The Whole Shebag Organic Produce Delivery Service

Newsletter w/c 23rd January 2012

2012-01-23T13:16:00.000-08:00

I feel like I’m starting to make some inroads into the list of jobs I’d written at the New Year. I managed to re-patch the shed roof last week but before I could get the time to put battens on it, the strong gusts at the weekend ripped the felt off again. I was up on the roof again this morning and the felt is on and there is so much battening on the roof there appears to be more wood than felt. The remains of the poly-tunnel have been bent back into a shape that resembles what it once was. I’ll leave the polythene off until I need it and then I’ll start to remove the sheet in the autumn to avoid the same thing happening again.

Finn and I took his new bike and my old one, to Glentress last Saturday and had a great day, despite wintry weather conditions, with my friend Charles and his son Alistair. We had about 2 hours of climbing up the hillside, then about an hour skelping back down through the trees. It’s a fantastic day out if you’re into cycling, and the facilities couldn’t be better with hot showers for you to get cleaned up, a jetwash to clean up your bike and a cool café to relax in and relive the high points.

There are jeruslem artichokes in the large bags this week and everyone will get them next week. I think we should have them for another couple of months yet. We obviously didn’t grow the red peppers that are included this week, I just like to give you a bit of a treat out-of-season once in a while.

This weekend is going to be huge for a lot of Ayrshire people. Not only is it Burns Supper time, but Kilmarnock are playing Ayr United in the Semi-Final of the Scottish League Cup, (it’s got a sponsors name now, but I can never remember it, so it always the League cup to me). The two Ayrshire teams have a huge rivalry but due to the fact that Ayr can’t match Kilmarnock in league results they have been in a lower league for years, so the clubs hardly ever meet. So, there’ll be thousands of football fans trecking up the M77 to Hampden stadium on Saturday all hoping to be making the trip back up in a couple of months for the final. It’s extra special for Finn and Keir as it’s going to be their first experience of being at a football match. We’re hoping for a Killie win, but the last time I mentioned a match in the newsletter we lost 5-1, I hope I’m not jinxing the team.

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

Potato Solanum tuberosum. We’re onto our own new potatoes now. The variety for the most part is Pentland Javelin. 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.

Jerusalem Artichoke Helianthus tuberosus Source of Vitamin B1, B2, B3, calcium, potassium, iron and fibre. To cook scrub off the worst of any dirt on the root, then boil for a couple of minutes without cutting off the root or the top. This loosens the skin and allows you to rub it off quite easily. Then boil in slightly salted water for a further 15-20 minutes or until tender. Add lemon juice to the water before boiling to keep the roots white. Can also be roasted after parboiling, and makes very good soup. All you really need are the artichokes, some onion, simmered together until soft, add a stock, boil for 30 minutes maybe a little nutmeg. Puree it then reheat with a little milk added and bob’s your uncle. Delicious soup.

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.

Kale Brassica oleracea Acephela Group..(1 bag) Excellent source of Vitamins A and C. Also a source of Calcium and copper. One of cooking is to rinse the kale in cold water, drain well and cut off and discard the tough stems. Cut the leaves into ¼ inch strips. In a well seasoned wok or frying pan, heat a tablespoon of olive oil over a moderatley high heat, add a crushed clove of garlic and cook, stirring for 30 seconds. Add half of the kale and cook, stirring for 1 minute, until they begin to wilt. Add the remaining kale and cook stirring for 6 – 8 minutes until the greens darken slightly and are fairly tender. Season with salt pepper and lemon juice.

Pepper Capsicum sp. (1 head) Good source of vitamin C. Wash the pepper, then slice off the top. Scoop out the seeds and membranes. Can be eaten cooked or fresh in various dishes including pasta sauces, pizza, salads. Peppers can also be stuffed with various fillings.

Newsletter w/c 16th January 2012

2012-01-16T13:43:00.000-08:00

I’m glad we didn’t have the frost last week, that we woke up to this morning. There would have been no chance of lifting enough Jerusalem artichokes for everyone. The first delivery week of the New Year went reasonably well, so we’re all back into the routine again. Ioni, our niece, is joining the packing team from Wednesday and the extra pair of hands will be welcome. She’ll be 13 next month but she’s already as tall as me so I’m sure she’ll be working as hard as everyone else in no time.

I had hoped to get some work done in the field today, but had to go for non-digging jobs, which meant I got some wood cut for the boiler and repaired the felt on the roof of the small shed. The old felt disappeared in the stormy weather while we were in Crail. I think I better batten it down securely in case this stormy weather is to become a regular thing.

Finn’s been saving up for ages to buy a new bike and eventually got it this week, so this weekend we’re going to Glentress by Peebles to enjoy the cycle routes through the wooded hillsides with some friends. Keir’s not quite ready for Glentress yet, but he’s announced he’d like to climb Ben Nevis this summer. I think I’ll maybe test his enthusiasm with something a bit smaller and closer to hand, like Tinto, and see how he feels then. I’ve never been up Ben Nevis, so if he is still keen after a few smaller trials, we’ll get it organized.

I’ll be in touch with everyone over the next few weeks as I still have a lot of gaps in contact details for my list. We are also going to have to change our bank account details to take into account the fact that we became a limited company last year. The bank wants us to open new accounts, which will mean new account numbers for direct debits and bank transfers. I’ll get in touch with each of you when it all gets sorted out.

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

Onion Allium cepa. Used in stews, pasta dishes, soups. Source of Vitamins A and C, Iron, Calcium and Potassium .

Leek Allium porrum. Leeks give a lovely creamy consistency to soups and are great in flans or quiches. Leeks are a great source of Vitamin C. Be sure to wash them very carefully though, as soil gets caught in the leaf axils as it is growing. Cut up the leek then rinse in cold running water in a colander.

Parsnip. Pastinaca sativa Good for Vitamin C, folic acid, potassium and fibre. Peel, then cut into chunks for boiling or roasting, also can be grated into soups or kept in chunks for soups or stews. Here’s a recipe for: Curried parsnip couscous. Prepare your parsnips and cut them into batons about 7cm (3inches) long, the thicker sections will need to be quartered. Mix together 1 teaspoon each of sea salt, paprika and ground cumin, a tablespoon each of sunflower oil and honey and a dash of tabasco sauce. Pour this over the parsnips and leave to marinate for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 200oC/400oF/Gas 6. Cover the parsnips tightly with foil and bake for 1 hour. Turn them regularly, making sure they are tightly wrapped before returning them to the oven. Sprinkle them with water from time to time to stop sticking. Towards the end of the cooking time prepare some couscous. Serve the couscous with the parsnips, sprinkled with coriander leaves. Have mango chutney on hand, just to finish it off.

Garlic Allium sativum. (1 head) Adds another dimension of flavour to all sorts of savoury dishes. Don’t overdo it unless you like that sort of thing

Savoy Cabbage Brassica oleracea Capitata Group..(1 head) Excellent source of Vitamins B6 and C and also a source of potassium and fibre and phytochemicals. To cook, cut into quarters, cut out the hard core shred and wash under running cold water, then boil or steam for 7-10 minutes. This recipe is quite close to the traditional bubble and squeak:- Prepare the cabbage as above and put in a pan of lightly saltd boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain thoroughly. Remove the rind and gristle from 6oz ( 175g) of bacon, chop crossways into narrow strips and put in a heavy based pan. Fry the bacon until crisp, and the fat begin to run then add a finely chopped onion and cook until soft. Add the drained cabbage, stirring continuously until well coated. Season to taste with salt, pepper and cook through.

Newsletter w/c 9th January 2012

2012-01-10T23:35:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year. We’ve had an eventful festive season, and have just got back from a week away in Crail. It’s always the ideal place to relax, for us, and there’s plenty to do, whatever the time of year, or the weather conditions throw at us. We came back to a bit of damage at Cobbinshaw – the polytunnel succumbed to the elements and will need a new cover and a lot of tweaking of poles if it’s ever going to resemble it’s former self. Part of the ridge of the house roof blew off as well, but nothing really serious.
I have to apologise for the lack of a newsletter for the last week of the year. My Gran had been ill for a while before Christmas and passed away quite peacefully in hospital on Christmas Evening. We spent Christmas with my parents this year and had visited my Gran in the afternoon and we were all together when the news came through from the hospital. I have really happy memories of her – she was always there when we needed her and Brian and I spent a lot of time with her and Grandpa. She was always doing crosswords and had the Herald crossword done every day – even to the point where she could recognize the separate styles of the different individuals who set them each day. I could do with a bit of that intellect! We’ll all miss her.
There was no newsletter, so some of you will have wondered why you didn’t receive a bag last week. Hopefully this explains it. We’ll be back to normal from now. I’ve got the last of the sprouts in the bag this week and have just cut the stalks. The sprouts will vary in size and a few may need to be discarded but there should be a good enough portion left for you. It’s also the start of the Jerusalem artichoke season and we seem to have a fair crop of them this year and a better size than previous year too.
This is a list of the vegetables included in the standard bags this week. Substitutions may occur.

Onion Allium cepa. Used in stews, pasta dishes, soups. Source of Vitamins A and C, Iron, Calcium and Potassium .

Jerusalem Artichoke Helianthus tuberosus Good source of Vitamin B1, B2, B3, iron, calcium, potassium and fibre. This member of the sunflower family has been my windbreak for the veg patch for the second half of 2008. The stems grow to a height of about 10ft. For the second year running they didn’t flower, due to the weather, so the tubers won’t be massive. Peel the tubers, then roast or boil, much like potatoes. They also make great soup. When boiling, add a little lemon juice as the peeled flesh tends to darken in the water if you don’t.

Brussels Sprouts Brassica oleracea Gemmifera Group.. Excellent source of Vitamin C and phytochemicals and also contains Vitamins A and B6, potassium, fibre and calcium. Wash the sprouts in cold water and peel off any ragged or marked leaves then cut an X into the base of the sprout. Cook in a minimum of boiling salted water for 8 – 10 minutes, NO LONGER, or they’ll go soggy.

Swede Brassica napa (1 head) You’ve had about a months rest from swede and you’re probably going to need the same again, as some of these swedes are whoppers. They’ll last you for ages. It’s obviously the veg of choice to have with haggis, but is also a superb veg to puree for babies. To prepare it just peel it thickly and chop off the top and base of the root. Cut it up or dice it and boil for about half an hour in slightly salted water, ort until tender. Mash it with cream and a little butter.

Tomato Lycopersicon esculentum. Can be eaten fresh in salads or cooked into sauces, the famous soup, or for the unhealthy option fried for breakfast. A good way to store them is to go along the sun-dried tomato line. Put a tablespoon of oil in a baking tray. Cut the tomatoes in half lengthways and scoop out the seeds and pulp. Lay them on the baking tray, sprinkle over another tablespoon of oil and put in an oven at 150oC and cook for 45 minutes. Take out of oven and leave to cool. You can either eat them like this in salads or pasta, or store them in a jar filled with good quality olive oil. They can be stored like this, unrefrigerated, for up to 6 months.

Leek Allium porrum ( 1 head) Leeks can be used in many ways, however, with just one leek, they are best used in soups to give a creamy texture. Also good in qiches.

2011-12-19T23:30:00.000-08:00

Deliveries this week and next will be on the same days as usual. Then we’re going to have a holiday for a week at the beginning of 2012 with deliveries recommencing again from the 9th January.
The festive weather hasn’t caused us too much trouble over the past week, apart from frozen fingers when we’re picking the veg. Deliveries were hampered a bit by me overloading the van at one point and breaking both the rear springs. That meant an overnight stay in the garage for the van and a very late delivery on Wednesday. I hope it didn’t cause too many problems for any of you. I eventually got back to Cobbinshaw at midnight.
The boys are both fighting fit again and seem to have Christmas Parties or services to go to every day. When they haven’t been at that, they’ve been out playing in the snow, so they’re having a great time and getting more and more wound-up at the prospect of Santa’s arrival.
This week, we’ve given you the veg we thought would be most appropriate for a Christmas meal with parsnips and sprouts the items most customers seem to want, I’ve also included red cabbage as it is a favourite with most people at this time of year too.
As I’ve already noted, we’re off for a week after next weeks delivery, so if anyone would like an bag or a larger bag to tide them over til our return, please just let me know.
Finally, we’d just like to wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and hope that you have a great time over the holidays.
This is a list of the vegetables included in the standard bags this week. Substitutions may occur.

Potato Solanum tuberosum. We’re onto our own new potatoes now. The variety for the most part is Pentland Javelin. 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.

Red Cabbage Brassica oleracea Capitata Group..(1 head) Excellent source of Vitamin C and phytochemicals and also contains Vitamin B6, potassium, fibre and calcium. Here’s a recipe for Braised red cabbage which uses apples rather than the orange based gravy I gave you last time. Braised Red Cabbage: Remove the outer coarse leaves and cut the cabbage into quarters. Remove the tough coresand shred the cabbage finely. Peel core and grate 2 cooking apples and mix with the cabbage. Melt 2oz.(50g) of butter in a pan, add 5fl.oz.(150ml) white wine vinegar and mix in the cabbage; coat thoroughly; then cover with a tight fitting lid and simmer over a gentle heat for 1 hour. Add a little more vinegar or water if the cabbage threatens to stick. Stir in 5fl.oz. (150ml) of red wine or blackcurrant juice, season to taste with sugar. The cabbage will have a fairly sharp flavour. Cover with a lid and simmer until tender.
the flesh. Boil in lightly salted water for 30 minutes na dmash with cream and butter.

Brussels Sprouts Brassica oleracea Gemmifera Group.. Excellent source of Vitamin C and phytochemicals and also contains Vitamins A and B6, potassium, fibre and calcium. Wash the sprouts in cold water and peel off any ragged or marked leaves then cut an X into the base of the sprout. Cook in a minimum of boiling salted water for 8 – 10 minutes, NO LONGER, or they’ll go soggy.

Parsnips Pastinaca sativa ( 300g) Roots are boiled or added to soups , stews and casseroles. Traditionally roasted for Christmas. Peel then slice to the desired size. Parboil in slightly salted water for 5-10 minutes then place around your turkey for the last ½ hour of cooking time, basting with the juices in the roasting tin.

Leek Allium porrum ( 1 head) Leeks can be used in many ways, however, with just one leek, they are best used in soups to give a creamy texture. Also good in quiches.

Newsletter w/c 12th December 2011

2011-12-12T23:41:00.000-08:00

When I heard that the forecasted storm was on it’s way last Thursday, I decided it was probably best to stay off the roads and to do what I could to protect things at Cobbinshaw. The poor polytunnel looks like it has gone ten rounds with Mike Tyson, but the polythene is still in one piece, although the structure is a little bent and broken in places. I’m confident I can fix it. I delivered both the Thursday and Friday deliveries on Friday last week, but, weather permitting, we’ll be back to normal this week.

Finn is still recovering from his bout of illness, but has managed to get back to school today for the first time in a couple of weeks. Hopefully, he’ll get back to his old boisterous self by Christmas.

During the festive season, delivery days will not need to be changed. We’ll deliver as normal on the week before Christmas and the week between Christmas and New Year. We’ll take our customary festive week off over the first week of the New Year, so there will be no deliveries on the week beginning 2^nd January with deliveries starting again on the 9^th January 2012.

There’s a flyer in the bag this week to let you know that we have gift vouchers available for sale. Just let us know by e-mail, how much you’d like the voucher to be made out for and I’ll drop it off to you. Anyone would enjoy fresh organic veg and fruit as a present. The delivery can be made anytime over the next few months.

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

Onion Allium cepa. Used in stews, pasta dishes, soups. Source of Vitamins A and C, Iron, Calcium and Potassium .

Garlic Allium sativum.( 1 head) Good for Vitamins A and C, calcium and iron. A crushed clove of garlic can enhance many savoury meals. May be substituted with pepper if you received garlic last week.

Celeriac (1head). To prepare celeriac, treat it much as you would a swede. Peel it thickly and slice. As you slice the flesh drop it into a pan of cold water with a couple of drops of lemon juice to avoid discolouration. Here’s a recipe for Celeriac with mushroom stuffing: Prepare as above but slice crossways into discs 1 inch thick. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Drain and keep the celeriac warm under a dry cloth. Meanwhile, take 250g (1/2lb) mushrooms, keep whole if small and slice thickly if large. Fry the mushrooms in 50g (2oz) butter for 5 minutes until golden. Arrange the celeriac slices on individual plates, top with the fried mushrooms and sprinkle with paprika. Serve as an appetiser.

Pumpkin Cucurbita sp. (1 head) An excellent source of phytochemicals and vitamins A and C. Also a significant source of fibre and potassium. Pumpkins are very versatile and can make excellent soup, peeled, de-seeded and cut into chunks, with chicken or vegetable stock and an onion, carrots and a clove of garlic. Simmer it til tender then liquidise for a hearty soup. Also good roasted. You can either cut it up and remove the seeds and roast it around a joint or chicken, or you can roast it whole, just make sure you cut a hole right through to the seed core first or it could blow up in the oven. Some mess!

Newsletter w/c 5th December 2011

2011-12-05T13:50:00.000-08:00

It’s been a tiring week, as Finn has been suffering from the flu and needing a bit of attention through the night to keep his temperature from getting too high. It seems like weeks since we had a full nights sleep. Thankfully, today, he’s starting to show an improvement, so hopefully he’ll be back to his old self again quickly and get back to school and enjoy the run-up to Christmas.

The snow has arrived a Cobbinshaw, but in less quantity than we experienced last year. I don’t foresee it causing any disruption to deliveries this week, however, the van is off the road as I write this. A new alternator was fitted 3 weeks ago and is faulty so I’m waiting on it getting replaced before I leave with deliveries tomorrow, so I may be a little later than usual.

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

Onion Allium cepa. Used in stews, pasta dishes, soups. Source of Vitamins A and C, Iron, Calcium 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 as an accompaniment to grilled fish or roast meat.

Tundra Cabbage Brassica oleracea Capitata Group..(1 head) Excellent source of Vitamins B6 and C and also a source of potassium and fibre and phytochemicals. To cook, cut into quarters, cut out the hard core shred and wash under running cold water, then boil or steam for 7-10 minutes. This recipe is quite close to the traditional bubble and squeak:- Prepare the cabbage as above and put in a pan of lightly saltd boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain thoroughly. Remove the rind and gristle from 6oz ( 175g) of bacon, chop crossways into narrow strips and put in a heavy based pan. Fry the bacon until crisp, and the fat begin to run then add a finely chopped onion and cook until soft. Add the drained cabbage, stirring continuously until well coated. Season to taste with salt, pepper and cook through.

Swede Brassica napa. (1head). Swedes are one of Scotlands Winter staple veggies. It is completely frost resistant so needs only to harvested as required rather than having to be stored. The only problem is lifting when the ground is frozen I’ve seen us lifting them with pick axes in frosty weather. Cut off the top and bottom of the swede then peel thickly. Cut into cubes or big chunks and boil for 30-40 minutes or alternatively, parboil then set around a roast in the oven for the last 30 minutes of cooking time. Excellent boiled, then mashed with butter and cream.

Newsletter w/c 28th November 2011

2011-11-28T13:54:00.000-08:00

Someone else beat me to the farmers market at Juniper Green on Saturday, but considering the weather conditions, I feel quite fortunate that I missed out this time. I’ve been promised a pitch at the market on the 17^th December. Hopefully I’ll manage to get along to it this time.

We’re always looking for new customers, so please spread the word about the service we provide. We still have plenty of capacity as numbers of deliveries dipped slightly a couple of years ago when the financial crisis first raised its head. We want to be working as efficiently as we can so the more deliveries in each area we have, the less fuel we use per household. Also, if you have any suggestions on how we could improve the service, please let me know.

At Cobbinshaw, I’ve been trying to tidy up areas around the sheds and the polytunnel and improve the surfaces of the storage and access areas. It’s been a bit wet for it, but we’re getting there. We’ve also stripped the floor area from our old barn to form the structure and get the levels correct for the garden around our house. It’ll give us the blank canvas we need to start turning it into an interesting, colourful and enjoyable garden for ourselves and for a wide variety of birds, insects and other wildlife.

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

Potato Solanum tuberosum. We’re onto our own new potatoes now. The variety for the most part is Pentland Javelin. If I came across any ‘volunteer’ plants (potatoes left in the ground from last years crop) I dug them too so there may be one or two different tatties in your bag. It’s such a nice change when we move to new potatoes from the previous season’s stored 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 .

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.

Beetroot Beta vulgaris (400g ) Contains Vitamin C folic acid and potassium. Can be cooked in various ways, but don’t peel the beet until you’ve boiled it as this stops it ‘bleeding’. My recipe for you this week completely disregards this, so have a pair of rubber gloves and newspaper handy. I’m going to tell you how to make Super Boost Juice – Put on the rubber gloves, spread out a newspaper and peel your beetroot and cut it into chunks. Take 4 apples and quarter and core them. Take 4 carrots and trim and peel them. Take 1cm/1 inch of fresh ginger and peel it. This is easily done by scraping the skin off with the side of a teaspoon. Process all the ingredients through a juicer. Stir and serve immediately, adding ice if desired.

Newsletter w/c 21st November 2011

2011-11-28T13:53:00.000-08:00

Everything went to plan with the Manchester trip last Friday. I delivered the Friday bags on Thursday to free up Friday, and allow Liam and I the chance to soak up the atmosphere, and a few beers, before the concert was due to begin. It turned out to be a great night and Carter USM put on a fine show.

Anyway, I got back home and back to tattie digging again by Sunday. We’ve had quite a bit of mild weather recently, and it’s been really easy to encourage myself down to the field to get things done. There has been a lot of time this summer when it wasn’t quite so appealing. The geese are on the move now and many come and stop for a night or two on the loch. The noise of the geese in their flight formation is really comical. It’s just as if they’re chatting to each other as they travel along.

I keep saying this, and then something comes up to change my plans, but I’ll try again. I am hoping to be at Juniper Green farmers market this Saturday. Even if I don’t make it, there are still plenty of interesting stalls to make it worth a look, so please try and come along if you can. It’s moved across the road now to the car park behind the dentists surgery. There are plenty of signs, so you won’t get lost.

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

Onion Allium cepa. Used in stews, pasta dishes, soups. Source of Vitamins A and C, Iron, Calcium and Potassium .

Tomato Lycopersicon esculentum. Tomatoes are a good source of Vitamins A and C, potassium and iron. This is the first of the British organic tomatoes for this year. They are eaten in many different ways, both fresh or cooked.

Red Cabbage Brassica oleracea CapitataGroup (1 head) – If the cabbage is really big this time, I will half it. This is in response to customer comments after the last red cabbages 5 weeks ago. Some of you may even have some left. Here’s a different recipe for you to try with it: Preheat your oven to 150oC/300oF/ gas mark 2. Remove any damaged outer leaves, cut into quarters and remove the stalk. Shred the cabbage finely. In a casserole, lay a layer of cabbage, seasoned with salt and pepper, a layer of chopped onions and chopped, peeled and cored apples, with a sprinkling of garlic, 1 clove should be enough, a little nutmeg, cinnamon and ground cloves and about a tablespoon of brown sugar. Repeat these layers until everything is in then pour in 3 tablespoon of wine vinegar and 1/2oz (10g) of butter. Put a lid on the casserole and let it cook slowly for 1 ½ to 2 hours, stirring a couple of times during cooking.

Kohl-rabi Brassica oleracea Gongylodes Group (1 head) Excellent source of Vitamin C and of potassium. Peel the outer skin off of the swollen bulb then eat either raw or cooked. Here’s a recipe for Sugar-browned kohl-rabi Peel the kohl-rabi and cut into finger-wide strips. Blanch for 5 minutes then refresh in cold water. Return the kohl-rabi to the pan with a small amount of boiling lightly salted water. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Drain and allow to cool slightly. Melt 1oz (25g) sugar in a heavy based frying pan without stirring, until it bubbles and is pale brown. Add 1oz (25g) of butter and stir until blended. Stir in the kohl-rabi strips and shake the pan frequently to coat all the strips evenly with caramel.

