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Little Church Markets Goulburn NSw

A Great Success!!!

It was H&H first market in Goulburn and we were blessed with magnificent weather. Alongside the St Saviours markets a little way down the road, people came along all day to support both markets. It was wonderful to meet so many local folk who really appreciated the local produce and products on offer. Thank you to all those who came and tasted our preserves and for all those who took a little something home, we hope you enjoy them very much.

The markets are likely to be held every second month in the Baptist Church hall from 9 am - 2 pm. I hope to see you all again in a couple of months.

Thanks Again to my dear friend Dianne and my beautiful assistant/husband Stephen who made the day such a lot of fun.

See you all again very soon.

Unfortunately the husband snuck up on me with the camera, so didnt have my smile on, busy setting up.   (:

H&H has their next market day coming up at the Little Church Markets in Goulburn NSW on the 1st May, 2021 from 10.00am to 4.00 pm.

This will be the first markets in Goulburn which H&H has been part of and we hope that we will see you all there.   Hopefully it will be a magnificent autumn day and everyone will come out and support the local makers and merchants.

The preserving season is coming to an end for another year, with only the late ripening Chillies slowly coming through for the Sweet Chilli Sauce.   May not be a bumper harvest of Chillies this year, though the plants are laden with green fruit.  However, with the cool summer and the return of true autumn weather to the Central Highlands, after a late burst of summer over the Easter weekend, we think many may simply not turn to the brilliant red we want.  The Chillies are the only thing that likes a really hot summer and this year that just did not happen.

The tree are starting their change to magnificent autumn colour and we have lit the first fires over the past week and so we know it is almost winter.

The plantings now turn to the winter crops of brassicas and peas and of course, the garlic bulbs are planted for harvest around November/December 2021.   Homegrown garlic is wonderfully flavoursome with the true strong garlic flavour and the bulbs, in the varieties I grow, are much larger than those you normally buy in the supermarket.   But later in the year I will share photos of the harvest and you can see what one little bulb can produce.  The garlic is used in the making of our Pasta Sauce and Sweet Chilli Sauces.

Normally I plant the garlic around the edge of all the raised beds, in the hope, that as a companion plant of the onion family, it will deter insects and pests.   I have to admit that this is more a hope than a proven fact, as the beasties still seem to have no difficulty finding something they like to eat.

I have decided to plant a complete bed of garlic this year and if the harvest is good enough and more than I can use, or share, I might sell some at the local markets.   I purchased my garlic bulbs from Diggers Club and have always had great success with their varieties.  Here they are after just 2 weeks in the ground.

The bed has garlic in the centre with podded, sugar snap and snow peas on each side of the bed which will be supported once they grow tall enough, making the bed productive for the next few months during the winter.

Here the garlic is planted around the edge of the garden already planted with Capsicums and Chillies, to act as a companion plant to deter the insects and pests.

So whilst the garden goes into its winter hiatus in many places it springs to life others.

Here we are again at the Bigga Markets on Easter Saturday 2021.   We really missed the Markets in 2020 due to the whole year being called off.   Locals and visitors to the district came out in great numbers to support the local stall holders.  It was a great day!  It means a great deal to us to have so many people come back each year to purchase the products they love and then to continue to support us through our local outlets at the Binda General Store, Bigga General Store and Arcadia in Crookwell.

We appreciate the wonderful support of everyone and we look forward to seeing you all again at the Bigga Markets in 2022.

A special shout out to my two beautiful assistants on the day, my darling husband Stephen (picture evaded) and my wonderful BFF Dianne pictured below, who made the day such a lot of fun again.

Next market day for H&H Preserves will be the Little Church Markets in Goulburn NSW on the 1st May and will let you know more details as it gets closer.

Thanks again to all who supported our wonderful local markets!

Ever had that person who is just impossible to buy a gift for, who just has everything they need, or seems to.   Well what about a unique gift basket of H&H Preserves?

Last year the Arcadia (Now Ensemble & Co) in Crookwell NSW took out a full page advertisement in the Goulburn Post to showcase their display holders and to advertise the one late night of Christmas shopping in December 2020.   Yes we only have one night a year when we stay open late so it is always something out of the ordinary and a lot of fun.

As part of that H&H put together Christmas baskets which were very popular with the locals and visitors to the district.

My dearest friend who runs Goulburn Conveyancing in Goulburn NSW decided to give her clients an H&H Gift Basket in 2020 instead of the old favourite of a bottle of something, most often with bubbles.  The response from her clients was wonderful with all who received them, seeking her out to thank her for something a little bit different.  Often real estates, lawyers and such, receive so many corporate Christmas gifts they just hand them off to their staff.  I think all who received these gift basket took them home for the holidays, so that is something!

