Beautiful sunshine again this weekend. I hope you had some time out to enjoy it.
One of the many wonderful aspects of our market is how many stallholders that began in the early days of the market are still with us. Occasionally though retirement beckons and this has been the case for Ian McRae at Nudgel Nuts for a number of years and he has steadfastly resisted but alas all good things do come to an end. We have been the lucky ones. He gave us a few extra years of his time and delicious macadamias. Thanks Ian.
We have enjoyed and delighted in Nudgel Nuts for the best part of the last 10 years so it is with wistful sadness that we say farewell to Ian whom we all know well and Leone who has been in the background but a force behind the business. Their well-deserved retirement has begun and we wish them all the very best in the years ahead as they find more time to embark on their love of travelling and enjoy more relaxed family time too.
Ian has blessed our market as president of our committee for the last few years and will continue for a few more months before retiring from this position.
A HUGE thank you to Ian – for all that you do and give to our market – still – to Ian🥂.
What’s News at the Market this Week?
Delicious buttery pecan nuts are coming to the market this week! Perfect to munch with your cuppa. These are the earliest variety called Pawnees, one of my favourites and Kaye’s too.😜
It is a hugely busy time of year at Tweed River Pecans as Kaye and David with Jessie’s help (in between her study and work load as a physio at Murwillumbah Hospital) have been extremely busy shaking their trees – yes that is part of the harvesting process before drying, sorting and shelling their pecans for us to enjoy. And yesterday I was thrilled to receive an email from Kaye with a photo showing that they are all packed and ready for the market this week. YAY! There are also some still in their shells for those who love the mediation associated with slowly cracking your own. Pop along to Spice Palace and check out these morsels of nutrition and deliciousness.
And on our nut theme this week …
We simply can’t manage without macadamia nuts especially now that they are back in season so last week (in the midst of all our 10th birthday celebration fanfare) we welcomed Rainforest Foods.
Rainforest Foods is owned by Anthony Hotson who has been growing a range of native foods including macadamia nuts since 1996. Anthony believes that good food should be natural, authentic and sustainably grown, so we are thrilled that he relies on organic inputs and beneficial insect releases to control most crop pests on his farm.
Anthony says that “should we need to use non-organic chemicals to save our crop, we always test our macadamia kernels for any chemical residue and have never found any chemical traces. As we do not like to use non-organic inputs, it is an absolute last resort.”
Each season, Anthony said, they release parasitoid wasps and lacewing monitors in huge numbers throughout the orchard. We enhance habitats for predatory insects where possible around the orchard. We also make between 700m3 & 1,200m3 of compost on-farm each year to apply in the orchard and have been steadily building up the soil for 15+ years, with great results in tree health and production.
So each, you week now you will find macadamia nuts in the regular spot where you always found Ian, next to Spice Palace. Rainforest Foods has natural kernels, chocolate coated macas, dry roasted salted kernels as well as macadamia nut butter including mac-cao (maca spread with raw cacao), oil and much more. Their valued employee, John, will be the face of Rainforest Foods at our market so come and meet John this week and check out their products.