Courgette Cucurbita pepo (1 head) Source of Vitamins A and C , calcium, iron and fibre. Prepare by wshing and trimming both ends. Courgettes can be coked whole or in slices, or they can be cut in half lengthways filled with stuffing and baked. Boil courgettes in lightly salted water for 15-20 minutes. Sliced courgettes may be steamed in butter for 10 minutes. Halved courgettes may be parboiled for 5 minutes the finished in the oven, in a well-buttered dish for 25 minutes at 190oC (375oF) Gas Mark 5.

newsletter w/c 14th November 2011

2011-11-28T13:52:00.000-08:00

I’m going down to Manchester with my old friend Liam on Friday to see a band that we last saw together in 1990. It means that the easiest practical way for me to get the Friday deliveries out is to deliver them on Thursday evening instead. I hope you won’t mind getting your bag a day early.

We’ve got Brussels sprouts in the bags this week as promised. It really makes me feel like we’re getting close to the festive season as if I needed any reminder anyway. The boys started a list for Santa a month ago and if he is going to deliver everything written down I think we’ll need a bigger house.

On the subject of Christmas, delivery days will not need to be changed. We’ll deliver as normal on the week before Christmas and the week between Christmas and New Year. We’ll take our customary festive week off over the first week of the New Year with deliveries starting again on the 9^th January 2012.

Finn was away playing rugby with Biggar Mini’s in Ayr on Sunday, while I got on with some tidying up at home. He came home with a smile on his face and cracking black eye. He’s very proud of it and was a bit disappointed it hadn’t coloured up more for going to school on Monday.

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

Onion Allium cepa. Used in stews, pasta dishes, soups. Source of Vitamins A and C, Iron, Calcium and Potassium .

Brussels Sprouts Brassica oleracea Gemmifera Group.. Excellent source of Vitamin C and phytochemicals and also contains Vitamins A and B6, potassium, fibre and calcium. Wash the sprouts in cold water and peel off any ragged or marked leaves then cut an X into the base of the sprout. Cook in a minimum of boiling salted water for 8 – 10 minutes, NO LONGER, or they’ll go soggy.

swede Brassica napa. (1head). Swedes are one of Scotlands Winter staple veggies. It is completely frost resistant so needs only to harvested as required rather than having to be stored. The only problem is lifting when the ground is frozen I’ve seen us lifting them with pick axes in frosty weather. Cut off the top and bottom of the swede then peel thickly. Cut into cubes or big chunks and boil for 30-40 minutes or alternatively, parboil then set around a roast in the oven for the last 30 minutes of cooking time. Excellent boiled, then mashed with butter and cream.

hile, take 250g (1/2lb) mushrooms, keep whole if small and slice thickly if large. Fry the mushrooms in 50g (2oz) butter for 5 minutes until golden. Arrange the celeriac slices on individual plates, top with the fried mushrooms and sprinkle with paprika. Serve as an appetiser.

Newsletter w/c 7th November 2011

2011-11-08T11:01:00.001-08:00

After a visit to see my Gran and my Parents in Kilmarnock on Saturday, we decided to take the boys to the fireworks display at Strathclyde Park on the way back. It was a fantastic night with live bands and plenty of entertainment to keep the boys amused while waiting for the countdown to the actual display. The boys’ faces were a picture as they were singing along to all the accompanying songs. We were all impressed by the quality of the show and will definitely be back next year.

On the farm, I’ve lifted all the onions now and stored them for drying and this week, if the ground doesn’t get too hard, I’ll get back to lifting potatoes again. I’ve still to sow the next batch of winter salads, so that’s on the list for this week too. The Jerusalem Artichokes usually get left until after Christmas, before I start lifting them, but I may have a look and see how they are progressing and might try to get them in the bags soon as we seem to have a large crop if the foliage is anything to go by. We’ll also be including Brussels sprouts in the bag next week, as they are ahead of schedule this year. I’m sure there will be plenty for Christmas as well.

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

Onion Allium cepa. Used in stews, pasta dishes, soups. Source of Vitamins A and C, Iron, Calcium and Potassium .

Kale Brassica oleracea Acephala Group. Excellent source of phytochemicals and a source of vitamins A and C, calcium, copper, potassium and fibre. Don’t over do the cooking. Just needs gentle treatment. A light steam or boiled in very little amount of water until just wilting. Scatter in a few cloves for a bit of extra flavour. Can be used fresh in a winter salad, but can be a bit over-powering if you use too much.

Cucumber Cucumis sativus. (1/2 head) Good source of vitamin C and A. Also, a good source of potassium. Wash thoroughly, dry, then slice up to use in salads. Occasionally used in soups.

Parsnip Pastinaca sativa This sweet root vegetable was eaten by our ancestors in the way that potatoes are eaten today. Prepare the roots for cooking by cutting off the tops and the tapering root. Peel the parsnips thinly and cut lengthways into thick slices. Parsnips may be boiled in lightly salted water for 20-25 minutes, depending on the size or method of preparation, or they may be steamed in butter and a little white stock or white wine. Boiled parsnips can be serves tossed in butter and the cress, or Mornay sauce. They can also be roasted. Parboil them for 5 minutes and then roast for 30-40 minutes in the oven.

Celeriac (1head). To prepare celeriac, treat it much as you would a swede. Peel it thickly and slice. As you slice the flesh drop it into a pan of cold water with a couple of drops of lemon juice to avoid discolouration. Here’s a recipe fpr Celeriac with mushroom stuffing: Prepare as above but slice crossways into discs 1 inch thick. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Drain and keep the celeriac warm under a dry cloth. Meanwhile, take 250g (1/2lb) mushrooms, keep whole if small and slice thickly if large. Fry the mushrooms in 50g (2oz) butter for 5 minutes until golden. Arrange the celeriac slices on individual plates, top with the fried mushrooms and sprinkle with paprika. Serve as an appetiser.

newsletter w/c 31st October 2011

2011-11-01T00:44:00.000-07:00

This will be our 101st ‘e-newsletter’ and as a sort of celebration of this, I’m sending out hard copies of the newsletter for a couple of weeks, mainly to advertise the fact that the newsletter is on the blog, for anyone who thought I’d just stopped doing them. Please note that I am quite happy to provide you with a hard copy each week if you find this preferable to the blog on the website. Just let me know and we’ll add the newsletter to your bag. The newsletter can be found each week on the ‘News’ link on our website – www.thewholeshebag.com

On the farm we’re really enjoying this mild spell of weather. There a re still a lot of heavy rain showers about, but we’re managing to get things done in between. We’re going to lift all the rest of the onions this week to start to dry them out for storage and the ongoing job of lifting potatoes is always there to do too.

Deliveries were mucked up a little bit last week when the alternator broke on the van. I thought I was going to be able to limp back to the garage from Linlithgow but broke down completely in Bathgate. So, once again, the van had to get a piggy-back from a break-down truck. Thanks to the good service from both the breakdown company and the hire company I was back on my deliveries within 2 hours, but I was completely off my normal route by then, so some had to be delivered on Wednesday that should have been Tuesday.

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

Onion Allium cepa. Used in stews, pasta dishes, soups. Source of Vitamins A and C, Iron, Calcium and Potassium .

Beetroot Beta vulgaris (400g ) Contains Vitamin C folic acid and potassium. Can be cooked in various ways, but don’t peel the beet until you’ve boiled it as this stops it ‘bleeding’. Super Boost Juice – Put on the rubber gloves, spread out a newspaper and peel your beetroot and cut it into chunks. Take 4 apples and quarter and core them. Take 4 carrots and trim and peel them. Take 1cm/1 inch of fresh ginger and peel it. This is easily done by scraping the skin off with the side of a teaspoon. Process all the ingredients through a juicer. Stir and serve immediately, adding ice if desired.

Courgette Cucurbita pepo .(250g) 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.

Pepper Capsicum sp. (1 head) Contains Vitamins A and C, potassium and iron. Trim off the top and scoop out the seeds and membrane from inside and discard them. Peppers can be eaten fresh in salads or cooked in various ways as an accompanying veg or in sauces. Can also be stuffed and roasted.

Newsletter w/c 17th October 2011

2011-11-01T00:18:00.000-07:00

A last minute opportunity had us rushing to organise ourselves to go on holiday, last week. We spent the week in an apartment on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh and took the chance to be tourists for a change. I was close enough to home to carry out the deliveries, so everyone should have received a bag, who expected one. I tried to leave a bit earlier than usual so that I could catch up with Lynda and the boys wherever they’d decided to go to explore, so you may have ended up getting your bag slightly earlier than usual. The Friday customers ended up getting their bags on Thursday – I hope this didn’t confuse you too much.

This will be our 100^th ‘e-newsletter’ and as a sort of celebration of this, I’m sending out hard copies of the newsletter in the next two bags, mainly to advertise the fact that the newsletter is on the blog, for anyone who thought I’d just stopped doing them. Please note that I am quite happy to provide you with a hard copy each week if you find this preferable to the blog on the website. Just let me know and we’ll add the newsletter to your bag. The newsletter can be found each week on the ‘News’ link on our website – www.thewholeshebag.com

One downside of going to Edinburgh last week was that I couldn’t make the farmers market last Saturday at Juniper Green as I had advertised I would. Apologies if this caused any inconvenience for anyone.

On the farm we’ve had more dry days than wet, so the ground is starting to dry out a little. The temperature has risen steadily since the short snow shower in the middle of last week and was quite comfortable for working in today. I had sown a load of winter salads in the polytunnel, but between the cold snap and slugs, there are virtually no seedlings left. I’ll try again with a bit more protection this time and a few beer traps scattered about.

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

Onion Allium cepa. Used in stews, pasta dishes, soups. Source of Vitamins A and C, Iron, Calcium and Potassium .

Red Cabbage Brassica oleracea Capitata Group..(1 head) Excellent source of Vitamin C and phytochemicals and also contains Vitamin B6, potassium, fibre and calcium. Here’s a recipe for Braised red cabbage which uses apples rather than the orange based gravy I gave you last time. Braised Red Cabbage: Remove the outer coarse leaves and cut the cabbage into quarters. Remove the tough coresand shred the cabbage finely. Peel core and grate 2 cooking apples and mix with the cabbage. Melt 2oz.(50g) of butter in a pan, add 5fl.oz.(150ml) white wine vinegar and mix in the cabbage; coat thoroughly; then cover with a tight fitting lid and simmer over a gentle heat for 1 hour. Add a little more vinegar or water if the cabbage threatens to stick. Stir in 5fl.oz. (150ml) of red wine or blackcurrant juice, season to taste with sugar. The cabbage will have a fairly sharp flavour. Cover with a lid and simmer until tender. Boil in lightly salted water for 30 minutes and dash with cream and butter.

Newsletter w/c 10th October 2011

2011-10-12T13:32:00.000-07:00

It’s been another wet and gloomy week as far as work in the field is concerned. We’ve had very little let-up in the rainy weather and the whole farm is wetter than I’ve seen it. Even trying to do simple jobs like cutting the grass in the garden becomes a major task in these conditions. It’s even encouraging me to stay in and do some paperwork. Every cloud has a silver lining.

If you’re getting in touch with us, can you avoid texts for the next wee while. We’re having a few problems with them at the moment, so if you could e-mail any queries or holiday cancellations, that will get to us and get processed.

I’ve put a pumpkin in the bag this week as we’re getting close to carving time. You can make yourself some tasty soup with the inner flesh and carve an ornate lantern with the shell. It should survive til well after Halloween if you want it too. You may feel it’s a bit on the small side, but these ones are far easier to scoop out than a massive one. Next week I’ll give you swede for the traditionally Scottish ‘tumshie’ lantern. Now, that does take a lot of cutting and scraping to carve out. You get a real feeling of achievement after you’ve hollowed out those. Let me know how you get on.

We’ve no markets this week, but will be at Juniper Green a week on Saturday at a new venue across the road from the Kinleith Arms, in the car park behind the surgery.

I’m off to try and dig some more tatties – I don’t quite need waders but I’m not too far away from it..

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

Onion Allium cepa. Used in stews, pasta dishes, soups. Source of Vitamins A and C, Iron, Calcium and Potassium .

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.

Newsletter w/c 3rd October 2011

2011-10-03T23:56:00.000-07:00

Last weeks good weather was a real treat. Delivering veg bags in warm sunshine is far better than the constant soakings I’ve had this summer. I even managed to time my lunch-break so that I could have it on Portobello beach on Thursday. The dry weather couldn’t last, of course, and the field, although drying out a bit on top, is still very wet underneath. It hasn’t really made digging tatties much easier yet. We still need a prolonged dry spell. Growers are finding it very difficult, this year, and one chap I spoke to last week, has decided to give up. He can’t afford to keep planting crops that won’t give him a return. Hopefully he’s just temporarily scunnered, I’m sure he’ll be planting again in the Springtime.

The boys were staying with friends and relatives this weekend as Lynda and I had a couple of nights in Glasgow. We had a good time catching up with friends and just wandering about in the warm rain. When we all got back to Cobbinshaw on Sunday, our old dog Mollie, wasn’t out at the car greeting us, as she usually would have done. We found her still in her bed, unable to get up without help. So she went to the vet on Monday and was put to sleep. We’ve had her for over 14 yrs and it was a hard thing for all of us, but hardest for the boys to understand and they were pretty upset. The only one with a slight smile on his lips was Kipper the cat, who now gets a whole bed to himself.

With no markets on this weekend, I’m hoping to get plenty of tattie-lifting done, but this is completely weather-dependent. My fingers are crossed for fair weather and a drying wind.

We’re always on the look-out for new customers too, so please spread the word about the box scheme and what we can offer. I’m constantly amazed by how many people don’t even realize that such a service exists.

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

Onion Allium cepa. Used in stews, pasta dishes, soups. Source of Vitamins A and C, Iron, Calcium and Potassium .

the flesh. Boil in lightly salted water for 30 minutes and dash with cream and butter.

Newsletter w/c 26th September 2011

2011-09-27T00:00:00.000-07:00

We attended Juniper Green Farmers market last Saturday and for the first market in a long time, we had good weather. Dry and sunny conditions, with no windy gusts to blow the paperwork all over the place. It was great. I had to leave a little early as we were heading over to Ayrshire straight after the market. It was Lynda’s birthday on Sunday and to celebrate, we met up with our friends, Ronnie and Jacquie, for dinner, after dropping the boys off with Gran and Grandpa. We hadn’t got together for a while, so there was a lot of catching-up to do and the night passed too quickly.

We picked the boys up next morning and they were a bit disappointed by the Scotland rugby result after getting beaten by Argentina in the World Cup, but they soon brightened up too.

The weather is still holding us back with harvesting, however, by the look of the weather report for this week, we could be in business at last. I may bring deliveries forward a bit if I think an early start will allow me more time in the field later on. So don’t be surprised if your bag has arrived before you get your breakfast.

After a couple of weeks where the veg selection has included some larger items and the bags have seemed huge, we have a slightly lighter week this week as I hope to have enough salad to do the whole week and we’ve also got kale in the bag. So there’s no real bulk in the bag this week, just plenty of nutritious greens.

Last Friday, we were invited to an open day at Damhead Nursery on the outskirts of Edinburgh. We were shown round a very well laid-out shrub and tree nursery. There were a wide range of specimens on show, all in good healthy condition, with many of them propogated and grown-on at the nursery. This means that the plants are acclimatized to the conditions here and should give a better chance of survival when planted in gardens in Scotland, which isn’t often the case when dealing with big Garden Centre chains. Look them up online if you’re interested in the ornamental side of the garden.

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

Onion Allium cepa. Used in stews, pasta dishes, soups. Source of Vitamins A and C, Iron, Calcium and Potassium .

Cucumber Cucumis sativus. Good source of vitamin C and A. Also, a good source of potassium. Wash thoroughly, dry, then slice up to use in salads. Occasionally used in soups.

Mixed salad various –Excellent source of phytochemicals and a good source of Vitamins A, B and C, calcium, fibre and potassium. The ground was pretty wet when we picked the salad so some grit may be mixed in. Rinse it well. To store, it is best to rehydrate the lettuce. Rinse well, two or three times, renewing the water with each rinse, then drain thoroughly in a colander or salad spinner. Store in the fridge and you should get it to last all week. The salad is starting to get a bit thin on the ground at the moment so we may need to have a week gap and put a replacement item in the bag.

Parsnip Pastinaca sativa Peel the parsnip then cut into quarters in lengths about 2 –3 inches long then parboil for 5 minutes before roasting them for 25 – 30 minutes in the oven.

Newsletter w/c 19th September 2011

2011-09-20T12:42:00.000-07:00

Our nephews, Robbie and Alistair, are in New Zealand watching the rugby World cup. We got a message from them with some pictures they’d had taken with some of the England rugby team when they met them in one of the bars. It wasn’t until a day or two later that the CCTV pics came out, which some areas of the media thought were very newsworthy. We were told to watch them closely as Ali and Robbie were in the video 2 or 3 times. It was nice to see them having such a good time. They were completely oblivious to all the alleged goings-on. I hope Scotland manage to pull out a big performance on Sunday against Argentina.

The rain is still holding up our major tattie digging efforts. We just can’t get started at all. Everything has to be hand-dug – as the ground is too wet to allow the machine access. We’re badly needing 2 or 3 days of dry weather, then we should be able to make a proper start.

We’ll be at Juniper Green Market on Saturday from 9am til 1 pm. The market is held in the car-park of the Kinleith Arms. If you time it right, you could take a walk round the market then pop-in and have a nice pub-lunch.

We’re always looking for ways to improve the service we provide. If you have any suggestions as to how the box scheme could work better for you, please call me or e-mail to discuss it. Sometimes things aren’t as insurmountable as they first appear.

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

Onion Allium cepa. Used in stews, pasta dishes, soups. Source of Vitamins A and C, Iron, Calcium and Potassium .

Swede Brassica napa (1 head) It’s been a while since we had swede in the veg bags, but, as we needed to thin out some of the rows, this seemed an ideal opportunity. It’s obviously the veg of choice to have with haggis, but is also a superb veg to puree for babies. To prepare it just peel it thickly and chop off the top and base of the root. Cut it up or dice it and boil for about half an hour in slightly salted water, ort until tender. Mash it with cream and a little butter.

January King Cabbage Brassica oleracea Capitata Group..(1 head) Excellent source of Vitamins B6 and C and also a source of potassium and fibre and phytochemicals. To cook, cut into quarters, cut out the hard core shred and wash under running cold water, then boil or steam for 7-10 minutes. The heart of the cabbage has a crisp texture and slightly nutty flavour which makes it ideal to shred or grate for use raw in salads or homemade coleslaw.

Newsletter w/c 12th September 2011

2011-09-13T00:17:00.000-07:00

The poly-tunnel is hanging on grimly through the tail-end of the hurricane and the roofs are still on the sheds. Kipper, the cat, has exhausted himself, chasing leaves spinning in a vortex in the courtyard. So, apart from the annoyance of not getting a lot done outside, for fear of branches falling on top of us – we’ve got off quite lightly.

We’re well behind schedule with harvesting now, but that isn’t always a bad thing, as the amount of waste in the really cold weather, last year, showed. We’ll be out lifting potatoes, at every opportunity now for the next couple of months.

We had another very busy weekend, despite the weather. Late last week I got a call to ask if I could fill-in at a farmers market in Peebles, so I agreed and was off down there again early on Saturday morning. I stood all morning in what felt like a tropical storm. The rain lashed down most of the time, but the temperature was really high. It was a very quiet market. There was a lot happening in Peebles last weekend with the Highland games on the Sunday as well as the start of the Tour of Britain Cycle race. To celebrate the race the organizers staged a race on Saturday evening for about 30 of the riders around a kilometer circuit in the town centre. We stayed to watch it with the boys and it was a real spectacle. The cyclists completed each circuit in about a minute, so they ended up doing more than 40 laps which meant it kept the youngsters from getting bored. Next day was the Biggar Minis Rugby tournament, so we got down there bright and early, with the boys and cousin Gregor. It wasn’t pleasant weather for spectators, but the boys prefer the mud for playing in I think, and they ran themselves to a standstill. It didn’t take them long to get to sleep on Sunday night.

We’re not attending any farmers markets this week, so if the weathers good, hopefully, we’ll get some tatties lifted.

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

Onion Allium cepa. Used in stews, pasta dishes, soups. Source of Vitamins A and C, Iron, Calcium and Potassium .

Cauliflower Brassica oleracea Botrytis Group (1 head) – Excellent source of Vitamin C and also a decent source of Vitamin B6, folic acid, pantothenic acid, fibre and potassium. To prepare, cut off the outer leaves. There is no need to remove the inner, tender leaves and the pale green base leaves. Trim the end of the stalk flush with the base of the cauliflower and cut a cross in it with a sharp knife. Boil the cauli in lightly salted boiling water for 12-15 minutes if whole or 8-10 minutes if the florets are split up.

the flesh. Boil in lightly salted water for 30 minutes and dash with cream and butter.

Newsletter w/c 5th September 2011

2011-09-05T13:23:00.000-07:00

The van is on the road, fully functioning and MOT’d, so with any luck, we can have a relatively trouble free and ‘on-schedule’ veg run for the foreseeable future. Wednesday customers may notice that delivery times have been a couple of hours later in the past few weeks. This has been due to me staying in bed until a more reasonable hour than I used to.

Our camping trip to Peebles went ahead at the weekend despite the poor weather forecast. It was dry when we put up the tent. The campsite was reasonably quiet, so the five boys we had with us were able to get out on their bikes and burn off some energy while Lynda and I set up camp. The rain stayed off til we’d got into our sleeping bags and it hammered down all night. It’s great lying cosy in a tent with the rain drumming against the fly-sheet. It wasn’t quite so good for Alistair who had managed to roll himself into a puddle of water at the edge of the door. By the morning his sleeping bag was soaked and he hadn’t had a lot of sleep. The campsite had a tumble dryer, so we got it dried in no time. On the Saturday morning we set out for the Mountain-bike trails at Glentress. I hadn’t experienced much mountain biking before, but you couldn’t wish for a better place to learn the techniques. There are miles and miles of trails through the forestry and hills, graded in the same way as ski-slopes are, for beginners to experienced and then on to trails that would test anyone’s ability. They’ve got a beginners area set up to practice before you hit the longer trails. Both Alistair and I fell off our bikes on this bit, but apart from a few grazes and bruises we were fine. After lunch we took to the trails and spent a couple of hours climbing up through woods and hurtling back down again. There are little obstacles and jumps to take if you want to, but even just cycling through the woodland, taking in the scents of conifers and moss and the anticipation of whats round the next bend is exhilarating without the added stunts. We are already organizing our next visit. The boys were asleep very early on Saturday night.

On the farm it’s all potato lifting at the moment and will be for the next few weeks. I think we should have a decent crop as long as none of the varieties have been affected by the wet conditions. The signs are good so far.

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

Onion Allium cepa. Used in stews, pasta dishes, soups. Source of Vitamins A and C, Iron, Calcium 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.

Newsletter w/c 29th August 2011

2011-08-29T23:48:00.000-07:00

I’m still having problems with the van this week, but I’m hoping that it won’t affect delivery times at all. The electrics in the van obviously think it’s their turn to play up and with a little suspension problem, the van is garage-bound again. I’ve been told I should only need the hire van for one day, but I won’t hold my breath.

In the field, I still haven’t ventured out with the big machine yet, for fear of it disappearing into a marshy pit at some point down towards the loch. The tattie crop looks quite good from what I’ve dug up, nice big tubers and plenty of them so all we need now is a bit of an Indian summer, to give us the conditions to get them all lifted and stored.

We have broad beans, Kohl-rabi and a small amount of pea pods ready too (these will only reach the bags if I can hide them from the kids – old as well as young kids that is!). Carrots are a bit slow, as are the onions, but both are looking strong and I’ll probably have to put Swedes in the bags sometime soon, too thin them out enough to let the smaller ones get room to grow. Generally, things are doing well.

