Finally the book group officially kicks off… We found it was tricky for people to get to an afternoon meeting so have changed it to an evening.
As from September we will meet the last Thursday of each month at 7 pm. ( September 30th, October 28th, November 25th)
Please note from 7 pm the kitchen is closed.
Today I went on location to shoot the autumn newsletter, as a photographer this is a process I love! The weather was kind to us and we had a lovely day. It has been a long time since I blogged, I am still here-I am just lost in wedding season with my photography business and pulling everything together for the newsletter. If you would like to be one of the first to know all our news and upcoming events drop me an e-mail or leave a comment and will pop one in the post for you.
Yesterday The Laden Table played host to Mathew’s 3rd birthday party. The Laden Table is available for party hire and we are able to organise as much or as little as you like… from baking the cake to making the pass the parcel, from the food to the entertainment we can take care of it all.
I know I haven’t written in a while… I have been riding the ups and downs of a new business. But I wanted to share with you this picture of our latest change, I hope you like it. I have enjoyed finding some new and unusual products to stock and some yummy food products to sell.
We are now offering 20% off between 5-7pm Monday -Saturday so why not come by for your tea!
Hope to see you soon, Nicola
I just wanted to let you know that our creative class begins soon…
‘ Have you always said you wanted to write? Always had that niggling desire to put pen to
paper? Always felt the urge to unleash the creative beast within? Well, here’s your
chance. Come on, write, then! ‘WRITE, THEN!’ A six week course in creative writing for
the budding author. You’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain. ‘
Thursday May 27th- 6 week course-9.30am-11.30am £54 for the course.
Please call to reserve a place. Taught by qualified tutor.
Just how Sunday’s were made for billowy pancakes, best eaten with grated milk chocolate and then rolled so that the chocolate melts, plaid flannel pajamas and settling in, Saturdays were made for coconut bread.
This uncomplicated coconut bread from Bill Granger is as reliable as you need. For those of us who have affection for sameness, this trusted recipe wouldn’t let you down. This bread is coconut through and through. It has a buttery texture that is moist and toothsome but is loose and crumbly and barely holds itself together. Great for breakfast, toast until crisp at the edges or better still warm slowly under the grill and serve with lashes of butter and marmalade. Or if you have the patience save it for afternoon tea and serve it with a sprinkle of icing sugar over its crust.
Personally I love recipes that leave room for adaptation, and this one welcomes variation (whisk the zest of your choice into the wet ingredients, grapefruit or lime is especially befitting). Or add some finely chopped ginger into the batter for heartier bread. Chocolate chips are another welcome addition, especially if you have smaller mouths to feed.
Ingredients
Feeds 4 to 8. Takes 1 hour 30 mins.
2 eggs 300ml milk
1tsp vanilla extract
280g plain flour
2tsp baking powder
2tsp ground cinnamon
180g caster sugar
150g desiccated coconut
75g unsalted butter, melted
Icing sugar for serving
Butter for serving
Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas mark 4.
Lightly whisk together the eggs, milk and vanilla. Sift the flour, baking powder and cinnamon into a bowl, add sugar and coconut, and stir to combine. Make a well in the centre and gradually stir in the egg mixture until just combined. Add melted butter and stir until the mixture is just smooth, being careful not to overmix. Pour into a greased and floured 21cm x 10cm (8½in x 4in) loaf tin and bake for one hour, or until an inserted skewer comes out dry. Leave in the tin to cool for five minutes, then remove to cool further on a wire rack.
I’ve never been so cuddly with the idea of change, and this year has been nothing but. It’s all good kinds, of course-but sometimes a girl needs a little incubating. We just celebrated being open one month and though I never thought this journey would be an easy one, I never expected it to be quite so hard. I thought it would be the tiredness, but that is the least of it right now. I am used to working on my own, and now I am part of a team. And yet however supportive friends and employees are, I am completely alone in this. A sweet contradiction.
It would be easy to become another ‘cafe’. But that was never my plan. I have to find ways to utilise the space, I have to make an ordinary business different. I feel i’ve got lost in the process and now I am trying to find my way back… to myself in many ways. I need to remind myself where the dream began, and what it began with. I am struggling a little-I am getting lost in the drama of the everyday and finding it hard therefore to feel inspired and motivated to take the business to new levels.
It would be very easy to want to run away from it all, and yet the bottom line means I never will. The bottom line being that The Laden Table is my dream, it’s all I have got, and I don’t just mean financially. There are the times in the day when I have a moment-those treasures in time when your breath catches and ‘click’ it’s forever in your memory. It is those moments that make the rough worth while. Oh and it’s the comments you leave that really are making me feel so much better right now, I can’t thank you enough for taking the time to write to me. N
Thursday night is damp and dark.
Whenever the world gets the better of me, I find I rely heavily on the ‘bigger picture’. Which for me involves salty air, time with my beloved four legged companion and banana bread waffles. This week has been tough, for those of you who are business owners you can probably guess as to why. A word only five letters long; wages. So back to the bigger picture… I have scrapbooks full of pictures of homes/lifestyles I aspire to. In many ways my world is a small one, it isn’t grand or glamorous but I find it hugely helpful to allow yourself the chance to dream of the life you dream of living… If you were to bump in to a long-lost friend five years down the line what do you wish you could say about your life? For me it’s a veranda overlooking sand-dunes, it’s children and dogs, it’s having everyone I love round a laden table. Reminding myself of this ‘bigger picture’ helps keep me motivated and inspired. I am enough of a realist to accept that this most likely won’t happen for a long time; but right now I am content just dreaming.
NEWS… French for Fidgets is using The Laden Table as a venue starting in September-I will post all the details soon and have leaflets in-store.
And because a post isn’t complete without a picture. Another one of Karen’s amazing cakes.
Finally… we sorted out the wi-fi so anyone can now use free internet access within The Laden Table.