Newsletter w/c 18th February 2013

The surprise and delight in the fine weather over the past two or three days just highlights how few good days we’ve had recently. It’s a lot easier to get up and out in the morning when the sun’s shining – no matter what the thermometer says.

I’m hoping to get the poly-tunnel rebuilt and covered with a new polythene sheet over the next week or two, to allow us to start getting seeds sown for the coming season. We’ll be changing the way we plant and sow this year to make sure we get some crop no matter what the weather might throw at us. If anyone has any suggestions for veg that they’d like to see us trying out that we haven’t grown before, this is the time to let me know.

Lynda has been extremely busy over the last wee while as she’s been re-doing the website. I had a look through it all last night and it looks fantastic. The final hurdle is to change the domain name over, so hopefully we can get it up and running online in a few days. It should be far easier for us to control the website now, so again, if you’ve any suggestions as to what you’d like to see on there then get in touch.

Despite all the bad weather, I’ve managed to get out and get some running done a couple of times a week at least since December. I’m not as fit as I was in the summer but have decided to try myself out at the Scottish Cross Country Championships in Callendar Park, Falkirk this Saturday. It must be 25 years since I last ran the National CC, and, although to some it’ll sound like torture, I’m looking forward to getting out there and battling through the mud for 12Km with hundreds of like-minded runners. There’s only a handful that will have a realistic chance of winning anything – for the rest of us it’s just a bit of fun. There are not many sports where you can directly compete with the National stars of your sport and many of the best runners will already be on a training path which they hope will end up with a place at the Commonwealth Games next year.

This is a list of the vegetables included in the standard bags this week. Substitutions may occur.

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.

Brocolli Brassica oleracea Italica Group Excellent source of Vitamin C and folic acid. Also contains Vitamins A, B2, B6 and phosphorus, fibre, calcium and iron. It is best eaten raw or quickly blanched in boiling , lightly salted water. Also good in stir-fries. Please use as quickly as possible as it doesn’t keep well..

Parsnip Pastinaca sativa. Source of Vitamin C and Folic Acid.  Peel the root thickly and slice the flesh. Boil in lightly salted water for 30 minutes. Alternatively, parboil for 10 minutes then roast for 20 – 30 minutes. Here’s a recipe I found for: Fried Parsnips; Trim the tops and roots off the parsnips then peel and cut in half lengthways. Put the parsnips in a pan of boiling water ( lightly salted)  and cook for 15 minutes. They should still be firm and not quite tender. Drain thoroughly. Lightly beat an egg and dip the parsnips in it before coating them with breadcrumbs seasoned with salt and pepper. Melt 2oz(50g) of butter in a frying pan and shallow fry the parsnips until they are golden and crisp on both sides, turning once.

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.

Parsley Petroselinum sp. This is the flat-leaved type of parsley Excellent for flavouring all sorts of dishes or cut into salads or, cut over boiled potatoes, with a little melted butter. If it’s looking a bit limp when you receive it just trim the base of the stems off and pop into cold water, shake dry and then pop into a jar of water, covering the bottom of the stems by about an inch.