Newsletter w/c 6th June 2011
This will be the last week that we’ll have last years tatties in the bags. Hooray! I here you say, although I think some of you really enjoyed having the really dry varieties for a change. Anyway, New potatoes from now on. This means one slight drawback. The new potatoes are bought in, and they are more than twice the cost of the maincrop potatoes so until the Scottish organic crop is ready, we’ll give you half the amount of potatoes in both standard and large bags. Customers who regularly get Half amount of potatoes will get thesame amount that they are used to, but without the extra item that we usually put in to replace the missing potatoes. Hope that makes sense. Our crop should be ready by the end of July.
We’re still planting and hoeing constantly in the field just now. My ridging job on the potatoes wasn’t a great success but should keep the weeds down a bit. Carrots and onions are looking great. Brassicas in the polytunnel are getting hammered by caterpillars, but the growing tips seem to be surviving so I think they should be fine once they’re out in the field. Skye is going ot concentrate on planting them this week, while I will work on the salad rows. We’re well into second sowings now. Th efirst batch of everything has germinated – it makes weeding them a lot easier when you can actually see the plant you don’t want to take out!
I think I had one of my busiest weekends ever this weekend. On Friday I started work early so that I could help a friend chop up some logs. We started at 4pm and I didn’t get back home til 11pm. Finn and I had to get up to get to Bathgate on Saturday morning as the Pipe Band were playing at Bathgate Gala Day and he managed to march the whole procession, playing all the time. It must have been over an hour of piping and marching – he did really well. Then Jose came over on Saturday night to cook us Paella and had a good chat and a few glasses of wine. On Sunday I was up at 7.30 sorting ou the logs that had been cut then getting some planting and weeding done with Robbie, who’d comeout to help eat the Paella nd to help me in the field. Great weekend! Exhausted now though!
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, They are great baked or roasted or made into chips. Steam them rather than boiing as they tend to break up in water..Potatoes are the only commonly available source of B3 and Iodine. Excellent source of Vitamin C and also Vitamin B6, Potassium and fibre. We will run out of axona at some point this week and as the maincrop supplies are depleted, we have bought in new potatoes from Wales to see us through until the Scottish cropis ready. If you get new potatoes the variety is colleen and will need very little preparation to be ready for the pan. Just scrub offf the loose skin and pop in boiling salted water and you’ll have the firstof the fresh organic crop.
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.
Parsley Petroselinum sp. This is the more traditional moss-curled type of parsley Excellent for flavouring all sorts of dishes or cut into saladsor, cut over boiled potatoes, with a little melted butter. If it’s looking a bit limp when you receive it just trim the base of the stems off and pop into cold water, shake dry and then pop into a jar of water, covering the bottom of the stems by about an inch.
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.
Garlic Allium sativum (1 head) Good source of vitamin C and A, calcium and iron. Adds heightened flavour to any savoury dish and crushed and sauted in a pan with butter, is an excellent base in which to cook the mushrooms for a simple Garlic Mushrooms.
Calabrese Brassica oleracea Italica Group (1 head).. Calabrese is an excellent source of Vitamin C and phytochemicals and also contains Vitamins A, B2 and B6, Phosphorus, fibre Iron and calcium. Here’s a recipe for Roast Calabrese with Chilli and Soy:
Toss 350g of Calabrese, broken into florets, in a tablespoon of olive oil. Cut the stalks into thick batons. Spread them all out on a baking tray and roast in a preheated oven for 10 mins at 200oC/Gas Mark 6 for 10 mins.Add 2 thinly sliced cloves of the garlic, ½ a red chilli, finely chopped and ½ a tablespoon of sesame seeds and mix through. Return to the oven for 5 minutes. Remove the tray from the oven, sprinkle with soy sauce and serve.
We’re still planting and hoeing constantly in the field just now. My ridging job on the potatoes wasn’t a great success but should keep the weeds down a bit. Carrots and onions are looking great. Brassicas in the polytunnel are getting hammered by caterpillars, but the growing tips seem to be surviving so I think they should be fine once they’re out in the field. Skye is going ot concentrate on planting them this week, while I will work on the salad rows. We’re well into second sowings now. Th efirst batch of everything has germinated – it makes weeding them a lot easier when you can actually see the plant you don’t want to take out!
I think I had one of my busiest weekends ever this weekend. On Friday I started work early so that I could help a friend chop up some logs. We started at 4pm and I didn’t get back home til 11pm. Finn and I had to get up to get to Bathgate on Saturday morning as the Pipe Band were playing at Bathgate Gala Day and he managed to march the whole procession, playing all the time. It must have been over an hour of piping and marching – he did really well. Then Jose came over on Saturday night to cook us Paella and had a good chat and a few glasses of wine. On Sunday I was up at 7.30 sorting ou the logs that had been cut then getting some planting and weeding done with Robbie, who’d comeout to help eat the Paella nd to help me in the field. Great weekend! Exhausted now though!
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, They are great baked or roasted or made into chips. Steam them rather than boiing as they tend to break up in water..Potatoes are the only commonly available source of B3 and Iodine. Excellent source of Vitamin C and also Vitamin B6, Potassium and fibre. We will run out of axona at some point this week and as the maincrop supplies are depleted, we have bought in new potatoes from Wales to see us through until the Scottish cropis ready. If you get new potatoes the variety is colleen and will need very little preparation to be ready for the pan. Just scrub offf the loose skin and pop in boiling salted water and you’ll have the firstof the fresh organic crop.
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.
Parsley Petroselinum sp. This is the more traditional moss-curled type of parsley Excellent for flavouring all sorts of dishes or cut into saladsor, cut over boiled potatoes, with a little melted butter. If it’s looking a bit limp when you receive it just trim the base of the stems off and pop into cold water, shake dry and then pop into a jar of water, covering the bottom of the stems by about an inch.
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.
Garlic Allium sativum (1 head) Good source of vitamin C and A, calcium and iron. Adds heightened flavour to any savoury dish and crushed and sauted in a pan with butter, is an excellent base in which to cook the mushrooms for a simple Garlic Mushrooms.
Calabrese Brassica oleracea Italica Group (1 head).. Calabrese is an excellent source of Vitamin C and phytochemicals and also contains Vitamins A, B2 and B6, Phosphorus, fibre Iron and calcium. Here’s a recipe for Roast Calabrese with Chilli and Soy:
Toss 350g of Calabrese, broken into florets, in a tablespoon of olive oil. Cut the stalks into thick batons. Spread them all out on a baking tray and roast in a preheated oven for 10 mins at 200oC/Gas Mark 6 for 10 mins.Add 2 thinly sliced cloves of the garlic, ½ a red chilli, finely chopped and ½ a tablespoon of sesame seeds and mix through. Return to the oven for 5 minutes. Remove the tray from the oven, sprinkle with soy sauce and serve.
posted by thewholeshebag at 10:21 PM
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