Newsletter w/c 12th March 2012

It’s been another busy week at Cobbinshaw. I eventually got around to organizing the materials and equipment to do another temporary pot-hole filling exercise on our farm road. With myself on shovel and a team of 8 to 13 yr olds on various other tasks, we managed to make our section of the road a bit more car-friendly. I’ve spent a few hundred pounds on springs and suspension problems over the Winter, so my poor wee van will be loving the drive out in the morning now. We finished off the job on Saturday morning and created a wee parking area with the left-overs, up at the house. After a quick tidy-up, it was back inside to help Lynda get the house ready for some friends who we’d invited to watch the rugby – another dire result for the beleaguered Scots – and then dinner.

Sunday morning was spent, nursing a slight hangover, on dry-stane dyking. A couple of sycamores which had seeded themselves 20 years ago had grown in girth to a point where they’d knocked down a dyke into the garden of the holiday let. Dyking is a job I really enjoy, but it does take a lot of time to do correctly. So, by lunchtime, Finn came into the garden to see how I was getting on and was a bit disappointed with my progress as he could only see one row of stones. What he didn’t know was that the field side of the dyke was a couple of feet lower then the garden side. It looked more impressive from my side. After lunch it was off to our friends, Anne and Charles for a bit of herbaceous splitting. Anne’s cut flower borders were badly in need of cutting back and splitting the plants. We, on the other hand have a big new garden with nothing in it and are always on the look-out for donations. So, in return for our labour, we could get as many off-cuts as we wanted. We spent 2 or 3 hours hacking into the big tussocks of herbaceous plant roots and re-planting and weeding the borders. Anne gave us dinner and then we ended up getting home after 9pm so the boys were straight to bed. I don’t think I’ve ever had a heavier weekend of work in my life. I think I was asleep before the boys were.

It’s Cup-Final weekend with Killie playing Celtic at Hampden park. We will have to be playing a bit better than we have in the past few weeks if we’re going to beat Celtic, but it’s great to be involved in another Final. Finn’s going to miss it, as he’s away on a school trip to Dalguise, but Keir and Lynda are coming to enjoy the day with me and we’re meeting my Mum and Dad and Brian and his family there. Hopefully we’ll be singing ‘Paper Roses’ at full-time.

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 is Valor. 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.

Pepper Capsicum sp. (1 head) Good source of vitamin C. Wash the pepper, then slice off the top. Scoop out the seeds and membranes. Can be eaten cooked or fresh in various dishes including pasta sauces, pizza, salads. Peppers can also be stuffed with various fillings.

Chard Chard is great nutritionally. It contains Vitamins A, C, B2 and B6, folic acid, iron, magnesium, potassium, calcium, phytochemicals and protein. Most of you will get one giant leaf, but it will cook into curries and other dishes. To cook it, treat it much the same way as spinach for the leaf and like celery for the stem,although the flavour is quite different Immerse the chard in a large bowl of cold clean water, lift them out and repeat the process with fresh water, two or three times more. Chard has a high water content , so it is sufficient to cook it only with the water adhering to the leaves from the last rinsing. Sprinkle lightly with salt, cover with a lid and cook gently for 7 – 10 minutes until soft. Drain the chard thoroughly, squeezing out as much water as possible with a potato masher.

Parsnip Pastinaca sativa This sweet root vegetable was eaten by our ancestors in the way that potatoes are eaten today. Prepare the roots for cooking by cutting off the tops and the tapering root. Peel the parsnips thinly and cut lengthways into thick slices. Parsnips may be boiled in lightly salted water for 20-25 minutes, depending on the size or method of preparation, or they may be steamed in butter and a little white stock or white wine. Boiled parsnips can be serves tossed in butter and the cress, or Mornay sauce. They can also be roasted. Parboil them for 5 minutes and then roast for 30-40 minutes in the oven.

White Cabbage Brassica oleracea Capitata Group..(1 head) Excellent source of Vitamins B6 and C and also a source of potassium and fibre and phytochemicals. To cook, cut into quarters, cut out the hard core shred and wash under running cold water, then boil or steam for 7-10 minutes. This recipe is quite close to the traditional bubble and squeak:- Prepare the cabbage as above and put in a pan of lightly salted boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain thoroughly. Remove the rind and gristle from 6oz ( 175g) of bacon, chop crossways into narrow strips and put in a heavy based pan. Fry the bacon until crisp, and the fat begin to run then add a finely chopped onion and cook until soft. Add the drained cabbage, stirring continuously until well coated. Season to taste with salt, pepper and cook through.