newsletter w/c 18/10/10

I thought that we had enough Chard to give everyone last week, but soon calculated that we were going to run out halfway through. I’ve since found some more, so I’ve given kale to all those who received chard last week and chard to those who received kale. Deliveries may be at a different time on Friday as Andy is going to start early as he’s been seconded to help Pat move the Mavor and Co offices from Polbeth to West Calder. Hopefully it won’t cause any difficulties. Robbie, our nephew, has just got himself a ‘proper’ job, so this is our last week with his help. We’ll miss him, it’s been great having him around.
We’ve got the farmers market at Juniper Green this Saturday and we’re hoping it’s going to be as busy as the first one last month. It takes place in the car park of the Kinleith Arms which is on the Lanark Road, just beside the Iceland Store and runs from 9am til 1pm.
It’s Hallowe’en time again so I’ve included a pumpkin for easy-hollowed lanterns. Next week you’ll get your swede to make a more traditional, Scottish one, there’s a lot more effort involved in digging-out a tumshie lantern. They both make good soup though!
Here’s a list of what’s in the standard bag this week. As usual, substitutions may occur.

Potato Solanum tuberosum. Tatties this week are either Robinta (red skins) or Valor (large, white skins), both are good general purpose potatoes. It’s so good to have our own tatties again. We’re bagging them straight from the field at the moment so the sizes will vary. They are very easy to prepare when they’re as fresh as this and really only need a wash and a scrub. Potatoes are the only commonly available source of B3 and Iodine. Excellent source of Vitamin C and also Vitamin B6, Potassium and fibre.

Onion Allium cepa. You may receive some of our own onions this week. They are the best onions I’ve ever grown. I have red and white varieites so could be either or a mixture. They haven’t been dried yet so they’re full of flavour. Used in stews, pasta dishes, soups. Source of Vitamins A and C, Iron, Calcium and Potassium .

Carrot Daucus carota Carrots are eaten fresh in salads or cooked in just about any way you like..They are an excellent source of Vitamin A and also contain significant amounts of Vitamins B, C, D, E and K. and Potassium.

Mixed Salad various. The salads are growing well this year. There’s a mixture of lettuce, endive, eraclea and herbs. When you receive your bag, rinse the salad leaves thoroughly to remove any traces of soil that may have attached, then drain in a salad spinner or colandar. Pop back into a sealed bag or box and store in the fridge until ready for use. Will keep for over a week easily.

Kale Brassica oleracea Acephala Group.. Kale is an excellent source of Vitamins A and C and also a source of potassium, copper, calcium, fibre and phytochemicals. To cook, strip the leaves off of the tough midrib, then shred and wash in cold, running water. Then steam for 10 minutes and serve with melted butter and season with pepper or ground cloves. You can make Colcannon by draining the kale after boiling then setting it aside. Take a finely chopped onion and put it in a pan with 150ml of milk. Bring it to the boil then remove from the heat and leave to infuse for 10 minutes. Blend about 375g of mashed potatoes with the finely chopped kale, then heat through gently, adding as much of the milk and onion mixture as it will absorb to give the consistency of creamed potatoes. Put in a serving dish, make a depression in the centre and pour in some melted butter.

Calabrese Brassica oleracea Italica Group (1 head). It is an excellent source of Vitamin C and phytochemicals and also contains Vitamins A, B2 and B6, Phosphorus, fibre Iron and calcium. Here’s a recipe for Roast Calabrese with Chilli and Soy that I gave a couple of weeks ago as a romanesco recipe. It is fairly versatile. :
Toss 350g of Calabrese, broken into florets, in a tablespoon of olive oil. Cut the stalks into thick batons. Spread them all out on a baking tray and roast in a preheated oven for 10 mins at 200oC/Gas Mark 6 for 10 mins.Add 2 thinly sliced cloves of the garlic, ½ a red chilli, finely chopped and ½ a tablespoon of sesame seeds and mix through. Return to the oven for 5 minutes. Remove the tray from the oven, sprinkle with soy sauce and serve. I haven’t tried this one yet but I hope to this week.