It’s Finn’s 10^th birthday this week, and as he fancied going camping again, we’re going to Peebles for a couple of nights with a day of mountain biking in Glentress on Saturday. We’re really going for it with our outdoor pursuits just now. Last Saturday the family walked through the Pentlands to Carlops, with our friends Anne and Charles and their children, Alistair and Alexa. We had a bar lunch in the Hotel before heading back. The rain stayed off until we were about a mile from the end, but by that time we hardly noticed it.

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

Onion Allium cepa. Used in stews, pasta dishes, soups. Source of Vitamins A and C, Iron, Calcium and Potassium .

Cabbage Brassica oleracea Capitata Group (1 head) – Excellent source of Vitamin C and also a decent source of Vitamin B6, folic acid, , fibre and potassium. To prepare, cut off the outer leaves. Cut the cabbage into quarters then shred it. Steam or boil it in a minimum amount of water for 10 minutes, the drain thoroughly and serve immediately with butter melting over the top of it. A wee bit of pepper and you’ve got a fantastic accompaniment to any meal. Don’t think cabbage is boring.

Newsletter w/c 22nd August 2011

2011-08-29T23:46:00.000-07:00

Last week we delivered all the Friday bags on Thursday evening, to allow us to attend Matthew and Vicky’s wedding. We decided that since the wedding was in Caithness that we’d give ourselves the extra day to get there

We left for Wick last Friday morning, driving up in perfect, bright, sunny conditions. It took us five and a half hours, so were in our hotel room by the middle of the afternoon, then out exploring the area around the centre of Wick. A lot of preservation work has been carried out on buildings and street furniture to give an educational walking tour of an area around the harbour, originally designed by Thomas Telford. Wick supported a lot of people back then, with the harbour full of boats and so many industries thriving on the services required. The town appears quite sleepy now, in comparison. The Wedding on the Saturday, was a great day. The wedding ceremony was in Canisbay Church and reception in the Mey Hall, across from the Castle of Mey. It was a late night, and a long drive back down the next day.

The start of the working week has been a bit of a rush. I have my van back from the garage now so at least I’ll be advertising again, as I drive around. We have broccoli in the bags again this week and it is going too be freshly cut for each packing night. Please use it as quickly as you can though, It won’t sit in your fridge for long without going yellow.

The weather is still preventing us getting the machine in to the field to lift potatoes. We’re still hand digging them, although, it’s been dry now for three days, so I may get started with it after my Tuesday run. We have a lot of veg that is just a week or two from being ready to pick so as usual it’s all happening at once.

This weekend we’re off on a family hike to Carlops, through the Pentlands and with the schools back, all the activities that require the parental taxi service, have started up again, so it’ll be rugby on Sunday. The hike means we won’t make the Juniper Green Farmers Market on Saturday, but we were short of veg yet. The market stall will be straining under the weight of produce in September though.

Onion Allium cepa. Used in stews, pasta dishes, soups. Source of Vitamins A and C, Iron, Calcium and Potassium .

Cucumber Cucumis sativus. Good source of vitamin C and A. Also, a good source of potassium. Wash thoroughly, dry, then slice up to use in salads. Occasionally used in soups.

Tomato Lycopersicon esculentum. Can be eaten fresh in salads or cooked into sauces, the famous soup, or for the unhealthy option fried for breakfast. A good way to store them is to go along the sun-dried tomato line. Put a tablespoon of oil in a baking tray. Cut the tomatoes in half lengthways and scoop out the seeds and pulp. Lay them on the baking tray, sprinkle over another tablespoon of oil and put in an oven at 150oC and cook for 45 minutes. Take out of oven and leave to cool. You can either eat them like this in salads or pasta, or store them in a jar filled with good quality olive oil. They can be stored like this, unrefrigerated, for up to 6 months.

Newsletter w/c 15th August 2011

2011-08-16T00:28:00.000-07:00

The week’s deliveries didn’t go quite to plan, last week. I was sure that there was something wrong with the van and thought it felt like the brakes needed fixed. I took it in to a garage to get checked and was told that the brakes were fine and I had nothing to worry about. I was half way round the run on Wednesday when the van broke down a bit further and the garage in Glasgow said it looked like it was the drive shaft that was the problem. My breakdown cover got me a piggy-back on a tow truck, back to West Lothian. The tow truck driver said the symptoms definitely meant the gearbox was damaged. I hired a van, left mine to get fixed and got on with the remainder of the run. Unfortunately, I had to leave out the Renfrewshire, Inverclyde part of the run and the Southside part of the Glasgow run was delivered early on Thursday morning. I received word from the garage this morning that the gearbox on the van was fine and didn’t need repaired. The brakes were needing sorted and were causing the grinding sound.

Lynda and I are off to Wick for the weekend, this week, as we’ve been invited to a wedding. We need all of Friday to get up there so I’m hoping to deliver the Friday bags on Thursday night. The bags from the Clyde Valley and Hamilton, which usually get delivered on a Friday, will now be delivered on a Wednesday instead. This should give me a bit more time on Fridays to prepare for markets etc.

Last Friday, we took Finn for an early birthday treat, to see his favourite band, The Red Hot Chilli Pipers. If you’ve never heard of them, they have a bagpipe-based sound, backed-up by the snare drum and full rock band of guitars, drums and brass. They play a mixture of rock tunes and traditional piping tunes and we all really enjoyed the concert. The band members came out into the foyer as the crowd left the venue, so the boys got some autographs and talked about the gig non-stop, all the way home. The concert was part of the Piping Live Festival and was the night before the World Pipe Band Championships. Finn is a member of Boghall and Bathgate Pipe Band. They had a really good day with three bands competing in different grades and all of them in the top 6 after the final results were totalled.

Onion Allium cepa. Used in stews, pasta dishes, soups. Source of Vitamins A and C, Iron, Calcium and Potassium .

update 10th August 2011

2011-08-10T20:50:00.000-07:00

Just a wee apology to make, as the Wednesday run has been disrupted this week due to van problems. The gearbox seems to have broken down while I was on the delivery run on Wednesday and by the time I had breakdown trucks and hire van organised the day had disappeared. I'll deliver Glasgow Southside veggies on Thursday morning, but I'm afraid that bags in Renfrewshire and Inverclyde will not be able to be delivered this week. We'll be back to normal for our Wednesday customers as from next week. Sorry for any inconvenience caused.

Newsletter w/c 8th August 2011

2011-08-08T23:57:00.001-07:00

The broccoli struggled with the heat last week and I ended up discarding Thursdays lot and substituting tomatoes instead. You will get to sample plenty this week though as there’s loads.

We’ve also got spinach this week, as the next batch is ready and our mixed salad bags too. So we’ve got a lot of picking at this time of year. All the produce is picked fresh for each nights packing, so that you receive the vegetables with as little time between field and doorstep as possible.

The biggest news last week was that after all these years, we’ve actually had a van properly sign-written. It looks great and hopefully will catch people’s attention, and maybe earn us a few new customers. We did have a van with magnetic signs on it, 2 or 3 years ago, but they blew off somewhere and were never to be seen again. Give me a wave if you see the van.

At the weekend Lynda and Keir went to see a few shows at the festival, while I went to watch the rugby at Murrayfield.

Finn was a way with his friend, Rory, who was drumming at Bridgend Gala Day. In Glasgow, the Piping Live festival has started that leads up to the World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow Green on Saturday. Finn played in George Square on Monday afternoon with Boghall and Bathgate’s Novice Juvenile Band. After a very wet weekend, they were really lucky to get sunshine for the whole set. The Championships are well worth a visit if you’re free on Saturday.

This week we’ll not get much done except harvesting all the leaves for the bags, but any spare time we do have will be spent lifting potatoes.

Here’s a list of the veg that should appear in the standard bags this week, if substitutions haven’t been required:

Onion Allium cepa. Used in stews, pasta dishes, soups. Source of Vitamins A and C, Iron, Calcium and Potassium .

Spinach Spinacia oleracea Good source of vitamin C, B2, B6 and A, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, protein and phytochemicals. No wonder Popeye did so well on it. This size of leaf will be best used as a salad item though could be cooked if you really want. Rinse it well, as the rain last week was heavy enough to spatter soil onto the lower leaves. The leaves are lovely thick and wholesome, this is definitely the variety that grows best with us.

Newsletter w/c 2nd August 2011

2011-08-01T15:29:00.000-07:00

The weather held and we did get away camping at the weekend. We only ventured as far as Peebles though. The new tent performed well and everyone seems to be keen to try it out again, which is a good sign. We even managed camp cooking both nights and didn’t get tempted to the chippy. Keir woke up needing the toilet at about 4am on the first night and by the time we’d pointed out to him that the tent didn’t have solid walls, he had woken up all the occupants of 5 tents round about us – the joys of camping!

We had a rush on the Sunday morning. We woke and struck camp by 10am and then got home, cleaned the holiday let and got Finn into his kilt. The Thistles Coffee Shop has just opened today on the Main Street in West Calder. There was a preview afternoon on Sunday and Mari and Bobby had asked Finn to play the pipes with their son, Rory, who’s brilliant on the drums. The boys did a good job and there wasn’t a seat to be had in the café. The spread of food was excellent, and a wee glass of sparkly went down a treat. If you’re in the area please have a look in and relax with a coffee or a bite of lunch. Should you like a bit more information about the café or the outside catering side of the business, go to www.thistlescoffeeshop.co.uk . We’re supplying whatever veg we have in season and Bobby’s transforming them into soups and dishes on the spot. You won’t get a much quicker field to plate time anywhere else. Please give them any support you can.

Our friends’ son Sam is over from Glasgow, working with us for a week. He’s never done anything like this before and isn’t quite sure what to expect. He hasn’t found much excitement in digging tatties or picking salads yet, but I think he appreciates being out of the city for a while. Peace and tranquility isn’t quite what a 15 yr old is looking for, I think the landrover and tractor have much more appeal.

The veg in the field is really coming on well now, and you’ll notice the difference in the bags you receive. We’re out of the ‘hungry gap’ part of the year and coming into the the season of plenty. The bag is quite green this week with both salad and kale in all the bags. The radishes took a real jump over the weekend and jumped straight into all the bags. I think they may be the best radishes I’ve ever grown. The hot weather has deterred the slugs that damaged most of the first batch a month ago. There is hardly a mark or blemish on any of the roots and they’re a perfect size. I’m hoping to have spinach in the bags next week and also broccoli again. It’s one of those crops, that when it’s ready, it has to be picked or it just goes to waste. I don’t like having the same items in the bag two weeks running, but maybe broccoli is one of the ones that most of our customers can cope with.

Here’s a list of the veg that should appear in the standard bags this week, if substitutions haven’t been required:

Onion Allium cepa. Used in stews, pasta dishes, soups. Source of Vitamins A and C, Iron, Calcium and Potassium .

Kale Brassica oleracea Acephala Group – Excellent source of Vitamin C and A and also a decent source of calcium, copper, potassium and fibre. To prepare, wash thoroughly in clean cold water. Young leaves can be added to salads while more mature leaves can be stripped from their stem and cooked like spinach or added to soup.

Radish They’re excellent cut into salads. They add a hot spicy crunch to a salad and the vivid red skins add an eye-catching burst of colour. Just scrub and cut to desired size.

Newsletter w/c 25th July 2011

2011-07-26T00:04:00.000-07:00

With a lot of help from the Hamilton family, we finally removed the last of the structure of the old barn last week. The view from the house has completely changed and with the beautiful weather we’ve had over the past few days, is looking fantastic. We’ve still got a lot of clearing up to do as there was a lot of rubbish in the barn that was never going to be needed again, but just seemed to accumulate. We can then look at transforming the area left into a garden. I’ve been looking forward to that for a few years now. It’ll be an enjoyable Winter job, planning and designing. It’ll take a few years to implement.

I attended the farmers market at Juniper Green on Saturday. Again, it was a lovely day, which always makes for a better market day. The sunshine brings people out and makes for happier stall-holders too.

In the field, we’re switching from maintenance mode to harvesting mode now. Potatoes and salads are taking up most time now, as the potatoes are being hand-dug as the tubers are still too small to be harvested mechanically. The major bonus for you is, that with our own tatties, the quantities in the bags go back to normal again, so the standard bag will go back to 2Kg of potatoes. If you have recently joined the box scheme and find this is too many potatoes for you, let me know and we can reduce the amount for you.

We have a fine mix of salad leaves this year and they will appear in the bags regularly over the next couple of months. Again, if you have plenty of home-grown salad of your own, let me know and I’ll substitute the salad for something else.

The boys are really enjoying the summer holidays so far. The inflatable paddling pool was out in the courtyard yesterday with about 7 children running riot round the courtyard having water fights and splashing about. Good weather makes such a difference. If the weather holds, we’re going to try out a tent I received as a birthday present, at the weekend. I’m not sure how far we’ll venture and I expect we won’t get a lot of sleep, but I’m sure it’ll be fun. We’re also planning a cycle along the canal path from Ratho at some point as well.

Here’s a list of the veg that should appear in the standard bags this week, if substitutions haven’t been required:

Onion Allium cepa. Used in stews, pasta dishes, soups. Source of Vitamins A and C, Iron, Calcium and Potassium .

Cucumber Cucumis sativus. Good source of vitamin C and A. Also, a good source of potassium. Wash thoroughly, dry, then slice up to use in salads. Occasionally used in soups.

Pointed Cabbage Brassica oleracea Capitata Group. (1 head) This is the first of the real spring cabbages. They are a little bit soft yet but still have enough of a heart to work with. Treat as Spring greens if the heart is soft. To cook, simply wash in cold running water, removing any marked outer leaves. Quarter the cabbage, then cut out the core. Shred the leaves, then boil or steam for about 8 – 10 minutes until the leaves start to wilt. You want to retain a bit of a crunch! Drain thoroughly and tip into a warmed serving dish with butter melting over the top

Spring Onion They’re excellent cut into salads or cut into stir-fries. Often used in Chinese recipes. Please use them up quite quickly as the leaves will start to yellow.

Newsletter w/c 18th July 2011

2011-07-19T12:48:00.000-07:00

With the weather being so poor, we’ve spent little time in the field. It gave us time to continue with some of the other wee jobs around the farm. We’re finally removing the old barn which has half collapsed under the winter snow, then has been blown apart by the gales in the Spring. It’s becoming a safety concern, so it’s a great job to get out of the way. My friend and neighbour, Matthew, is apparently very experienced in shed demolition. I think he’s even meant to do it a couple of times. Anyway, he’s coming up to give me help and advice tomorrow, so by tomorrow night we could be well on the way to getting garden design under way.

We’ll be back at Juniper green market this Saturday at 9am until 1pm. Come along and see us if you have the time. The Gorgie market has been suspended due to lack of interest but will continue on a one-off basis for special occasions. I’ll let you know when these are happening as soon as I know.

The boys are very excited this week as our family car broke down on our way to Livingston last week and had to be taken to the garage on the back of a breakdown truck. We’ve been informed that it’s going to cost double the amount to fix it than the car is currently worth. The decision to go out and look for another car was academic and that’s what we spent the weekend doing. It’s very hard to choose a car when you’ve no confidence in your mechanical ability. The boys seemed to get over the fact that most of the sporty cars they liked were about 5 times our budget and completely impractical as family cars. They’re happy with the final choice and hopefully it’ll be ready for the road on Friday.

I haven’t mentioned them for a while, but we still have our holiday cottages for rent for minimum three night stays. You can get all the information about them at www.cobbinshawlochcottages.com .

Here’s a list of thein the veg that should appear in the standard bags this week, if substitutions haven’t been required:

Potato Solanum tuberosum. We’re onto new potatoes now. Colleen is the variety. It’s such a nice change when we move to new potatoes from the previous season’s stored 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 .

Spinach Spinacia oleracea Good source of vitamin C, B2, B6 and A, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, protein and phytochemicals. No wonder Popeye did so well on it. This size of leaf will be best used as a salad item though could be cooked if you really want. Rinse it well, as the rain last week was heavy enough to spatter soil onto the lower leaves. This variety is a bit more prone to bolting (running to seed), maybe the weather conditions have affected it too. Whatever it is, the leaves just aren’t as meaty this time as they were a month ago, when we had the previous sowing in the bag. It’s still tasty and nutritious though.

Newsletter w/c 11th July 2011

2011-07-12T13:36:00.001-07:00

Well, I did write the newsletter for 2 weeks ago in plenty of time, but, me being me, I forgot to add it to the blog. I’ve added it now. Better late than never. You’ll have realised from the previous post, that we were on holiday last week and that there was no delivery.

We spent the week, at the seaside, in Crail, in the East Neuk of Fife. The weather was as good as it gets in Scotland. We had three days of blistering sunshine, one day of light showers and the other days were warm with broken cloud and dry. We walked, cycled, picnicked, fished and generally had a good time. On the wet day we visited the Secret Bunker which is a couple of miles down the road from Crail. It’s a refuge and control centre from the Cold War era and is worth a visit. There’s a lot of historical information as well as all the military and political memorabilia you’d expect. I’d avoid the café though. Lynda had done her homework on the accommodation, as the cottage we’d rented was right on the harbour, one window in the lounge looking over the lobster boats and the other one looking over the beach. It took until Friday for the boys to venture into the water, the first couple of hot days brought a shoal (not sure what the collective term is!) of jellyfish into the shore. I thought this would put them off, but it resulted in a huge jellyfish fight where a few lads on the beach started throwing them at each other like snow balls. I thought they stung or gave you rashes or something, but by the time I hauled our two out of it, they had been hit a few times and were unscathed, thankfully.

Anyway, we’re back to the normal routine this week and things seem to have slowed down a bit so I’m holding off with salads and milans until later in the week or possibly longer. We have new season carrots, so we can forget washed ones for a while.

Holidays always cause a bit of confusion and some customers who don’t receive a bag weekly, will find that although their delivery week, wasn’t while we were away, they still will be a week later getting a bag. Everything will have settled down again by the end of next week, then we’ll be back on our normal cycle for everyone.

Here’s a list of the veg that should appear in the standard bags this week, if substitutions haven’t been required:

Onion Allium cepa. Used in stews, pasta dishes, soups. Source of Vitamins A and C, Iron, Calcium and Potassium .

Parsley Petroselinum sp. (100g) This is the more traditional moss-curled type of parsley Excellent for flavouring all sorts of dishes or cut into saladsor, 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.

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.

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. Waldorf Salad is quite simple to make. Take 85g of raisins and soak them for an hour, drain them. Peel and core 3 apples, slice them thinly, then put in a bowl with 50g of walnut halves that have been toasted lightly in a frying pan. Add 4 celery stalks, thinly sliced and half the raisins. Coat it with mayonnaise, season to taste and toss well. Arrange a shredded lettuce around the base of a salad bowl, then add the celery mixture. Sprinkle the remaining raisins over the top and a few celery leaves and a tablespoon of chopped parsley leaves.

Newsletter w/c 11th July 2011

2011-07-12T13:36:00.000-07:00

Here’s a list of the veg that should appear in the standard bags this week, if substitutions haven’t been required:

Onion Allium cepa. Used in stews, pasta dishes, soups. Source of Vitamins A and C, Iron, Calcium and Potassium .

Newsletter w/c 27th June 2011

2011-07-12T13:35:00.000-07:00

As you’ll have seen from the notes in your bag we’re going on holiday next week and there will be no delivery for one week only. We’ll commence deliveries from the 11^th of July again. Whether you are due your next bag that week or the next everyones bag will be one week later than expected. This keeps everyone on the same scheduled delivery day.

Many of you are on holiday as well. The best time to let me know of any break in deliveries is a note when I leave the delivery previous to the holiday date, or by e-mail. By the time we all get back from holiday, the veg situation should have eased a bit. We’ll have dirty carrots again, which means all the staples will be new season. We also have the first of our own produce for this year, with spinach and radish in all the bags. I’m really pleased with the spinach, which has really benefitted from the wet weather and cool temperatures. It has produced the best crop I’ve ever had at this time of year. Hopefully the successive sowings will fare just as well.

There’s been a lot happening at home over the last week or so and it’s kept me away from the field, but work has still been carried out by the group of youngsters who are carrying on a fine battle against weeds and rogue tatties, in all weathers, so I have to give them a big thank you.

We should also be starting to make up mixed salad bags when we come back from holiday and Milan turnips shouldn’t be too far away. A week or two after that I hope to have the first of our new potatoes ready to lift too.

I hope you don’t miss the bags too much while we’re away.

Here’s a list of the veg that should appear in the standard bags this week, if substitutions haven’t been required:

Onion Allium cepa. Used in stews, pasta dishes, soups. Source of Vitamins A and C, Iron, Calcium and Potassium .

Red Cabbage Brassica oleracea Capitata Group..(1 head) Excellent source of Vitamin C and phytochemicals and also contains Vitamin B6, potassium, fibre and calcium. Here’s a recipe for Braised red cabbage which uses apples rather than the orange based gravy I gave you last time. Braised Red Cabbage: Remove the outer coarse leaves and cut the cabbage into quarters. Remove the tough cores and shred the cabbage finely. Peel core and grate 2 cooking apples and mix with the cabbage. Melt 2oz. (50g) of butter in a pan, add 5fl.oz.(150ml) white wine vinegar and mix in the cabbage; coat thoroughly; then cover with a tight fitting lid and simmer over a gentle heat for 1 hour. Add a little more vinegar or water if the cabbage threatens to stick. Stir in 5fl.oz. (150ml) of red wine or blackcurrant juice, season to taste with sugar. The cabbage will have a fairly sharp flavour. Cover with a lid and simmer until tender.

the flesh. Boil in lightly salted water for 30 minutes and mash with cream and butter.

Radish – The radishes have done well this year, and, as usual, are all ready at once. The wet weather kept the beetles off of them while they were tiny seedlings, but have helped other little pests into having a nibble at some of the skins. You may need to trim them up a little before they reach the salad bowl.

Spring Onion They’re excellent cut into salads or cut into stir-fries. Often used in Chinese recipes.

Newsletter w/c 20th June 2011

2011-06-21T00:20:00.000-07:00

The holiday season is almost upon us. Should you need to cancel 1 or 2 deliveries let us know on the delivery prior to the one you want to miss, or send us an e-mail. We are going away in two weeks time, on the 2^nd July, so there will not be any delivery on the week commencing 4^th July. This means that every customer will be a week later getting their deliveries, whether the next delivery is due on the week of the 4^th or the week of the 11^th. We’re staying in Scotland this year, heading over to one of our favourite haunts, Crail. We all love the seaside and with the old harbour and long walks to enjoy, we’re all really looking forward to it, The boys have the added excitement of living in a house in a town , with shops and other amenities, its like a theme park to them.

The wet weather is bad news in some ways and good in others. Wet weather means its hard to work the soil and when we hoe around the vegetables, the broken weeds re-root again like cuttings. Their growing progress is checked though, and we buy ourselves a bit more time, because the upside is, that everything, weeds and vegetables, are growing well in the conditions, even though it’s slightly cool. We’ll have our own baby spinach and radish in the bag next week so, with a sigh of relief, I won’t need to order in quite so much veg from the organic wholesaler. The first salads won’t be far away either. We’ve picked a bit for ourselves and it feels’ like summer shouldn’t be too far away.

We didn’t make it to Gorgie on Saturday, there was just too much work to be done and family stuff going on. I apologise, as I didn’t update the blog to let you know. This Saturday we’ll be at Juniper Green from 9am til 1pm.

