So you can get it cheaper?

I am putting this out there because I am fed up.

To all those people who come into our shop complaining about the prices or asking for discount. Yes, I am offended.

I am offended that you expect me to pay my very highly skilled staff (who I would pay double if I could) less, that you would consider getting your item cheaper to be more important than their ability to earn a living wage and feed their families. 

I am offended that you expect (as I have been told by some people) that instead of hiring local labour and helping our economy, I should outsource my manufacture to a country like China or Pakistan with all of the human rights abuses that are commonplace in the factories in those countries to enable you to pay less for your garment.

I am offended that you ask that I use cheaper fabrics which will not only make a poorer quality garment which would not fit or hang correctly but also would be sourced from factories that do not practice environmentally safe manufacture and do not treat their staff well.

I am offended that you expect me to cut my production quality which is MY name and reputation and has taken years for me to build up.

I am offended that you value the time that it takes me to draught a well fitting pattern or do all the fiddly handwork on your dress, and the years of experience inherent in those skills so lowly. 

What you get when you buy a piece of clothing from my shop is not a piece of throwaway trend from a nameless faceless department store. You are getting an item created with time, love and energy by myself and five other amazing people which will last you for decades (if you treat it well) 

I don't expect salutations, but I do expect you to respect what goes into making that item that you are so insistent you "could get cheaper elsewhere" because to be honest, no you could not

Recipe: peanut butter cookies

It's official, these are the nuttiest yummiest peanut butter cookies I've ever had, and the have a secret - they are egg free, gluten free and with a small tweak can be made vegan. 

So, here you go: 

Ingredients: 

1tbs (15ml) ground linseed

3tbs (45ml) water

113g butter (at room temperature) 

250g peanut butter

100g brown sugar

80g castor sugar

1tsp (5ml) vanilla extract

160g chickpea (chana) flour

1/2 tsp (2.5ml) baking soda 

Pinch salt

Preheat oven to 180oC and prepare two large baking trays. I use baking paper for ease, but you can grease and flour them or whatever works for you.

Mix the ground linseed and the water in a small bowl and leave to settle for 30 minutes. It will look and feel much like jelly when it is ready.  

Blend the butter, peanut butter and sugar until light and soft - about two minutes then add the linseed mixture and the vanilla essence. Beat to combine. 

In a separate bowl, mix the chickpea flour, salt and baking soda (note: not baking powder) then add to the butter mixture. Mix well. It will become a dry and flaky dough which feels oily to the touch and does not stick to your skin.

Using a tablespoon as your measure, use your hands to compress the dough and roll it into balls about 3/4" in diameter. Put these balls onto your baking sheet with about 2" between them then using the back of your spoon, flatten them slightly. The edges will flare and crack. You can probably roll and cut shaped  cookies from this dough as long as you are careful when transferring them onto the baking sheet as noted previously, the dough is flaky. 

Bake for 12 minutes or until the cookies are brown and crisp around the edges (note: chickpea flour does not brown as much as wheat flour, be careful not to over cook them) 

The cookies are VERY soft when they come out of the oven. Allow them to cool completely on the baking pans otherwise they will disintegrate. 

Substitutions and ingredients notes: 

*Use honey instead of sugar if you can, it's just yummier. 

*To make the recipe vegan, use oil instead of the butter. Peanut, sesame or coconut oil would be the nicest. Don't use margarine. Please, never margarine.  

*use natural peanut butter - one of the ones without salt, sugar or other junk added. It makes for a much tastier cookie. I use the Black Cat Natural (the one with the yellow lid) you can use smooth or crunchy as per your preference. If you are using crunchy, use a little more. 

Enjoy :)