Colchester Farmers Market - April 2012

Just a quick reminder to let you know that the next Colchester Farmers Market will be on Friday 6th April at Colchester Arts Centre from 9.30am to 1.00pm.

Tea and Coffee will be provided by en-form. Cakes and Savoury snacks will be available from stallholders

Our stallholders for this market will be:

Adrienne Barker- shortbread biscuits
Poppy's Pastries - savouries
Chosan - health drinks
Mrs Kelly's Bread - Irish Soda breads
Layer Marney - lamb
Little Moos- cakes
Pears - Honey
Sutton Hoo Chickens - Organic chickens
Tony's Fresh Fish - (weather dependant catch)
Keepers Nursery- Seasonal Vegetables .
Snob's Coffee- refreshments
Taylor's Deli - cheese
The Soup Dragon- homemade soups
Wigborough Traditional Meats - Beef, eggs and Pork
Wok 'n' Roll - chinese food & bacon rolls
Wonky Label - Jams, marmalades. marinades
Halsall Herbs - Herbs

Guest Stalls (Craft)
The Card Lady - greetings cards
Colne Valley Soap Makers - Soaps
Cheerful Chicks- pottery chickens

Unfortunately, we cannot avoid the fact that late, emergency cancellations are sometimes made to this list.


Rowly Castiglione,
Local Food Co Ordinator: en-form, 15 Church Walk, Colchester, Essex CO1 1NS

Colchester Farmers Market - 2nd March

Just a quick reminder to let you know that the next Colchester Farmers Market will be on Friday the 2nd March at Colchester Arts Centre from 9.30am to 1.00pm.

Refreshments will be provided by Snobs Coffee

Our stallholders for this market will be:

Adrienne Barker- shortbread biscuits
Poppy's Pastries - savouries
Hull Farm - Fruit juices apples, pears
Chosan - health drinks
Mrs Kelly's Bread - Irish Soda breads
Layer Marney - lamb
Little Moos- cakes (new stall)
Pears - Honey
Sutton Hoo Chickens - Organic chickens Tony's Fresh Fish - (weather dependant catch)
Keepers Nursery- Seasonal Vegetables .
Snob's Coffee- refreshments
Taylor's Deli - cheese ( new stall )
Wigborough Traditional Meats - Beef eggs and Pork
Wok 'n' Roll - chinese food & bacon rolls
Wonky Label - Jams, marmalades. marinades

Guest Stalls (Craft)
The Card Lady - greetings cards
Colne Valley Soap Makers - Soaps

Unfortunately, we cannot avoid the fact that late, emergency cancellations are sometimes made to this list.


Information provided by -
Rowly Castiglione,
Local Food Co Ordinator: en-form, 15 Church Walk, Colchester, Essex CO1 1NS

Winter Warmer - Cabbage and Sausage Bake

With the weather turning on us, I would like to share this simple and seasonal recipe to help you warm yoursleves from with in.

It is a very simple dish that you can stick in the oven and leave. The dish will cook itself into a lovely sweet caramelised wholesome dish perfect for winter. It's based on a Jane Grigson recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2kg cabbage
• 700g plain pork sausages (good ones!)
• butter

Method

1. Shred the cabbage and blanch in boiling water for about 4 minutes. Drain and refresh. Next butter an oven proof dish and set aside. Slit the sausage skins and remove sausage meat.
2. Place a third of the cabbage on the bottom of the pot and season well. Next place half of the sausage meat on top of cabbage, pressed down. Continue with layers, seasoning each layer and finishing with a layer of cabbage. Cover tightly and cook in the oven at 150ºC for about 2 hours.

Solar Panels that Can Work at Night? by Duncan Graham-Rowe, via NewScientist.com A new breed of electronic solar cells that harvests power from heat could double the output of conventional panels. SOLAR cells that work at night. It sounds like an oxymoron, but a new breed of nanoscale light-sensitive antennas could soon make this possible, heralding a novel form of renewable energy that avoids many of the problems that beset solar cells. The key to these new devices is their ability to harvest infrared (IR) radiation, says Steven Novack, one of the pioneers of the technology at the US Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory in Idaho Falls. Nearly half of the available energy in the solar spectrum resides in the infrared band, and IR is re-emitted by the Earth’s surface after the sun has gone down, meaning that the antennas can even capture some energy during the night. Lab tests have already shown that, under ideal conditions, the antennas can collect 84 per cent of incoming photons. Novack’s team calculates that a complete system would have an overall efficiency of 46 per cent; the most efficient silicon solar cells are stalled at about 25 per cent. What’s more, while those ideal conditions are relatively narrowly constrained for silicon solar cells—if the sun is in the wrong position, light reflects off a silicon solar cell instead of being absorbed – the antennas absorb radiation at a variety of angles. If the antennas can be produced cheaply, the technology could prove to be truly disruptive, says Novack. Unlike photovoltaic cells, which use photons to liberate electrons, the new antennas resonate when hit by light waves, and that generates an alternating current that can be harnessed. To build an array that could capture both visible and infrared radiation, researchers envision multiple layers of antennas, with each layer tuned to a different optical frequency. Click here to read the rest of this article at NewScientists.com.