Newsletter w/c 13th June 2011

2011-06-13T22:20:00.000-07:00

The weather is still not being very kind. We have chill breezes and rain for far too much of the time. It almost makes it hard work to encourage myself down to the field. Almost, but not quite. We’ve been planting salads and brassicas whenever we could over the past week and the field is starting to fill up. The bad weather has kept the pest population pretty much at bay so far, I just hope they’re not just waiting in the wings to hit us when we’ve got plants growing well. The weeds are also starting to green up the field, so every morning I take my hoe for a walk along a couple of rows and bit by bit, I work my way round the field. The idea is that every row gets hoed once per month, but I never usually manage. The field is just too big for me, when I’ve got so many other ways to fill my time. So a couple of local youngsters came up to help this weekend and they seem to want to come back, so they may help me keep the field cleaner than ever.
We’re at Gorgie City Farm this weekend. We’ll be there til 1pm so please come and support the market if you can. It’s a great setting, especially for kids. They’re not often catered for that well at farmers markets, so its good to have the farm facilities and play areas and a great café on site as well, every farmers market should be like this one.
As a family, we had a busy weekend. On Friday and Saturday morning I helped a friend with some log splitting, then took Finn along to Uphall Gala day. The weather was pretty grim to start with and just got worse and worse. When we got home we had a quick turn around as we had organised to go hiking and camping in the Pentlands on Saturday night. Three adults and 5 boys. We set off at about 6.30 after a BBQ dinner and left the rain and the midgies behind almost immediately. We walked up to the top of East Cairn and pitched our tents in the clouds. When we woke to blazing sunshine the next morning, the views over the Forth and Edinburgh to Fife were stunning. It was a cold night, but the boys all coped really well, and surprisingly for all their excitement, and sweets, managed to sleep most of the night. Then on Sunday, it was work in the field with the new start youngsters.
Here’s a list of the veg that should appear in the standard bags this week, if substitutions haven’t been required:

Potato Solanum tuberosum. It’s new potatoes for everyone now, so the upside is that you get the lovely taste of tatties which are straight out of the ground instead of the stored ones from last years crop. The slight downside is that they are expensive to buy in just now so we have to half the amount that goes into the standard and large bags. This will continue til our own tatties are ready near the end of July. 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. I don’t like having washed carrots in the bags as they don’t last as long and I think, lose some of their flavour. I will get back to dirty carrots again as soon as I can. They are an excellent source of Vitamin A and also contain significant amounts of Vitamins B, C, D, E and K. and Potassium.

Aubergine egg plant Traditionally used to make vegetable lasagnes or moussaka, the aubergine has more versatility than that. For example, they can be great barbequed in stacks as follows: Cut the aubergine into 1cm thick slices and score across with a sharp knife, brush with olive oil and roast at 170oC for 15 minutes. Spread the aubergine slices with a tomato sauce and then a slice of mozzarella, roughly the same size as the aubergine slice.repeat the process til you have a stack of three or four aubergine slices and skewer. I’ve heard it done with rosemary twigs but kitchen skewers will do. Place on a tray over the BBQ and heat through untilt he cheese is beginning to melt but not collapsing and serve with basil leaves and salad and some nice fresh bread.

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.

Cucumber Cucumis sativus (1/2 head) Source of Vitamins A and C and also a source of potassium. Cucumbers are generally eaten fresh in salads. Just give them a wipe over and slice or cut into chunks. For an alternative to this, try peeling the cucumbers thinly, then slice crossways into slices 0.5cm thick. Cut the seeds in the centre out to form a ring. Melt some butter in a frying pan and add a little salt and the cucumber rings. Saute for about 10 minutes or until the cucumber is tender but still crisp. Serve hot.

Fennel (1 head) This stem base can be chopped raw into salads or simmered in a stock. Here’s a recipe for Buttered Fennel: Trim the root base and cut in half lengthways and rinse in cold water. Put the fennel in a pan with a minmal amount of boiling, lightly salted water and simmer, covered, for 15-20 minutes or until just tender. Overcooking reduces the sweet aniseed flavour. Drain thoroughly in a colander and keep warm on a serving dish. Now, melt the butter. Season the fennel with pepper, then pour the melted butter over the top and serve. Your cress would be a fine garnish for this dish. Goes particularly well with grilled fish or roast

Newsletter w/c 6th June 2011

2011-06-06T22:21:00.000-07:00

This will be the last week that we’ll have last years tatties in the bags. Hooray! I here you say, although I think some of you really enjoyed having the really dry varieties for a change. Anyway, New potatoes from now on. This means one slight drawback. The new potatoes are bought in, and they are more than twice the cost of the maincrop potatoes so until the Scottish organic crop is ready, we’ll give you half the amount of potatoes in both standard and large bags. Customers who regularly get Half amount of potatoes will get thesame amount that they are used to, but without the extra item that we usually put in to replace the missing potatoes. Hope that makes sense. Our crop should be ready by the end of July.
We’re still planting and hoeing constantly in the field just now. My ridging job on the potatoes wasn’t a great success but should keep the weeds down a bit. Carrots and onions are looking great. Brassicas in the polytunnel are getting hammered by caterpillars, but the growing tips seem to be surviving so I think they should be fine once they’re out in the field. Skye is going ot concentrate on planting them this week, while I will work on the salad rows. We’re well into second sowings now. Th efirst batch of everything has germinated – it makes weeding them a lot easier when you can actually see the plant you don’t want to take out!
I think I had one of my busiest weekends ever this weekend. On Friday I started work early so that I could help a friend chop up some logs. We started at 4pm and I didn’t get back home til 11pm. Finn and I had to get up to get to Bathgate on Saturday morning as the Pipe Band were playing at Bathgate Gala Day and he managed to march the whole procession, playing all the time. It must have been over an hour of piping and marching – he did really well. Then Jose came over on Saturday night to cook us Paella and had a good chat and a few glasses of wine. On Sunday I was up at 7.30 sorting ou the logs that had been cut then getting some planting and weeding done with Robbie, who’d comeout to help eat the Paella nd to help me in the field. Great weekend! Exhausted now though!
Here’s a list of the produce, which barring any need for substitution, will be in the standard bags this week.

Potato Solanum tuberosum. The variety this week is Axona. It is a very dry potato and a little harder to cook than some of the other varieties we grow, They are great baked or roasted or made into chips. Steam them rather than boiing as they tend to break up in water..Potatoes are the only commonly available source of B3 and Iodine. Excellent source of Vitamin C and also Vitamin B6, Potassium and fibre. We will run out of axona at some point this week and as the maincrop supplies are depleted, we have bought in new potatoes from Wales to see us through until the Scottish cropis ready. If you get new potatoes the variety is colleen and will need very little preparation to be ready for the pan. Just scrub offf the loose skin and pop in boiling salted water and you’ll have the firstof the fresh organic crop.

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.

Parsley Petroselinum sp. This is the more traditional moss-curled type of parsley Excellent for flavouring all sorts of dishes or cut into saladsor, 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.

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.

Garlic Allium sativum (1 head) Good source of vitamin C and A, calcium and iron. Adds heightened flavour to any savoury dish and crushed and sauted in a pan with butter, is an excellent base in which to cook the mushrooms for a simple Garlic Mushrooms.

Calabrese Brassica oleracea Italica Group (1 head).. Calabrese is an 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:
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.

Newsletter w/c 30th May 2011

2011-05-30T23:04:00.000-07:00

The strong winds still haven’t managed to destroy the poly-tunnel yet, but it’s certainly been under pressure. The winds pulled the polythene through the door frame in a couple of places, but thankfully it hasn’t ripped. The tunnel is crammed full of seedlings that have been waiting for the weather to improve, to allow me to prepare the ground to plant them in.
I hope the Axona potatoes aren’t causing you too many headaches. They are great baked or roasted, but because they are such a high dry matter potato, if you boil them in water, they break up and you end up with a sort of potato soup. The way I’ve been advised to cook them is to start boiling them in the conventional way, in salted water. Keep an eye on them and when they look like the water is starting to affect them, drain them and put the pan back on a low heat to finish them by steaming them. Shake the pan every so often to stop them sticking. Once they are tender, serve as usual with plenty of butter. If you want to mash them add plenty of butter and cream or milk, until you get the consistency of mash you prefer.
On the farm, this week, I’m hoping to plant leeks, salads and the first of the brassica seedlings. I also need to start on second sowings of most of the root crops. I’ve weeded the onions once and the carrots once, which is a feat I usually don’t manage, so maybe I’m more on top of things than I feel. Everything seems late now because of the weather. I’ve ridged up the tattie rows today as well as they were getting very green with weeds. Theres a lot of couch grass in the potato bed so I’ll need to be quite vigilant with the plough and the hoe to make sure it doesn’t get a firm hold and cause a real problem.
We’ve been working around a lot of family commitments now as well. Finn is now a piper with the Boghall and Bathgate Pipe Band and there seems to be a competition or Gala day on every weekend for most of the summer. He was at Bathgate Highland Games last Saturday and is back there for the gala day this weekend. Keir has a different Gala Day with the Beavers and I already had a full day of work planned. It’s a major logistical exercise working everything in.
The large bags have a bag of leaves that you may not recognise. This is lovage and is quite a strong flavoured herb. If you’re unsure what to use it for and would like a recipe, here is one for

Cream of Lovage soup :- Melt 3 tblspns of butter in a large pan and saute a chopped up onion and 2 crushed cloves of garlic until they are soft. Remove from the heat and stir in 1 tablespon of flour and slowly stir in 500ml of chicken or vegetable stock, return to the heat and bring to the boil. Add 500g of peeled amd sliced potatoes and pepper to season and simmer for 15 minutes. Add 4 tablspns of chopped lovage leaves and simmer for a further 15 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Puree with a blender then return to the pan and add 250ml of single cream. Heat gently and serve garnished with a few lovage leaves.
Here’s a list of the produce, which barring any need for substitution, will be in the standard bags this week.
Potato Solanum tuberosum. The variety this week is Axona. It is a very dry potato and a little harder to cook than some of the other varieties we grow, See above for cooking instructions.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.

Spring onion . Spring onions are used in various ways in the kitchen. Traditionally in this country, primarily as a salad vegetable, the greens and white bulb are cut up finely into salad bowls to add a mild onion flavour. They are used in Chinese and Thai cooking frequently as well.

Tomato Lycopersicon esculentum. Good for Vitamins A and C, potassium and iron. To cook tomatoes are used for many peoples favourite soup, they are added to casseroles, folded into omelettes and served grilled with a little butter and salt and pepper on top. Obviously, the most common usage at this time of year is fresh in salads.

Red Cabbage Brassica oleracea CapitataGroup (1 head) – If the cabbage is really big this time, I will half it. This is in response to customer comments after the last red cabbages 5 weeks ago. Some of you may even have some left. Here’s a different recipe for you to try with it: Preheat your oven to 150oC/300oF/ gas mark 2. Remove any damaged outer leaves, cut into quarters and remove the stalk. Shred the cabbage finely. In a casserole, lay a layer of cabbage, seasoned with salt and pepper, a layer of chopped onions and chopped, peeled and cored apples, with a sprinkling of garlic, 1 clove should be enough, a little nutmeg, cinnamon and ground cloves and about a tablespoon of brown sugar. Repeat these layers until everything is in then pour in 3 tablespoon of wine vinegar and 1/2oz (10g) of butter. Put a lid on the casserole and let it cook slowly for 1 ½ to 2 hours, stirring a couple of times during cooking.

Spinach Spinacia oleracea (1 bag) Good source of vitamin C, B2, B6 and A, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, protein and phytochemicals. No wonder Popeye did so well on it. Can be used fresh in salads or cooked as a vegetable. Strip the leaves off the stalks and immerse in a basin of cold water. Lift out and repeat the process twice more with fresh water. Spinach has a high water content and does not need any water to cook in – just the water that adheres to the leave will be enough. Sprinkle lightly with salt cover with a lid and cook gently for 7-10 minutes until soft. Drain thoroughly, squeezing out the last of the water with a masher.

Newsletter w/c 23rd May 2011

2011-05-23T23:09:00.000-07:00

We still have a poly-tunnel, I’m delighted to say, after the stormy weather of the past 24 hrs or so. At times, it looked in doubt. The whole structure was lifting and straining off it’s bed and swelling up, then sinking back down as if it were trying to give birth to the next generation! If the polythene had torn slightly anywhere, the whole lot would have gone, but we’ve been lucky and our plants were all protected from the blasts.
I was hoping to get our leeks planted out at the weekend, but the ground conditions never improved to the point where I could have ploughed the rows, so that will be one of the first jobs this week. I also need to ridge-up the potato rows. The first of the tatties are showing now, and there are a lot of weeds coming up with them. This is a job I can do mainly with the tractor and plough, because, even if I cover the potato plants with soil, they will be strong enough just to push their way back out again. It also gives a bit more frost protection too. Last year we had quite a hard frost on the 30th May, which is very late for such a cold spell, and it did a bit of damage. I’m in the middle of hoeing all the carrot and onion rows, the carrots are looking good, and unaffected as yet by any insects and the onions are coming on strongly as are the shallots and garlic. From the house I can see the neat rows of radish and turnip stretching away down the field too. Things at this time of year look as good as they can do. Keeping ahead of the weeds from now on is the struggle. Each evening I sit at the table in the house and prick-out a couple of trays of seedlings and so far, I’m managing to keep up with whats ready in the tunnel. We’ll start planting out in earnest next week.
Lynda is busy trying to straighten out the accounts, which have been a bit neglected lately and she may ask for your help with queries about payments over the next few weeks. We’d appreciate your help and apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Here’s a list of the veg that should appear in the standard bags this week, if substitutions haven’t been required:

Potato Solanum tuberosum. Tatties this week are either Axona, and, unusually are a very dry potato. I generally put general purpose varieties in the bag, but they are few and far between At the moment. The thing about cooking dry potatoes is that if you boil them in water, they will turn to mush. You must steam them gently and keep an eye on them. They make great mash with plenty of butter or marg mixed in, but they are at their best and easiest as baked potatoes or roasties. 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. I don’t like having washed carrots in the bags as they don’t last as long and I think, lose some of their flavour. I will get back to dirty carrots again as soon as I can. 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 steamed or quickly blanched in boiling, lightly salted water, as an accompanying veg and is also good in stir-fries. Please use as quickly as possible as it doesn’t keep well.

Radish. I’ve added a small bunch of radish to the bag this week as they’re just starting to come into season. At the size thes are they are best washed and cut into salads. They add just a little bit of spice and colour to the greens and reds and purples of a salad bowl and a wonderful crunchy texture.

Aubergine egg plant Traditionally used to make vegetable lasagnes or moussaka, the aubergine has more versatility than that. For example, they can be great barbequed in stacks as follows: Cut the aubergine into 1cm thick slices and score across with a sharp knife, brush with olive oil and roast at 170oC for 15 minutes. Spread the aubergine slices with a tomato sauce and then a slice of mozzarella, roughly the same size as the aubergine slice.repeat the process til you have a stack of three or four aubergine slices and skewer. I’ve heard it done with rosemary twigs but kitchen skewers will do. Place on a tray over the BBQ and heat through untilt he cheese is beginning to melt but not collapsing and serve with basil leaves and salad and some nice fresh bread.

Rocket this is the first salad of the year and is in small amounts yet, but it’s so nice to get some fresh leaves at last. Perfect to go with the recipe for aubergine above, but will accompany many meals. Rinse well in cold water to refresh, drain thoroughly, pop back into a clean plastic bag and it should keep in the fridge for up to a week.

Newsletter w/c 16th May 2011

2011-05-16T22:15:00.000-07:00

I’d got used to being able to go and work in the field whenever I could during April, with all the stable weather we’d been having, but a visit down to the veg plot is becoming an unusual occurance over the last week or so. The ground is saturated again, great for the plants, not good for getting machinery on or for weeding. I hoe the weeds out at the moment and they just re-root again where I’ve pushed them to.
The big news this week is that I have a new farmers market to go to on the third Saturday of each month, starting this Saturday, at Gorgie City Farm in Edinburgh. I’ll be there between 9am and 1pm so if you’re in the area, it would be great to see you. The market has been running for a few months now, but is struggling to pull customers away from the Castle Terrace market, so your effort in getting along would be much appreciated.
Robbie should be out to help me this weekend again, so after the market we’ll focus on getting second sowings into the field. I have six or seven seed trays full of different salads that badly need to be pricked out into seedling trays. This will need to be my job until the weekend, and at least that’s not weather dependant. I can sit and sort them out in the poly-tunnel.
I’ve got Lynda’s help full-time again, so we’re going to concentrate on straightening out all the accounts that have been needing checked or chased up over the last while. I never seem to find the time for all the paperwork that needs done. I like being outside growing vegetables! But we need to keep an eye on cash-flow, especially at this time of year, while we’re waiting on the veg growing for this season. So, anyone that has asked me to check if they were up-to-date with payments, I can assure you that this will be done over the next few weeks. One other plea is for net bags. If you have a stash of our bags saved up, could you leave them out for me to pick up with a delivery soon. We’re running a bit short. We never get all the bags back that we put out.
Here’s a list of the veg that should appear in the standard bags this week, if substitutions haven’t been required:

Potato Solanum tuberosum. Tatties this week are either Maris Peer, (white skins), andthey are good general purpose potatoes, slightly on the waxy side, so good boilers.. 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.

Courgette Cucurbita pepo (1 head) Source of Vitamins A and C , calcium, iron and fibre. Prepare by wshing and trimming both ends. Courgettes can be coked whole or in slices, or they can be cut in half lengthways filled with stuffing and baked. Boil courgettes in lightly salted water for 15-20 minutes. Sliced courgettes may be steamed in butter for 10 minutes. Halved courgettes may be parboiled for 5 minutes the finished in the oven, in a well-buttered dish for 25 minutes at 190oC (375oF) Gas Mark 5.

Parsley. Petroselinum sp This flat leaved variety of parsley has far more flavour than the more common curly type, though I have to say the curly one is a far nicer plant to look at. Excellent for flavouring all sorts of dishes or cut into salads. Especially popular in our household, cut over boiled potatoes, with a little melted butter.

Kohl Rabi Brassica oleracea Gongylodes Group (1 head) – Excellent source of vitamin C and potassium. These swollen stem bases are great eaten raw, but can be cooked. Just peel off the outer skin and slice or dice the inner flesh. To cook, blanch for 5 minutes in boiling water with a little added lemon juice, then refresh in cold water. Cook the kohl-rabi for 10-15 minutes in a minimal amount of boiling, lightly salted, water, adding butter at a rate of 3oz per lb of vegetable. Serve with a little of the cooking liquid poured over it.

Mixed Beansprouts very nutritious, these sprouting seeds are excellent fresh in salads or cooked in stir-fries. If there is a punnet open in the kitchen in our house, they don’t last long because people seem to find it hard to pass them without digging out a spoonful.

Newsletter w/c 09/05/2011

2011-05-09T23:40:00.000-07:00

Robbie came out from Edinburgh, to help, at the weekend again. Things had been getting a bit behind schedule, but after a hard weekend we’re back on track again. We had some heavy showers to contend with, but I’d prepared the ground in advance, so they didn’t affect our ability to work between the downpours. We even managed to get the poly-tunnel sorted out a bit. As each tray was sown or pricked out or potted up, it had been put into the tunnel where there was a space, rather than in any order, and there was quite a bit of weed germination round about as well. The weeds have all been removed and the salads are in one section, the brassicas in another etc etc, so it’s all looking very organised. The first of the onion family, our garlic, white onions and shallots are all leading the growth race at the moment, and it’s great to see all the healthy green rows. The Jerusalem artichokes are also growing away well. The rest of the field is still bare soil at the moment. This is the time of year when the field looks at it’s neatest. Plain brown soil, with uniform rows, (yes I’m getting better at ploughing them straight) with the roadways between each bed in the rotation scheme I use. We have a perennial bed, where I grow the rhubarb and Jerusalem artichokes, a potato bed, a brassica bed, a carrot and onion bed, a salad and herb bed and a beet and bean bed. All of them are at least partly planted after the work we did this week.
In the coming week, it’s now just more of the same. I have to do second sowings of some of the crops, plenty of pricking-out of seedlings, a bit of potting. I also have to make a major start on the honorous task of weeding everything. My aim is to hoe over every plant at least once a month and this has to start with the white onions this week as there is already a haze of green weed germination around the base of the plants and sweeping over the ridges. This job will carry on all summer.
Please let me know of any problems you encounter with the veg you receive from us. The cold blast on Tuesday night caught me out last week and the bananas that had been packed for the Wednesday run fruit bags, were affected and needed to be eaten really quickly. The skins were blackening with the chill. Also with the last of the stored tatties, I had one report about the bigger potatoes being bad in the middle. I’ve changed the variety this week to try to sort that out. We’re having to move onto washed carrots for a little while, hopefully only a little while, til I source some more dirty ones. Our stores have run out now. This seasons are planted but it will be a wee while before they’re ready to eat. Also, if you’ve any ideas on how we could improve the service, please do let us know.
The standard bags this week should contain the following, but there may be substitutions, especially with the beetroot which is running out.

Potatoes Solanum tuberosum. The tattie variety, this week, is Maris Peer. It’s slightly to the waxier side so a good boiler. 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 Contains Vitamin C, folic acid and potassium. Beetroot can be eaten fresh, cooked or pickled. Much of the beet I sell at the market is going to the juicer fresh, although I have never tried this, it is the most beneficial way to eat beetroot. Cooked it can be boiled, stewed or roasted, and of course, after boiling, can be pickled. The time for boiling depends on how big the root is. A golf ball sized beet would boil in 20 mins, while a tennis ball size may take over and hour.

Tomato Lycopersicon esculentum. Obviously, slightly out of season, but a nice treat nonetheless. Can be eaten fresh in salads or cooked into sauces, the famous soup, or for the unhealthy option fried for breakfast.

Leek Allium porrum. Leeks give a lovely creamy consistency to soups and are great in flans or quiches. Leeks are a great source of Vitamin C. Be sure to wash them very carefully though, as soil gets caught in the leaf axils as it is growing. Cut up the leek then rinse in cold running water in a colander.

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.

Monday 2nd May 2011 - update

2011-05-02T14:28:00.000-07:00

I've had a very busy, but reasonably successful day today. Got up early and planted the rest of the red onions and carrots. It's always good to get the last of the onions in, as each individual set has to be planted, so it's quite an onorous task when you're planting thousands of them. The carots are easier as they are just small seed sown in a drill with a little hand held seeder.
Finn wanted me to help put up my new tent after breakfast, so we spent an hour on that. It looked good when it was finished, but ine of the zips burst almost immediately, so a repair or a shop replacement are required before we'll be going on any adventures.
Next I packed the veg for the usual Tuesday run, put them on the van and set off delivering them. I managed to get round the entire run and got home at about 10pm. If you're reading this and expecting a veg bag on Tuesday - it's sitting at your front door!
It's great what you can get doen when you put your mind to it - and there are very quiet bank holiday roads.

Newsletter w/c 2nd May 2011

2011-05-01T14:24:00.000-07:00

There may be a few bag deliveries at a different time this week, as I’m needed to do other things on Tuesday. I’ll try to deliver as many as I can on Monday and the rest will be delivered, hopefully, early on Tuesday morning. The deliveries for the rest of the week, should go as normal. I realise deliveries have been disrupted a bit lately, but I hope they’ll settle down for a wee bit now, at least until we go away for summer holidays. I haven’t booked anything yet, so don’t have any firm dates, but I’ll let you know as soon as I do.

The reason for most of the changes, is that when I’m trying to do so much on my own, sometimes the timings for things just get in each others way and something has to give. I’ll try to make sure it’s kept to a minimum and that you’re kept informed.

I’ve managed to get a bit of work done in the field this week, despite Royal wedding parties and school holidays. I was meaning to avoid the Royal wedding altogether, but ended up listening to it on the radio on my delivery run last Friday.

So’ I’ve planted almost half of the red onions now and half of the carrots, so the filed is starting to fill up. The garlic and shallots are greening up nicely and the Jerusalem artichokes have germinated, so I ran the ridging plough up their row, to keep the weeds in check. Once I’ve planted the remainder of the carrots and onions, I’ll get the rest of the seed sown, while this hot dry weather continues, then when the rain does eventually come, I’ll start to plant out the seedlings that are growing away in the poly-tunnel.

