What Sharon did next

Closing the café left me with a huge hole in my life. I've filled that hole by spending more time with family and friends, focusing more on my journalistic writing (something has to pay the bills!), relaxing and thinking about where I want my life to take me in the future. 

It sounds crazy but I actually still have a lot of time left over after doing all of that, which goes to show that running a café is a whole lot more work than anyone realises. It may also sound crazy to anyone who knows how burned out I was when the café closed that I still yearn to work with food, not just writing about food, but actually producing food for people to eat. 

This is why I've returned to Dingle Farmers' Market where I have a weekly stall selling baked goods every Friday from 9 am until 2 pm. I've been back since the beginning of May and have been experimenting with different flavours and options to suit my customers' tastes ever since. 

I've brought back old favourites that people loved when I last had my stall there three years ago and I've started introducing some gluten-free, dairy-free and sugar-free treats to cater for the growing number of people who are careful about what they eat for health or philosophical reasons (a growing number of people that now includes me).
  
It's been great to be back. I've re-engaged with old customers, met new ones, enjoyed the banter with fellow stall holders and I'm really appreciating once again doing something with food.

Here are some pictures I've taken of my cakes and my stall in the past few weeks, just to give you an idea of what I've been doing:

Chocolate cupcakes with a creamy peanut butter icing - these contain butter, chocolate and cream (all things I shouldn't eat) and I seriously struggle not to scoff the lot!

The most adorable marzipan bees to go on top of my spiced honey cupcakes

Dan Lepard's chocolate custard muffins topped with chocolate ganache - chocolate on chocolate; it's a classic!

Zingy with lemon and always a winner

No flour, no dairy yet oh-so deliciously good

My white chocolate and raspberry cupcakes are on the left at the back and they have once again proved to be my bestsellers. The mini cheesecakes and banoffee cupcakes are pretty popular too!

I have some questions for you before I bid you farewell today:

1: Based on your own experience of cake eating, what flavours and combinations would you like to see for sale at farmers' markets? I'd be particularly interested in hearing about options that are gluten, dairy and sugar free.

2: I'm also thinking of signing up with EatWith and hosting supper club evenings in my home. Do you think people would be interested in this? Being at the market is not really enough to satisfy my cravings to feed people while enjoying their company and I think this new concept could be just the thing for me. Has anyone tried it out before? Or do you have any thoughts or suggestions?

So that was May...

Is May really over already? I don't know about you but my year seems to be gaining speed as it whizzes past and an entire month appears to have gone by in a flash.

Perhaps it's because I'm getting busier. Like most people in Dingle (and others who live in seasonal tourist towns), summer is one of my busiest times of year and each week is noticeably more hectic than the last.

So, what were the best things about the month that just passed? 

One of the very best was the wonderful Ballymaloe Literary Food Festival. The speakers, chefs and food enthusiasts at this festival delved into the many different aspects that make food such an endlessly interesting topic of conversation. There was the political implications of large corporations controlling much of the world's food supply, the sense of national identity bound up with food traditions, the growing understanding of nutrition and the simple appreciation of food cooked by people who care - it was all there and it was all inspiring.

Another good thing was my return to Dingle Farmers' Market. This takes place every Friday from 9am until 2pm and it features a selection of stalls selling everything from locally-grown vegetables and salads to artisan breads; local honey; fantastic eggs fresh from the farm; handmade chocolates and fudge; olives; patés; cheeses; pickled locally-foraged seaweeds; crumbly pies filled with the likes of beef and Guinness or vegetables and lentils; freshly squeezed juices; jams and preserves; and my cakes. 
Because of my diet, I have expanded my selection of cakes to include gluten-, dairy- and sugar-free varieties and so far, they are proving to be a big hit.
Do call by to see me if ever you're in Dingle on a Friday.


Now that I no longer have the café, I have much more time to cook and experiment with new recipes. Three that I'll definitely be sharing with you in the weeks to come are a brunch-time treat of baked eggs, a Thai-scented broth with cod and prawns and a Japanese-inspired ginger broth served with soba noodles and salmon. The very idea of that ginger broth has just got me so excited that I think it has to be my next blog post.

Finally, I've been eating a lot of this brand of tuna, pictured here in my fridge.

It's (much) more expensive than the canned variety but tastes infinitely better. Its only ingredients are tuna and olive oil and it always smacks of freshness and health. It's super convenient too and I had it for lunch with a baked potato and an Asian red cabbage coleslaw several times in May. To be honest, I'll probably have it several times in June too but it's so good that I'm not complaining.

