Newsletter w/c 30th April 2012

The family headed down to Peebles this weekend. Lynda took Keir into town with his Aunt Fiona, while I took Finn to Glentress with his Uncle Peter. We met up with Steve and Gavin Lamb in the Car Park and the 5 of us had about 5 hrs cycling through the hills and forests. It was cold, so a good incentive to keep going and produce our own central heating. The Lambs headed home and the rest of us headed to Peter and Fiona’s in Edinburgh and arrived just in time to watch Edinburgh lose out in the Semi-Final of the Heineken Cup. They were not far away from a winning performance, just the old story of too many costly mistakes at crucial times. At least we had another Killie victory to celebrate.

On Sunday we headed to Currie where the boys were playing in a Mini-Rugby tournament. Biggar played with a lot of heart but none of the p4,P5 or P6 teams managed a win in any of their games. It was bitterly cold, and they suffered a wee bit for that but I think they still enjoyed the experience.

The weather is stalling preparations for planting etc this year. The ground is really cold and very wet. I can’t get onto work it at all, but even if I could get seed sown, in these conditions, I wouldn’t get much germination anyway. It’s not a crisis and there are always plenty of other jobs to do. Another section of dyke had been knocked over by sheltering sheep, so that took me a couple of hours this morning to re-build. I still have a log store to build – I’ve only three of the six post holes dug for that so far, then two more holes to dig for gate posts and once the gates are built, I need to build walls along to seal them in. I have a deck to build for the garden for the summer- when it comes! –and the compost area is still to be constructed as well. The poly-tunnel still has no cover on it and needs looked at too, so you can see, there’s plenty to keep me busy.

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.

Courgette Cucurbita pepo (1 head) Source of Vitamins A and C , calcium, iron and fibre. Prepare by wshing and trimming both ends. Courgettes can be coked whole or in slices, or they can be cut in half lengthways filled with stuffing and baked. Boil courgettes in lightly salted water for 15-20 minutes. Sliced courgettes may be steamed in butter for 10 minutes. Halved courgettes may be parboiled for 5 minutes the finished in the oven, in a well-buttered dish for 25 minutes at 190oC (375oF) Gas Mark 5.

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.

Calabrese Brassica oleracea Italica Group (1 head). Calabrese is and 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 that I gave a couple of weeks ago as a romanesco recipe. It is fairly versatile. :

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. I haven’t tried this one yet but I hope to this week.

Butternut Squash Cucurbita sp. (1 head) An excellent source of phytochemicals and vitamins A and C. Also a significant source of fibre and potassium. Pumpkins are very versatile and can make excellent soup, peeled, de-seeded and cut into chunks, with chicken or vegetable stock and an onion, carrots and a clove of garlic. Simmer it til tender then liquidise for a hearty soup. Also good roasted. You can either cut it up and remove the seeds and roast it around a joint or chicken, or you can roast it whole, just make sure you cut a hole right through to the seed core first or it could blow up in the oven. Some mess!