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
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
posted by thewholeshebag at 12:37 PM
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