Newsletter w/c 28th May 2012

We’ve managed to make a proper start to the ground preparation at last. With such a late start, the pernicious weeds have already got a good hold so are needing some attention. It’s mainly couch grass, thistle and cowslip that are causing concern at the moment. I just need to be religious about cultivation and starve them into submission. The tatties are poking through at last and the Jerusalem artichokes are about 300mm high already. I’ve a busy week of deliveries and parental taxi duties ahead, but hope to get quite a bit of sowing done too. I think the weather has to cool down a bit, I just hope it doesn’t rain too much. A light fall each night would be perfect gardening weather.

The other projects are progressing slowly as well. I’m almost at the stage to start building the structure of the new log store. I just have a little more groundworks to do. The soil that is being removed from the log store base is being used to form the slopes for the green in front of the house where the barn used to be – nothing is wasted! Although it’s taking ages, it’s still satisfying to see the little progress we have made at the end of each week. It’s all going in the right direction.

We’re heading down to Peebles at the weekend to have another cycle round the mountain bike tracks at Glentress. It’s a great day out. The last three times we’ve been it has snowed – surely that can’t happen this time.

If I’d known the temperatures were going to be so high, last week, I wouldn’t have organized to have broccoli in the bags. I checked each head as I delivered them and if there was even a hint that the broccoli was on the turn, I discarded it. If it sat on your doorstep for a while though, that situation might have changed quite quickly. Please let me know if you had any problems with veg going off before you got it to the fridge and we’ll try to sort out the problem.

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.

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.

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

Parsley Petroselinum sp. This flat leaved variety of parsley has far more flavour than the more common curly type, though I have to say the curly one is a far nicer plant to look at. Excellent for flavouring all sorts of dishes or cut into salads. Especially popular in our household, cut over boiled potatoes, with a little melted butter.

White Cabbage Brassica oleracea Capitata Group..(1/2 head) . To cook, remove any damaged outer leaves, cut into quarters and remove the central core. It can be cooked in quarters like this in boiling salted water or else shredded and boiled or steamed. Here’s a recipe for Cabbage soup which will use up a few items in the bag this week: Prepare and wash the cabbage and shred it finely. Prepare and roughly chop, 2 carrots, the leek and 1/2lb(250g) potatoes. Put all the vegetables in a pan with 3 pints(1.5l) stock and a bouquet garni, bring to the boil and simmer gently for 30 minutes. Season to taste, sprinkle with parsley and serve at once.