Newsletter w/c 25/10/10
I’ve scoured the field for the best swedes to turn into turnip lanterns, if you can be bothered with the work involved. We’ll be having a go ourselves so I’ll let you know how we get on.
Juniper Green market was a bit quieter, understandably, this time. We’re right in the middle of the holidays for West Lothian and Edinburgh and the second market never gets the advertising boost that the first market gets. Never-the-less, it was a good market. The veg was filthy as the weather had been awful right through from Friday morning, when I started picking, all the way til the Market started. The rain went off at 9am on the dot, and the sun even tried to come out. Our carrots and tatties are much sought after these days. Our next Market will be Balerno on the 13th November.
On the farm I’ve just finished moving the second shed from inside the old barn and re-locating it down beside the big new shed. I have hopes of getting a concrete floor into it on Friday, but how many times have you heard that before in the newsletter. We’ll wait and see what happens. At least we’re making some progress, however slowly.
The hard frost on Sunday night has encouraged me to take salads off the standard bag list this week. It hasn’t benn growing so quickly rercently and the stocks are being depleted. If you get a large bag or a standard bag with less potatoes, you’ll still get some this week, but it looks like we’re slipping into winter season veg now.
I’ll need to go and get my Halloween costumes sorted out. Have a good time if you’re out in fancy dress yourselves.
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.
Swede Brassica napa. (1 head) Here’s a recipe for Mashed Swede with Crispy bacon Peel your swede and cut it into smallish cubes. Put them in a saucepan and just cover them with water. Add salt, bring to simmering point and cook gently for 15-20 minutes, then tip into a colander and drain thoroughly. Return the saucepan to the heat, add 1 oz(25g) butter and fry 6 rashers of bacon which have been chopped into small pieces to it. Fry unitl the bacon begins to crisp. Now, return the swedes to the pan, add another 1oz of butter and a little single cream and mash well to a creamy consistency. Season with black pepper.
Parsley Petroselinum sp. This flat leaved variety of parsley has far more flavour than the more common curly type, though I have to say the curly one is a far nicer plant to look at. Excellent for flavouring all sorts of dishes or cut into salads. Especially popular in our household, cut over boiled potatoes, with a little melted butter.
Cabbage Brassica oleracea Capitata Group..(1 head) . We’ve got two or three varieties of cabbge ready to pick at the moment, varying between the pointed sweetheart type to the traditional white cabbage shaped like a football. Some are a bit on the small side so we’ve put in two of these to a portion, just to save wasting them. 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.
Leek Allium porrum. Leeks give a lovely creamy consistency to soups and are great in flans or quiches. They are also very nice chopped then fried in butter as a n accompaniment to roast meat dishes. Leeks are a great source of Vitamin C. Be sure to wash them very carefully though, as soil gets caught in the leaf axils as it is growing. Cut up the leek then rinse in cold running water in a colander.
Juniper Green market was a bit quieter, understandably, this time. We’re right in the middle of the holidays for West Lothian and Edinburgh and the second market never gets the advertising boost that the first market gets. Never-the-less, it was a good market. The veg was filthy as the weather had been awful right through from Friday morning, when I started picking, all the way til the Market started. The rain went off at 9am on the dot, and the sun even tried to come out. Our carrots and tatties are much sought after these days. Our next Market will be Balerno on the 13th November.
On the farm I’ve just finished moving the second shed from inside the old barn and re-locating it down beside the big new shed. I have hopes of getting a concrete floor into it on Friday, but how many times have you heard that before in the newsletter. We’ll wait and see what happens. At least we’re making some progress, however slowly.
The hard frost on Sunday night has encouraged me to take salads off the standard bag list this week. It hasn’t benn growing so quickly rercently and the stocks are being depleted. If you get a large bag or a standard bag with less potatoes, you’ll still get some this week, but it looks like we’re slipping into winter season veg now.
I’ll need to go and get my Halloween costumes sorted out. Have a good time if you’re out in fancy dress yourselves.
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.
Swede Brassica napa. (1 head) Here’s a recipe for Mashed Swede with Crispy bacon Peel your swede and cut it into smallish cubes. Put them in a saucepan and just cover them with water. Add salt, bring to simmering point and cook gently for 15-20 minutes, then tip into a colander and drain thoroughly. Return the saucepan to the heat, add 1 oz(25g) butter and fry 6 rashers of bacon which have been chopped into small pieces to it. Fry unitl the bacon begins to crisp. Now, return the swedes to the pan, add another 1oz of butter and a little single cream and mash well to a creamy consistency. Season with black pepper.
Parsley Petroselinum sp. This flat leaved variety of parsley has far more flavour than the more common curly type, though I have to say the curly one is a far nicer plant to look at. Excellent for flavouring all sorts of dishes or cut into salads. Especially popular in our household, cut over boiled potatoes, with a little melted butter.
Cabbage Brassica oleracea Capitata Group..(1 head) . We’ve got two or three varieties of cabbge ready to pick at the moment, varying between the pointed sweetheart type to the traditional white cabbage shaped like a football. Some are a bit on the small side so we’ve put in two of these to a portion, just to save wasting them. 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.
Leek Allium porrum. Leeks give a lovely creamy consistency to soups and are great in flans or quiches. They are also very nice chopped then fried in butter as a n accompaniment to roast meat dishes. Leeks are a great source of Vitamin C. Be sure to wash them very carefully though, as soil gets caught in the leaf axils as it is growing. Cut up the leek then rinse in cold running water in a colander.
posted by thewholeshebag at 2:18 AM
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