I was given a tent, by the family, as a birthday present, last week. I don’t know if there is some kind of message there about me spending so long in the field that I may as well stay there. I’ll see if I can encourage a little camping trip next weekend, if the weather holds. The midgies won’t be too bad yet! I’ve got terrible memories of BB hikes when I was a youngster and the misery those little pests can inflict. If I can get a trip without the midgies, there’s a better chance of there being a follow-up trip sometime later in the summer.

Here’s a list of the veg that should appear in the standard bags this week, if substitutions haven’t been required:

Potato Solanum tuberosum. Tatties this week are either Robinta (red skins) or Valor (large, white skins), both are good general purpose potatoes. It’s so good to have our own tatties again. We’re bagging them straight from the field at the moment so the sizes will vary. 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. You may receive some of our own onions this week. They are the best onions I’ve ever grown. I have red and white varieties so could be either or a mixture. They haven’t been dried yet so they’re full of flavour. 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..

Red Cabbage Brassica oleracea Capitata Group..(1/2 head) Excellent source of Vitamin C and phytochemicals and also contains Vitamin B6, potassium, fibre and calcium. Here’s a recipe for Braised red cabbage which uses apples rather than the orange based gravy I gave you last time. Braised Red Cabbage: Remove the outer coarse leaves and cut the cabbage into quarters. Remove the tough cores and shred the cabbage finely. Peel core and grate 2 cooking apples and mix with the cabbage. Melt 2oz. (50g) of butter in a pan, add 5fl.oz.(150ml) white wine vinegar and mix in the cabbage; coat thoroughly; then cover with a tight fitting lid and simmer over a gentle heat for 1 hour. Add a little more vinegar or water if the cabbage threatens to stick. Stir in 5fl.oz. (150ml) of red wine or blackcurrant juice, season to taste with sugar. The cabbage will have a fairly sharp flavour. Cover with a lid and simmer until tender.

the flesh. Boil in lightly salted water for 30 minutes and mash with cream and butter.

Cucumber Cucumis sativus (1/2 head) Source of Vitamins A and C and also a source of potassium. Cucumbers are generally eaten fresh in salads. Just give them a wipe over and slice or cut into chunks. For an alternative to this, try peeling the cucumbers thinly, then slice crossways into slices 0.5cm thick. Cut the seeds in the centre out to form a ring. Melt some butter in a frying pan and add a little salt and the cucumber rings. Saute for about 10 minutes or until the cucumber is tender but still crisp. Serve hot.

2011-05-01T14:20:00.000-07:00

I’m going to be needed at home, again, on Tuesday next week, so I’m going to deliver the Tuesday veg on Monday. I’m sorry for any inconvenience caused, but this should be the last time this change is needed for a while.

It was my birthday last week, and Lynda decided to take us all away for a couple of days. We rented a wee apartment for a couple of nights in Pitlochry. I was a bit reticent to go and leave all the work behind that needs done, but I certainly felt the benefit of the break. The boys and Lynda had a good time too. We left on Saturday, once I got back to the farm from the market at Juniper Green. It was the quietest market I’ve been at for a while. The combination of a chill breeze with no sunshine, and a holiday weekend seems to have had a bad effect on customer numbers. Last month the same market was the busiest one I’d had for a while and I sold out of lots of the basics by 11.30am. Consequently, of course, I’d taken lots of veg with me, to avoid running out. I’ll never get it right! I had to humph it all back home again.

The one benefit of the quiet market was, that for once I was prepared for all eventualities. I had taken some seedlings with me that needed to be pricked-out. I took more of them than I thought I’d need too and nearly got them all transplanted. I’ve been falling behind a bit with the seedlings, so that really helped. This week I really need to get the red onion sets planted and make a start on the spinach and beet bed. I haven’t even any peas or beans planted yet which is unusual, but it’s not too late yet.

Here’s a list of the veg that should appear in the standard bags this week, if substitutions haven’t been required:

Potato Solanum tuberosum. Tatties this week are either Robinta (red skins) or Valor (large, white skins), both are good general purpose potatoes. It’s so good to have our own tatties again. We’re bagging them straight from the field at the moment so the sizes will vary. 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. You may receive some of our own onions this week. They are the best onions I’ve ever grown. I have red and white varieties so could be either or a mixture. They haven’t been dried yet so they’re full of flavour. Used in stews, pasta dishes, soups. Source of Vitamins A and C, Iron, Calcium and Potassium .

Parsley

Aubergine

Rhubarb

Newsletter w/c 18th april 2011

2011-04-20T14:30:00.000-07:00

We had some extra leeks this week, so rather than let them go to waste, we’ve added them as an extra item to some of the bags, for as long as they are available. There may be substitutions for the butternut squash, as there aren’t enough at the moment to go throught the entire week. We’ll include them next week for the folk who didn’t get one this week.
We’re getting near the end of the stored potatoes now, so please keep an eye on the quality for us. We need to know if we’re sending out any substandard veg.
On the farm I had a great day on Saturday and managed to plant all the potato seed for this year, then on Sunday, Robbie and I planted ½ of the onion sets. I also planted a row of garlic and a few shallots, so we’re doing quite well. In the poly-tunnel, the first lot of seedlings got away from me. I’ve managed to do a bit of each tray but I had to waste a lot of the first batch. I’m now busysowing a second batch of brassicas and a few trays of salad.
We’re at Juniper Green farmers market on Saturday, this weekend. We’ll be in the pub car-park of the kinleith Arms from 9 on Saturday morning til 1pm. I hope to see you there.
Here’s a list of the produce, which barring any need for substitution, will be in the standard bags this week.
Potato Solanum tuberosum. With the drier, milder weather, I’ve managed to get some of the potatoes harvested, that have been in the ground all Winter. Considering the temperature, there are a lot more than I expected. The variety is Hunter and is a yellow skinned tattie, quite round in shape. The other variety is Maris Peer, smaller white tattie. Both are pretty general purpose and will cook in any way you’d like them to. 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.

Beansprouts (1 pack) The beansprouts were very popular when we had them in the bag last month. The young sprouts of beans need very little preparation, except for a rinse. They can be added raw to mixed salads to give a crunchy texture, or served on their own as a salad with a vinaigrette or sour-cream dressing. They also make an excellent addition to soups, stews and main dishes, adding a welcome new flavour and texture.

Courgette Cucurbita pepo (1 head) Source of Vitamins A and C , calcium, iron and fibre. Prepare by wshing and trimming both ends. Courgettes can be coked whole or in slices, or they can be cut in half lengthways filled with stuffing and baked. Boil courgettes in lightly salted water for 15-20 minutes. Sliced courgettes may be steamed in butter for 10 minutes. Halved courgettes may be parboiled for 5 minutes the finished in the oven, in a well-buttered dish for 25 minutes at 190oC (375oF) Gas Mark 5.

Beetroot Beta vulgaris Contains Vitamin C, folic acid and potassium. Beetroot can be eaten fresh, cooked or pickled. Much of the beet I sell at the market is going to the juicer fresh, although I have never tried this, it is the most beneficial way to eat beetroot. Cooked it can be boiled, stewed or roasted, and of course, after boiling, can be pickled. The time for boiling depends on how big the root is. A golf ball sized beet would boil in 20 mins, while a tennis ball size may take over and hour.

Butternut Squash Cucurbita sp. (1 head) Butternut Squash is a member of the winter squash club. It is amn excellent source of Vitamins A amd C and a significant source of Vitamin B6 and Magnesium, potassium and fibre. To prepare it, simply peel the squash and chop into chunks, then roast it in a hot oven for 20 minutes. Here’s a recipe for Roasted Butternut Squash with coconut and coriander sauce. Heat the oven to 200oC/400oF/Gas 6. Cut the squash in half lengthways and remove the seeds. Make deep cuts in the flesh but not all the way through to the skin, to form a diamond pattern. Mix together 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil with1 teaspoon of tamari, 2 dashes of tabasco, a few drops of balsamic vinegar, a tablespoon of water and a crushed clove of garlic. Brush this mixture over the squash, turn the squash flesh side down on a baking sheet and bake for 35-40 minutes, until the flesh is tender. Turn the squash flesh side up and bake for a further 10 minutes. While it’s cooking you can make the sauce. Take a 400ml can of coconut milk and pour it into a pan along with, a sliced clove of garlic, a sliced spring onion ( if you can get it), a handful of finely diced red pepper and a small handful of fresh coriander ( or half a teaspoon of dried). Simmer for 10 minutes then turn off the heat and leave it to infuse. To serve, strain the sauce and return to the pan to reheat. Add the same amount of red pepper and coriander again, spoon a little over each squash and serve the rest separately.

Newsletter w/c 11th April 2011

2011-04-11T23:54:00.000-07:00

The early part of this week is not going to run as usual this week. Tuesday deliveries will be on Monday and there are no Wednesday deliveries at all. Thursday and Friday deliveries will go ahead as usual. On the farm, the field has now been ploughed so we can get on and get everything planted, our only restrictions are weather to an extent and time. At least the days are stretching now so I can work a bit longer each day and get a bit more done. I’ve tidied up the perennial bed and transplanted a row of garlic plants. I’ve planted a row of Jerusalem artichokes and weeded round the rhubarb. I need to plant the rest of the artichokes, then plant the potatoes and onion sets and when it’s too wet to do that, prick out seedlings in the poly-tunnel. It’s a time of year when there is just never enough hours in the day to do everything. Last Saturday, our nephew, Robbie, came out to help for the weekend and on Saturday we did a big repair job on the farm road. The surface, like every other road surface in Scotland, was very pot-holed after the winter weather. I bought in some type one gravel and hired a vibrating plate and we got started. We had only been going about half an hour when both of our farming neighbours, Matthew and Alisdair had offered help with their machines. The big buckets made life a lot easier than working with the barrow. Finn worked the vibrating plate, while Keir helped drive the machine, so that kept them happy and busy too. It’s great to have a smooth-ish journey along the road now. We’re getting a bit short of net bags again, so if you’ve a stash of therm, that you’ve saved up for us – could you leave them out in the next couple of deliveries. That way I’ll know how many to buy in. Thanks Here’s a list of the produce, which barring any need for substitution, will be in the standard bags this week. Potato Solanum tuberosum. With the drier, milder weather, I’ve managed to get some of the potatoes harvested, that have been in the ground all Winter. Considering the temperature, there are a lot more than I expected. The variety is Hunter and is a yellow skinned tattie, quite round in shape. The other variety is Maris Peer, smaller white tattie. Both are pretty general purpose and will cook in any way you’d like them to. 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 Alllium porrum (1 head) Leeks are used to give a creamy texture to soups. They can also be served as an accompanying vegetable, and may be boiled, braised, steamed or fried. To prepare, cut off the root base and any damaged upper leaves. Rinse in running cold water to wash away the grit that gets caught between the leaves. Boil in minimum of salted water. Whole or halved leeks need 15-20 minutes while rings and slices need about 10 minutes. Drain then return to the pan to steam off any remaining water. Serve with a knob of butter, or coated in a white sauce or cheese sauce. 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. Parsley Petroselinum sp. (100g) This flat leaved variety of parsley has far more flavour than the more common curly type, though I have to say the curly one is a far nicer plant to look at. Excellent for flavouring all sorts of dishes or cut into salads. Especially popular in our household, cut over boiled potatoes, with a little melted butter. Kohl Rabi Brassica oleracea Gongylodes Group (1 head) – Excellent source of vitamin C and potassium. These swollen stem bases are great eaten raw, but can be cooked. Just peel off the outer skin and slice or dice the inner flesh. To cook, blanch for 5 minutes in boiling water with a little added lemon juice, then refresh in cold water. Cook the kohl-rabi for 10-15 minutes in a minimal amount of

Newsletter w/c 4th April 2011

2011-04-11T23:25:00.000-07:00

I’m going to change the way we produce the newsletters from now on. Over the past couple of months, I’ve been having constant problems with our printers and ink cartridges and the compatibility of the two to an extent that has meant we have been unable to put newsletters in bags on a number of occasions. What I propose is that if you can access our website online, you will find the newsletters on there under the ‘News’ link. The last 60 newsletters are there already to browse through. If you really want to receive a hard copy of the newsletter, I’ll be delighted to send you one in your bag. Leave me a note out with your next bag letting me know you’d like to continue receiving the newsletter in your bag and I’ll take a note of it. This should cut down the number we have to produce and will cut out the ones that don’t ever get read and are wasted. Next week there will be no Wednesday run and the Tuesday deliveries will be carried out on the Monday. I am away on Tuesday and Wednesday next week. Thursday and Friday customers will be unaffected. On the farm, I’m trying to get loads of things done and feel like I’m getting nowhere. The jobs keep piling up. My main job at present is pricking out brassica seedlings. The poly-tunnel is bringing them on well, so I just need to knuckle down and get my transplanting speed up. As you’ll know it was Mothers Day on Sunday and I made a major error. I had to apologise to my Mum after sending her a birthday card instead of the Mothers Day card I intended to send. It was only when I started to write it, that I realised, so to the laughter and abuse from the rest of the family, I quickly doctored it to say what it should have said and sent it. I’ll never hear the end of it from the boys. They think it’s hilarious. Here’s a list of the produce, which barring any need for substitution, will be in the standard bags this week. Potato Solanum tuberosum. With the drier, milder weather, I’ve managed to get some of the potatoes harvested, that have been in the ground all Winter. Considering the temperature, there are a lot more than I expected. The variety is Hunter and is a yellow skinned tattie, quite round in shape. The other variety is Maris Peer, smaller white tattie. Both are pretty general purpose and will cook in any way you’d like them to. 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. Swede Brassica napa. (1head). Cut off the top and bottom of the swede then peel thickly. Cut into cubes or big chunks and boil for 30-40 minutes or alternatively, parboil then set around a roast in the oven for the last 30 minutes of cooking time. Excellent boiled, then mashed with butter and cream. Fennel (1 head) This stem base can be chopped raw into salads or simmered in a stock. Here’s a recipe for Buttered Fennel: Trim the root base and cut in half lengthways and rinse in cold water. Put the fennel in a pan with a minmal amount of boiling, lightly salted water and simmer, covered, for 15-20 minutes or until just tender. Overcooking reduces the sweet aniseed flavour. Drain thoroughly in a colander and keep warm on a serving dish. Now, melt the butter. Season the fennel with pepper, then pour the melted butter over the top and serve. Pepper Capsicum sp. (1 head) Good source of vitamin C. Wash the pepper, then slice off the top. Scoop out the seeds and membranes. Can be eaten cooked or fresh in various dishes including pasta sauces, pizza, salads. Spinach Spinacia oleracea (1 bag) Good source of vitamin C, B2, B6 and A, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, protein and phytochemicals. No wonder Popeye did so well on it. Can be used fresh in salads or cooked as a vegetable. Strip the leaves off the stalks and immerse in a basin of cold water. Lift out and repeat the process twice more with fresh water. Spinach has a high water content and does not need any water to cook in – just the water that adheres to the leave will be enough. Sprinkle lightly with salt cover with a lid and cook gently for 7-10 minutes until soft. Drain thoroughly, squeezing out the last of the water with a masher.

Newsletter w/c 28th March 2011

2011-03-30T23:24:00.000-07:00

We’re approaching the Easter holidays and it looks like I might have the boys with me on the delivery run a few times. They are only at school 6 days in April what with half-term, Easter, Royal Weddings and in-service days – I hope the weather is good for them. In two weeks time I’m away on the 12th and 13th of April. There will be no delivery on the 13th the Wednesday, and the Tuesday deliveries will be done on Monday instead. Apart from that the rest of the week will run as normal. Apologies in advance for any inconvenience this may cause.On the farm, we had the dung-spreader working here on Sunday, so there is a certain aroma hanging about the place just now. It’ll get ploughed in this week and then that’s the real beginning to the field planting season. Here’s a list of the produce, which barring any need for substitution, will be in the standard bags this week. Potato Solanum tuberosum. With the drier, milder weather, I’ve managed to get some of the potatoes harvested, that have been in the ground all Winter. Considering the temperature, there are a lot more than I expected. The variety is Hunter and is a yellow skinned tattie, quite round in shape. The other variety is Maris Peer, smaller white tattie. Both are pretty general purpose and will cook in any way you’d like them to. 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 Contains Vitamin C folic acid and potassium. Can be cooked in various ways, but don’t peel the beet until you’ve boiled it as this stops it ‘bleeding’. My recipe for you this week completely disregards this, so have a pair of rubber gloves and newspaper handy. I’m going to tell you how to make Super Boost Juice – Put on the rubber gloves, spread out a newspaper and peel your beetroot and cut it into chunks. Take 4 apples and quarter and core them. Take 4 carrots and trim and peel them. Take 1cm/1 inch of fresh ginger and peel it. This is easily done by scraping the skin off with the side of a teaspoon. Process all the ingredients through a juicer. Stir and serve immediately, adding ice if desired. Garlic Allium sativum ( 1 head) Excellent source of phytochemicals Vitamin A and C, calcium and iron. Cook a crushed clove with butter and spread it on french bread or toast. Keep a hold of this recipe, as in a months time or so there will be plenty of young nettle growth available so, here’s a recipe for Nettle Soup Take 8oz of nettle shoots. Wear rubber gloves to pick them and only pick the first two leaves and the bud. Don’t use flowering stems. Wash the nettle shoots. Melt 4oz butter in a large saucepan, then saute 1lb of sliced onions for about 10 minutes. Add 6 chopped cloves of garlic and cook for a further two minutes. Add the nettles and 2 ½ pints of chicken or vegetable stock and bring to the boil. Simmer gently for 5 minutes the puree. Season with salt and pepper then serve with a dollop of crème fraiche as a garnish in each bowl White Cabbage Brassica oleracea Capitata Group There’s nothing like the crunch of bit of white cabbage with a bit of melted butter enhancing the flavour. Great accompaniment to any dish. Cabbage is a source of phytochemicals, Vitamin C, potassium, fibre , calcium and Vitamin B6. To cook, cut the cabbage into quarters, take out the central core and either cook it whole for 20 minutes in lightly salted boiling water, or shred it an cook it for 12-15 minutes. Serve up with melted butter over the top. Here is a recipe for Asian Coleslaw with Peanuts and Chilli: Combine the following for the dressing: a crushed garlic clove, ½ onion finely sliced, 1 chilli chopped, 1 tablespoon of thai fish sauce, 1 ½ tablespoons of brown sugar, 3 tablespoons of lemon juice and a dash of sweet chilli sauce. Whisk them together in a bowl and set aside. Mix together the following veg: ½ cabbage finely shredded, 3 carrots coarsley grated, 2 apples grated, 1 red pepper sliced, 1 tomato chopped and 2 tablespoons of crushed roasted peanuts and 100g of beansprouts if you have them. Toss the veg in the dressing sprinkle a few roasted peanuts on top and serve. Ginger This is an item we don’t have in the bag very often. Versatile and strong flavoured, garlic is used widely in oriental stir-fries and sauces. Peel the outer skin off and grate the inner flesh. As it is such a strong flavour you only need to add a small amount. It provides a ‘kick’ of spiciness to dishes. Was your hands thoroughly after preparation as if you wipe it into your eye by accident, it isn’t pleasant!! You can tell that’s from bitter experience!

Newsletter w/c 21st March 2011

2011-03-21T15:29:00.000-07:00

It’s the 4th Saturday of the month this week, so that means that we’re over at the Juniper Green Farmers Market from 9am til 1pm. There’s a good range of stalls now with bakers, choclatieres, cheese makers, beef, lamb and pork producers and game, as well as our own vegetables. Come along and visit, especially if you haven’t been before, I’m sure the weather will be lovely.
We visited friends in Glasgow at the weekend, to catch up on all their news and to watch the rugby. A Scotland victory at last and Kilmarnock winning at football, meant a successful weekend from the sporting side of things.
On the farm I’ve got the first signs of green shoots in the polytunnel and am pressing my neighbour to get our field dunged this week if he can, to take the benefit of this period of high pressure, to plough the field while it’s in prime condition. Our seed potatoes have arrived and the onion sets are here too, so the sooner we get the ground prepared the better.
I ask this every year, but I’ll say it again anyway. If there is any vegetables of herbs you would like to see included in your bag, that you don’t seem to ever receive, this is the time of year to let me know, as we can try anything as an experiment. We won’t be growing pineapples or bananas obviously, but any reasonable request will be considered.
I’d like to get into the field and take out the last of the potatoes this week, as any that are left in the soil will be starting to sprout in the next few weeks as the soil heats up. I also need to lift the remaining artichokes to re-use them as seed. I managed to clear the last of the parsnips out last week.
I think it’s probably a good time to service the tractor as well, as it’s about to get into it’s most important time of year.
Here’s a list of the produce, which barring any need for substitution, will be in the standard bags this week.

Potato Solanum tuberosum. With the drier, milder weather, I’ve managed to get some of the potatoes harvested, that have been in the ground all Winter. Considering the temperature, there are a lot more than I expected. The variety is Hunter and is a yellow skinned tattie, quite round in shape. The other variety is Maris Peer, smaller white tattie. Both are pretty general purpose and will cook in any way you’d like them to. 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.

Calabrese Brassica oleracea Italica Group (1 head).. Calabrese is an 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:
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.

Leek Alllium porrum (2 head) Leeks arew used to give a creamy texture to soups. They can also be served as an accompanying vegetable, and may be boiled, braised, steamed or fried. To prepare, cut off the root base and any damaged upper leaves. Rinse in running cold water to wash away the grit that gets caught between the leaves. Boil in minimum of salted water. Whole or halved leeks need 15-20 minutes while rings and slices need about 10 minutes. Drain then return to the pan to steam off any remaining water. Serve with a knob of butter, or coated in a white sauce or cheese sauce.

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.

Parsley Petroselinum sp. This flat leaved variety of parsley has far more flavour than the more common curly type, though I have to say the curly one is a far nicer plant to look at. Excellent for flavouring all sorts of dishes or cut into salads. Especially popular in our household, cut over boiled potatoes, with a little melted butter.

Newsletter w/c 14th March 2011

2011-03-14T23:31:00.000-07:00

We had a bit of a disappointment, last week, when we found out we’d been axed from the Balerno Farmers Market, due to our heading over to Crail for Keir’s birthday, last month. Nobody actually let us know, we found out by checking the website and found we’d been left out. It feels bad when we’ve been there most of the time we’ve had any veg to sell, since it started. I’m sure we’ll get back in later in the year, which will suit us, as this is us running into the barren spell for the field, while we wait for the field to green up again with tasty crops.
I’m having a few software problems in the office too. There seems to be some breakdown between the pc and the printer, which isn’t allowing me to print off the newsletter, hence the lack of them for many of you, recently. I have been updating the blog regularly so if you haven’t received a hard copy of the newsletter, you should be able to get it from the website on the ‘news’ link.
Robbie came out to help me at the weekend and we got a lot of tidying up jobs done around the sheds and poly-tunnel. We sowed the first real batch of seeds and potted on a few herb seedlings which had survived the winter. The snow and rain stopped us from doing too much in the field, with the exception of taking out all the nets and stakes that were used for pest protection and frames for peas and beans. This means that when the dung spreader and plough get into the field – the machines will get a clear run with no obstacles. I’m hoping the the field will be ploughed the next time the ground gets dry enough. That’s the real start of the season for me.#

Here’s a list of the produce, which barring any need for substitution, will be in the standard bags this week.

Potato Solanum tuberosum. With the drier, milder weather, I’ve managed to get some of the potatoes harvested, that have been in the ground all Winter. Considering the temperature, there are a lot more than I expected. The variety is Hunter and is a yellow skinned tattie, quite round in shape. The other variety is Maris Peer, smaller white tattie. Both are pretty general purpose and will cook in any way you’d like them to. 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.

