Newsletter for w/c 25th January 2016

I'm writing this on Burns Night, so I hope you've all spared a thought for the man and his works, maybe even had a wee Burns supper yourselves, and if so, I hope our tatties and neeps did a fine accompanying job. I'm from Ayrshire and proud of Rabbie, so I don't let this time of year pass without a meal in his memory.
We increased our hen total by two this week, after taking a couple of rescued Black Rock hens from the charity A Wing and a Prayer. They have settled in really well and are looking great - fully feathered and well-fed. We've had Black Rocks before and they've always proved to be good layers so we should have an abundance of eggs this Spring.
I've been given the chance of a new experience later on in Spring by a friend. He knows some guys who are involved in re-enactments of medieval battles and things of that ilk. Their group have been invited to a Fete in Orleans to celebrate the 700th anniversary of the execution of Joan of Arc and were a couple of men short. It looks like I may be enlisted in the ranks for the occasion. All I've heard so far is that I'll be dressed in a kilt, throwing stones and tossing cabers, but won't need to be near the pointy end of any swords or lances. Should be interesting!
The boys are still piping and drumming with the Novice/Juvenile band at Boghall and Bathgate Pipe Band. The senior (Grade 1) band have played at Murrayfield for the rugby internationals on a regular basis, and this year, the young band has been asked to perform at the Womens rugby internationals. These games are held at Broadwood Stadium, Cumbernauld on the Friday evenings of the international weekends. The summer tends to get quite tense for the bands, with the serious business of competitions taking place most weekends, so these kind of exhibition outings are a welcome break from the practice and good for the band funds too.

This week's  standard vegetable bag contains: potatoes, onions carrots, broccoli, leek, parsnip and garlic
The large bag also includes: savoy, cauliflower and celery.

Potato Solanum tuberosum.. The variety for the most part is Valor. Some of you may get washed potatoes. These have been washed to check for blemishes and disease. Soil acts as a natural preservative, so the washed tatties may not keep quite as long as the dirty ones. 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.

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.

Broccoli Brassica oleracea Italica Group (1 head) Excellent source of Vitamin C, folic acid and phytochemicals and good for Vitamn.B6. 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. Broccoli is also good in stir-fries as it has a lovely crunch to it if you don’t cook it for too long.

Parsnip Pastinaca sativa (350g). 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.