Newsletter w/c 08/11/10
After a long week of hard work and tricky packing conditions, we now have a completed shed with a nice new smooth concrete floor. We laid the last piece of concrete this morning, (Monday) so we’re still not ‘in’ properly yet. The concrete needs a bit of time to harden properly before we start driving the vans or the tractor over it. That’ll just be a matter of a day or two. We couldn’t have had much worse weather for the work either. It definitely rained more than it was dry last week and when the showers came, they were torrential. We even had a fall of snow to contend with. A big vote of thanks goes to Donald Carmichael, who came in at short notice to run the job, after I ran out of confidence in my ability to get it right, and to everyone else who helped along the way. I need to sort something out for the access road next as the surface is really muddy, even more so after all the heavy traffic this week in wet weather. We also need to work out where everything is going to be put, after three years of just dumping things in temporary places, we’ve now got three sheds and a polytunnel to work with. I’m sure in a month, they’ll all be completely cluttered as usual.
We’ll be attending the Balerno Farmers Market on Saturday, from 9am til 1pm. Hopefully it’ll be a fine day, weather-wise, and there’ll be a good turn-out. I think there were 19 different companies and organisations at the last one so there is plenty of choice. Finn, our oldest son, is looking forward to Saturday too, as I’m taking him to his first big rugby game. We’ve got tickets to see Scotland take on the All Blacks at Murrayfield. Kick-off for that is in the evening so it works in well. It’s usually hard enough to get him to sit in one place for 10 minutes, so it’ll be interesting to see how we get on. I hope it’s an exciting match.
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.
Jerusalem Artichoke Helianthus tuberosus Source of Vitamin B1, B2, B3, calcium, potassium, iron and fibre. To cook scrub off the worst of any dirt on the root, then boil for a couple of minutes without cutting off the root or the top. This loosens the skin and allows you to rub it off quite easily. Then boil in slightly salted water for a further 15-20 minutes or until tender. Add lemon juice to the water before boiling to keep the roots white. Can also be roasted after parboiling, and makes very good soup. All you really need are the artichokes, some onion, simmered together until soft, add a stock, boil for 30 minutes maybe a little nutmeg. Puree it then reheat with a little milk added and bob’s your uncle. Delicious soup.
Brussels Sprouts Brassica oleracea Gemmifera Group Excellent source of Vitamin C and phytochemicals, and is also a source of Vitamins A and B6, potassium, folic acid and fibre. To prepare, pare the bottom off of the sprout and remove any damaged outer leaves. Sprouts taste best when they are quickly blanched in lightly salted boiling water and then topped with melting butter.
Leek Allium porrum Excellent source of Vitamin C. Particularly used to give soups a lovely creamy texture. As leeks grow they tend to lock soil into their leaf axils, so be sure to rinse them well after slicing them up.
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.
We’ll be attending the Balerno Farmers Market on Saturday, from 9am til 1pm. Hopefully it’ll be a fine day, weather-wise, and there’ll be a good turn-out. I think there were 19 different companies and organisations at the last one so there is plenty of choice. Finn, our oldest son, is looking forward to Saturday too, as I’m taking him to his first big rugby game. We’ve got tickets to see Scotland take on the All Blacks at Murrayfield. Kick-off for that is in the evening so it works in well. It’s usually hard enough to get him to sit in one place for 10 minutes, so it’ll be interesting to see how we get on. I hope it’s an exciting match.
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.
Jerusalem Artichoke Helianthus tuberosus Source of Vitamin B1, B2, B3, calcium, potassium, iron and fibre. To cook scrub off the worst of any dirt on the root, then boil for a couple of minutes without cutting off the root or the top. This loosens the skin and allows you to rub it off quite easily. Then boil in slightly salted water for a further 15-20 minutes or until tender. Add lemon juice to the water before boiling to keep the roots white. Can also be roasted after parboiling, and makes very good soup. All you really need are the artichokes, some onion, simmered together until soft, add a stock, boil for 30 minutes maybe a little nutmeg. Puree it then reheat with a little milk added and bob’s your uncle. Delicious soup.
Brussels Sprouts Brassica oleracea Gemmifera Group Excellent source of Vitamin C and phytochemicals, and is also a source of Vitamins A and B6, potassium, folic acid and fibre. To prepare, pare the bottom off of the sprout and remove any damaged outer leaves. Sprouts taste best when they are quickly blanched in lightly salted boiling water and then topped with melting butter.
Leek Allium porrum Excellent source of Vitamin C. Particularly used to give soups a lovely creamy texture. As leeks grow they tend to lock soil into their leaf axils, so be sure to rinse them well after slicing them up.
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.
posted by thewholeshebag at 2:25 AM
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