Swede Brassica napa. (1 head) Here’s a recipe for Mashed swede with Crispy bacon Peel your swede and cut it into smallish cubes. Put them in a saucepan and just cover them with water. Add salt, bring to simmering point and cook gently for 15-20 minutes, then tip into a colander and drain thoroughly. Return the saucepan to the heat, add 1 oz(25g) butter and fry 6 rashers of bacon which have been chopped into small pieces to it. Fry unitl the bacon begins to crisp. Now, return the swedes to the pan, add another 1oz of butter and a little single cream and mash well to a creamy consistency. Season with black pepper.

Spinach: Strip the spinach from the leaf-stalks , wash thoroughly and put in a large pan with a sprinkling of salt. Cover with a lid and cook over a gentle heat for 7 minutes, or until soft. Drain through a colander and chop roughly. Melt 1oz (25g) butter in a pan, add the spinach and toss evenly. Stir in sufficient breadcrumbs, a little at a time to absorb the liquid from the spinach and the butter. Season to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Serve as an accompaniment or as a light dish on its own.

Pepper Capsicum sp. (1 head) Good source of vitamin C. Wash the pepper, then slice off the top. Scoop out the seeds and membranes. Can be eaten cooked or fresh in various dishes including pasta sauces, pizza, salads. Peppers can also be stuffed with various fillings.

Parsnip Pastinaca sativa Our parsnips have been a great success this year, and it’s a bonus to be lifting veg so late in the season. We’re probably at the end of them now. 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 caoting 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.

Newsletter w/c 7th March 2011

2011-03-06T23:25:00.000-08:00

We’ve had a really busy week last week, more for personal stuff than for work. For two nights last week I did my first bit of DIY butchery, as we were given some venison. The amount of time it took to skin and cut up was amazing, but the freezer is now full.
On Thursday morning I’d just started my delivery run, when I got a call from the school to say Keir had had an accident in the playground. Lynda went to fetch him and it turned out he’d tripped up in the playground with his hands in his pockets. He ended up in A and E with broken ( baby) teeth and various cuts and scrapes on his face. He looked like a character out of a horror movie. He’s on the mend now though. On Friday night , the school had a Scot’s night, where Finn played his bagpipes and we all got involved in the Scottish Country dancing, I took Finn and Ioni, my niece, to Band Camp on Saturday. The two of them have joined Boghall and Bathgate Pipe band, Finn on the pipes, Ioni’s going to be a bass and tenor drummer. Sunday was a rugby tournament down at Biggar where the boys play. Stewarts Melville were the visitors and we ended the day with lunch and drinks with some old friends at The Crown in Biggar, so all-in-all it’s been an busy, but fun weekend. The hard work of planting starts shortly, so it’s good to get plenty of family time in just now.
We’ll be at Balerno framers market for the first time in ages this weekend, so come along and see us there.
Here’s a list of the produce, which barring any need for substitution, will be in the standard bags this week.

Potato Solanum tuberosum. With the drier, milder weather, I’ve managed to get some of the potatoes harvested, that have been in the ground all Winter. Considering the temperature, there are a lot more than I expected. The variety is Hunter and is a yellow skinned tattie, quite round in shape. The other variety is Valor a paler skinned tattie. Both are pretty general purpose and will cook in any way you’d like them to. 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. You may receive some of our own onions this week. They are the best onions I’ve ever grown. I have red and white varieties so could be either or a mixture. They haven’t been dried yet so they’re full of flavour. 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 (2 head) Leeks arew used to give a creamy texture to soups. They can also be served as an accompanying vegetable, and may be boiled, braised, steamed or fried. To prepare, cut off the root base and any damaged upper leaves. Rinse in running cold water to wash away the grit that gets caught between the leaves. Boil in minimum of salted water. Whole or halved leeks need 15-20 minutes while rings and slices need about 10 minutes. Drain then return to the pan to steam off any remaining water. Serve with a knob of butter, or coated in a white sauce or cheese sauce.

Garlic Allium sativum.( 1 head) Good for Vitamins A and C, calcium and iron. A crushed clove of garlic can enhance many savoury meals.

Cabbage Brassica oleracea Capitata Group..(1 head) . 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, a e 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 and simmer gently for 30 minutes. Season to taste, sprinkle with parsley and serve at once.

Beetroot Beta vulgaris Contains Vitamin C folic acid and potassium. Can be cooked in various ways, but don’t peel the beet until you’ve boiled it as this stops it ‘bleeding’. My recipe for you this week completely disregards this, so have a pair of rubber gloves and newspaper handy. I’m going to tell you how to make Super Boost Juice – Put on the rubber gloves, spread out a newspaper and peel your beetroot and cut it into chunks. Take 4 apples and quarter and core them. Take 4 carrots and trim and peel them. Take 1cm/1 inch of fresh ginger and peel it. This is easily done by scraping the skin off with the side of a teaspoon. Process all the ingredients through a juicer. Stir and serve immediately, adding ice if desired.

Newsletter w/c 28th February 2011

2011-03-02T15:06:00.000-08:00

It was a beautiful, sunny day on Saturday, for our market day at Juniper Green, and when the sun comes out, so do the market visitors. The car park at the Kinleith Arms was buzzing – a great atmosphere.
On the farm, I’ve been lifting parsnips and potatoes this week which have survived the cold, cold winter surprisingly well. You’ll maybe find some of the parsnips a little small, but most are of a decent size. I’ve increased the amount we’ve put into the bags, just in case there is any wastage. The potatoes look fine and the ones I’ve samled for dinners over the past few days have been delicious, but, do let me know if you find any problems at all, with any of the produce.
The family had a busy weekend too, as cousin Katie’s Build-a-Bear, Lily, was marrying Finn’s Bear, Ritchie. Many friends who have bought into the Build-aBear idea, were also invited as guests, a minister etc. Going by the noise drifting over the courtyard, it was a great success and the children had a ball. Pity about the rugby result though!
This week it’s all go with planting seeds and clearing the field. That should keep me pretty busy I think!
Here’s a list of the produce, which barring any need for substitution, will be in the standard bags this week.

Potato Solanum tuberosum. With the drier, milder weather, I’ve managed to get some of the potatoes harvested, that have been in the ground all Winter. Considering the temperature, there are a lot more than I expected. The variety is Hunter and is a yellow skinned tattie, quite round in shape. The other variety is Valor a paler skinned tattie. Both are pretty general purpose and will cook in any way you’d like them to. 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. You may receive some of our own onions this week. They are the best onions I’ve ever grown. I have red and white varieties so could be either or a mixture. They haven’t been dried yet so they’re full of flavour. 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.

Calabrese Brassica oleracea Italica Group (1 head). I have been corrected by one of our customers. What I have called broccoli up to now, is in fact, calabrese and should be called it’s proper name. Whatever it is, it is an 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.
Parsley Petroselinum sp. (1 bunch) This flat leaved variety of parsley has far more flavour than the more common curly type, though I have to say the curly one is a far nicer plant to look at. Parsley is excellent for flavouring all sorts of dishes, or cut into salads. Especially popular in our household, cut over boiled potatoes, with a little melted butter.

Celery (1 head) The central stalks of the celery are best fro eating raw, while the outer ones are probably best cooked or braised or cooked into stocks or sauces. Here’s a recipe for a Waldorf Salad. Put 85g of raisins in a bowl and cover them with hot water. Leave it to soak for an hour then drain the raisin. Peel and core three apples and slice them thinly. Put them in a bowl with half the raisins, 50g of walnut halves that have been lightly toasted in a dry frying pan and 4 celery stalks, thinly sliced. Add enough mayonnaise to coat, season to taste, toss weel to combine. Arrange some lettuce leaves on a serving dish and place the salad on top. Sprinkle with the remaining raisins, plus one tablespoon of chopped parsley and some celery leaves.

Parsnip Pastinaca sativa Source of Vitamin C, folic acid, potassium, and fibre. Peel thickly than cut off the top and bottom of the root then cut slice into long chunks. Boil in lightly salted boiling water for 20 minutes or parboil for 10 then roast in the oven for 20 minutes.

Newsletter w/c 21st February 2011

2011-03-02T15:03:00.000-08:00

We’ll be at Juniper Green farmers market this Saturday from 9am til 1 pm. Hope we get a good day and a few of you can make it along to see the stalls and beautiful produce on display.
On the farm, we’re continuing our spring clean, getting all the working spaces ready for the season ahead. Sheds and the polytunnel are being repaired after winter damage and roads and walls getting mended. I also managed to get the tractor onto the field seeing we’ve had a bit of a dry spell and am getting the field cleared of the last of the veg from last year.
As a treat I’d ordered in an item of veg from the wholesaler who brings our fruit into the country as I feel that a change is quite welcome after all the Scottish Winter veg, but it didn’t turn up as planned. This has meant that we’ve had to substitute on of the items.
Here’s a list of the veg that should appear in the standard bags this week, if substitutions haven’t been required:

Potato Solanum tuberosum. Tatties this week are either Robinta (red skins) or Valor (large, white skins), both are good general purpose potatoes. It’s so good to have our own tatties again. We’re bagging them straight from the field at the moment so the sizes will vary. 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. You may receive some of our own onions this week. They are the best onions I’ve ever grown. I have red and white varieties so could be either or a mixture. They haven’t been dried yet so they’re full of flavour. 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.

Jerusalem Artichoke Helianthus tuberosus ) Source of Vitamin B1, B2, B3, calcium, potassium, iron and fibre. To cook them, I’d always been one for boiling the skins off of them, but it’s a bit of a fouter, so I’ve now changed to just peeling them witht the tattie peeler and it seems to work perfectly well. I tried this recipe for Jerusalem Artichoke and Carrot soup and it went down well with 6 under 10’s who were present. The adults liked it too I should add. So, get your soup pan and sweat a chopped up onion in melted butter for 5 mins or so, then add 450g of peeled and chopped jerusalem artichokes, 400g roughly chopped carrots and a chopped stick of celery, if you have it. Add 500ml of vegetable stock and bring to the boil and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Let the soup cool a little then puree it. Add 100ml of milk and a grated carrot, check the heat and seasoning, then serve. You could add a swirl of single cream on the top. It’s a beautiful, hearty soup for these frosty lunch times, and very good for a flaskful when you’re out and about.

Leek Allium porrum. (2 head) Leeks give a lovely creamy consistency to soups and are great in flans or quiches. Leeks are a great source of Vitamin C. Be sure to wash them very carefully though, as soil gets caught in the leaf axils as it is growing. Cut up the leek then rinse in cold running water in a colander.

Savoy Cabbage Brassica oleracea Capitata Group..(1 head) Excellent source of Vitamins B6 and C and also a source of potassium and fibre and phytochemicals. To cook, cut into quarters, cut out the hard core shred and wash under running cold water, then boil or steam for 7-10 minutes. This recipe is quite close to the traditional bubble and squeak:- Prepare the cabbage as above and put in a pan of lightly saltd boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain thoroughly. Remove the rind and gristle from 6oz ( 175g) of bacon, chop crossways into narrow strips and put in a heavy based pan. Fry the bacon until crisp, and the fat begin to run then add a finely chopped onion and cook until soft. Add the drained cabbage, stirring continuously until well coated. Season to taste with salt, pepper and cook through.
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 and simmer gently for 30 minutes. Season to taste, sprinkle with parsley and serve at once.

Fennel (1 head) This stem base can be chopped raw into salads or simmered in a stock. Here’s a recipe for Buttered Fennel: Trim the root base and cut in half lengthways and rinse in cold water. Put the fennel in a pan with a minmal amount of boiling, lightly salted water and simmer, covered, for 15-20 minutes or until just tender. Overcooking reduces the sweet aniseed flavour. Drain thoroughly in a colander and keep warm on a serving dish. Now, melt the butter. Season the fennel with pepper, then pour the melted butter over the top and serve. Your cress would be a fine garnish for this dish. Goes particularly well with grilled fish or roast chicken

Newsletter w/c 14th February 2011

2011-03-02T14:53:00.000-08:00

Our schools are off for half-term break for a few days this week, so we decided to have a long-weekend over in Crail in the East Neuk of Fife. Our youngest son, Keir, was 7 on Saturday and with cousins Ioni and Gregor with birthdays on the days either side of his, and Uncle Finlay on the Sunday, they all came up to join us. We had a great time. It didn’t stop raining much, but that didn’t stop the children playing on the beach for most of the weekend. The temperatures were pretty mild, but since we’ve come back home there has been a real change and a nip in the air. I don’t think it’s going to be cold enough to affect vegetable deliveries though, (fingers crossed!). Of course, if you have any damage to any of your veg or fruit, please let me know.
We missed Balerno market again because of our break but should be ok for next month. I’ll be at Juniper Green market on the 26th of the month. It starts at 9am. I’ve been asked to a couple of new markets that are starting up, but we’re just deciding whether I’ve got the time to commit to them or not. I’ll let you know if they’re going ahead.
Here’s a list of the veg that should appear in the standard bags this week, if substitutions haven’t been required:

Potato Solanum tuberosum. Tatties this week are either Robinta (red skins) or Valor (large, white skins), both are good general purpose potatoes. It’s so good to have our own tatties again. We’re bagging them straight from the field at the moment so the sizes will vary. 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. You may receive some of our own onions this week. They are the best onions I’ve ever grown. I have red and white varieties so could be either or a mixture. They haven’t been dried yet so they’re full of flavour. 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.

Kale Brassica oleracea Acephala Group..(200g) 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, make a depression in the centre and pour in some melted butter.

Swede Brassica napa. (1 head) Here’s a recipe for Mashed swede with Crispy bacon Peel your swede and cut it into smallish cubes. Put them in a saucepan and just cover them with water. Add salt, bring to simmering point and cook gently for 15-20 minutes, then tip into a colander and drain thoroughly. Return the saucepan to the heat, add 1 oz(25g) butter and fry 6 rashers of bacon which have been chopped into small pieces to it. Fry unitl the bacon begins to crisp. Now, return the swedes to the pan, add another 1oz of butter and a little single cream and mash well to a creamy consistency. Season with black pepper.
Leek Allium porrum. (2 head) Leeks give a lovely creamy consistency to soups and are great in flans or quiches. Leeks are a great source of Vitamin C. Be sure to wash them very carefully though, as soil gets caught in the leaf axils as it is growing. Cut up the leek then rinse in cold running water in a colander.

Beetroot Beta vulgaris Contains Vitamin C folic acid and potassium. Can be cooked in various ways, but don’t peel the beet until you’ve boiled it as this stops it ‘bleeding’. My recipe for you this week completely disregards this, so have a pair of rubber gloves and newspaper handy. I’m going to tell you how to make Super Boost Juice – Put on the rubber gloves, spread out a newspaper and peel your beetroot and cut it into chunks. Take 4 apples and quarter and core them. Take 4 carrots and trim and peel them. Take 1cm/1 inch of fresh ginger and peel it. This is easily done by scraping the skin off with the side of a teaspoon. Process all the ingredients through a juicer. Stir and serve immediately, adding ice if desired.

Newsletter w/c 7th February 2011

2011-03-02T14:49:00.000-08:00

After the snow and heavy rain over the weekend and the beginning of the week, the texture of the soil in the field is similar to that of porridge. It’s not so much a case of digging artichokes as squeezing them out of the mud – not very pleasant. Please forgive the fact that they may be even dirtier than you’ve had before, if that’s possible. They are only in the large bags this week, so I didn’t have to lift all that many. We’re coming towards the end of the swede crop as well. There are a few smaller swede left in the field but the cold and wet is starting to make the neck rot which will eventually effect the whole plant. We’ve had the best crop of swede we’ve ever grown, this year. I can’t believe , considering the weather we’ve had, that it could be the best year for anything.
We’re off the Crail for the long weekend, for a wee break. The schools are off for half-term and it’s our big birthday weekend where we have 4 Cobbinshaw birthdays in 4 days. It’s always a good time. The only down-side is that I’ll miss the Balerno market on Saturday. I haven’t been there now since October, for one reason or another, but hopefully March will see us back there as usual.
On the farm-work side of things, I’ve bought in the first of my seed compost for this year and hope to get some seeds sown when we get back from our break. It’s our first year with the poly-tunnel and hopefully it’ll give us a good early start. My main concern was, that the structure couldn’t survive our weather up here. We’re really exposed to winds from any direction, but, so far, it has survived .
Here’s a list of the veg that should appear in the standard bags this week, if substitutions haven’t been required:

Potato Solanum tuberosum. Tatties this week are either Robinta (red skins) or Valor (large, white skins), both are good general purpose potatoes. It’s so good to have our own tatties again. We’re bagging them straight from the field at the moment so the sizes will vary. 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. You may receive some of our own onions this week. They are the best onions I’ve ever grown. I have red and white varieties so could be either or a mixture. They haven’t been dried yet so they’re full of flavour. 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.

Chard Chard is great nutritionally. It contains Vitamins A, C, B2 and B6, folic acid, iron, magnesium, potassium, calcium, phytochemicals and protein. Most of you will get one giant leaf, but it will cook into curries and other dishes. To cook it, treat it much the same way as spinach for the leaf and like celery for the stem,although the flavour is quite different Immerse the chard in a large bowl of cold clean water, lift them out and repeat the process with fresh water, two or three times more. Chard has a high water content , so it is sufficient to cook it only with the water adhering to the leaves from the last rinsing. Sprinkle lightly with salt, cover with a lid and cook gently for 7 – 10 minutes until soft. Drain the chard thoroughly, squeezing out as much water as possible with a potato masher.

Pepper Capsicum sp.. ( 1 head) Cut off the top and scoop out the membranes and seeds. The flesh can be eaten fresh or cooked. There are also various recipes for stuffing peppers for which you need to retain the sliced off top.

Parsnip. Pastinaca sativa Good for Vitamin C, folic acid, potassium and fibre. Peel, then cut into chunks for boiling or roasting, also can be grated into soups or kept in chunks for soups or stews. Here’s a recipe for: Curried parsnip couscous. Prepare your parsnips and cut them into batons about 7cm (3inches) long, the thicker sections will need to be quartered. Mix together 1 teaspoon each of sea salt, paprika and ground cumin, a tablespoon each of sunflower oil and honey and a dash of tabasco sauce. Pour this over the parsnips and leave to marinate for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 200oC/400oF/Gas 6. Cover the parsnips tightly with foil and bake for 1 hour. Turn them regularly, making sure they are tightly wrapped before returning them to the oven. Sprinkle them with water from time to time to stop sticking. Towards the end of the cooking time prepare some couscous. Serve the couscous with the parsnips, sprinkled with coriander leaves. Have mango chutney on hand, just to finish it off.

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.

Newsletter 31st January 2011

2011-03-02T14:46:00.000-08:00

There were no newsletters in the bags on Thursday and Friday, last week, because the printer ran out of ink, and the stationary store had run out of ink cartridges. I eventually had to order some online, but they didn’t arrive in time to get the epistles out. If you ever get a bag and the newsletter isn’t included for one reason or another, you can usually find it on the website under the news link. You can also look back at previous newsletters for additional recipe ideas, there at any time too.
It’s Keir’s 7th birthday on the 12th February and as it’s half term, we’re going over to Crail for a couple of nights at the weekend. This means we won’t be at the farmers market in Balerno again. Between the weather and the time of year, we’ve missed the last three Balerno markets. I’ll make an extra special effort to be there on the second Saturday in March.
For the last week or so, we’ve had easier ground conditions for digging vegetables, so I’ve been trying to clear areas of the field, so that I can get them prepared for the coming season. It’s going to be on us before we know it, although I’m sure we’ve still got some cold weather to face yet. I always feel like we’re getting through Winter when we get to February. The countryside starts to show signs of new life and the buds on the trees are starting to swell. I’ll get the poly-tunnel tidied up and get some of the hardier seeds sown to give us as early a start as possible.
Here’s a list of the veg that should appear in the standard bags this week, if substitutions haven’t been required:

Potato Solanum tuberosum. Tatties this week are either Robinta (red skins) or Valor (large, white skins), both are good general purpose potatoes. It’s so good to have our own tatties again. We’re bagging them straight from the field at the moment so the sizes will vary. 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. You may receive some of our own onions this week. They are the best onions I’ve ever grown. I have red and white varieties so could be either or a mixture. They haven’t been dried yet so they’re full of flavour. 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.

Celeriac (1 head To prepare your celeriac, peel off the thick outer skin and chop into chunks or juliennes and leave in water with a few drops of lemon juice until required for cooking. I usually give you a recipe for soup, but here’s something completely different: Celeriac and mixed seed salad:- Heat a frying pan and add 15g of sunflower seeds, 15g of pumpkin seeds and a teaspoon of salt. Roast, stirring frequently, until they start to pop. Remove from the heat and set aside. Shred the prepared celeriac and toss it in 150g of yoghurt, a crushed garlic clove, the juice of ½ a lime, pepper, and a tablespoon each of parsley and coriander. Chuck in most of the seeds, reserving some to sprinkle over the salad just before serving. Serve with French bread and some winter salad leaves.

Leek Alllium porrum (1 head) Leeks are used to give a creamy texture to soups. They can also be served as an accompanying vegetable, and may be boiled, braised, steamed or fried. To prepare, cut off the root base and any damaged upper leaves. Rinse in running cold water to wash away the grit that gets caught between the leaves. Boil in minimum of salted water. Whole or halved leeks need 15-20 minutes while rings and slices need about 10 minutes. Drain then return to the pan to steam off any remaining water. Serve with a knob of butter, or coated in a white sauce or cheese sauce.

Savoy Cabbage Brassica oleracea Capitata Group..(1 head) Savoy is an excellent source of Vitamins B6 and C and also a source of potassium, fibre and phytochemicals. To cook, cut into quarters, cut out the hard core shred and wash under running cold water, then boil or steam for 7-10 minutes. This recipe is quite close to the traditional bubble and squeak:- Prepare the cabbage as above and put in a pan of lightly salted boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain thoroughly. Remove the rind and gristle from 6oz ( 175g) of bacon, chop crossways into narrow strips and put in a heavy based pan. Fry the bacon until crisp, and the fat begin to run then add a finely chopped onion and cook until soft. Add the drained cabbage, stirring continuously until well coated. Season to taste with salt, pepper and cook through.

Garlic Allium sativum.( 1 head) Good for Vitamins A and C, calcium and iron. A crushed clove of garlic can enhance many savoury meals.

newsletter w/c 24th January 2011

2011-03-02T14:43:00.000-08:00

The weather for the farmers market at juniper Green last Saturday was a big improvement on what we’ve suffered in the last few months. The customers turned out too, and I was hoarse by the time I got home after the non-stop chatter. I don’t do any of the market trader - vocal marketing that you see on the television or at the Barras. You know the sort of thing – ‘get your leeks – two for a pound’ in my strongest Ayrshire accent. I’d be hoarse within half an hour then. I spend my time chatting to people who come up tio the stall and show an interest.
Lynda’s brother Peter had us over on Saturday for our first Burns supper of the season. I shouldn’t have had my third helping, but couldn’t help myself as the food was so good. I could hardly move for about an hour afterwards. We’re hosting one for friends locally on Friday so I’ll have to finish my run on Friday as early as I can to give me plenty of time to get prepared.
On the delivery side of things, I have, as intimated over the last couple of weeks, had to change some of the delivery days, to make the runs as efficient as I can get them, now that I’m doing the deliveries myself again. It’s mainly customers in North Lanarkshire that are affected but one or two others may see the delivery change. If you have any queries or if the new delivery time is an inconvenience to you, let me know and we’ll sort another delivery time out for you.
We have Seville oranges available at the moment, if anyone is planning on making marmalade. Let me know how many kilos you would need and I’ll let you know the price and when I can get them.
On the farm, I’ve got a busy day of harvesting veg for the bags this week. I have to try to get all the roots up for the whole week, and the jerusalem artichokes are quite time-consuming to pick. I hope we don’t have a frosty night on Sunday or that will hold me back. It’s looking ok at the moment.
Here’s a list of the veg that should appear in the standard bags this week, if substitutions haven’t been required:

Potato Solanum tuberosum. Tatties this week are either Robinta (red skins) or Valor (large, white skins), both are good general purpose potatoes. It’s so good to have our own tatties again. We’re bagging them straight from the field at the moment so the sizes will vary. 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. You may receive some of our own onions this week. They are the best onions I’ve ever grown. I have red and white varieites so could be either or a mixture. They haven’t been dried yet so they’re full of flavour. 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.

