Newsletter w/c 13th June 2011
The weather is still not being very kind. We have chill breezes and rain for far too much of the time. It almost makes it hard work to encourage myself down to the field. Almost, but not quite. We’ve been planting salads and brassicas whenever we could over the past week and the field is starting to fill up. The bad weather has kept the pest population pretty much at bay so far, I just hope they’re not just waiting in the wings to hit us when we’ve got plants growing well. The weeds are also starting to green up the field, so every morning I take my hoe for a walk along a couple of rows and bit by bit, I work my way round the field. The idea is that every row gets hoed once per month, but I never usually manage. The field is just too big for me, when I’ve got so many other ways to fill my time. So a couple of local youngsters came up to help this weekend and they seem to want to come back, so they may help me keep the field cleaner than ever.
We’re at Gorgie City Farm this weekend. We’ll be there til 1pm so please come and support the market if you can. It’s a great setting, especially for kids. They’re not often catered for that well at farmers markets, so its good to have the farm facilities and play areas and a great café on site as well, every farmers market should be like this one.
As a family, we had a busy weekend. On Friday and Saturday morning I helped a friend with some log splitting, then took Finn along to Uphall Gala day. The weather was pretty grim to start with and just got worse and worse. When we got home we had a quick turn around as we had organised to go hiking and camping in the Pentlands on Saturday night. Three adults and 5 boys. We set off at about 6.30 after a BBQ dinner and left the rain and the midgies behind almost immediately. We walked up to the top of East Cairn and pitched our tents in the clouds. When we woke to blazing sunshine the next morning, the views over the Forth and Edinburgh to Fife were stunning. It was a cold night, but the boys all coped really well, and surprisingly for all their excitement, and sweets, managed to sleep most of the night. Then on Sunday, it was work in the field with the new start youngsters.
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. It’s new potatoes for everyone now, so the upside is that you get the lovely taste of tatties which are straight out of the ground instead of the stored ones from last years crop. The slight downside is that they are expensive to buy in just now so we have to half the amount that goes into the standard and large bags. This will continue til our own tatties are ready near the end of July. 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. I don’t like having washed carrots in the bags as they don’t last as long and I think, lose some of their flavour. I will get back to dirty carrots again as soon as I can. They are an excellent source of Vitamin A and also contain significant amounts of Vitamins B, C, D, E and K. and Potassium.
Aubergine egg plant Traditionally used to make vegetable lasagnes or moussaka, the aubergine has more versatility than that. For example, they can be great barbequed in stacks as follows: Cut the aubergine into 1cm thick slices and score across with a sharp knife, brush with olive oil and roast at 170oC for 15 minutes. Spread the aubergine slices with a tomato sauce and then a slice of mozzarella, roughly the same size as the aubergine slice.repeat the process til you have a stack of three or four aubergine slices and skewer. I’ve heard it done with rosemary twigs but kitchen skewers will do. Place on a tray over the BBQ and heat through untilt he cheese is beginning to melt but not collapsing and serve with basil leaves and salad and some nice fresh bread.
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. A nice idea for cooking leeks is to sweat finely sliced leeks in butter for 5 minutes, pour in a glass of red wine and simmer until reduced. Season and serve as an accompaniment to grilled fish or roast meat.
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.
Fennel (1 head) This stem base can be chopped raw into salads or simmered in a stock. Here’s a recipe for Buttered Fennel: Trim the root base and cut in half lengthways and rinse in cold water. Put the fennel in a pan with a minmal amount of boiling, lightly salted water and simmer, covered, for 15-20 minutes or until just tender. Overcooking reduces the sweet aniseed flavour. Drain thoroughly in a colander and keep warm on a serving dish. Now, melt the butter. Season the fennel with pepper, then pour the melted butter over the top and serve. Your cress would be a fine garnish for this dish. Goes particularly well with grilled fish or roast
We’re at Gorgie City Farm this weekend. We’ll be there til 1pm so please come and support the market if you can. It’s a great setting, especially for kids. They’re not often catered for that well at farmers markets, so its good to have the farm facilities and play areas and a great café on site as well, every farmers market should be like this one.
As a family, we had a busy weekend. On Friday and Saturday morning I helped a friend with some log splitting, then took Finn along to Uphall Gala day. The weather was pretty grim to start with and just got worse and worse. When we got home we had a quick turn around as we had organised to go hiking and camping in the Pentlands on Saturday night. Three adults and 5 boys. We set off at about 6.30 after a BBQ dinner and left the rain and the midgies behind almost immediately. We walked up to the top of East Cairn and pitched our tents in the clouds. When we woke to blazing sunshine the next morning, the views over the Forth and Edinburgh to Fife were stunning. It was a cold night, but the boys all coped really well, and surprisingly for all their excitement, and sweets, managed to sleep most of the night. Then on Sunday, it was work in the field with the new start youngsters.
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. It’s new potatoes for everyone now, so the upside is that you get the lovely taste of tatties which are straight out of the ground instead of the stored ones from last years crop. The slight downside is that they are expensive to buy in just now so we have to half the amount that goes into the standard and large bags. This will continue til our own tatties are ready near the end of July. 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. I don’t like having washed carrots in the bags as they don’t last as long and I think, lose some of their flavour. I will get back to dirty carrots again as soon as I can. They are an excellent source of Vitamin A and also contain significant amounts of Vitamins B, C, D, E and K. and Potassium.
Aubergine egg plant Traditionally used to make vegetable lasagnes or moussaka, the aubergine has more versatility than that. For example, they can be great barbequed in stacks as follows: Cut the aubergine into 1cm thick slices and score across with a sharp knife, brush with olive oil and roast at 170oC for 15 minutes. Spread the aubergine slices with a tomato sauce and then a slice of mozzarella, roughly the same size as the aubergine slice.repeat the process til you have a stack of three or four aubergine slices and skewer. I’ve heard it done with rosemary twigs but kitchen skewers will do. Place on a tray over the BBQ and heat through untilt he cheese is beginning to melt but not collapsing and serve with basil leaves and salad and some nice fresh bread.
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. A nice idea for cooking leeks is to sweat finely sliced leeks in butter for 5 minutes, pour in a glass of red wine and simmer until reduced. Season and serve as an accompaniment to grilled fish or roast meat.
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.
Fennel (1 head) This stem base can be chopped raw into salads or simmered in a stock. Here’s a recipe for Buttered Fennel: Trim the root base and cut in half lengthways and rinse in cold water. Put the fennel in a pan with a minmal amount of boiling, lightly salted water and simmer, covered, for 15-20 minutes or until just tender. Overcooking reduces the sweet aniseed flavour. Drain thoroughly in a colander and keep warm on a serving dish. Now, melt the butter. Season the fennel with pepper, then pour the melted butter over the top and serve. Your cress would be a fine garnish for this dish. Goes particularly well with grilled fish or roast
posted by thewholeshebag at 10:20 PM
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