Newsletter w/c 17th October 2011

A last minute opportunity had us rushing to organise ourselves to go on holiday, last week. We spent the week in an apartment on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh and took the chance to be tourists for a change. I was close enough to home to carry out the deliveries, so everyone should have received a bag, who expected one. I tried to leave a bit earlier than usual so that I could catch up with Lynda and the boys wherever they’d decided to go to explore, so you may have ended up getting your bag slightly earlier than usual. The Friday customers ended up getting their bags on Thursday – I hope this didn’t confuse you too much.

This will be our 100^th ‘e-newsletter’ and as a sort of celebration of this, I’m sending out hard copies of the newsletter in the next two bags, mainly to advertise the fact that the newsletter is on the blog, for anyone who thought I’d just stopped doing them. Please note that I am quite happy to provide you with a hard copy each week if you find this preferable to the blog on the website. Just let me know and we’ll add the newsletter to your bag. The newsletter can be found each week on the ‘News’ link on our website – www.thewholeshebag.com

One downside of going to Edinburgh last week was that I couldn’t make the farmers market last Saturday at Juniper Green as I had advertised I would. Apologies if this caused any inconvenience for anyone.

On the farm we’ve had more dry days than wet, so the ground is starting to dry out a little. The temperature has risen steadily since the short snow shower in the middle of last week and was quite comfortable for working in today. I had sown a load of winter salads in the polytunnel, but between the cold snap and slugs, there are virtually no seedlings left. I’ll try again with a bit more protection this time and a few beer traps scattered about.

This is a list of the vegetables included in the standard bags this week. Substitutions may occur.

Potato Solanum tuberosum. We’re onto our own new potatoes now. The variety for the most part is Pentland Javelin. If I came across any ‘volunteer’ plants (potatoes left in the ground from last years crop) I dug them too so there may be one or two different tatties in your bag. It’s such a nice change when we move to new potatoes from the previous season’s stored ones. 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. 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.

Garlic Allium sativum.( 1 head) Good for Vitamins A and C, calcium and iron. A crushed clove of garlic can enhance many savoury meals. May be substituted with pepper if you received garlic last week.

Broccoli Brassica oleracea Italica Group (1 head) Excellent source of Vitamin C, folic acid and phytochemicals and good for Vitamn.B6. 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. Broccoli is also good in stir-fries as it has a lovely crunch to it if you don’t cook it for too long.

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.

Red Cabbage Brassica oleracea Capitata Group..(1 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 coresand 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. Boil in lightly salted water for 30 minutes and dash with cream and butter.