Pumpkin Cucurbita sp..(1 head) An excellent source of phytochemicals and Vitamin A and also contain Vitamin C, folic acid, fibre and potassium. When you are making your lantern, use the scooped out flesh for the following recipe: Leek and Pumpkin Soup:- Take a chopped onion and 50g of chopped leek and soften them in 2 tablespoons of chicken stock. Dice 500g of pumpkin flesh and 250g of potatoes and add this to the leek and onion with a little salt and plenty freshly ground black pepper. Add 1 pint of chicken stock and 1 pint of milk. Bring to the boil and simmer for 45 minutes stirring frequently. Blend the soup in a liquidiser then return to the pan and add 125g of cooked rice and most of a 150ml tub of natural yoghurt. Reheat gently and serve topped with a little of the remaining yoghurt and a sprinkling of parsley.

newsletter w/c 11/10/10

We’re trying to make the most of this great spell of October weather, to get as much veg harvested as possible. Potatoes are obviously the priority as they can be affected by frosts, but we’re also clearing carrots and onions as well. I had hoped to get ahead of myself last Wednesday by getting up really early to do the deliveries so that I could get back to dig potatoes in the afternoon. Of course, it rained all day and we got none done. I hope the early delivery didn’t adversely affect any of you.
Our double market presence went smoothly on Saturday. I manned our stall at Balerno as usual while Robbie and his girlfriend Sara looked after the stall at the Apple day Market in Kirknewton Primary School for the overlap time. I have to say a big thank you to both of them, but especially to Sara who was just off the plane up from Heathrow.

Here’s a list of what’s in the standard bag this week. As usual, substitutions may occur.
Potato Solanum tuberosum. Tatties this week are either Robinta (red skins) or Valor (large, white skins), both are good general purpose potatoes. It’s so good to have our own tatties again. We’re bagging them straight from the field at the moment so the sizes will vary. They are very easy to prepare when they’re as fresh as this and really only need a wash and a scrub. Potatoes are the only commonly available source of B3 and Iodine. Excellent source of Vitamin C and also Vitamin B6, Potassium and fibre.

Onion Allium cepa. You may receive some of our own onions this week. They are the best onions I’ve ever grown. I have red and white varieites so could be either or a mixture. They haven’t been dried yet so they’re full of flavour. Used in stews, pasta dishes, soups. Source of Vitamins A and C, Iron, Calcium and Potassium .

Carrot Daucus carota Carrots are eaten fresh in salads or cooked in just about any way you like..They are an excellent source of Vitamin A and also contain significant amounts of Vitamins B, C, D, E and K. and Potassium.

Mixed Salad various. The salads are growing well this year. There’s a mixture of lettuce, endive, eraclea and herbs. When you receive your bag, rinse the salad leaves thoroughly to remove any traces of soil that may have attached, then drain in a salad spinner or colandar. Pop back into a sealed bag or box and store in the fridge until ready for use. Will keep for over a week easily.

Kale Brassica oleracea Acephala Group.. Kale is an excellent source of Vitamins A and C and also a source of potassium, copper, calcium, fibre and phytochemicals. To cook, strip the leaves off of the tough midrib, then shred and wash in cold, running water. Then steam for 10 minutes and serve with melted butter and season with pepper or ground cloves. You can make Colcannon by draining the kale after boiling then setting it aside. Take a finely chopped onion and put it in a pan with 150ml of milk. Bring it to the boil then remove from the heat and leave to infuse for 10 minutes. Blend about 375g of mashed potatoes with the finely chopped kale, then heat through gently, adding as much of the milk and onion mixture as it will absorb to give the consistency of creamed potatoes. Put in a serving dish, make a depression in the centre and pour in some melted butter.

