Tuesday, October 19, 2010

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.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home