Brussels Sprouts Brassica oleracea Gemmifera Group Excellent source of Vitamin C and phytochemicals, and is also a source of Vitamins A and B6, potassium, folic acid and fibre. To prepare, pare the bottom off of the sprout and remove any damaged outer leaves. Sprouts taste best when they are quickly blanched in lightly salted boiling water and then served topped with melting butter.

Jerusalem Artichoke Helianthus tuberosus ( 400g) Source of Vitamin B1, B2, B3, calcium, potassium, iron and fibre. To cook scrub off the worst of any dirt on the root, then boil for a couple of minutes without cutting off the root or the top. This loosens the skin and allows you to rub it off quite easily. Then boil in slightly salted water for a further 15-20 minutes or until tender. Add lemon juice to the water before boiling to keep the roots white. Can also be roasted after parboiling, and makes very good soup. All you really need are the artichokes, some onion, simmered together until soft, add a stock, boil for 30 minutes maybe a little nutmeg. Puree it.

Mixed Beansprouts very nutritious, these sprouting seeds are excellent fresh in salads or cooked in stir-fries. If there is a punnet open in the kitchen in our house, they don’t last long because people seem to find it hard to pass them without digging out a spoonful.

Fennel (1 head) This stem base can be chopped raw into salads or simmered in a stock. Here’s a recipe for Buttered Fennel: Trim the root base and cut in half lengthways and rinse in cold water. Put the fennel in a pan with a minmal amount of boiling, lightly salted water and simmer, covered, for 15-20 minutes or until just tender. Overcooking reduces the sweet aniseed flavour. Drain thoroughly in a colander and keep warm on a serving dish. Now, melt the butter. Season the fennel with pepper, then pour the melted butter over the top and serve. Your cress would be a fine garnish for this dish. Goes particularly well with grilled fish or roast chicken.

Newsletter w/c 17th january 2011

2011-03-02T14:40:00.000-08:00

We’re two weeks into the New year now and having looked at the delivery runs, I’ve had to make a few adjustments to delivery days, mainly to customers living in the Nth Lanarkshire area. I’ll get in touch with you individually to let you know the details, but if you’ve received this bag on a day you didn’t expect, then this will probably be the day for your delivery for the next wee while. I just feel that the deliveries could be a bit more efficiently done, now that I’m doing all the deliveries myself.
This Saturday we’ll be at t he Juniper green Farmers market from 9am til 1pm, so come along and see us. I’m sure the weather is going to be the best we’ve had for months, it can’t be much worse, so now’s the time to try it. There are lots of meat and bakery stalls as well as our own veg.
I’ve included a swede this week for your Burns supper to go along with you tatties in accompanying your haggis. It’ll keep til next weekend if you’re having your supper on the weekend after Burns night. Finn’s got his bagpipes now and has been practicing hard to be able to ‘pipe in’ our haggis for us. Should be quite an occasion, but not a quiet one. There’s certainly a lot more volume than when he practices with the chanter.
On the farm, we’re back to clearing the field of all the crops that are left so that we can get on with the process of growing again for this years veg. There’s never that much ‘down time’ with us, always something to do.
Here’s a list of the veg that should appear in the standard bags this week id substitutions haven’t been required:
Potato Solanum tuberosum. Tatties this week are either Robinta (red skins) or Valor (large, white skins), both are good general purpose potatoes. It’s so good to have our own tatties again. We’re bagging them straight from the field at the moment so the sizes will vary. 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. You may receive some of our own onions this week. They are the best onions I’ve ever grown. I have red and white varieites so could be either or a mixture. They haven’t been dried yet so they’re full of flavour. 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.

Kale Brassica oleracea Acephala Group. 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.

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 caoting 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.

Pepper Capsicum sp. (1 head) Good source of vitamin C. Wash the pepper, then slice off the top. Scoop out the seeds and membranes. Can be eaten cooked or fresh in various dishes including pasta sauces, pizza, salads. Peppers can also be stuffed with various fillings.

Swede Brassica napus (1head). At his time of year, we always include a swede in the bag, in case you want to have your very own Burns supper. The bard’s birthday was 25th January and although you can have a Burns supper at any point in the year, it is the weekends on either side of this date that his memory is most remembered. Haggis neeps (swede) and tatties are the usual fare as he famously wrote, ‘Tae a Haggis’. You can even recite a few lines of poetry if you feel like it too. Traditionally a claret or bottle of whiskey would be on the table and in our house, a bottle of irn-bru if there are younger members of the family taking part. To cook, take your neep and peel it thickly. Cut the flesh into cubes or chunks and boil in lightly salted water for 25 – 30 minutes. Drain thoroughly and mash with cream and butter. Delicious!

Newsletter w/c 10th January 2011

2011-02-23T15:24:00.000-08:00

It’s Monday night and I’ve just watched Kilmarnock being beaten at Ibrox again. How disappointing. I thought this was going to be our big night, but not to be. Anyway on with the newsletter.
I’ve given everyone a rest from Jerusalem artichokes this week. They are still in season but you can have too much of a good thing so we’ll leave them for a couple of weeks in the standard bags at least. I’ll definitely be packing swedes in the bags next week so that you have the neep and tatties to go with your haggis at your very own family burns supper.
As I said last week, Andy has left us now and I’m back to doing all the deliveries myself. It’s really been good to start seeing customers again that I haven’t seen for a couple of years. I’m having a bit of difficulty finding addresses I have never been to before and I may be leaving bags in an incorrect place. If this is the case, please e-mail me or leave a note on your doorstep before the next delivery to let me know the correct spot to leave the bag.
There is no market in Balerno this weekend, but we’ll be at Juniper Green Next Saturday. 9am til 1pm at the Car-park of the Kinleith Arms on Lanark Rd. Try to make it along. I know a lot depends on the weather, but we’ll all be there come hell or high water and it makes the day go a lot quicker when there are a few customers to serve.
We can source Seville oranges as they are in season, for anyone wanting to make marmalade. Send me an e-mail if you’re interested.
Here’s a list of the veg that should appear in the standard bags this week id substitutions haven’t been required:
Potato Solanum tuberosum. Tatties this week are either Robinta (red skins) or Valor (large, white skins), both are good general purpose potatoes. It’s so good to have our own tatties again. We’re bagging them straight from the field at the moment so the sizes will vary. 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.

OnionAllium cepa. You may receive some of our own onions this week. They are the best onions I’ve ever grown. I have red and white varieites so could be either or a mixture. They haven’t been dried yet so they’re full of flavour. 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 Contains Vitamin C, folic acid and potassium. Beetroot can be eaten fresh, cooked or pickled. Much of the beet I sell at the market is going to the juicer fresh, although I have never tried this, it is the most beneficial way to eat beetroot. Cooked it can be boiled, stewed or roasted, and of course, after boiling, can be pickled. The time for boiling depends on how big the root is. A golf ball sized beet would boil in 20 mins, while a tennis ball size may take over and hour. Here’s a recipe for Thai Beetroot Soup. It was a big hit in our house at Christmas time. Boil your beetroot, peel it and chop it roughly. In a pan, heat a tablespoon of oil over a high heat. Add a finely chopped onion and lower the heat. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes. Add two-thirds of the cooked beetroot, 1 ½ teaspoons of red thai curry paste, and fry over a high heat for two minutes. Stir in a can of coconut milk and ½ pint of chicken stock. Season, bring to the boil and simmer over a low heat for 5 minutes. Whiz in a food processor until smooth. Pour back into the pan, add the remaining beetroot, squeeze in the juice of ½ a lime. Sprinkle with parsley and serve hot.

Parsley Petroselinum sp. This is the hardier, curly type of parsley, and although it may have a bit less flavour than it’s flat leaved cousin, it is a far nicer plant to look at. Excellent for flavouring all sorts of dishes or cut into salads.

Savoy Cabbage Brassica oleracea Capitata Group..(1 head) Excellent source of Vitamins B6 and C and also a source of potassium and fibre and phytochemicals. To cook, cut into quarters, cut out the hard core shred and wash under running cold water, then boil or steam for 7-10 minutes. This recipe is quite close to the traditional bubble and squeak:- Prepare the cabbage as above and put in a pan of lightly saltd boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain thoroughly. Remove the rind and gristle from 6oz ( 175g) of bacon, chop crossways into narrow strips and put in a heavy based pan. Fry the bacon until crisp, and the fat begin to run then add a finely chopped onion and cook until soft. Add the drained cabbage, stirring continuously until well coated. Season to taste with salt, pepper and cook through.

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.

Newsletter w/c 3rd January 2011

2011-01-08T00:11:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everybody. Let’s hope for a good one. My main New Year resolution is to be better prepared for the inclement weather that is bound to come. I have to act to ensure the quality of the veg is good, when it reaches your doorstep. We need better-insulated storage. This is a priority now and I have to get on with this task early in the New Year. The storage we had just couldn’t cope with the minus 15-20 degree temperatures.
The other major change for the New Year is that Andy has left for pastures new. So, I’ll be carrying out all the deliveries myself for the next wee while. It’ll be good to see all the old faces again. I may change a few delivery days to tweak the run efficiency, but if your affected I’ll let you know in advance.
Auchterhouse farm can’t get egg deliveries to us til the end of the week> Clyde organics can help us out for most of the week but are a bit short for Tuesday. I have a few boxes left from before the year end with a few days left on the sell-buy date so if you get one of these boxes let me know if it’s going to be a problem to use it and we’ll sort something out.
The Balerno Farmers market is not on this month so it’ll be Juniper Green next on the 22nd January. The next Balerno market will be the 2nd Saturday in February.
The boys have had a really good Christmas and New Year holiday. Pat and Finlay hosted Christmas this year with help from the Mavors from Redhall and the food was terrific. We decided to stay at home for New year. My brother Brian and Alison and Scott came over for a dinner and a wee karaoke session later on.
We’ve spent the start of the week clearing out the shed for the New Year. Out with the old and in with the new. Lets hope its going to be a year to look back on, for all the right reasons.
Here’s a list of the veg that should appear in the standard bags this week id substitutions haven’t been required:

Potato Solanum tuberosum. Tatties this week are either Robinta (red skins) or Valor (large, white skins), both are good general purpose potatoes. It’s so good to have our own tatties again. We’re bagging them straight from the field at the moment so the sizes will vary. 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. You may receive some of our own onions this week. They are the best onions I’ve ever grown. I have red and white varieites so could be either or a mixture. They haven’t been dried yet so they’re full of flavour. 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.

Pumpkin Cucurbita sp. (1head). Sorce of Vitamins A and C. Here is a recipe I have given before for Pumpkin Soup. It seems to be a favourite of many of you. Pumpkin Soup:- Take a chopped onion and 50g of chopped leek and soften them in 2 tablespoons of chicken stock. Dice 500g of pumpkin flesh and 250g of potatoes and add this to the leek and onion with a little salt and plenty freshly ground black pepper. Add 1 pint of chicken stock and 1 pint of milk. Bring to the boil and simmer for 45 minutes stirring frequently. Blend the soup in a liquidiser then return to the pan and add 125g of cooked rice and most of a 150ml tub of natural yoghurt. Reheat gently and serve topped with a little of the remaining yoghurt and a sprinkling of parsley.

Garlic Allium sativum..(1 head) Excellent source of Vitamins A and C. The peeled cloves add flavour to almost any savoury dish. Ususally crushed.

Leek Allium porrum Leeks can be used in many ways, however, with just one leek, they are best used in soups to give a creamy texture. Leeks are also good in quiches.

Jerusalem Artichoke Helianthus tuberosus Source of Vitamin B1, B2, B3, calcium, potassium, iron and fibre. To cook scrub off the worst of any dirt on the root, then boil for a couple of minutes without cutting off the root or the top. This loosens the skin and allows you to rub it off quite easily. Then boil in slightly salted water for a further 15-20 minutes or until tender. Add lemon juice to the water before boiling to keep the roots white. Can also be roasted after parboiling, and makes very good soup. All you really need are the artichokes, some onion, simmered together until soft, add a stock, boil for 30 minutes maybe a little nutmeg. Puree it then reheat with a little milk added and bob’s your uncle. Delicious soup.

Newsletter w/c 20th December 2010

2011-01-08T00:08:00.000-08:00

With our 4th snowy Monday in a row, we are getting used to what we need to do to get your deliveries out on time. Last week, we even had the Friday deliveries out on Thursday, in case the weather worriers were correct and the snow was going to shut down the entire country again. Luckily for us in the central belt, it stayed in the North. We have the same forecast for later on this week and I may decide to get bags out early rather than risk them not getting there for Christmas. If we do decide on thia course of action, I’ll let you know in advance.
I have to apologise again for the quality of the potatoes last week. I think they were the only veg really affected by the cold. This week I have given up on the ones were using before and got rid of them. We’re on to a better protected batch now and things should be fine for your Christmas dinner, unless they end up getting frosted on your doorstep. I’m keeping a heater in the back of the van overnight to ensure frost free conditions prior to delivery. The only other produce we’ve had real trouble with are the bananas which hate any kind of cold and need to be eaten straight away. If you’d rather not have bananas then we can substitute something else during the winter weather. Just e-mail and let me know.
At home we have two very excited boys who can’t wait for Christmas and want as much snow as possible so that the school will shut again and let them stay at home. It’s also very noisy, as Finn, who has been learning the chanter for a couple of years, has moved onto the bagpipes and the increase in volume during practice sessions is quite hair-raising. He’s doing really well though, considering he’s had them less than a week. It takes a lot of puff for a boy his age. We’re all really proud of him, although Keir does get annoyed when he gets ‘Scotland the Brave’ blasted in his ear while he’s watching Horrid Henry or Scooby Doo. We ‘re all looking forward to a rest next week as we’re taking a week off of deliveries. Thanks very much for your support over the year, and particularly for the understanding you have shown, throughout this harsh weather, and the problems it has caused with the deliveries. Merry Christmas to you all and All the Best for 2011.

Potato Solanum tuberosum. Tatties this week are either Robinta (red skins) or Valor (large, white skins), both are good general purpose potatoes. It’s so good to have our own tatties again. We’re bagging them straight from the field at the moment so the sizes will vary. 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. You may receive some of our own onions this week. They are the best onions I’ve ever grown. I have red and white varieites so could be either or a mixture. They haven’t been dried yet so they’re full of flavour. 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.

Brussels Sprouts Brassica oleracea Gemmifera Group.. Excellent source of Vitamin C and phytochemicals and also contains Vitamins A and B6, potassium, fibre and calcium. These sprouts this year are so sweet, I’m sure we can convert all those sproutiphobes out there. To prepare, wash the sprouts in cold water and peel off any ragged or marked leaves then cut an X into the base of the sprout. Cook in a minimum of boiling salted water for 8 – 10 minutes, NO LONGER, or they’ll go soggy.

Parsnips Pastinaca sativa Roots are boiled or added to soups , stews and casseroles. Traditionally roasted for Christmas. Peel then slice to the desired size. Parboil in slightly salted water for 5-10 minutes then place around your turkey for the last ½ hour of cooking time, basting with the juices in the roasting tin.

Leek Allium porrum Leeks can be used in many ways, however, with just one leek, they are best used in soups to give a creamy texture. Leeks are also good in quiches.

Red Cabbage Brassica oleracea CapitataGroup (1 head) Preheat your oven to 150oC/300oF/ gas mark 2. Remove any damaged outer leaves, cut into quarters and remove the stalk. Shred the cabbage finely. In a casserole, lay a layer of cabbage, seasoned with salt and pepper, a layer of chopped onions and chopped, peeled and cored apples, with a sprinkling of garlic, 1 clove should be enough, a little nutmeg, cinnamon and ground cloves and about a tablespoon of brown sugar. Repeat these layers until everything is in then pour in 3 tablespoon of wine vinegar and 1/2oz (10g) of butter. Put a lid on the casserole and let it cook slowly for 1 ½ to 2 hours, stirring a couple of times during cooking.

Newsletter w/c 13th December 2010

2011-01-08T00:06:00.000-08:00

Last wee, deliveries were disrupted for a second week in a row, although we did manage to get to most of the houses eventually. There were a handful who have not received a bag for three weeks, but I have to say, we did try our very best to get to you all. We’re due bad weather this week again. I’m hoping to have Jerusalem artichokes in standards and larges this week. They will be difficult to lift if the temperature drops too far so we may have to swap them. I’m digging the swedes out with a mattock. I’m not an expert with this implement, so it’s tended to be more like a weapon of swede destruction in some cases. There may be the odd chunk out of top or bottom of your neep due to my lack of accuracy. Delivery days, especially near the end of the week, may change to suit the weather. I’m already thinking that if it hasn’t snowed by Thursday, but is still forecast, I’ll deliver Fridays bags on Thursday too.
With Christmas falling on Saturday this year, delivery days will be unaffected, for the week leading up to Christmas with our last deliveries on Friday 24th. We will then take a week off between Christmas and New Year and start up again from w/c Jan 3rd 2011. Let us know if you need any extra veg , fruit, eggs, milk or cream to see you through the festive season.
We’ve done our best to protect the veg from the freezing temperatures, however, some damage may occur that is invisible to the eye at packing time. Please let us know if you have any damaged veg, potatoes are particularly susceptible to frost damage, and we’ll replace and compensate with your next delivery.

Potato Solanum tuberosum. Tatties this week are either Robinta (red skins) or Valor (large, white skins), both are good general purpose potatoes. It’s so good to have our own tatties again. We’re bagging them straight from the field at the moment so the sizes will vary. 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. You may receive some of our own onions this week. They are the best onions I’ve ever grown. I have red and white varieites so could be either or a mixture. They haven’t been dried yet so they’re full of flavour. 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.

Savoy Cabbage Brassica oleracea Capitata Group. (1 head).. Cut into quarters, remove the central husk and cook whole or shred. Serve up with a do of butter melting over the top. For a quick lunch or supper dish, try the following: Shred ½ the savoy head and boil for 2 minutes, drain, refresh in cold water and drain again. Heat a litle olive oil in a large frying pan and add 300g of chopped chorizo sausage and cook for 10 minutes until just starting to brown then remove from the pan and set aside. Add 2 crushed garlic cloves and a chopped onion to the chorizo fat in the pan and cook gently for 5 minutes. Add 500g of potatoes, cooked and diced and cook over a high heat for 5 minutes to give them some colour. Return the chorizo and the savoy to the pan and cook gently for 10 minutes. Season

Swede Brassica napa. (1head). Swedes are one of Scotlands Winter staple veggies. It is completely frost resistant so needs only to harvested as required rather than having to be stored. The only problem is lifting when the ground is frozen If you keep them cool, in a shed outside for example, you can keep it for Christmas. Cut off the top and bottom of the swede then peel thickly. Cut into cubes or big chunks and boil for 30-40 minutes or alternatively, parboil then set around a roast in the oven for the last 30 minutes of cooking time. Excellent boiled, then mashed with butter and cream.

Fennel (1 head) This stem base can be chopped raw into salads or simmered in a stock. Here’s a recipe for Buttered Fennel: Trim the root base and cut in half lengthways and rinse in cold water. Put the fennel in a pan with a minmal amount of boiling, lightly salted water and simmer, covered, for 15-20 minutes or until just tender. Overcooking reduces the sweet aniseed flavour. Drain thoroughly in a colander and keep warm on a serving dish. Now, melt the butter. Season the fennel with pepper, then pour the melted butter over the top and serve. Your cress would be a fine garnish for this dish. Goes particularly well with fish or chicken

Jerusalem Artichoke Helianthus tuberosus Source of Vitamin B1, B2, B3, calcium, potassium, iron and fibre. To cook scrub off the worst of any dirt on the root, then boil for a couple of minutes without cutting off the root or the top. This loosens the skin and allows you to rub it off quite easily. Then boil in slightly salted water for a further 15-20 minutes or until tender. Add lemon juice to the water before boiling to keep the roots white. Can also be roasted after parboiling, and makes very good soup. All you really need are the artichokes, some onion, simmered together until soft, add a stock, boil for 30 minutes maybe a little nutmeg. Puree it then reheat

Newsletter w/c 6th December 2010

2010-12-06T14:52:00.000-08:00

We’ve been having a bit of bother with the weather for the past two weeks. It all started with a failure to turn-up at the Juniper green farmers market because of a snow-fall. We couldn’t get the van up from the shed to the top of the drive to get over towards the Edinburgh road. Little did we know at that stage that the snow we had then was but a light decorative dusting in comparison to what was to follow. From Monday to Wednesday last week, we must have had about 20 snow showers that lasted for no longer than an hour each, but the amount of snow accumulating, marooned us. I must have arms like Popeye from all the snow clearing, trying to keep access open. It’s been accessible by 4X4’s, but the vans wouldn’t have stood a chance. Things seemed to improve over the weekend and I drove the Connect down to West Calder and back on Sunday, just to prove to myself that we were safe to go, and after a successful mission, looked forward to an un-interupted week of veg delivery. At 9am on Monday I texted the packing team to let them know we were ‘green for go’ for the week. At 11am with the schools closing and white-out conditions all around, I retracted the statement and told them to give it 24hrs. As I write this, it is Monday night and we’re postponing Tuesday’s deliveries to Wednesday and we’ll take it from there. Lets hope for an improving weather picture.
With Christmas falling on Saturday this year, delivery days will be unaffected, for the week leading up to Christmas with our last deliveries on Friday 24th. We will then take a week off between Christmas and New Year and start up again from w/c Jan 3rd 2011. Let us know if you need any extra veg , fruit, eggs, milk or cream to see you through the festive season.
We’ve done our best to protect the veg from the freezing temperatures, however, some damage may occur that is invisible to the eye at packing time. Please let us know if you have any damaged veg, potatoes are particularly susceptible to frost damage, and we’ll replace and compensate with your next delivery.

Potato Solanum tuberosum. Tatties this week are either Robinta (red skins) or Valor (large, white skins), both are good general purpose potatoes. It’s so good to have our own tatties again. We’re bagging them straight from the field at the moment so the sizes will vary. 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. You may receive some of our own onions this week. They are the best onions I’ve ever grown. I have red and white varieites so could be either or a mixture. They haven’t been dried yet so they’re full of flavour. 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.

Garlic Allium sativum (1 head) Good source of vitamin C and A, calcium and iron. Adds heightened flavour to any savoury dish and crushed and sauted in a pan with butter, is an excellent base in which to cook the mushrooms for a simple Garlic Mushrooms. For a simple way to incorporate the ingredients in the bag this week you could try taking a quarter of your savoy and shred it into strips about1cm or less across. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a wok. Peel 2 cloves of garlic and crush them lightly so that they are still whole. Cook in the pan for 20secondsand add the savoy before the garlic browns. Cook for 2 minutes, turning the cabbage in the oil constantly. Add 2 or 3 shakes of soy sauce. Cook for 15 seconds and serve immediately.

Beetroot Beta vulgaris Contains Vitamin C, folic acid and potassium. Beetroot can be eaten fresh, cooked or pickled. Much of the beet I sell at the market is going to the juicer fresh, although I have never tried this, it is the most beneficial way to eat beetroot. Cooked it can be boiled, stewed or roasted, and of course, after boiling, can be pickled. The time for boiling depends on how big the root is. A golf ball sized beet would boil in 20 mins, while a tennis ball size may take over and hour.

