Newsletter w/c 30th May 2011
The strong winds still haven’t managed to destroy the poly-tunnel yet, but it’s certainly been under pressure. The winds pulled the polythene through the door frame in a couple of places, but thankfully it hasn’t ripped. The tunnel is crammed full of seedlings that have been waiting for the weather to improve, to allow me to prepare the ground to plant them in.
I hope the Axona potatoes aren’t causing you too many headaches. They are great baked or roasted, but because they are such a high dry matter potato, if you boil them in water, they break up and you end up with a sort of potato soup. The way I’ve been advised to cook them is to start boiling them in the conventional way, in salted water. Keep an eye on them and when they look like the water is starting to affect them, drain them and put the pan back on a low heat to finish them by steaming them. Shake the pan every so often to stop them sticking. Once they are tender, serve as usual with plenty of butter. If you want to mash them add plenty of butter and cream or milk, until you get the consistency of mash you prefer.
On the farm, this week, I’m hoping to plant leeks, salads and the first of the brassica seedlings. I also need to start on second sowings of most of the root crops. I’ve weeded the onions once and the carrots once, which is a feat I usually don’t manage, so maybe I’m more on top of things than I feel. Everything seems late now because of the weather. I’ve ridged up the tattie rows today as well as they were getting very green with weeds. Theres a lot of couch grass in the potato bed so I’ll need to be quite vigilant with the plough and the hoe to make sure it doesn’t get a firm hold and cause a real problem.
We’ve been working around a lot of family commitments now as well. Finn is now a piper with the Boghall and Bathgate Pipe Band and there seems to be a competition or Gala day on every weekend for most of the summer. He was at Bathgate Highland Games last Saturday and is back there for the gala day this weekend. Keir has a different Gala Day with the Beavers and I already had a full day of work planned. It’s a major logistical exercise working everything in.
The large bags have a bag of leaves that you may not recognise. This is lovage and is quite a strong flavoured herb. If you’re unsure what to use it for and would like a recipe, here is one for
Cream of Lovage soup :- Melt 3 tblspns of butter in a large pan and saute a chopped up onion and 2 crushed cloves of garlic until they are soft. Remove from the heat and stir in 1 tablespon of flour and slowly stir in 500ml of chicken or vegetable stock, return to the heat and bring to the boil. Add 500g of peeled amd sliced potatoes and pepper to season and simmer for 15 minutes. Add 4 tablspns of chopped lovage leaves and simmer for a further 15 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Puree with a blender then return to the pan and add 250ml of single cream. Heat gently and serve garnished with a few lovage leaves.
Here’s a list of the produce, which barring any need for substitution, will be in the standard bags this week.
Potato Solanum tuberosum. The variety this week is Axona. It is a very dry potato and a little harder to cook than some of the other varieties we grow, See above for cooking instructions.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. 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.
Spring onion . Spring onions are used in various ways in the kitchen. Traditionally in this country, primarily as a salad vegetable, the greens and white bulb are cut up finely into salad bowls to add a mild onion flavour. They are used in Chinese and Thai cooking frequently as well.
Tomato Lycopersicon esculentum. Good for Vitamins A and C, potassium and iron. To cook tomatoes are used for many peoples favourite soup, they are added to casseroles, folded into omelettes and served grilled with a little butter and salt and pepper on top. Obviously, the most common usage at this time of year is fresh in salads.
Red Cabbage Brassica oleracea CapitataGroup (1 head) – If the cabbage is really big this time, I will half it. This is in response to customer comments after the last red cabbages 5 weeks ago. Some of you may even have some left. Here’s a different recipe for you to try with it: Preheat your oven to 150oC/300oF/ gas mark 2. Remove any damaged outer leaves, cut into quarters and remove the stalk. Shred the cabbage finely. In a casserole, lay a layer of cabbage, seasoned with salt and pepper, a layer of chopped onions and chopped, peeled and cored apples, with a sprinkling of garlic, 1 clove should be enough, a little nutmeg, cinnamon and ground cloves and about a tablespoon of brown sugar. Repeat these layers until everything is in then pour in 3 tablespoon of wine vinegar and 1/2oz (10g) of butter. Put a lid on the casserole and let it cook slowly for 1 ½ to 2 hours, stirring a couple of times during cooking.
Spinach Spinacia oleracea (1 bag) Good source of vitamin C, B2, B6 and A, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, protein and phytochemicals. No wonder Popeye did so well on it. Can be used fresh in salads or cooked as a vegetable. Strip the leaves off the stalks and immerse in a basin of cold water. Lift out and repeat the process twice more with fresh water. Spinach has a high water content and does not need any water to cook in – just the water that adheres to the leave will be enough. Sprinkle lightly with salt cover with a lid and cook gently for 7-10 minutes until soft. Drain thoroughly, squeezing out the last of the water with a masher.
