Unplug electrical devices when not in use. They still use energy!
It’s a funny old life, isn’t it?
While searching for something to do for Gastrocast #65, I landed on Dog Treats–something we make as a matter of course for our Dog who is allergic to most commercial crap. Because of the Market Day on Saturday I decided it would be a great thing for the Girls to sell the Dog Treats and Lemonade. All I can say is–Wow.
Saturday’s takings were better than expected–all things considered. We sold out of everything but the dog treats and some iced tea. I dispensed the Ice tea and lemonade out of a beer tap system so it was under pressure and ice cold. This made it easy for the youngest two of my brood to handle the taps. Trade was slow at first–people trickled in, but soon my marketing ploy worked. We served the lemonade with a 4 inch long sprig of Lemon Balm sticking out of the cup. One by one as they went out of the tent, people came in–is this where the lemonade is? And sure enough many stopped to by our Baguettes and Rhubarb Turnovers.
Now the Dog Treats were a bit funny. If they had been whole-grain powerbars, or brownies, or chocolate chip bars–I would have sold out of them no problem. Many people thought they looked delicious. It was a hard sell for the dog owners, but once a few were sold more and more people came back. 21–half of them–were sold. One girl bought about 5 for her dog–one at a time.
The biggest surprise though was a phone call I got late yesterday asking for the recipe, and by the way could I come by and buy some more. I sold the last 18 to one person–Dogbert had eaten the other 3. Not only that, but I have an order for more when these people come back to the island in the future. Apparently their dog, and some others I heard about on Sunday, went wild for the things. The power of the liver and not mucking about with it too much.
Also, do neither to the Dog Treats, or the Lemonade, I landed several more jobs–perhaps it was the power of the Rhubarb Turnovers I whipped up last minute. To tell the truth I was frustrated Friday Evening–we had been baking bread all day and I had been working on other things, so at 9:30 when I went to make the turnovers–to rest in the fridge overnight–nothing was going well. I made a few test ones to see if they even tasted good. To hurry things along I put them in the freezer to chill. They came out a dream. I stopped what I was doing and decieded to prep and bake the rest in the morning even if it meant being pushed for time–boy am I glad I did. They only cost me $.75 each to make and the profit on them was $1.75. Thirty-two of them flew off the tray.
This big dissapointment, however, was the Bokashi Buckets. My order never came through in time for the Market and selling an idea without the product is hard. I did have my own bucket, partly filled, as a display. And I spent a lot of time coming up with promotional materials, but people out here just can’t get behind the idea. Most people just dig a ditch and dump their kitchen scraps in that–they don’t garden or don’t believe in spending money on something to help them compost or make better soil–that’s what Miracle Grow is for–right? I did get several people interested inthe concept and passed on my contact information–so who knows, perhaps they will get back to me. I will try to hit one of the other island’s farmer’s markets in the upcoming weeks.
So yesterday, the Bokashi Buckets finally came. I have a phone call to make tomorrow. The boxes were broken open, torn and one of the 4 was missing. Everything is fine–no damage. Just poor packing on the part of my wholesaler. To add insult to injury–I was supposed to have these last Thursday–my order was wrong and they sent me some of the wrong products even though we discussed EXACTLY what I wanted over the phone when I placed my order. WIth service like that, no wonder Bokashi Buckets aren’t more common. Hopefully tomorrow I will get things straightened out. Either way I think when I get things straightened out I feel a video on the subject of Bokashi, EM, and The Compost Revolution coming on very soon.
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I just wanted to thank you for the wonderful shows!! Not having a TV, the gastrocast makes for great entertainment!
here’s a question you can maybe answer for me.. Why does sea salt cost so much in the states? Here in Italy it costs about 30 cents for a 1 kilo box.
I think sea salt cost so much over here because A) We are idiots and don’t value food. Regular, mined salt is too cheap at too high a price. While a “gourmet” salt is marked up because greedy bastards can.
I still get people telling me if I don’t use Iodized salt I will die. That they would NEVER just use sea salt–my answer: eat more kelp, eat more fish and shut up. . . Some sea salts have idodine in them.
Reason B) for high Sea Salt prices is that we import almost all of it. I regularly use a Portugese Sea Salt, Sel Gris from Brittany, and my all time favorite–Maldon Sea Salt from England. I shop at a salt wholesaler–which doesn’t carry Sicilian Salts–and the prices are even high there.
Salt is historically expensive–the Venetian empire was built on it and it spawned several world powers. Wages were paid with it and social rank determined by whom could own it.
While I think 30 cents a kilo is almost too little to pay for something so great and hard to collect (my regular Kosher salt costs 50 cents a kilo–wholesale) I also think it should be cheap enough for me to cure hams in nothing but sea salt without taking out a mortgage :-0
Thanks for your question and support!
it’s true that 30 cents is pretty low but then again I’ve never seen mine salt in Italy. Recently I saw a new all time low of 11 cents a package. Most of the sea salt comes from Puglia where the state has the main “salina” or place where they extract salt. I think it is only recently that the state has lifted it’s monopoly on salt. Anyway, speaking of salt I’m off to make my Salamoia or herbed salt with garlic, my condiment of choice!