Newsletter w/c 14th May 2012

The field is still wet and cold, so there has been little progress in the last couple of weeks. At the moment I have a flock of Matthew’s sheep in it, grazing off as much of last years greenery and the boundary grass strips to get it as tidy as possible before we get to work. Even they are cutting up the shorter patches of grass. It doesn’t look like a good week this week either, but the forecasters can be wrong sometimes!

We haven’t been idle though. It’s been a busy weekend of family stuff. Last Saturday Finn took part in his first pipe band competition at the Dunbar Pipe Band Championships. He plays the bagpipes with Boghall and Bathgate Caledonia, in their Novice/Juvenile band. They sounded great and came away with a 4^th place. Then on the Sunday both boys played rugby at a Tournament in Peebles and Keir scored his first ever try for Biggar. Unfortunately, I didn’t see it, but it seems to get better and he beats more players, with each time he tells the story. With two holiday let changeovers in the weekend too, we haven’t had a lot of time to do anything in the field anyway, so maybe the weather is a blessing in disguise.

This is a difficult time of year for us from now until the first of the crops are ready to harvest. We’re getting towards the end of the stored veg from last year and the over-wintering crop in the field is past it’s best or setting seed. Carrots and tatties may have soft bits or sprouts now. If you do receive any veg that is less than top-quality, let me know and I’ll compensate you in your next delivery. We do have a good quality control system during packing but when dealing with dirty veg, some small blemishes can slip through. I’d rather know about them than not, so please believe me, I do appreciate the feedback.

I’ve now completed my first 4 weeks of my London Marathon 2013 training program and so far I haven’t had too many aches or pains. I’ve even managed to get the rest of the family out on their bikes to keep me company. I’m still at the easy stage – just trying to get my body used to running 4 or 5 times a week again and building up the mileage slowly. To save my legs a bit, I’ve been running out on the moor and over onto the Pentlands. The peaty paths are far more forgiving on my old knees than the tarmac would be – I just have to watch that I don’t twist my ankle.

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.

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.

Celery (1 head) The central stalks of the celery are best fro eating raw, while the outer ones are probably best cooked or braised or cooked into stocks or sauces. Here’s a recipe for a Waldorf Salad. Put 85g of raisins in a bowl and cover them with hot water. Leave it to soak for an hour then drain the raisin. Peel and core three apples and slice them thinly. Put them in a bowl with half the raisins, 50g of walnut halves that have been lightly toasted in a dry frying pan and 4 celery stalks, thinly sliced. Add enough mayonnaise to coat, season to taste, toss weel to combine. Arrange some lettuce leaves on a serving dish and place the salad on top. Sprinkle with the remaining raisins, plus one tablespoon of chopped parsley and some celery leaves.

Cucumber Cucumis sativus. Good source of vitamin C and A. Also, a good source of potassium. Wash thoroughly, dry, then slice up to use in salads. Occasionally used in soups.

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.