China syndrome: Maria and Andy Morrison are giving vintage china a new lease of life by turning it into pretty cake stands.
The Dublin-based couple scour auctions, car-boot sales and antique shops for plates, which they then drill holes in and insert pretty handles. They are always on the hunt for new stock, and have even brought plates home from a holiday in Beijing.
The cake stands come in one, two or three-tier varieties. You can give them your own selection of plates to custom-make a cake stand – “Mothers find that it can be a good way to share out the family china among daughters,” Maria says – or browse their stock of ready-to-go pieces, which can also be hired for weddings, christenings or tea parties. “They look really good as table centrepieces at weddings,” Maria says. The cost is €30 for a two-tier stand and €40 for three-tier. For storage, the handles can be easily unscrewed and the plates stored flat.
The couple will have a stand at today’s Ha’penny Flea at the Grand Social, near the Ha’penny Bridge in Dublin 1, and at tomorrow’s Peas Pods family market at the Dublin Food Co-op in Newmarket, Dublin 8.
See www.meauldchina.com for more markets they plan to attend and to see their stock of stands for sale and hire. They also make cute jewellery stands from vintage cups, saucers and glasses.
Book of the week
Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work, by Aki Kamozawa and H Alexander Talbot (Clarkson Potter, $35)The US husband-and-wife team behind the influential Ideas in Food blog like to ask a lot of questions. Their new book pushes the boundaries of traditional home cooking and suggests more effective techniques, more successful pairings and some clever substitutions they say will elevate your cooking to new heights. Evaporated milk in mac'n'cheese? Why not. Tapioca flour for chocolate pudding? Worth a try. Home-made Aero chocolate? Yes, please. (Available from amazon.co.uk for about €12/€14).
Brothers are doing it...
Brothers Derek and Brendan Allen of Castlemine Farm at Four Mile House in Co Roscommon have a thriving online shop delivering their lamb, beef and pork nationwide (same day delivery for orders placed before 11am). They also sell their produce at the Moycullen and Galway farmers’ markets, and recently opened a farm shop in Roscommon town.
The dynamic duo also run a series of courses and workshops, some on the family farm and some at GMIT campus in Galway. “Fight For Your Food: Take back control of the food in your shopping basket”, which kicks off at GMIT on March 20th, is a five-week series of seminars at which Brendan Allen and Athenry poultry farmer Ronan Byrne (who blogs as thefriendlyfarmer.blogspot.com), hope to show shoppers how “make the best decisions for you and your family when sourcing the best-tasting, wholesome, locally produced food”. The sausages and bacon DIY course at Castlemine Farm on April 9th will demonstrate how to make sausages, rashers, pâtés and terrines. It will cover equipment needed, techniques and recipes, and the course fee of €95 will include lunch. See castleminefarm.ie or call 0906-629886.
Flippin' good
Pancake Tuesday is next week, so make sure you have eggs, flour and milk on hand for the inevitable requests. Or you could just cheat – Superquinn is selling really good, soft, pillowy chocolate pancakes as well as regular ones this year. If you're at Naas farmers' market this morning (10.30am-12.30pm) you can buy George Higgins’s pancakes, sold in aid of the National Childrens’ Hospital.