Solar Panels that Can Work at Night?

by Duncan Graham-Rowe, via NewScientist.com

A new breed of electronic solar cells that harvests power from heat could double the output of conventional panels. SOLAR cells that work at night. It sounds like an oxymoron, but a new breed of nanoscale light-sensitive antennas could soon make this possible, heralding a novel form of renewable energy that avoids many of the problems that beset solar cells.

The key to these new devices is their ability to harvest infrared (IR) radiation, says Steven Novack, one of the pioneers of the technology at the US Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory in Idaho Falls. Nearly half of the available energy in the solar spectrum resides in the infrared band, and IR is re-emitted by the Earth’s surface after the sun has gone down, meaning that the antennas can even capture some energy during the night.

Lab tests have already shown that, under ideal conditions, the antennas can collect 84 per cent of incoming photons. Novack’s team calculates that a complete system would have an overall efficiency of 46 per cent; the most efficient silicon solar cells are stalled at about 25 per cent. What’s more, while those ideal conditions are relatively narrowly constrained for silicon solar cells—if the sun is in the wrong position,light reflects off a silicon solar cell instead of being absorbed – the antennas absorb radiation at a variety of angles. If the antennas can be produced cheaply, the technology could prove to be truly disruptive, says Novack.

Unlike photovoltaic cells, which use photons to liberate electrons, the new antennas resonate when hit by light waves, and that generates an alternating current that can be harnessed.

To build an array that could capture both visible and infrared radiation, researchers envision multiple layers of antennas, with each layer tuned to a different optical frequency.

Click here to read the rest of this article at NewScientists.com.

Wivenhoe Farmers Market

Just a quick reminder to let you know that the next Wivenhoe Farmers' Market is on
Saturday 21st December.

This months market will at the Congregational Hall in the High Street, from 9am to 12pm.

Our stallholders for this market will be:

Colne Soap Makers
Hull Farm - Apples.pears & Juices
Keepers Nursery - Fresh Vegetables and eggs
Mrs Kelly's Bread - Irish Soda Bread
Primrose Pork - Pork
Sylvia's Plants- garden plants
Tony's Fresh Fish - weather dependant
Willow Farm - Biodynamic pork and beef & eggs
Wok 'n' Roll - Chinese meals & noodles
Wonky Label - Jams, marmalade,marinades

As a customer service, we will be selling Local Honey from Knights Farm in Tendring.

Unfortunately, we cannot avoid the fact that there are sometimes last minute, emergency
cancellations.

for more information  contact -
Rowly Castiglione,
Local Food Co Ordinator: en-form, 15 Church Walk, Colchester, Essex CO1 1NS 01206 367776

Climate Week - Science Museum

Science Museum Gives a Different Take on Climate Change

Climate Week will see the Science Museum explore past and present climate science in its new atmosphere gallery, as well as share ideas for a low-carbon future. Visitors can also take part in a Cockroach Tour of the Science Museum, exploring climate change from an entirely different point of view.
The atmosphere gallery replicates Earth, with land, oceans, ice and a delicate atmosphere which hangs above visitor’s heads. Games allow visitors to interact with this replica, seeing their actions played out before them. Through this interaction the gallery teaches us not only about the science behind climate change but also the key instruments used by scientists in measuring it.
The Cockroach Tour is a little more light-hearted. Visitors are asked to don a cockroach costume and take a journey through the Museum, exploring the impact of man’s scientific and technological developments on the climate from a cockroach’s perspective. What might the insect, one of the most resilient creatures on the planet, think about our human discoveries and inventions, or our obsession with speed, time and burning things?

to read and find out more click here 

This week is Climate Week

Climate Week is a supercharged national occasion that offers an annual renewal of our ambition and confidence to combat climate change. It is for everyone wanting to do their bit to protect our planet and create a secure future.

Climate Week will shine a spotlight on the many positive steps already being taken in workplaces and communities across Britain. The power of these real, practical examples – the small improvements and the big innovations – will then inspire millions more people.

Thousands of businesses, charities, schools, councils and others will run events during Climate Week on 21-27 March 2011. They will show what can be achieved, share ideas and encourage thousands more to act during the rest of the year.

You can help create a massive movement for change by making Climate Week happen where you are. Ask an organisation or group you know, such as your workplace or local school, to run an event.....

to read full article or to find out more click here