H&H baskets can be personalised with handmade baked goods, such as White Chocolate and Macadamia cookies, Cranberry & Pistachio Shortbread, or homemade Lavosh style crackers as well as a selection of preserves.

Here is an example of a Mother's Day Hamper which we produced which included the cookies with the preserves.

Gift Baskets can be very expensive, so a good way to estimate the cost of our gift baskets is to use a cost of about $8.50 - $10.00 per preserve, depending upon which ones are included, which covers a standard basket/hamper tray and decoration.  For example, if you had 4 preserves then the basket would be about $40 plus delivery or postage.  If a more expensive display is requested, such as a wooden box rather than basket then this would be an additional cost.

If the delivery is within 100klm of my location then it would be delivered with a $10 flat fee, over 100klm would be a delivery or postage charge to be calculated.

Christmas in July 2021

2020 was a year where everything was different even Christmas.   Parts of Sydney were in COVID lockdown, there were restrictions on the number of guests who could attend a residence and generally it was not the Christmas we hoped to have.   There is a thought that Christmas in July may be a little bigger this year in more temperate parts of the country, such as where i live in the Central Tablelands.   We are known to have some snow not every year but who knows.....

Last year I conjured up some lovely Christmas cakes for a couple of locals who love my cakes.  These cakes can be made in an individual size and included in a gift basket for a special Christmas in July gift.

So keep us in mind for that little something different for a birthday, corporate or any occasion gift basket or hamper.

We have been very lucky to have the support of local retail outlets around the district, but H&H Preserves would love to hear from anyone interested in including our offering of homegrown and handmade preserves in their retail environment.

We think it is high time that we shared our delicious preserves and not keep them just a secret of the beautiful Upper Lachlan Shire.

If you are interested please contact Veronica at info@hnh.net.au

The Bigga Easter Markets are back for 2021!

H&H preserves have been part of the Bigga Easter Markets for some years now and as was the case with many things in 2020 the markets were cancelled due to COVID.   However with the easing of restrictions they are on again bigger and better than ever.  Of course, with COVID protocols in mind.

Come and join us, it is always a really popular event with locals and visitors to the district for school holidays or the Easter Break.

Look forward to seeing you there!

I have made the decision, which is a tough one for me each year, when have I made enough and when should I stop preserving.   I have reached my goal for each of the tomato products, the 3 chutneys and the Pasta Sauce and despite still having great quality tomatoes off and on the vines I have drawn a line in the sand.  I am sure that every preserver has the same dilemma.   It ends up being a decison of head over heart, not my strong point, keep making my preserves past what I think I can sell and using up hard earned capital or say enough is enough.

So the best of the surplus tomatoes and any new harvest will go to friends or neighbours and down to our local Binda Store to be given away to the locals or visitors who would like them.   During the apple season every trip to the local store ends with bringing home a big bag of free local apples from a backyard tree, which are just superb.  I have made many a jar of apple sauce from these wonderful apples.  So I will return the favour with my tomato surplus.

Every year we struggle with the decision of when to clear out the tomatoes beds and start to plant the winter crops or green manure.  It just seems wrong to take out plants with so many green tomatoes and just throw them away but I only once found a home for my green tomatoes.  A local chap made his green tomato relish and was just so happy to take them off my hands.   Might see if I can find that fellow again this year because there will be a lot.

Now the focus is on the new Beetroot and Chilli crops.  Despite the rain and surprisingly cool summer / autumn the beetroots are thriving and another good harvest will come through this week.   The long awaited ripening of the chillis is slowly happening but the cold weather is definitely not helping speed this along.

However in anticipation of that wonderful event the covering of the beds has begun, because there is just nothing that a Currawong likes more than a lovely big meal of red hot chillis.  Well so it seemed last year, when times were tough for all the native birds.    We are not going to take the chance this year and the bird netting is in progress.  Temporarily suspended due to the inclement weather but later in the week there is hope of some sunny skies so we all look forward to that.

The historic Markdale Station offers bespoke farmstay and equestrian experiences.  This wonderful property has magnificent Edna Walling designed gardens surrounding the historic homestead building. The Crookwell Garden Festival will be held on the 6th & 7th November 2021, with Markdale being one of the featured properties.

The Markdale owners believe in supporting the businesses and producers of the local district.   It is very exciting that H&H Preserves have been chosen by Markdale to provide a selection of our preserves as welcome gifts for their guests.

We thank Louise and her family for this wonderful opportunity and look forward to working with Markdale, in some small way, in providing the full country experience that this property offers to their guests.