Romanesco Brassica oleracea Italica Group (1 head). This alien looking vegetable is a member of the brassica family and sits somewhere between broccoli and cauliflower. Treat as cauli to cook, probably tastes more towards the broccoli. Excellent source of Vitamin C and phytochemicals and also contains Vitamins A, B2 and B6, Phosphorus, fibre Iron and calcium. Here’s a recipe for Roast Romanesco with Chilli and Soy that I was recently given:
Toss 350g of Romanesco, broken into florets, in a tablespoon of olive oil. Cut the stalks into thick batons. Spread them all out on a baking tray and roast in a preheated oven for 10 mins at 200oC/Gas Mark 6 for 10 mins.Add 2 thinly sliced cloves of the garlic, ½ a red chilli, finely chopped and ½ a tablespoon of sesame seeds and mix through. Return to the oven for 5 minutes. Remove the tray from the oven, sprinkle with soy sauce and serve. I haven’t tried this one yet but I hope to this week.

Tomato Lycopersicon esculentum Source of Vitamins A and C, potassium and iron. The tomato is eaten fresh in salads or used for sauces, Britain’s favourite soup or casseroles. Here’s a recipe for Tomato and Tarragon Soup, it’s been a favourite with our family for years. Melt a tablespoon of olive oil and 40g (1 ½ oz) of butter together in a big pan and cook a finely chopped onion, a sliced stick of celery, 2 sliced carrots and a chopped clove of garlic for 2 minutes. Add either 675g (1 ½ lbs) of chopped ripe tomatoes or 2x400g tins of chopped tomatoes. Also add a bay leaf, 2 tblespns of tomato puree a tablespoon of dried or fresh tarragon, 1 litre (1 ¾ pints) of chicken or vegetable stock, a small strip of lemon rind and 1 teaspoon of sugar to taste. Simmer gently, uncovered for 20 minutes. Discard the bay leaf and the lemon rind, then puree in a liquidiser. Taste for seasoning and reheat. Serve with a twist of pepper over each bowl.

newsletter w/c 04/10/10

Tuesday and Wednesday customers didn’t get a newsletter last week, due to our holiday in the North-East, last weekend. Andy, Finlay and Robbie were in looking after things while we were away. We’re back to normal this week, and with the drier weather, we’re trying to get as many potatoes dug as possible, while still taking the time to harvest the veg needed for the bags each day too.
We’ve got a busy end to the week coming up, as we’ve got Balerno’s Farmers market on Saturday from 9am til 1pm, then Kirknewton Development Trust are having an Apple Day in the afternoon, so we’ll have to scoot over from one to the other. We’ll need to be very well prepared.
The frost last weekend has done a bit of damage – there were still a lot of pea pods to come yet but they’ve all been marked, the courgettes and pumpkin plants have been blackened, so we won’t be getting any more from them now. Surprisingly, the lettuces have survived unharmed, but I think we are into our last few weeks of soft produce like the salad bags. They have been consistently part of the deliveries since July, so I think they’ve played their part. We’ll hold on to the summer veg for a s long as possible though. There’ll be plenty of time to sample the Winter veg over the next 6 months. We have got swede and leek in the bag this week in case you’re in the mood for making soup.
While tattie-lifting will be the priority job for us at the moment, we still have other development jobs in progress with the main one being the dismantling of the old barn that was damaged by the snow last year. The winds through the winter will probably do the job for us, but I’d rather control where all the pieces end up. We don’t want any damaged cars or broken windows.
The boys have got a busy life these days too. The number of clubs, classes and groups they attend each week mean there are only a couple of days a week where I’m not taxiing one of them somewhere. They’re both really enjoying the rugby club down at Biggar and come home filthy every Sunday morning.
Here’s a list of what’s in the standard bag this week. As usual, substitutions may occur.

Potato Solanum tuberosum. Tatties this week are either Robinta (red skins) or Remarka(large, white skins), both are good general purpose potatoes. It’s so good to have our own tatties again. We’re bagging them straight from the field at the moment so the sizes will vary. They are very easy to prepare when they’re as fresh as this and really only need a wash and a scrub. Potatoes are the only commonly available source of B3 and Iodine. Excellent source of Vitamin C and also Vitamin B6, Potassium and fibre.

