intake which was on Radio 4 - you can listen again on BBC sounds here. One of the overriding messages was that it is easy to add a bit more fibre into your diet if you “bung in some beans” . The shop carries a number of varieties of beans and pulses. Here are a few ideas for you for upping the fibre.
If you’re making a bolognaise replace 1/4 of the meat with lentils - I use small green lentils for this as they are indistinguishable from the meat and small people can’t pick them out! - you may need to add more liquid though as they do absorb a lot.
If you want to thicken a soup use red lentils, they collapse and thicken a soup really well. I always put them in any kind of carrot, or squash or tomato soup. Or a particular favourite over winter is red lentils, onions, smoked paprika, chicken stock and a pinch of chilli. Cook until collapsed, blitz till smooth with a dash of cream then top with croutons and bits of crispy smoked bacon. (You will find Taylors delicious smoked bacon in the fridge and all of the other ingredients for this in the shop.)
Make a delicious veggie curry with sweet potatoes, red onions, chick peas, ginger, garlic and coconut milk. Use your favourite curry spice to add heat, I often use a Thai curry paste or one of the spice mixes from the shop. To up the veg and fibre quotient I add some fresh or frozen whole leaf spinach to wilt in at the end.
Make a delicious spicy black bean and tomato shakshuka by frying an onion, with garlic, smoked paprika, cumin and some chipotle paste or salsa (also available in the shop) in a large frying pan with a lid. Add a tin of tomatoes and a tin of black beans and bubble gently till thickened. Make a few hollows in the tomato/bean mix and crack an egg into each hollow, put the lid on the frying pan and cook gently till the whites are set but the yolk is still runny. Top with some crumbled feta and chopped coriander and serve with toasted sourdough.
CAFE NEWS …..
The new menu in the cafe is proving popular. Everyone is delighted that soup is back and the new oven has allowed us to extend the menu to include toasted sandwiches. you can view the full menu on the website here.
Rosemary Bailey has very kindly offered another origami workshop following the success of her Christmas workshop. Origami with a Valentines theme in the cafe, Tuesday 10th February 10.30am -12 noon.
It’s free and Rosemary is a super teacher.
We have a treat for your youngsters this February half term!
Our Tuesday Storytelling club will be hosted by award-winning author Tracey Corderoy. Tracey has written an incredible 76 books for 3 to 11 year old children, including the popular Shifty McGifty books and The Little White Owl.
We hope you can join us for what promises to be a truly special event on Tuesday February 17th from 10 - 10.30 am.
Musical Sundays at the Amberley Shop & Café showcase incredible local talent for an hour of live music in our wonderful café. Our upcoming events are:
February 15th: Common Voices featuring Nailsworth voices with Amberley and Oakridge village choirs
March 15th: Mothering Sunday cream teas while Tom Parker plays his harp (booking essential)
March 22nd - Rodborough Folk Orchestra
All performances are 2.30 to 3.30pm and free.
WHAT’S ON IN FEBRUARY…
WE HAVE SOME CLOSURES IN FEBRUARY FOR FUNERALS AND CHRISTENINGS SO PLEASE KEEP AN EYE ON THE WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA FOR DETAILS.
Tuesday 10th February - Salt Bakehouse on the forecourt 10.30-11.30am
Friday 13th February - Friday Cuppa - 10.30 - 12 noon in the Church.
Sunday 15th February- Musical Sunday - Common Voices - 2.30-3.30pm.
Tuesday 17th February - TuSC - Tuesday story telling club with special guest Tracey Corderoy 10am - 10.30am. Aimed at children aged 2-5 years but all welcome.
Tuesday 17th February - Salt Bakehouse on the forecourt 10.30-11.30am
Thursday 19th February - closed for a funeral 2pm
Friday 20th February - Friday Cuppa - 10.30 - 12 noon in the Church.
Tuesday 24th February- Salt Bakehouse on the forecourt 10.30-11.30am
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY…
Amberley Shop and Café – Temporary paid supervisor vacancy.
Do you know someone who might be interested in a paid weekend role at our brilliant and friendly Amberley Shop & Cafe over the next 3 months (18+ only)?
Whilst we continue to thrive, we are currently experiencing long‑term staff sickness. This has left us short‑handed at weekends. To ensure we can continue offering the same level of support and service in the shop and café, we are looking for someone to take on some paid hours, in a supervisory role, during this period.
The paid shifts available are:
· Saturdays: 8:00am – 4:30pm
· Sundays: 1:00pm – 4:30pm
If you, or someone you know, would like to take on one of these shifts — or even just offer occasional availability — please email vacancies@amberleyshopandcafe.co.uk.
From Alison our volunteer co-ordinator…….
VOLUNTEERING
Anyone who is interested in volunteering either behind the scenes or on the shop floor, should contact me on alison@truphet.com We always welcome new volunteers and full training and refresher training is a big priority for us.
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