Newsletter w/c 21st January 2013

It’s that time of year again, when the swede becomes the king of vegetables, with it’s major supporting role beside the haggis at your Burns supper. With your bag this week all you need to do is go on a haggis hunt, bring it home and you’ll have the tatties and neeps to accompany it. You’ll need the Selkirk Grace and the Address tae a Haggis and you’ll have your own Burns supper.

I hope the weather isn’t going to affect us this week but it’s not looking good at the moment. With the wind blowing the snow around, it’s started drifting in the road out of the farm, so I’ve got a bit of digging to do before I’ll get out if it doesn’t snow any more. If we get a lot more snow I may have some delays in deliveries this week. I’ll keep you informed on the blog.

On the farm I haven’t really been able to get much done due to frozen ground and adverse weather. I’ve concentrated on getting wood cut and keeping the house warm. The boys have been digging snow holes in the drifts and having them destroyed by a boisterous Labrador pup. Tess is nearly 7 months now so she’s not quite puppy size any more, but she

Still acts the pup. She comes with me on my shorter training runs now, if I’m staying on the moor or in the woods.

I think this week will be a constant round of deliveries, snow clearing and wood cutting.

If there are any additional services that we could be offering to improve the box scheme please let me know. I’m always open to suggestions.

Here’s a list of the veg included in the standard bag this week. Substitutions may occur. The mixed fruit and veg bag will have less vegetable varieties than the standard.

Potato Solanum tuberosum.. The variety for the most part 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.

Savoy Cabbage Brassica oleracea . 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  as it has a big and simmer gently for 30 minutes. Season to taste, sprinkle with parsley and serve at once.

Swede  Brassica napa (1 head) The staple of the Scottish winter vegetable garden. Just peel the tough skin off and chop up and boil the sweet, crunchy, orange root. Best served mashed with a dribble of cream and a dod of butter through it. A spoonful of this will partner mashed tatties wherever they’re used and, of course, you can’t have haggis without it.

Garlic  (1head). Use a clove of garlic to flavour savoury dishes. Split a clove off of the bulb, peel off the skin and crush or chop finely. Mix with butter and spread on bread or  toast to make a tasty snack.

Fruit and Vegetables
Organic Vegetables	£13.50 per standard bag
	£16.50 per Large bag
Organic Fruit	£4.00 per Small Bag
	£7.50 per Large Bag
Organic Pasteurised Milk ( full cream/semi skimmed)	£1.20per  litre
Organic Single cream ( 250ml)	£1.00/£1.60
Organic Double cream ( 250ml)	£1.30/£1.70
Eggs
Organic Free Range Eggs	£1.80 per Half Dozen Box