What about you?  What were the good things that happened to you in May?
As always, I'd love to hear from you.

 


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The ups and downs of life at a farmers' market

It's raining outside and I can't help but feel downhearted. Rain is forecast for all this week and I'm not relishing the thought of another deluge of a day at Dingle Farmers' Market this Friday.

The past two weeks at the market have proven just how unpredictable the life of a market stallholder can be. A fortnight ago, it rained so hard and so long that all of my customers stayed away. There was a break in the rainfall for approximately 20 minutes at around 11 o'clock and any cupcakes that were sold were sold during those precious few minutes.

Those types of days are hard to take. All of the work and preparation amounts to little and you wonder what on earth ever possessed you to set up a market stall in a country where the weather is as variable as it is in Ireland.

The only thing that makes up for it is that you can swap those same leftover cupcakes for some of the other stallholders' produce. That rainy day, I arrived home soaked but bearing bread, new potatoes, homemade chocolates, organic salad leaves, fresh fish and even a pot of handmade, organic moisturiser.

The other stallholders make up for it too. Klaus cheered my spirits with his renditions of 'Singing in the Rain' and 'Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head' while Saorla and I swapped horror stories about stalkers.

Such a different day to last week when the sun shone and hordes of customers descended upon us. We'd organised a special kids' day to celebrate school being out for the summer and had face painters, a drum band, jugglers and a choir from the local Camphill community. Everyone was smiling. Lots of cupcakes were sold. And there was lots of cheery banter.

Here's Klaus with his stall of the most wonderful cosmetics. He and his wife (under their company name Flourish Cosmetics) make amazing cleansers, toners, moisturisers and other products, using completely natural and organic ingredients. Nothing has been tested on animals and everything feels luxurious on the skin.
Here's Saorla, with her ever-popular cookies and chocolate lollipops. What you can't see in this picture is her growing range of handmade chocolates. One of her latest additions is the Green Faerie - an absinthe flavoured truffle that really is to die for.And here am I with my cupcakes, smiling in the sunshine.


Here's hoping I'm smiling this Friday. When I'll be selling chocolate brownies, Black Forest gateau cupcakes, white chocolate and raspberry cupcakes, banoffee cupcakes, Oreo cupcakes and Guinness and Baileys cupcakes - that's what I've decided on so far at least.

Fingers crossed for sunshine. And hope to see you there, if not this Friday, then some time.

All together now: send me some sunshine

I've got cupcakes baking in the oven at this very moment. Chocolate cupcakes, strawberry ones, Black Forest Gateau cupcakes, banoffee, white chocolate and raspberry and even lemon meringue ones: all destined for my stall at Dingle Farmers' Market tomorrow.


And lest fans of my brownies despair, they'll be on my stall too.

I've been back at the market for the past two weeks and it's been a bit of a rollercoaster ride so far. Two weeks ago, I ignored the weather forecast, mixed up some cupcake batter and decided the time was right for Little Miss Cupcake to return. After all, how bad could the weather really be?

It turns out that the question I should have asked was: how foolish can a cupcake maker really be? When I arrived at the market that Friday morning, it was so windy that everyone's canopy umbrella's were literally taking off. Anything that wasn't firmly tied down was blown away.

Hmm, thought Sharon. I don't have anything to tie my canopy down with and I don't really have anything to tie it to either.

Fortunately, my ever-resourceful boyfriend was nearby and together we found rope and tied my stall to a phone box, a tree, an electricity pole and my car! On a normal morning, it takes between 20 and 30 minutes to get my stall set up but on this windswept morning, it took two whole hours. Two hours of tying everything as tightly as possible, of chasing objects that would suddenly become windborne and at one stage rescuing a box of 50 cupcakes that was about to crash to the ground. STRESS!

Even worse was the fact that all but the most weather-beaten of our customers were scared off by the wind and I had very few sales. I was hugely disappointed that this was the outcome of my first day back at the market but the fact that I was able to barter cupcakes for produce from the other stalls made up for it a little.

Last Friday, the sun shone and things were better. More of the stallholders had returned too and with them came more customers. It felt like the market had come back to life after its winter slumbers.

Saorla was there with her vegan delights and delicious sandwiches (you should all try her roasted veggie sandwiches - they're scrummy!)


Mary had returned with her jams, home baking and hand-knitted cardigans for babies.


Janet's stall displayed her farm-fresh eggs, wonderful honey products and sweet treats.


Vegetable man Tom was especially proud of his rhubarb.


