Newsletter w/c 2nd October 2017

We’re back to our normal schedule this week. I delivered a day early last week to allow me to whisk Lynda away to Carcassonne in the South of France for a mini-break as a birthday treat. It seems that the pace of life is a bit slower over there, but maybe that’s us looking at it from the perspective of people on holiday. They’ve got very impressive farmers’ markets’ 2 or 3 times a week in the town square and it’s really busy. It’s just a great lifestyle altogether. It must be difficult to grow good crops without irrigation. Watering must take them as much time as weeding takes us! The climate is so hot and dry.  The stalls are still laden down with salads, tomatoes, all sorts of roots, and every kind of fruit you can imagine, along with cheese, bread, seafood, meat, etc. It was great, just sitting with a coffee, watching the world go by. We walked and explored the mediaeval Cite and on our last day, hired bikes and cycled along a few kilometers of Le Canal du Midi. All in all it felt like a lot longer than 3 days, so that’s the sign of a good break.

On the home veg front, we’ve still been having a few problems with blight in the potatoes. This should be coming to an end now as we’re into the main crop, and although these varieties still get the disease, they are less susceptible and because they’re picked a wee while before they’re required, they have time to develop the symptoms and be removed before packing. As ever, let me know if you’ve had problems with any of your veg. We need to know if anything’s wrong and you need to be compensated.

PLEASE RETURN ALL NET BAGS PLEASE. WE RE-USE THEM.

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

Potato Solanum tuberosum. We’re onto our maincrop potatoes now so we’re back to the full amount in the bag. The variety for the most part is Nicola. 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  vitamin B3 and Iodine. They are also an excellent source of Vitamin C and 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.

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.

Cucumber – The kids love their chunks of cool cucumber – it’s just about the only salad vegetable our Finn will eat. Have it on it’s own or chopped into salads.

Kale Brassica oleracea Acephala Group.. Some of the kale is still on its stalk so remove it before preparing. Kale is an excellent source of Vitamins A and C and also a source of potassium, copper, calcium,  fibre and phytochemicals. To cook, strip the leaves off of the tough midrib, then shred and wash in cold, running water. Then steam for 10 minutes and serve with melted butter and season with pepper or ground cloves. You can make Colcannon by draining the kale after boiling then setting it aside. Take a finely chopped onion and put it in a pan with 150ml of milk. Bring it to the boil then remove from the heat and leave to infuse for 10 minutes. Blend about 375g of mashed potatoes with the finely chopped kale, then heat through gently, adding as much of the milk and onion mixture as it will absorb to give the consistency of creamed potatoes. Put in a serving dish, and pour in some melted butter.

Celery  Apium graveolens (1 head) This biennial veg is high in Vitamin C, folic acid, potassium and fibre. The stalks are generally eaten fresh or used in soups and stews. To cook it, boil it in a little salted boiling water for 15-20 minutes or steam it for 25-30 minutes. Serve in cheese or parsley sauce or smothered in butter.

Fruit and Vegetables
Organic Vegetables	£13.50 per standard bag
	£16.50 per Large bag
Organic Fruit	£4.00 per Small Bag
	£7.00 per Large Bag
Organic Pasteurised Milk ( full cream/semi skimmed)	£1.20per  litre
Organic Single cream ( 250ml/500ml)	£1.20/£1.60
Organic Double cream ( 250ml/500ml)	£1.30/£1.70
Eggs
Organic Free Range Eggs	£1.80 per Half Dozen Box

Cheques should be made payable to ‘D Murray’

For more information or to place an order please contact us on 07931 738767 or e-mail us or alternatively you can check out our website at  www.thewholeshebag.com or e-mail  thewholeshebag@aol.com