Newsletter w/c 20th August 2012

The usual noise and uproar has returned to my life again, as the boys and Lynda are back from 10 days in France. I managed to use my time profitably and have half the tall posts concreted into place for the log store, all the hard graft is done in the garden, it’s just a bit of raking out and topsoiling to do now, the unused areas of the field have been dunged and ploughed, 4 holiday let changeovers plus my normal delivery runs. It’s been non-stop. I also managed to get over to Kilmarnock twice, once on Tuesday for the Rowallan Rosebowl race and then again on Sunday for the Club Championships which tied in nicely with my Dad’s birthday and so went to birthday tea at night. My next running outing will be the Great Scottish Run in Glasgow, a half-marathon, on the 2^nd September. I’m not really ready for it yet but it’ll give me an idea how far off the pace I am.

The boys arrived back at 9am this morning (Monday) after 24 hrs on the road and looked as if they hadn’t slept much of it. They start school on Tuesday morning so were in bed and asleep by 6.30 tonight. I’m going to have to do a really early shift tomorrow ( Tuesday) so no-one will probably be prepared for me arriving. When we were in Underbarrow on holiday we bought a Lab pup from the owners of the Local Pub. It has just got to the age it can leave its mum now so I’m going down to pick it up and try and be back for the boys coming back from school. It’ll mean me delivering the veg through the early hours of the morning and then pick Lynda up once the boys are off to school, drive down to Underbarrow, pick up the pup and whizz back again. Easy!!! Not really. When we went to Crail on holiday, we brought back a little model yacht as a memento, now that was easy.

During the school holidays I’ve been delivering the Friday bags on Thursdays due to the fact that so many customers were on holiday themselves and also the fact that it gave me an extra day to spend some time with the boys. I think I’ll keep this going for the time being. If it’s been causing any problems or inconvenience please let me know and I’ll sort a better delivery time for you.

Here’s a list of whats 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.

Tomato Lycopersicon esculentum. Tomatoes are a good source of Vitamins A and C, potassium and iron. This is the first of the British organic tomatoes for this year. They are eaten in many different ways, both fresh or cooked.

Mixed salad various –Excellent source of phytochemicals and a good source of Vitamins A, B and C, calcium, fibre and potassium. The ground was pretty wet when we picked the salad so some grit may be mixed in. Rinse it well. To store, it is best to rehydrate the lettuce. Rinse well, two or three times, renewing the water with each rinse, then drain thoroughly in a colander or salad spinner. Store in the fridge and you should get it to last all week

Leek Alliun porrum Use in soups to give a lovely creamy texture. Wash thoroughly after chopping as soil gets caught in the leaf axils while they’re growng in the field.

Cucumber Cucumis sativus. (1/2 head) 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.

Newsletter w/c 13th August 2012

It’s eerily quiet here this week. Lynda and the boys are away to Guingamp in Brittany for a music festival with the 6 SCOTS Association Pipe band. It’s very strange without them but they seem to be having a great time and will be playing performances every day for the week. I’ve given myself a list of tasks to get out of the way before they come back. These include a repair on a large section of dyke that’s come down in the field – really time-consuming, the long awaited log store, getting the polytunnel to a state where I can get the sheet over it as early as I want next Spring and just a general tidy up around the garden area. It’s already looking like a forlorn dream that I can get half of it done. Still, no point in being negative, lets see where we are next Monday.

I’ve my first competitive race, since my running comeback, on Tuesday night. The Kilmarnock Harriers are having a club race and then on Sunday there is the Club Championship where we all have to take part in 4 events, a sort of quadathlon I suppose, and this year its 200m sprint, javelin, long jump and 5000m. It’ll be fun competing. I’ve also entered for a half marathon on the 2^nd September - The Great Scottish Run is being held in Glasgow. By the time I’ve run all these, I’ll know exactly how much I need to improve to run in London next April.

It’s been a great couple of weeks for getting stuff done outside and the veg that is in the field seems quite slow, although the artichokes are growing as well as I’ve ever seen them. Hopefully we’ll get a load of flowering from them which usually is a sign of plenty of big tubers. We’ve had two or three years in a row now where the tubers have been too small for my liking, and very difficult to prepare.