Onion Allium cepa. You may receive some of our own onions this week. They are the best onions I’ve ever grown. I have red and white varieites so could be either or a mixture. They haven’t been dried yet so they’re full of flavour. Used in stews, pasta dishes, soups. Source of Vitamins A and C, Iron, Calcium and Potassium .

Carrot Daucus carota Carrots are eaten fresh in salads or cooked in just about any way you like..They are an excellent source of Vitamin A and also contain significant amounts of Vitamins B, C, D, E and K. and Potassium.

Mixed Salad various. The salads are growing well this year. There’s a mixture of lettuce, endive, eraclea and herbs. When you receive your bag, rinse the salad leaves thoroughly to remove any traces of soil that may have attached, then drain in a salad spinner or colandar. Pop back into a sealed bag or box and store in the fridge until ready for use. Will keep for over a week easily.

Swede Brassica napa (1 head) You’ve had about a months rest from swede and you’re probably going to need the same again, as some of these swedes are whoppers. They’ll last you for ages. It’s obviously the veg of choice to have with haggis, but is also a superb veg to puree for babies. To prepare it just peel it thickly and chop off the top and base of the root. Cut it up or dice it and boil for about half an hour in slightly salted water, ort until tender. Mash it with cream and a little butter.

Leek Allium porrum The leek may be the Welsh emblem, but it is a mainstay of Scottish cookery, used primarily to give a creamy texture to soups. It is also good as a vegetable in it’s own right, boiled; steamed; braised or fried. The leeks collect soil in the leaf axils as they grow, so, once sliced, give them a good rinse to clear the grit. If cooking them whole, make a slit into the white part far enough to allow you to prise the leaves apart but not far enough to split it in two.

Pepper Capsicum sp. (1 head) Good source of vitamin C. Wash the pepper, then slice off the top. Scoop out the seeds and membranes. Can be eaten cooked or fresh in various dishes including pasta sauces, pizza, salads. Peppers can also be stuffed with various fillings.

newsletter w/c 27/09/10

I’m late getting a newsletter out this week, as we took a short break up on Deeside last weekend. The boys September holiday was extended by in-service days, and as Lynda’s birthday fell in there too, it gave us an excuse to get away. The weather stayed pretty dry for the time we needed it to, and I don’t think we had the cold mornings that Cobbinshaw seems to have been hit by. Our neighbour, Robert, thought it got down to –5oC on Sunday morning. There are signs in the cut flower garden of nippy weather, but as I write this I haven’t had time to assess any damage in the field. Much more of that will finish the salads for the season, but we’ve had a great run with them this year and we’ve received a lot of compliments. Last week was the last picking of broad beans for the year and I don’t think we’ll see too many more pea pods. Another indicator of the time of year is the appearance of swedes in the bag next week. The large bags may get the last of the milans as well, but although they look similar, they are a completely different flavour and are used differently in the kitchen.
We delayed our trip up to Aberdeenshire to attend the first Juniper Green Farmers Market on Saturday morning. It took place in the car park of the Kinleith Arms. It was very busy right from the start and the stall had a queue at it for about 2 hours, which is really unusual. Robbie, who’s been helping me out a Cobbinshaw, stopped by on his way to help Pat and Finlay build a dog kennel. He ended up staying for about an hour. Things would have been a lot more fraught without him.
Here’s a list of what’s in the standard bag this week. As usual, substitutions may occur.

Potato Solanum tuberosum. Tatties this week are either Robinta (red skins) or Remarka(large, white skins), both are good general purpose potatoes. It’s so good to have our own tatties again. We’re bagging them straight from the field at the moment so the sizes will vary. They are very easy to prepare when they’re as fresh as this and really only need a wash and a scrub. Potatoes are the only commonly available source of B3 and Iodine. Excellent source of Vitamin C and also Vitamin B6, Potassium and fibre.

Onion Allium cepa. You may receive some of our own onions this week. They are the best onions I’ve ever grown. I have red and white varieites so could be either or a mixture. They haven’t been dried yet so they’re full of flavour. Used in stews, pasta dishes, soups. Source of Vitamins A and C, Iron, Calcium and Potassium .

