Ilk Cafe and Gallery's photostream

Ilk Cafe and Gallery's photostream on Flickr.

just a snap shot of the cakes you missed last week !

Sad to say, the Belgian Chocolate Mousse cake had to be finished off at our place.


Cheerio
Lee

Thats right!!  Finally Ilk has opened it's doors!! All thanks to the wonderful work of my family, thank you , thank you, thank you.......

The gallery is nearly full thanks to the dynamic work of Robyn, Robert and Sam at WTAG -

And I could not have asked for a better opening day, thank you to all involved.

                                                                               
                                           

beer cosies ?

okay so maybe beer cosies isn't quite

a catch phrase for a new product

but here they are

pilsner sized stubbie coolers

ruggedly handsome  . . .

rather then floppy off cuts from a wet suit

that sag on your svelte pilsner bottle

these little beauties are made from pure Australian wool

hand crocheted 

then felted

to snuggle your brewski

and keep your mitts from chilling

and your beer form warming

so while Sam has been running

the test kitchen the cafes stocks

are slowly creeping in the door

its not all about the food !

cheerio

Lee

sunrise colours

quietly growing

Italian Parsley

 despite the wild weather we are having at the moment

the new seasons plants for the cafe trundle along

purpled Peppermint leaves are starting to sprout

ready for cups of piping hot tea

Peppermint

acid green leaves of the salad green

French Sorrel are vigorous despite

a dose of -5oC frost last week

French Sorrel

and the ever reliable Italian Parsley

just doesn't stop producing

in fact its flavour is all the stronger through the colder months

making it excellent in Winter comfort food

Enjoy the Roaring 40's !

Cheerio

Lee

58 1/4 days to go!

Good Evening Visitors,

Apologies for the delay in an update about the nougat - my sticky mass that was the result of attempt #1 was well, a sticky mass,  - lessons learnt and attempt #2 will hopefully result is much less dissapointment!

This evening marks 58 1/4 days till the opening of our little cafe/gallery and as I get to spent more time at Ilk I am always sidelined in awe of the beauty of the Tamar river, what a vista to behold - so we are working hard to make a little spot where you can come and get a good feed and share the view.....




                                      

                                      

 

And Ilk that has the pleasure of looking out across the river to the hills...

Nougat attempt #1 - looking good so far!

Well I finally got into the kitchen to start working on some recipes for Ilk at Pastimes, yay - so many ideas running through my head but the proof will be in the pudding. First trial - some Meadow honey and cranberry  nougat - something I have never attempted before, but am so glad I did, but more about that later...
Two milestones for Ilk this week, firstly being the installation of the coffee machine(thank you Mark) and a sharp learning curve on the fine art of the Barista ! I'm working on practise making perfect and doing justice to some locally roasted beans from Ritual, so anyone up for a cuppa?? If the little green car is out the front the coffee machine is on!
Secondly is the hanging of the first art pieces in the gallery, two great artists and two great pictures.

'Cape Baron Gaggle' by Lee Adamson Ringk  - little known but extremely talented local artist.

And 'Black Cockie' by Kit Hillier, well known local artist.

Unfortunately neither are for sale but we are working on getting some more local art ASAP - any local artists out there keen on exhibiting their work - send me a message !

Now back to that nougat - any recipe with high temperature sugar work can be quite intimidating not only for the potential for some nasty burns but also because there is little room for error.

I am happy to say that no chef was harmed in this nougat production and that although I took the sugar syrup over the ideal temperature giving the nougat a more caramel flavour and darker colour all looks good so far. 

Of course this is all pending on the results from the official tasting committee(you know who you are!).

Sorry about the quality of the photos - I need some work on that one!

nougat base mixture

out of the pot . . . .

 . . . . and into the pan

If all goes well I'll post the recipe tomorrow- or failing that attempt #2!

So tomorrow will be a day of scrubbing and mopping followed by an evening dedicated to my chicken, cider, sweet potato and mustard pie and an orange cheese cake.  I have been informed by a certain young lady that I have to have cheesecake on the menu !

Cheerio till then....
Sam

Green Harvests

slumbering seeds for spring

while Sam dives into all the business requirements

her herbs are growing

an abundance of fresh seed 

now slumbers in the greenhouse

lovely fresh chervil, parsley and chives

and some glorious mint varieties

Spring can't happen soon enough !

spry Winter Chervil

from Lee, Sam's pet horticulturist