Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Newsletter w/c 10th January 2011

It’s Monday night and I’ve just watched Kilmarnock being beaten at Ibrox again. How disappointing. I thought this was going to be our big night, but not to be. Anyway on with the newsletter.
I’ve given everyone a rest from Jerusalem artichokes this week. They are still in season but you can have too much of a good thing so we’ll leave them for a couple of weeks in the standard bags at least. I’ll definitely be packing swedes in the bags next week so that you have the neep and tatties to go with your haggis at your very own family burns supper.
As I said last week, Andy has left us now and I’m back to doing all the deliveries myself. It’s really been good to start seeing customers again that I haven’t seen for a couple of years. I’m having a bit of difficulty finding addresses I have never been to before and I may be leaving bags in an incorrect place. If this is the case, please e-mail me or leave a note on your doorstep before the next delivery to let me know the correct spot to leave the bag.
There is no market in Balerno this weekend, but we’ll be at Juniper Green Next Saturday. 9am til 1pm at the Car-park of the Kinleith Arms on Lanark Rd. Try to make it along. I know a lot depends on the weather, but we’ll all be there come hell or high water and it makes the day go a lot quicker when there are a few customers to serve.
We can source Seville oranges as they are in season, for anyone wanting to make marmalade. Send me an e-mail if you’re interested.
Here’s a list of the veg that should appear in the standard bags this week id substitutions haven’t been required:
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.

OnionAllium 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.

Beetroot Beta vulgaris Contains Vitamin C, folic acid and potassium. Beetroot can be eaten fresh, cooked or pickled. Much of the beet I sell at the market is going to the juicer fresh, although I have never tried this, it is the most beneficial way to eat beetroot. Cooked it can be boiled, stewed or roasted, and of course, after boiling, can be pickled. The time for boiling depends on how big the root is. A golf ball sized beet would boil in 20 mins, while a tennis ball size may take over and hour. Here’s a recipe for Thai Beetroot Soup. It was a big hit in our house at Christmas time. Boil your beetroot, peel it and chop it roughly. In a pan, heat a tablespoon of oil over a high heat. Add a finely chopped onion and lower the heat. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes. Add two-thirds of the cooked beetroot, 1 ½ teaspoons of red thai curry paste, and fry over a high heat for two minutes. Stir in a can of coconut milk and ½ pint of chicken stock. Season, bring to the boil and simmer over a low heat for 5 minutes. Whiz in a food processor until smooth. Pour back into the pan, add the remaining beetroot, squeeze in the juice of ½ a lime. Sprinkle with parsley and serve hot.

Parsley Petroselinum sp. This is the hardier, curly type of parsley, and although it may have a bit less flavour than it’s flat leaved cousin, it is a far nicer plant to look at. Excellent for flavouring all sorts of dishes or cut into salads.

Savoy Cabbage Brassica oleracea Capitata Group..(1 head) Excellent source of Vitamins B6 and C and also a source of potassium and fibre and phytochemicals. To cook, cut into quarters, cut out the hard core shred and wash under running cold water, then boil or steam for 7-10 minutes. This recipe is quite close to the traditional bubble and squeak:- Prepare the cabbage as above and put in a pan of lightly saltd boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain thoroughly. Remove the rind and gristle from 6oz ( 175g) of bacon, chop crossways into narrow strips and put in a heavy based pan. Fry the bacon until crisp, and the fat begin to run then add a finely chopped onion and cook until soft. Add the drained cabbage, stirring continuously until well coated. Season to taste with salt, pepper and cook through.

Celery Apium graveolens (1 head) This biennial veg is high in Vitamin C, folic acid, potassium and fibre. The stalks are generally eaten fresh or used in soups and stews. To cook it, boil it in a little salted boiling water for 15-20 minutes or steam it for 25-30 minutes. Serve in cheese or parsley sauce or smothered in butter.

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