Carrot Daucus carota Carrots are eaten fresh in salads or cooked in just about any way you like..They are an excellent source of Vitamin A and also contain significant amounts of Vitamins B, C, D, E and K. and Potassium.

Mixed Salad various. The salads are growing well this year. There’s a mixture of lettuce, endive, eraclea and herbs. When you receive your bag, rinse the salad leaves thoroughly to remove any traces of soil that may have attached, then drain in a salad spinner or colandar. Pop back into a sealed bag or box and store in the fridge until ready for use. Will keep for over a week easily.

Cabbage Brassica oleracea Capitata Group..(1 head) . To cook, remove any damaged outer leaves, cut into quarters and remove the central core. It can be cooked in quarters like this in boiling salted water or else shredded and boiled or steamed. Here’s a recipe for Cabbage soup which will use up a few items in the bag this week: Prepare and wash the cabbage and shred it finely. Prepare and roughly chop, 2 carrots, the leek and 1/2lb(250g) potatoes. Put all the vegetables in a pan with 3 pints(1.5l) stock and a bouquet garni, bring to the boil and simmer gently for 30 minutes. Season to taste, sprinkle with parsley and serve at once.

Kale Brassica oleracea Acephala Group..(200g) Excellent source of VitaminsA and C and phytochemicals. Also contain calcium and copper. To cook, strip the leaves from the tough stems and treat like spinach or add to soups. Here’s arecipe for Garlic Kale Wash the kale in cold running water then strip the leaves from the stems. Cut the leaves into strips. Boil in slightly salted water for 2-3 minutes until slightly wilted and drain thoroughly. In a wok, heat a tablespoon of oil and 50g (2oz) butter then add 2 crushed garlic cloves, 1 finely chopped onion and about ½ inch of ginger root, finely chopped. Saute until the onion is softened. Add the kale, toss to combine then cover and cook until kale is tender, probably a couple of minutes. Sprinkle some lime juice over the top and plenty of black pepper and serve immediately.

Courgette Cucurbita pepo (1 head) Source of Vitamins A and C , calcium, iron and fibre. Prepare by wshing and trimming both ends. Courgettes can be coked whole or in slices, or they can be cut in half lengthways filled with stuffing and baked. Boil courgettes in lightly salted water for 15-20 minutes. Sliced courgettes may be steamed in butter for 10 minutes. Halved courgettes may be parboiled for 5 minutes the finished in the oven, in a well-buttered dish for 25 minutes at 190oC (375oF) Gas Mark 5.

newsletter w/c 20/09/10

The weather stayed dry enough to allow the children of Auchengray Primary School to come up for the farm visit, they’d been promised. It all went quite well, the boys and girls picked a shopping list of veggies from the field and then had some questions they wanted to ask about the business we ran and how we grew organically. One young chap asked, hopefully I think, if any vegetables were bad for you. I think he had an aversion to Brussels Sprouts. I know some of you will sympathise.
This Saturday from 9am til 1pm we’ll be at the first Juniper Green Farmers market. It’s in the car-park beside the Kinleith Arms, so if you can make it, the organisers are looking for a confidence boosting large turnout. It should work in well in conjunction with the Balerno market as they are a fortnight apart.
We’ve only managed to lift about half a row of potatoes in the last week, due to the heavy rainfall. It takes a while for the field to dry out enough to allow the tractor to get onto the soil without sliding about everywhere. It’s possibly going to be drier over the next couple of days so while Andy’s delivering the veg bags, Robbie and I will try to get as many rows done as possible. We’ve only got about 2 and a half more varieties to bring in, but we are starting to run out of time. The October, tattie-picking holidays are only about 2 weeks away and we definitely want to be finished lifting by the end of that week if possible.
Let me know how you get on with your veg, especially with potatoes. Sometimes it’s quite hard to tell from the outside of the skin if there is any internal damage, so I’d appreciate any feedback on the quality of the veg. We can’t resolve a problem that we don’t know
Here’s a list of what’s in the standard bag this week. As usual, substitutions may occur.
Potato Solanum tuberosum. Tatties this week are either Robinta (red skins) or Remarka(large, white skins), both are good general purpose potatoes. It’s so good to have our own tatties again. We’re bagging them straight from the field at the moment so the sizes will vary. They are very easy to prepare when they’re as fresh as this and really only need a wash and a scrub. Potatoes are the only commonly available source of B3 and Iodine. Excellent source of Vitamin C and also Vitamin B6, Potassium and fibre.