During the school holidays I’ve been delivering the Friday bags on Thursdays due to the fact that so many customers were on holiday themselves and also the fact that it gave me an extra day to spend some time with the boys. I think I’ll keep this going for the time being. If it’s been causing any problems or inconvenience please let me know and I’ll sort a better delivery time for you.

Here’s a list of whats 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.

Broad Beans Vicia faba As well as be3ing an excellent source of phytochemicals, beans are also a good source of Vitamins A, B1, B8 and C. They are also good for phosphorus and iron. Basically, all you need to do with them is shell the pods and mix the beans into salads or cook them into any sauces or soups.

Mixed salad various –Excellent source of phytochemicals and a good source of Vitamins A, B and C, calcium, fibre and potassium. The ground was pretty wet when we picked the salad so some grit may be mixed in. Rinse it well. To store, it is best to rehydrate the lettuce. Rinse well, two or three times, renewing the water with each rinse, then drain thoroughly in a colander or salad spinner. Store in the fridge and you should get it to last all week

Radish They’re excellent cut into salads. They add a hot spicy crunch to a salad and the vivid red skins add an eye-catching burst of colour. Just scrub and cut to desired size.

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.

Newsletter w/c 06th August 2012

The rain just keeps falling! We had 2 and a half days of dry weather last week and managed to get some bits and pieces done in the field. Even our road is being mended so lots of long-awaited jobs are being sorted out. The field is a real mess with weeds everywhere – it’s going to take a while to get it back to any neat state. The potatoes are really slow this year, so we’ve still nly got 1kg of potatoes in the standard bags, but hopefully we’re not too far away from our own crop again. If the rain keeps up and keeps me away from the field, I may start to try to get the log store up this week. I cleared an area for it at the end of the Winter, but haven’t been back to since. The wood I’ve collected has been sitting out all summer so as you can guess, it hasn’t had much dry weather to season in. The sooner I get it under cover – the better.

This week Finn and Keir and their friends from 6 SCOTS will be involved with the Piping Live Festival in Glasgow’s George Square, with a workshop to encourage more people to take up piping and drumming. They’ll be in the marquee every morning this week giving instruction and demonstrations, so come along and try. Any age, any background – you may have a hidden talent. If anyone would like nformation on joining the band, let me know and I’ll give you details of our tuition nights. It’s a really relaxed organization. If you would like to learn more about them their website is http://www.6scotspipeband.co.uk/. The week after Piping Live, the band are off to France for 10 days to a music festival. You’ll be glad to hear that I’m not going to france, so your deliveries will continue as usual.

I’d just like to point out that this is the hardest time of year for us, as we await our own crops coming to harvest, the quality of the produce shouldn’t drop at all but if it does, I need to know about it to be able to put it right. Please don’t feel awkward about complaining, you’re doing me a favour and I take it constructively – Honest!

Here’s a list of whats 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.

Beetroot Beta vulgaris Contains Vitamin C, folic acid and potassium. Beetroot can be eaten fresh, cooked or pickled. Much of the beet I sell at the market is going to the juicer fresh, although I have never tried this, it is the most beneficial way to eat beetroot. Cooked it can be boiled, stewed or roasted, and of course, after boiling, can be pickled. The time for boiling depends on how big the root is. A golf ball sized beet would boil in 20 mins, while a tennis ball size may take over and hour.

Mixed salad various –Excellent source of phytochemicals and a good source of Vitamins A, B and C, calcium, fibre and potassium. The ground was pretty wet when we picked the salad so some grit may be mixed in. Rinse it well. To store, it is best to rehydrate the lettuce. Rinse well, two or three times, renewing the water with each rinse, then drain thoroughly in a colander or salad spinner. Store in the fridge and you should get it to last all week

Tomato Lycopersicon esculentum. Can be eaten fresh in salads or cooked into sauces, the famous soup, or for the unhealthy option fried for breakfast. A good way to store them is to go along the sun-dried tomato line. Put a tablespoon of oil in a baking tray. Cut the tomatoes in half lengthways and scoop out the seeds and pulp. Lay them on the baking tray, sprinkle over another tablespoon of oil and put in an oven at 150oC and cook for 45 minutes. Take out of oven and leave to cool. You can either eat them like this in salads or pasta, or store them in a jar filled with good quality olive oil. They can be stored like this, unrefrigerated, for up to 6 months.

serve as an accompaniment to grilled fish or roast meat.

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.