Newsletter w/c 2nd May 2011

There may be a few bag deliveries at a different time this week, as I’m needed to do other things on Tuesday. I’ll try to deliver as many as I can on Monday and the rest will be delivered, hopefully, early on Tuesday morning. The deliveries for the rest of the week, should go as normal. I realise deliveries have been disrupted a bit lately, but I hope they’ll settle down for a wee bit now, at least until we go away for summer holidays. I haven’t booked anything yet, so don’t have any firm dates, but I’ll let you know as soon as I do.

The reason for most of the changes, is that when I’m trying to do so much on my own, sometimes the timings for things just get in each others way and something has to give. I’ll try to make sure it’s kept to a minimum and that you’re kept informed.

I’ve managed to get a bit of work done in the field this week, despite Royal wedding parties and school holidays. I was meaning to avoid the Royal wedding altogether, but ended up listening to it on the radio on my delivery run last Friday.

So’ I’ve planted almost half of the red onions now and half of the carrots, so the filed is starting to fill up. The garlic and shallots are greening up nicely and the Jerusalem artichokes have germinated, so I ran the ridging plough up their row, to keep the weeds in check. Once I’ve planted the remainder of the carrots and onions, I’ll get the rest of the seed sown, while this hot dry weather continues, then when the rain does eventually come, I’ll start to plant out the seedlings that are growing away in the poly-tunnel.

I was given a tent, by the family, as a birthday present, last week. I don’t know if there is some kind of message there about me spending so long in the field that I may as well stay there. I’ll see if I can encourage a little camping trip next weekend, if the weather holds. The midgies won’t be too bad yet! I’ve got terrible memories of BB hikes when I was a youngster and the misery those little pests can inflict. If I can get a trip without the midgies, there’s a better chance of there being a follow-up trip sometime later in the summer.

Here’s a list of the veg that should appear in the standard bags this week, if 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.

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 varieties 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.

Brocolli Brassica oleracea Italica Group Excellent source of Vitamin C and folic acid. Also contains Vitamins A, B2, B6 and phosphorus, fibre, calcium and iron. It is best eaten raw or quickly blanched in boiling , lightly salted water. Also good in stir-fries. Please use as quickly as possible as it doesn’t keep well..

Red Cabbage Brassica oleracea Capitata Group..(1/2 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.

Cucumber Cucumis sativus (1/2 head) Source of Vitamins A and C and also a source of potassium. Cucumbers are generally eaten fresh in salads. Just give them a wipe over and slice or cut into chunks. For an alternative to this, try peeling the cucumbers thinly, then slice crossways into slices 0.5cm thick. Cut the seeds in the centre out to form a ring. Melt some butter in a frying pan and add a little salt and the cucumber rings. Saute for about 10 minutes or until the cucumber is tender but still crisp. Serve hot.

Garlic (1head). Use a clove of garlic to flavour savoury dishes. Split a clove off of the bulb, peel off the skin and crush or chop finely. Mix with butter and spread on bread or toast to make a tasty snack.