Onion Allium cepa. You may receive some of our own onions this week. They are the best onions I’ve ever grown. I have red and white varieites so could be either or a mixture. They haven’t been dried yet so they’re full of flavour. Used in stews, pasta dishes, soups. Source of Vitamins A and C, Iron, Calcium and Potassium .

Carrot Daucus carota Carrots are eaten fresh in salads or cooked in just about any way you like..They are an excellent source of Vitamin A and also contain significant amounts of Vitamins B, C, D, E and K. and Potassium.

Mixed Salad various. The salads are growing well this year. There’s a mixture of lettuce, endive, eraclea and herbs. When you receive your bag, rinse the salad leaves thoroughly to remove any traces of soil that may have attached, then drain in a salad spinner or colandar. Pop back into a sealed bag or box and store in the fridge until ready for use. Will keep for over a week easily.

Broad Beans Vicia faba As well as being an excellent source of phytochemicals, beans are also a good source of Vitamins A, B1, B8 and C. They are also good for phosphorus and iron. Basically, all you need to do with them is shell the pods and mix the beans into salads or cook them into any sauces or soups. We’ve had a great crop this year, but we’re getting towards the end of them now. There may be one or two small ones in your bag as we’ve been cleaning off all the stems to avoid waste.

Red Cabbage Brassica oleracea Capitata Group..(1 head) Excellent source of Vitamin C and phytochemicals and also contains Vitamin B6, potassium, fibre and calcium. Here’s a recipe for Braised red cabbage which uses apples rather than the orange based gravy I gave you last time. Braised Red Cabbage: Remove the outer coarse leaves and cut the cabbage into quarters. Remove the tough cores and shred the cabbage finely. Peel core and grate 2 cooking apples and mix with the cabbage. Melt 2oz. (50g) of butter in a pan, add 5fl.oz.(150ml) white wine vinegar and mix in the cabbage; coat thoroughly; then cover with a tight fitting lid and simmer over a gentle heat for 1 hour. Add a little more vinegar or water if the cabbage threatens to stick. Stir in 5fl.oz. (150ml) of red wine or blackcurrant juice, season to taste with sugar. The cabbage will have a fairly sharp flavour. Cover with a lid and simmer until tender.
the flesh. Boil in lightly salted water for 30 minutes and mash with cream and butter.

Garlic Allium sativum. (1 head) Adds another dimension of flavour to all sorts of savoury dishes. Don’t overdo it unless you like that sort of thing

