Stroud Potato Recipe book by mail

Stroud Potato Day, a Transition Stroud event announces that the popular book, "Pan-fried, Peeled and Proud Potatoes from Stroud. A Recipe Book" will now be available by post. The book has some 40 recipes from local people and restaurants including Guardian food write Mathew Fort. Plus nutritional advice re potatoes and folklore - did you know keeping ginger with potatoes helps keep both fresh!

Photos: more of Stroud Potato Day and the window at the Town Council

The SVP shop have agreed to have their details as the contact info on the website for people who need copies of the potato book sent to them. Their details are:

Stroud Valleys Project
8 Threadneedle Street
Stroud
Glos.
GL5 1AF

Tel. 01453 753358
Fax: 01453 755641
Email: info@StroudValleysProject.org
Website: www.StroudValleysProject.org

The book is selling for £4 (or £3 Stroud pounds). The prices for Post and Packing in the UK will be:

1 copy = £1.00
2 copies = £1.50
3-5 copies = £2.00

Philip Booth, organiser of the Stroud Potato celebrations said: "On Saturday 5th February we sold over 4,700 seed potatoes in our first Potato Day, many to first time growers. This recipe book is part of our celebration of the many different varieties of potato and encouraging people to grow their own. Supermarkets don't offer much choice of potatoes, but growing your own opens up all sorts of opportunities. The recipe book has been hugely popular and we are looking at the possibilities of a third print run. We have now launched a service for those wanting a copy by post. Please see above for details."

More on our Potato Day

Well our Potato Day film has nearly made 400 views already. Also all the seed potatoes have now gone - infact could have had many more! Stroud Valleys Project have a few for their schools project and the Community Supported Agriculture project have a few for sale....

Photos: Dundry and the SNJ news article

Scroll down for more about the event - the final amount raised is still not confirmed but hopefully with recipe books sold on the day we might be around £500 profit.

We are also looking at what to get for next year - I visited Dundry Nurseries to return stuff we had borrowed and was getting ideas for next year - are we really going to do another??? Anyway Dundry is an inspiration - what a great place with all it's projects with people with learning disabilities and improvements to the area.

Clare kept a record on the morning of our Potato Day to see which potatoes sold out first:

• 25kg bag of International Kidney by 11.15am
• 25kg bag ofCharlotte by 11.50am
• 25kg bags of Arran Pilot and Rocket by 12.10
• 25kg bags of Pentland Javelin and Sarpo Axona by 1.30
  

In terms of requests - most popular was for Pink Fir Apple and more Organic varieties. I would also like to see more Heritage varieties. In fact couldn't resist Salad Blue - yes it really does make blue mash! I suspect this will be for Halloween!

Anyway this last pic is of the SNJ who came along to photograph the event.

Stroud Potato Day film

The film-maker who was due to film on the day sadly had to cancel at the last minute, so I ended up trying to film at the same time as organise the day - it is at least a taster of the day. Click on the 'youtube' to open in Youtube.

Special thank yous that got missed off the video (due to me still learning how to use the programme) go to Merrywalks Shopping Centre for the use of the space, the Potato Council for leaflets and balloons and Stroud Valleys Project, Stroud Bookshop and Stroud Town Council for selling the Recipe book.

Thank you to all who have made comments already on the film. Here's one just in from a Transition group in another town: "What a great event and a lovely film of the day - not too long and thankfully upbeat for a change. Forwarding it to our Food group as inspiration."

Potato Day success!!! A few still for sale

Wow what a success!! The aim wasn't specifically to raise money but rather awareness of Transition Stroud and growing your own. Well we have sold over 4,600 potatoes - which easily covers expenses of leaflets and posters, table hire, seed pots etc. and we hope to have well over £200 profit plus lots more from the sales of the great Recipe book. Final figure will depend on last potato sales and any last expenses.

It was a very busy day. In fact most of the time we seemed to need 8 Transition volunteers just to keep up with the steady flow of customers. One volunteer, Paul, even managed to sell one seed potato each to a group of teenagers, quite a large number of our customers were first time buyers, many people wanting basic advice on how to grow and quite a large number just buying enough potatoes for a couple of pots. We also had a few allotment holders and several people wanting 40 plus tubers. People still raving about the Potato Recipe book and several comments about the leaflets we handed out.

POTATOES LEFT FOR SALE

Please phone 755451 if you are interested in the last lot of potatoes. I will be around only Monday afternoon/evening if people are interested. We have the following available:

Less than half a sack left of:

Catrionna, Kestrel, Vivaldi, Wilja ....second earlies.

King Edward, Maris Piper, Romano (bigger sack) .........Main

Plus smaller amount of:

Pentland, Javelin....first early.

Cara, Mozart,.........Main

Exercise for over 50s

I've just had a birthday and was sent this below - don't forget tomorrow is the big day!

EXERCISE FOR PEOPLE OVER 50

Begin by standing on a comfortable surface, where you have plenty of room at each side.

With a 5-lb potato bag in each hand, extend your arms straight out from your sides and hold them there as long as you can. Try to reach a full minute, and then relax.

Each day you'll find that you can hold this position for just a bit longer. After a couple of weeks, move up to 10-lb potato bags.

Then try 50-lb potato bags and then eventually try to get to where you can lift a 100-lb potato bag in each hand and hold your arms straight for more than a full minute. (I'm at this level.)

After you feel confident at that level, put a potato in each bag.

Potatoes for tomorrow

The potato consignment will be as follows:

Photo: Stroud Town Council window

First earlies: Arran Pilot, Foremost, Home Guard, International Kidney, Pentland Javelin, Rocket

Second earlies: Catrionna, Charlotte, Kestrel, Marfona,Vivaldi, Wilja

Main: Cara, Desiree, Juliette, King Edward,Maris Piper, Mozart, Romano and Sarpo Axona