Cauliflower Brassica oleracea Botrytis Group (1 head) – Excellent source of Vitamin C and also a decent source of Vitamin B6, folic acid, pantothenic acid, fibre and potassium. To prepare, cut off the outer leaves. There is no need to remove the inner, tender leaves and the pale green base leaves. Trim the end of the stalk flush with the base of the cauliflower and cut a cross in it with a sharp knife. Boil the cauli in lightly salted boiling water for 12-15 minutes if whole or 8-10 minutes if the florets are split up.

Parsley Petroselinum sp. The flat leaved variety of parsley has far more flavour than the more common curly type, though I have to say the curly one is a far nicer plant to look at. Excellent for flavouring all sorts of dishes or cut into salads. Especially popult in our household, cut over boiled potatoes, with a little melted butter.

Newsletter w/c 22nd November 2010

2010-12-06T14:49:00.000-08:00

We’ll be at the Juniper Green farmers market again this Saturday. It starts at 9am at the car park of the Kinleith Arms, which is the pub beside the Iceland Store on the Lanark Road. It’s been well attended and is well worth a visit.
On the farm we’re still getting the shed organised just the way everyone wants it. The picking in the field takes less time now that we don’t have salads to pick, which is handy, with the days being that bit shorter.
At the weekend, we stayed with my Mum and Dad in Kilmarnock. We’d been invited to a friends 50th birthday party in Pollockshields, so I decided it was easier if I drove. The party was great with a lot of drinks laid on and a band. Obviously, I was on water and coffee all evening. At the end we were invited back to the flat and as I was driving I offered to take the presents back. So, the parking in Strathbungo being what it is, there was one space to park in the whole street, over someone’s driveway. As it was well after midnight and I was only going to have a coffee and leave I took it and carried all the pressies up to the flat. I was settled in the kitchen having a chat, when Steve came in and asked if anyone was driving a silver Zafira, on his shoulder was a very grumpy looking policeman and I could see blue flashing lights outside the door. The policeman kindly asked me to move the car, and there was much hilarity at the fact that I was the only sober one at the party yet I was the one removed by the police.

Potato Solanum tuberosum. Tatties this week are either Robinta (red skins) or Valor (large, white skins), both are good general purpose potatoes. It’s so good to have our own tatties again. We’re bagging them straight from the field at the moment so the sizes will vary. 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. You may receive some of our own onions this week. They are the best onions I’ve ever grown. I have red and white varieites so could be either or a mixture. They haven’t been dried yet so they’re full of flavour. 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.

Parsnip. Pastinaca sativa Good for Vitamin C, folic acid, potassium and fibre. Peel, then cut into chunks for boiling or roasting, also can be grated into soups or kept in chunks for soups or stews. Here’s a recipe for: Curried parsnip couscous. Prepare your parsnips and cut them into batons about 7cm (3inches) long, the thicker sections will need to be quartered. Mix together 1 teaspoon each of sea salt, paprika and ground cumin, a tablespoon each of sunflower oil and honey and a dash of tabasco sauce. Pour this over the parsnips and leave to marinate for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 200oC/400oF/Gas 6. Cover the parsnips tightly with foil and bake for 1 hour. Turn them regularly, making sure they are tightly wrapped before returning them to the oven. Sprinkle them with water from time to time to stop sticking. Towards the end of the cooking time prepare some couscous. Serve the couscous with the parsnips, sprinkled with coriander leaves. Have mango chutney on hand, just to finish it off.

Pumpkin Cucurbita sp..(1 head) An excellent source of phytochemicals and Vitamin A and also contain Vitamin C, folic acid, fibre and potassium.: Leek and Pumpkin Soup:- Take a chopped onion and 50g of chopped leek and soften them in 2 tablespoons of chicken stock. Dice 500g of pumpkin flesh and 250g of potatoes and add this to the leek and onion with a little salt and plenty freshly ground black pepper. Add 1 pint of chicken stock and 1 pint of milk. Bring to the boil and simmer for 45 minutes stirring frequently. Blend the soup in a liquidiser then return to the pan and add 125g of cooked rice and most of a 150ml tub of natural yoghurt. Reheat gently and serve topped with a little of the remaining yoghurt and a sprinkling of parsley.

White Cabbage Brassica oleracea Capitata Group There’s nothing like the crunch of bit of white cabbage with a bit of melted butter enhancing the flavour. Great winter accompaniment to any dish. Cabbage is a source of phytochemicals, Vitamin C, potassium, fibre , calcium and Vitamin B6. To cook, cut the cabbage into quarters, take out the central core and either cook it whole for 20 minutes in lightly salted boiling water, or shred it an cook it for 12-15 minutes. Serve up with melted butter over the top.

Leek Allium porrum The leek is a mainstay of Scottish cookery, used primarily to give a creamy texture to soups. It is also good as a vegetable in it’s own right, boiled; steamed; braised or fried. The leeks collect soil in the leaf axils as they grow, so, once sliced, give them a good rinse to clear the grit. If cooking them whole, make a slit into the white part far enough to allow you to prise the leaves apart but not far enough to split it in two.

newsletter w/c 15th November 2010

2010-12-06T14:46:00.000-08:00

With Scotland 3-0 up after about 3 minutes, at Murrayfield last Saturday, things were looking good and Finn was really enjoying his first rugby international. He was almost in tears 15 minutes later when New Zealand scored their third try. Quite a few Scotland supporters felt the same way and left the ground at that point. The final score was 3-49 to the ‘All-Blacks’ and the two consolations I could give Finn were:1) it was possible that he’d never see Scotland getting beaten so badly again, and 2) He’d seen possibly the best team in the world at their best and could take what he’d learned into his next ‘mini’ game for Biggar Rugby Club. His next game was supposed to be the next day and he was practising his Haka and little ‘pop’ passes, but the snow overnight on Saturday meant it was called off. He’ll just have to wait til next Sunday.
On the farm, we’re still knee-deep in mud, the rain and snow just won’t stop. The wind’s dropped a bit though so that’s a bonus. My wee poly-tunnel has survived unscathed so far, but it’s taking a battering. I might need to plant some fast growing protection for it. We’ve been organising the shed now that it is fully functional. I’m sure we’ll be moving benches and tables back and forward for weeks, just trying to get it ‘right’. I know already that no matter how much tweaking we do, it’ll end up the way we have it to start with.

Potato Solanum tuberosum. Tatties this week are either Robinta (red skins) or Valor (large, white skins), both are good general purpose potatoes. It’s so good to have our own tatties again. We’re bagging them straight from the field at the moment so the sizes will vary. 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. You may receive some of our own onions this week. They are the best onions I’ve ever grown. I have red and white varieites so could be either or a mixture. They haven’t been dried yet so they’re full of flavour. 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) Here’s a recipe for Mashed swede with Crispy bacon Peel your swede and cut it into smallish cubes. Put them in a saucepan and just cover them with water. Add salt, bring to simmering point and cook gently for 15-20 minutes, then tip into a colander and drain thoroughly. Return the saucepan to the heat, add 1 oz(25g) butter and fry 6 rashers of bacon which have been chopped into small pieces to it. Fry unitl the bacon begins to crisp. Now, return the swedes to the pan, add another 1oz of butter and a little single cream and mash well to a creamy consistency. Season with black pepper.

Kale Brassica oleracea Acephala Group..(200g) 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, make a depression in the centre 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.

Fennel (1 head) This stem base can be chopped raw into salads or simmered in a stock. Here’s a recipe for Buttered Fennel: Trim the root base and cut in half lengthways and rinse in cold water. Put the fennel in a pan with a minmal amount of boiling, lightly salted water and simmer, covered, for 15-20 minutes or until just tender. Overcooking reduces the sweet aniseed flavour. Drain thoroughly in a colander and keep warm on a serving dish. Now, melt the butter. Season the fennel with pepper, then pour the melted butter over the top and serve. Your cress would be a fine garnish for this dish. Goes particularly well with grilled fish or roast chicken.

Newsletter w/c 08/11/10

2010-11-11T02:25:00.000-08:00

After a long week of hard work and tricky packing conditions, we now have a completed shed with a nice new smooth concrete floor. We laid the last piece of concrete this morning, (Monday) so we’re still not ‘in’ properly yet. The concrete needs a bit of time to harden properly before we start driving the vans or the tractor over it. That’ll just be a matter of a day or two. We couldn’t have had much worse weather for the work either. It definitely rained more than it was dry last week and when the showers came, they were torrential. We even had a fall of snow to contend with. A big vote of thanks goes to Donald Carmichael, who came in at short notice to run the job, after I ran out of confidence in my ability to get it right, and to everyone else who helped along the way. I need to sort something out for the access road next as the surface is really muddy, even more so after all the heavy traffic this week in wet weather. We also need to work out where everything is going to be put, after three years of just dumping things in temporary places, we’ve now got three sheds and a polytunnel to work with. I’m sure in a month, they’ll all be completely cluttered as usual.
We’ll be attending the Balerno Farmers Market on Saturday, from 9am til 1pm. Hopefully it’ll be a fine day, weather-wise, and there’ll be a good turn-out. I think there were 19 different companies and organisations at the last one so there is plenty of choice. Finn, our oldest son, is looking forward to Saturday too, as I’m taking him to his first big rugby game. We’ve got tickets to see Scotland take on the All Blacks at Murrayfield. Kick-off for that is in the evening so it works in well. It’s usually hard enough to get him to sit in one place for 10 minutes, so it’ll be interesting to see how we get on. I hope it’s an exciting match.

Potato Solanum tuberosum. Tatties this week are either Robinta (red skins) or Valor (large, white skins), both are good general purpose potatoes. It’s so good to have our own tatties again. We’re bagging them straight from the field at the moment so the sizes will vary. 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. You may receive some of our own onions this week. They are the best onions I’ve ever grown. I have red and white varieites so could be either or a mixture. They haven’t been dried yet so they’re full of flavour. 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.

Jerusalem Artichoke Helianthus tuberosus Source of Vitamin B1, B2, B3, calcium, potassium, iron and fibre. To cook scrub off the worst of any dirt on the root, then boil for a couple of minutes without cutting off the root or the top. This loosens the skin and allows you to rub it off quite easily. Then boil in slightly salted water for a further 15-20 minutes or until tender. Add lemon juice to the water before boiling to keep the roots white. Can also be roasted after parboiling, and makes very good soup. All you really need are the artichokes, some onion, simmered together until soft, add a stock, boil for 30 minutes maybe a little nutmeg. Puree it then reheat with a little milk added and bob’s your uncle. Delicious soup.

Brussels Sprouts Brassica oleracea Gemmifera Group Excellent source of Vitamin C and phytochemicals, and is also a source of Vitamins A and B6, potassium, folic acid and fibre. To prepare, pare the bottom off of the sprout and remove any damaged outer leaves. Sprouts taste best when they are quickly blanched in lightly salted boiling water and then topped with melting butter.

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.

Beetroot Beta vulgaris Good source of Vitamin C and folic acid and also contains potassium. Boil the roots with the skins, tops and roots still on. A small root will boil in 30 minutes while a large one ( larger than a tennis ball) may take 1 ½ hours. Once boiled rub off the skins and slice off the top and bottom.. You can then go in various culinary directions. The traditional way I suppose would be to slice them and pickle them in vinegar. You could also roast them. Just stick them in the oven for the last half hour of your meats cooking time basting once or twice. You could just dice them and have them as an accompanying dish on there own hot or cold and you could make Beetroot risotto by following any basic risooto recipe then adding the beetroot just before you start reducing the stock for the last couple of times. My favourite winter way to have beetroot is beetroot soup made from onions, potatoes,.stock and the boiled beetroot. Boil for half an hour then blend it. Fantastic colour and flavour.

Newsletter w/c 01/11/10

2010-11-11T02:21:00.000-08:00

You probably thought I was being a touch negative about my chances of getting the floor down in the shed, last week. I have been proved correct, however, as our delivery of stone for bottoming never arrived. I now hope to start again tomorrow (Tuesday), so hopefully by the next newsletter, we’ll be a lot further ahead.
We’ve started harvesting Jerusalem Artichokes, as it looks as though we’ve got a good crop of them this year. The tubers, sometimes start to sprout by February, if the weather is mild enough, so I want to give ourselves plenty of time to lift them so we can get them to you in prime condition. We generally haven’t lifted them before Christmas in the past. On the other side of the coin, I don’t think we’ve managed to have salad lasting as long as this before. The large bags and some of the standards will have salads again this week.
We don’t have a market this Saturday, but will be at Balerno on the 13th. It’s really growing now, since the village trust took over the running of the market.
As a Halloween ‘treat’ for the boys, we all went to Edinburgh Dungeons last Sunday. They were both very cocky and sure of themselves when they went in, but they were holding our hands quite tightly by the time we got back into the gift shop at the end. We wandered back to Peter and Fiona’s house at Colinton and did a bit of late ‘trick or treat’-ing. It was a really good day out.
We try to keep the quality control as high as possible. This week, if I do end up putting the concrete floor in, we’ll have to evacuate our usual packing shed and re-locate. If you find any marks or blemishes on your veg or fruit that we’ve missed, please let me know and we’ll sort out some compensation with the next delivery.

Potato Solanum tuberosum. Tatties this week are either Robinta (red skins) or Valor (large, white skins), both are good general purpose potatoes. It’s so good to have our own tatties again. We’re bagging them straight from the field at the moment so the sizes will vary. 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. You may receive some of our own onions this week. They are the best onions I’ve ever grown. I have red and white varieites so could be either or a mixture. They haven’t been dried yet so they’re full of flavour. 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.

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 caoting 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.

Red Cabbage Brassica oleracea CapitataGroup (1 head). Here’s a different recipe for you to try with it: Preheat your oven to 150oC/300oF/ gas mark 2. Remove any damaged outer leaves, cut into quarters and remove the stalk. Shred the cabbage finely. In a casserole, lay a layer of cabbage, seasoned with salt and pepper, a layer of chopped onions and chopped, peeled and cored apples, with a sprinkling of garlic, 1 clove should be enough, a little nutmeg, cinnamon and ground cloves and about a tablespoon of brown sugar. Repeat these layers until everything is in then pour in 3 tablespoon of wine vinegar and 1/2oz (10g) of butter. Put a lid on the casserole and let it cook slowly for 1 ½ to 2 hours, stirring a couple of times during cooking.

Courgette Cucurbita pepo (1 head) Source of Vitamins A and C , calcium, iron and fibre. Prepare by wshing and trimming both ends. Courgettes can be coked whole or in slices, or they can be cut in half lengthways filled with stuffing and baked. Boil courgettes in lightly salted water for 15-20 minutes. Sliced courgettes may be steamed in butter for 10 minutes. Halved courgettes may be parboiled for 5 minutes the finished in the oven, in a well-buttered dish for 25 minutes at 190oC (375oF) Gas Mark 5.

Garlic Allium sativum.( 1 head) Good for Vitamins A and C, calcium and iron. A crushed clove of garlic can enhance many savoury meals. May be substituted with pepper if you received garlic last week.

Newsletter w/c 25/10/10

2010-11-11T02:18:00.000-08:00

I’ve scoured the field for the best swedes to turn into turnip lanterns, if you can be bothered with the work involved. We’ll be having a go ourselves so I’ll let you know how we get on.
Juniper Green market was a bit quieter, understandably, this time. We’re right in the middle of the holidays for West Lothian and Edinburgh and the second market never gets the advertising boost that the first market gets. Never-the-less, it was a good market. The veg was filthy as the weather had been awful right through from Friday morning, when I started picking, all the way til the Market started. The rain went off at 9am on the dot, and the sun even tried to come out. Our carrots and tatties are much sought after these days. Our next Market will be Balerno on the 13th November.
On the farm I’ve just finished moving the second shed from inside the old barn and re-locating it down beside the big new shed. I have hopes of getting a concrete floor into it on Friday, but how many times have you heard that before in the newsletter. We’ll wait and see what happens. At least we’re making some progress, however slowly.
The hard frost on Sunday night has encouraged me to take salads off the standard bag list this week. It hasn’t benn growing so quickly rercently and the stocks are being depleted. If you get a large bag or a standard bag with less potatoes, you’ll still get some this week, but it looks like we’re slipping into winter season veg now.
I’ll need to go and get my Halloween costumes sorted out. Have a good time if you’re out in fancy dress yourselves.
Here’s a list of what’s in the standard bag this week. As usual, substitutions may occur.

Potato Solanum tuberosum. Tatties this week are either Robinta (red skins) or Valor (large, white skins), both are good general purpose potatoes. It’s so good to have our own tatties again. We’re bagging them straight from the field at the moment so the sizes will vary. 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. You may receive some of our own onions this week. They are the best onions I’ve ever grown. I have red and white varieites so could be either or a mixture. They haven’t been dried yet so they’re full of flavour. 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) Here’s a recipe for Mashed Swede with Crispy bacon Peel your swede and cut it into smallish cubes. Put them in a saucepan and just cover them with water. Add salt, bring to simmering point and cook gently for 15-20 minutes, then tip into a colander and drain thoroughly. Return the saucepan to the heat, add 1 oz(25g) butter and fry 6 rashers of bacon which have been chopped into small pieces to it. Fry unitl the bacon begins to crisp. Now, return the swedes to the pan, add another 1oz of butter and a little single cream and mash well to a creamy consistency. Season with black pepper.

Parsley Petroselinum sp. This flat leaved variety of parsley has far more flavour than the more common curly type, though I have to say the curly one is a far nicer plant to look at. Excellent for flavouring all sorts of dishes or cut into salads. Especially popular in our household, cut over boiled potatoes, with a little melted butter.

Cabbage Brassica oleracea Capitata Group..(1 head) . We’ve got two or three varieties of cabbge ready to pick at the moment, varying between the pointed sweetheart type to the traditional white cabbage shaped like a football. Some are a bit on the small side so we’ve put in two of these to a portion, just to save wasting them. 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 and simmer gently for 30 minutes. Season to taste, sprinkle with parsley and serve at once.

Leek Allium porrum. Leeks give a lovely creamy consistency to soups and are great in flans or quiches. They are also very nice chopped then fried in butter as a n accompaniment to roast meat dishes. Leeks are a great source of Vitamin C. Be sure to wash them very carefully though, as soil gets caught in the leaf axils as it is growing. Cut up the leek then rinse in cold running water in a colander.

newsletter w/c 18/10/10

2010-10-19T12:48:00.000-07:00

I thought that we had enough Chard to give everyone last week, but soon calculated that we were going to run out halfway through. I’ve since found some more, so I’ve given kale to all those who received chard last week and chard to those who received kale. Deliveries may be at a different time on Friday as Andy is going to start early as he’s been seconded to help Pat move the Mavor and Co offices from Polbeth to West Calder. Hopefully it won’t cause any difficulties. Robbie, our nephew, has just got himself a ‘proper’ job, so this is our last week with his help. We’ll miss him, it’s been great having him around.
We’ve got the farmers market at Juniper Green this Saturday and we’re hoping it’s going to be as busy as the first one last month. It takes place in the car park of the Kinleith Arms which is on the Lanark Road, just beside the Iceland Store and runs from 9am til 1pm.
It’s Hallowe’en time again so I’ve included a pumpkin for easy-hollowed lanterns. Next week you’ll get your swede to make a more traditional, Scottish one, there’s a lot more effort involved in digging-out a tumshie lantern. They both make good soup though!
Here’s a list of what’s in the standard bag this week. As usual, substitutions may occur.

Potato Solanum tuberosum. Tatties this week are either Robinta (red skins) or Valor (large, white skins), both are good general purpose potatoes. It’s so good to have our own tatties again. We’re bagging them straight from the field at the moment so the sizes will vary. 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. You may receive some of our own onions this week. They are the best onions I’ve ever grown. I have red and white varieites so could be either or a mixture. They haven’t been dried yet so they’re full of flavour. 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.

Mixed Salad various. The salads are growing well this year. There’s a mixture of lettuce, endive, eraclea and herbs. When you receive your bag, rinse the salad leaves thoroughly to remove any traces of soil that may have attached, then drain in a salad spinner or colandar. Pop back into a sealed bag or box and store in the fridge until ready for use. Will keep for over a week easily.

Kale Brassica oleracea Acephala Group.. 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, make a depression in the centre and pour in some melted butter.

Calabrese Brassica oleracea Italica Group (1 head). It is an 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.

Pumpkin Cucurbita sp..(1 head) An excellent source of phytochemicals and Vitamin A and also contain Vitamin C, folic acid, fibre and potassium. When you are making your lantern, use the scooped out flesh for the following recipe: Leek and Pumpkin Soup:- Take a chopped onion and 50g of chopped leek and soften them in 2 tablespoons of chicken stock. Dice 500g of pumpkin flesh and 250g of potatoes and add this to the leek and onion with a little salt and plenty freshly ground black pepper. Add 1 pint of chicken stock and 1 pint of milk. Bring to the boil and simmer for 45 minutes stirring frequently. Blend the soup in a liquidiser then return to the pan and add 125g of cooked rice and most of a 150ml tub of natural yoghurt. Reheat gently and serve topped with a little of the remaining yoghurt and a sprinkling of parsley.

newsletter w/c 11/10/10

2010-10-19T12:46:00.000-07:00

We’re trying to make the most of this great spell of October weather, to get as much veg harvested as possible. Potatoes are obviously the priority as they can be affected by frosts, but we’re also clearing carrots and onions as well. I had hoped to get ahead of myself last Wednesday by getting up really early to do the deliveries so that I could get back to dig potatoes in the afternoon. Of course, it rained all day and we got none done. I hope the early delivery didn’t adversely affect any of you.
Our double market presence went smoothly on Saturday. I manned our stall at Balerno as usual while Robbie and his girlfriend Sara looked after the stall at the Apple day Market in Kirknewton Primary School for the overlap time. I have to say a big thank you to both of them, but especially to Sara who was just off the plane up from Heathrow.

Here’s a list of what’s in the standard bag this week. As usual, substitutions may occur.
Potato Solanum tuberosum. Tatties this week are either Robinta (red skins) or Valor (large, white skins), both are good general purpose potatoes. It’s so good to have our own tatties again. We’re bagging them straight from the field at the moment so the sizes will vary. 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. You may receive some of our own onions this week. They are the best onions I’ve ever grown. I have red and white varieites so could be either or a mixture. They haven’t been dried yet so they’re full of flavour. 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.

Mixed Salad various. The salads are growing well this year. There’s a mixture of lettuce, endive, eraclea and herbs. When you receive your bag, rinse the salad leaves thoroughly to remove any traces of soil that may have attached, then drain in a salad spinner or colandar. Pop back into a sealed bag or box and store in the fridge until ready for use. Will keep for over a week easily.

Kale Brassica oleracea Acephala Group.. 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, make a depression in the centre and pour in some melted butter.

Romanesco Brassica oleracea Italica Group (1 head). This alien looking vegetable is a member of the brassica family and sits somewhere between broccoli and cauliflower. Treat as cauli to cook, probably tastes more towards the broccoli. 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 Romanesco with Chilli and Soy that I was recently given:
Toss 350g of Romanesco, 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.

Tomato Lycopersicon esculentum Source of Vitamins A and C, potassium and iron. The tomato is eaten fresh in salads or used for sauces, Britain’s favourite soup or casseroles. Here’s a recipe for Tomato and Tarragon Soup, it’s been a favourite with our family for years. Melt a tablespoon of olive oil and 40g (1 ½ oz) of butter together in a big pan and cook a finely chopped onion, a sliced stick of celery, 2 sliced carrots and a chopped clove of garlic for 2 minutes. Add either 675g (1 ½ lbs) of chopped ripe tomatoes or 2x400g tins of chopped tomatoes. Also add a bay leaf, 2 tblespns of tomato puree a tablespoon of dried or fresh tarragon, 1 litre (1 ¾ pints) of chicken or vegetable stock, a small strip of lemon rind and 1 teaspoon of sugar to taste. Simmer gently, uncovered for 20 minutes. Discard the bay leaf and the lemon rind, then puree in a liquidiser. Taste for seasoning and reheat. Serve with a twist of pepper over each bowl.