I hope the Axona potatoes aren’t causing you too many headaches. They are great baked or roasted, but because they are such a high dry matter potato, if you boil them in water, they break up and you end up with a sort of potato soup. The way I’ve been advised to cook them is to start boiling them in the conventional way, in salted water. Keep an eye on them and when they look like the water is starting to affect them, drain them and put the pan back on a low heat to finish them by steaming them. Shake the pan every so often to stop them sticking. Once they are tender, serve as usual with plenty of butter. If you want to mash them add plenty of butter and cream or milk, until you get the consistency of mash you prefer.
On the farm, this week, I’m hoping to plant leeks, salads and the first of the brassica seedlings. I also need to start on second sowings of most of the root crops. I’ve weeded the onions once and the carrots once, which is a feat I usually don’t manage, so maybe I’m more on top of things than I feel. Everything seems late now because of the weather. I’ve ridged up the tattie rows today as well as they were getting very green with weeds. Theres a lot of couch grass in the potato bed so I’ll need to be quite vigilant with the plough and the hoe to make sure it doesn’t get a firm hold and cause a real problem.
We’ve been working around a lot of family commitments now as well. Finn is now a piper with the Boghall and Bathgate Pipe Band and there seems to be a competition or Gala day on every weekend for most of the summer. He was at Bathgate Highland Games last Saturday and is back there for the gala day this weekend. Keir has a different Gala Day with the Beavers and I already had a full day of work planned. It’s a major logistical exercise working everything in.
The large bags have a bag of leaves that you may not recognise. This is lovage and is quite a strong flavoured herb. If you’re unsure what to use it for and would like a recipe, here is one for
Cream of Lovage soup :- Melt 3 tblspns of butter in a large pan and saute a chopped up onion and 2 crushed cloves of garlic until they are soft. Remove from the heat and stir in 1 tablespon of flour and slowly stir in 500ml of chicken or vegetable stock, return to the heat and bring to the boil. Add 500g of peeled amd sliced potatoes and pepper to season and simmer for 15 minutes. Add 4 tablspns of chopped lovage leaves and simmer for a further 15 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Puree with a blender then return to the pan and add 250ml of single cream. Heat gently and serve garnished with a few lovage leaves.
Here’s a list of the produce, which barring any need for substitution, will be in the standard bags this week.
Potato Solanum tuberosum. The variety this week is Axona. It is a very dry potato and a little harder to cook than some of the other varieties we grow, See above for cooking instructions.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. 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.
Spring onion . Spring onions are used in various ways in the kitchen. Traditionally in this country, primarily as a salad vegetable, the greens and white bulb are cut up finely into salad bowls to add a mild onion flavour. They are used in Chinese and Thai cooking frequently as well.
Tomato Lycopersicon esculentum. Good for Vitamins A and C, potassium and iron. To cook tomatoes are used for many peoples favourite soup, they are added to casseroles, folded into omelettes and served grilled with a little butter and salt and pepper on top. Obviously, the most common usage at this time of year is fresh in salads.
Red Cabbage Brassica oleracea CapitataGroup (1 head) – If the cabbage is really big this time, I will half it. This is in response to customer comments after the last red cabbages 5 weeks ago. Some of you may even have some left. Here’s a different recipe for you to try with it: Preheat your oven to 150oC/300oF/ gas mark 2. Remove any damaged outer leaves, cut into quarters and remove the stalk. Shred the cabbage finely. In a casserole, lay a layer of cabbage, seasoned with salt and pepper, a layer of chopped onions and chopped, peeled and cored apples, with a sprinkling of garlic, 1 clove should be enough, a little nutmeg, cinnamon and ground cloves and about a tablespoon of brown sugar. Repeat these layers until everything is in then pour in 3 tablespoon of wine vinegar and 1/2oz (10g) of butter. Put a lid on the casserole and let it cook slowly for 1 ½ to 2 hours, stirring a couple of times during cooking.
Spinach Spinacia oleracea (1 bag) Good source of vitamin C, B2, B6 and A, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, protein and phytochemicals. No wonder Popeye did so well on it. Can be used fresh in salads or cooked as a vegetable. Strip the leaves off the stalks and immerse in a basin of cold water. Lift out and repeat the process twice more with fresh water. Spinach has a high water content and does not need any water to cook in – just the water that adheres to the leave will be enough. Sprinkle lightly with salt cover with a lid and cook gently for 7-10 minutes until soft. Drain thoroughly, squeezing out the last of the water with a masher.
posted by thewholeshebag at 11:04 PM
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