Newsletter w/c 6th September 2010

We’ve been making the most of the great weather to get as many tatties harvested as possible. I think the crop is going to be our biggest ever, so I’m determined to get them all in before the frosty weather hits. That’ll be a first, it’s all weather dependent of course. I’ve been massively helped by the newly re-patriated Mavor’s from Guildford. Lynda’s brother, Peter and Fiona, his wife, have moved back up to live in Edinburgh. Three of the children decided to move up with them so I’ve had help from Robbie all week, then at the weekend Peter, Lynsey and Alison came out to give Andy and I a hand to get as many potatoes up as poss. A good friend, Sara, came out to visit and was soon down in the potato plot as well. Lynda took some great photos, so if I can work out how to do it, I’ll post them on the blog which can be accessed through the website. I’m terrible with computers, so don’t hold your breath.
Next Saturday we’ll have our usual stall at the, ever growing, Balerno Farmers Market. There will be 19 producers this Saturday, so if it’s a while since you’ve been along it’s well worth re-visiting. There is also talk of markets starting up in Juniper Green and Currie on different weekends in the month. We’ll definitely be trying to play a part there too. I had hoped to be at Livingston Farmers Market this Sunday, but I’m not sure we can make it this time. If it doesn’t happen this month then hopefully we’ll get there next month.
Here’s a list of what’s in the standard bag this week. As I’ve noted already, substitutions may occur.
Potato Solanum tuberosum. Tatties this week are either Robinta (red skins) or Orla (white skins and roundish), both are good general purpose potatoes. It’s so good to have our own tatties again. We’re bagging them straight from the field at the moment so the sizes will vary. They are very easy to prepare when they’re as fresh as this and really only need a wash and a scrub. Potatoes are the only commonly available source of B3 and Iodine. Excellent source of Vitamin C and also Vitamin B6, Potassium and fibre.

Onion Allium cepa. You may receive some of our own onions this week. They are the best onions I’ve ever grown. I have red and white varieites so could be either or a mixture. They haven’t been dried yet so they’re full of flavour. Used in stews, pasta dishes, soups. Source of Vitamins A and C, Iron, Calcium and Potassium .

Carrot Daucus carota Carrots are eaten fresh in salads or cooked in just about any way you like. We’ve started digging this seasons carrots again, so you may get the tops left on. Will probably vary in size quite a bit.They are an excellent source of Vitamin A and also contain significant amounts of Vitamins B, C, D, E and K. and Potassium.

Mixed Salad various. The salads are growing well this year. There’s a mixture of lettuce, endive, eraclea and herbs. When you receive your bag, rinse the salad leaves thoroughly to remove any traces of soil that may have attached, then drain in a salad spinner or colandar. Pop back into a sealed bag or box and store in the fridge until ready for use. Will keep for over a week easily.

Calabrese Brassica oleracea Italica Group (1 head).. Calabrese is an excellent source of Vitamin C and phytochemicals and also contains Vitamins A, B2 and B6, Phosphorus, fibre Iron and calcium. Here’s a recipe for Roast Calabrese with Chilli and Soy:
Toss 350g of Calabrese, broken into florets, in a tablespoon of olive oil. Cut the stalks into thick batons. Spread them all out on a baking tray and roast in a preheated oven for 10 mins at 200oC/Gas Mark 6 for 10 mins.Add 2 thinly sliced cloves of the garlic, ½ a red chilli, finely chopped and ½ a tablespoon of sesame seeds and mix through. Return to the oven for 5 minutes. Remove the tray from the oven, sprinkle with soy sauce and serve.

Beetroot Beta vulgaris Good source of Vitamin C and folic acid and also contains potassium. Boil the roots with the skins, tops and roots still on. A small root will boil in 30 minutes while a large one ( larger than a tennis ball) may take 1 ½ hours. Once boiled rub off the skins and slice off the top and bottom.. You can then go in various culinary directions. The traditional way I suppose would be to slice them and pickle them in vinegar. You could also roast them. Just stick them in the oven for the last half hour of your meats cooking time basting once or twice. You could just dice them and have them as an accompanying dish on there own hot or cold and you could make Beetroot risotto by following any basic risooto recipe then adding the beetroot just before you start reducing the stock for the last couple of times. My favourite winter way to have beetroot is beetroot soup made from onions, potatoes,.stock and the boiled beetroot. Boil for half an hour then blend it. Fantastic colour and flavour.

Courgette Cucurbita pepo (1 head) Source of Vitamins A and C , calcium, iron and fibre. Prepare by wshing and trimming both ends. Courgettes can be coked whole or in slices, or they can be cut in half lengthways filled with stuffing and baked. Boil courgettes in lightly salted water for 15-20 minutes. Sliced courgettes may be steamed in butter for 10 minutes. Halved courgettes may be parboiled for 5 minutes the finished in the oven, in a well-buttered dish for 25 minutes at 190oC (375oF) Gas Mark 5.