Newsletter w/c 29th October 2012

I have to apologise again, for another missed newsletter last week. Paperwork always seems to be last thing on the list at the moment. With the clocks going back and the days even shorter, maybe I’ll be a bit more regular with the newsletters. We used the last weekend of the boys school holidays to have a break in the Borders at Melrose. It’s a good base for exploring the area as there is plenty to see and do in Melrose itself, but you are in a good position to drive to other Border towns and villages. We didn’t get back until Monday afternoon and I think it took us the whole week to catch up the time we took off.

After a long lay-off to repair my damaged ankle, I’m hoping to get back into training for my attempt at The London marathon in April. Time is definitely getting a bit tight now so I hope I don’t have any more time off through injury. It may end up that I have to run another marathon instead of the London one as it’s so hard to get into it. I won’t give up yet though.

I have my annual inspection from the Scottish Organic Producers Association (SOPA) on Thursday, so I need to be finished the delivery run by lunchtime. This means I’ll need to start really early so your bag may appear before you expect it this week. If you usually pay at the door and miss me, don’t worry, just leave out the two payments next time.

The boys have been busy with football, rugby and band practices. The band has been asked to play at Murrayfield before the South Africa game in a couple of weeks time. The boys would have loved that opportunity but Keir has already agreed to go and play in Aviemore with the Highland Youth Pipe Band that weekend, so we’ll just have to watch the others on TV. Playing atHampden and Murrayfield in one year is a great achievement for the band. Finn who is in P7 had a run-out with 4 of his team-mates for the S1 team as they were short of numbers. There is quite a step-up between the two age groups, the biggest being that they play on a full-size pitch and the duration of the game is twice as long. He did well but was completely shattered by the end of the match and asleep by 7 pm. I think he’ll be glad to go back to playing for the P7’s next week.

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  Beetroot can be eaten fresh, cooked or pickled. The least messy way to cook them is to wash them but boil them before you peel them. After boiling the skin rubs off very easily and the flesh doesn’t bleed all over the place. The small beetroot we have this week will cook in only half an hour. They can be used for soup, grated into risottos, boiled and eaten as an accompanying veg, pickled or roasted. Very versatile indeed.

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.

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.

Courgette Cucurbita pepo .  Good for Vitamins A and C, calcium, fibre and iron. The courgettes may be green or yellow this week. Courgettes can be eaten raw or cooked in butter or stirfried or even roasted, so very versatile. Just give the skin a good wash first and drain it off then prepare.