Eithne was pleased with her pancakes.


Lorna (who runs the Phonenix Restaurant in Keale and makes fabulous vegetarian food) had brought along someone who serenaded us with her violin.


Marie (from Quebec) is new to the market and as well as her excellent preserves and chutneys, she makes fudge that is to die for.


Greg is new too and one of the things he sells is bird houses that he crafts himself.


Neil's bread stall (with bread made by his wife Orla) is one of the market's busiest and last week, he was joined by Aine who was learning how to bake as part of her transition year work experience.


We will all be back again tomorrow and so will Olivier, Bríd, Britta, Sarah, Betsy and more. If you're there, do call by to say hello.

And don't forget: send some sunshine our way!

Cupcakes, farmers' markets and all I've learned in the past year

Yesterday was my last day at Dingle Farmers' Market until our Christmas markets in December (dates yet to be decided).

My reaction to this my decision to call a halt to cupcake baking for the winter is a mixed one. My head (and body) says: Phew! I'm glad that's over.

Yet it's more complicated than that. Ever since I set up my stall just over a year ago, I've learned a huge amount from my involvement with the market and my life has become richer as a result.

I've found people to be so generous . When I first started, I was unsure whether my venture would be successful and so wasn't keen to shell out money on a canopy. I told an old lady who used to be in charge of the market about my reluctance to invest too much upfront and she immediately swung into action, contacting stallholders and asking if anybody had a canopy they weren't using. Organic vegetable enthusiast Deckie came up trumps and loaned me one until I felt the time had come to purchase one of my own. (Thanks Deckie!)

The other stallholders have been friendly too. Tom often helps me to set up my stall in the morning (hoping he'll get a banoffee cupcake in return!).

Mark, the market controller is always on hand to carry boxes, assemble canopies and solve occasional disputes (!). The atmosphere is always convivial, with everyone swapping stories, chatting with customers and marvelling at the weather (it was sunny every single Friday - bar one - from the beginning of April until yesterday!).

The customers have to be one of the things that make the market so special. It's great building up a regular customer base, learning what they like and having them come back to tell you what they think of your products. My customers often suggest new flavours I should try and what they think of cupcakes they have tasted elsewhere.

Here are some stand-out memories of interactions I had with customers this year:

A lovely German girl whose granny had been a prize-winning baker in Bavaria sampling my white chocolate and raspberry cupcakes and trying to guess all the different ingredients.

The delight on the face of a charming elderly man who bought cupcakes every week when I returned to the market after a few weeks of being off sick.

There was also the lady who would visit my stall every week, spend ages looking at all the different options and then complain about my cupcakes being too expensive. She would try to haggle about the price and I would stand firm and refuse. (I give discounts if you buy lots, not just two!) Two weeks ago, she eventually relented and decided she'd spend €4 on two white chocolate and raspberry cupcakes. She returned yesterday to say how nice they were "even though they were dear". She then bought 12! And for that, I did give her a discount.

(white chocolate and raspberry cupcakes; the cakes that eventually made her crack)

I've learned lots about baking and decorating cakes during the year too. It's amazing to look back at photos and see just how much my cakes have improved. They always tasted good but at the beginning I had a lot to learn about making them look good.

I've also developed an even deeper respect for food producers. There is such a huge amount of work and committment involved in producing fresh food and anyone who succeeds in doing so ought to be commended.

Dingle Farmers' Market has grown and developed during the year too. When I started in September 2009, the market was located in an out-of-the-way strip of wasteland. The ground was potholed and uneven and turned into a muddy quagmire when it rained. This meant that only a hardy core of six or so stallholders turned up every Friday and the market was losing customers by the week.

A man called Michael Gleeson came to our rescue and he negotiated with Kerry County Council on our behalf. We were moved to a new location - the car park on Holy Ground - and it's been onwards and upwards ever since. Over the summer months, we had 20+ stallholders and many more expressing interest in joining.

Sausages and all sorts of cured meats, farmhouse cheeses, vegetarian and vegan food, savoury pies, fresh fish, homemade pizzas and quiches, bread, a huge variety of vegetables, pancakes, local honey, local organic beef, great hot food such as lamb koftas and crab bisque, my cupcakes and brownies and a fabulous range of local crafts; Dingle Farmers' Market is now not to be missed. Just ask the hundreds of regulars who come every Friday.

I'm already planning to spend the winter experimenting with new cupcake flavours, macaroons and whoopie pies but for those of you who'll suffer withdrawal symptoms until then, here are some Oreo cupcakes to tide you over: