East Coast Organics

Welcome to East Coast Organics new BOGGS BLOG updated 24th January 2012

2008-09-30T22:54:00.000-07:00

24th January
We still have a great selection of pork and lamb available. Check out the web site shop. Remember to leave out a cool bag or box or why not collect from the farm and get 15% off!

19th December
Sorry no chestnuts as quality has been very poor this year.

29th November
We, as always, will be closing for 2 weeks at Xmas 24th December to 8th January 2012. Your deliveries will automatically be cancelled for that period and you will not be charged. If you get a fortnightly delivery you will have a four week gap before before your delivery in the new year, so let us know if you want additional deliveries. If you want to order extra produce before we close, let us know ASAP. We will be at the Farmers Market on Castle Terrace on Saturday 24th December if you want to top up from there. Our next market after that will not be until the 14th January 2012.

4th November
We now have a new meat section on the blog. Please have a look if interested.

1st November
We now have meat available for sale. Please check the shop section on the web site. The bacon is organic but the lamb and mutton are not certified organic. All frozen from fresh so don't refreeze. Min shop order is normally £25, but if you just want meat we will make it £10 min, but you will need to email the order. Order fresh lamb and pork boxes now, details to follow in email news letter.
Please note we close over Xmas between 24th Dec and 8th Jan. All orders will be automatically cancelled for 2 weeks so take this into account when planning your own cancellations.

2nd October

The Openday was a huge success. Nearly 1000 customers and friends came. It took quite a bit of organising, especially getting the sun to shine!

If you missed the Openday you can still view the animals on the link below

www.youtube.com/watch?v=sse7bkWExiM

19th September

Open Day transport:

Car share: Split the costs and better for the environment! Post a comment in the Forum section, stating your requirements. (Don't contact the office!) Comments may take up to 24 hours to show up.

Trains: There are none running on Sunday, so cycling from Longniddry is out.

Bus: Follow the link below for buses from Edinburgh to Haddington on Sunday:

http://www.travelinescotland.com/journeyplanner/showJourneyOverview.do?rid=1316506801399&hss=6kaYP25028940

Additionally, if you get the 11:10 (253) Perrymans/First from the Bus Station to Market Street, Haddington, arriving 11:48. you can get the 12:00 Prentice/First (123) to Gifford and ask to be put off at the Morham Road End beside the sunflowers.... It's the only one that connects. Details:

http://www.travelinescotland.com/journeyplanner/showJourneyDetailsPage.do?rid=1316509155184&hss=RP3CZ25032885

Cycle: It's only about 20 miles from Edinburgh!

We will have some meat available on the day, so you may want to bring a chill box, if interested.

13th September

Our Open Day this year will be on Sunday 25th September 1-5pm at our new land 1.5 miles due South of Haddington, East Lothian, EH41 4PD. Take the B6369 from Haddington to Gifford then after about 1 1/2 miles take the side road on the left to Morham

Loads of animals and crops to see. Tractor rides, walking tours, Market stall, Hot food and drinks, Face painting, Crazy piglets running everywhere, Possibly a maze, small animals area.

16th August

Our big fridge is now up and running so hopefully the broccoli now will keep better. It has taken a bit of a battering by the rain so doesn't look it's best. Everything else is looking fantastic. Big fennel with tops this week. Onions, carrots and potatoes being lifted. Some unusual potato varieties coming up like Salad Blue and Burgundy Red. Think everyone has probably had enough broad beans now so will just keep a few for swaps and feed the rest to the pigs!

9th August

Looks like some of the lettuce we put in the boxes last week went a bit slimy. The variety was ironically Marvel of Four Seasons and was freshly picked. The broccoli has also been turning yellow quicker than normal. This was fresh from a neighbouring farm, but this week it will all be from our own farm, so hope it keeps better. We are converting one of our lockups into a big fridge so that should also help. We used to have a spare chill van in previous summers but unfortunately this blew up on the A1! Let us know if you had any quality problems so we can credit you with some extras.

18^th July 2011

Rain, rain and more rain. We seem to go from one extreme to the other. Drought conditions with 24 hour watering and now just one big swimming pool. The farm is looking great though. All the crops are looking fantastic now they've all been hoed and weeded. This weeks box includes the start of our fennel crop, fresh garlic which has done well over the extreme winter. We have loads of salad, lettuce, herbs, spinach and chard. Courgettes and sunburst squashes are now in the boxes. Broadbeans will be in next week. We have sown two huge areas with clover, which increases the fertility of the soil and makes us less reliant on manure fertilisers.

We are stocking the new farm with rare and minority breed animals. Some commercial breeds are so big they can't give birth naturally, have health problems so have to be pumped with antibiotics. Native breeds are hardier but slower growing.

Our two Golden Gurnsey Goats

Our cows from left to right: Shetland, Irish Moyles, Galloway Beltie

We also have Soay sheep, Hebridean sheep, Geese, ducks and of course our Tamworth pigs!

14/6/11
It's been a challenging start to the year. Repairing polytunnels in time to get early crops. Problems with the potting compost we use means we still don't have spinach or chard etc yet. The company Fertile Fibre changed their formula without testing it and without telling anyone even when they new there was a problem with it. We lost about 35000 lettuces alone as seeds just wouldn't germinate in the new compost.
It's also been very cold and dry apart from April. Things are to warm up today and we have had a good day of rain now.
We do have loads of salad ready now and the new land is now all planted up and looking fantastic. The orchard has greened up and the geese are helping keep the grass down.
Hope you can all make the Openday in September.

13/6/11
Now reports say the outbreak of E. coli was caused by beansprouts but they are not sure how they became infected.
10/6/11
Looks like the E. coli outbreak may not be caused by beansprouts either.
In the U.S. scientists have found that some consumers that have eaten G.M. food have some G.M. genes remaining in their bodies. This was not supposed to happen! So who knows what new mutant diseases we can expect in the future.
4/6/11
Channel 4 news on Thursday night on E.coli:
"If you are going to eat raw vegetables make sure you cook them properly first" comment by health protection official.
"E.coli is in animal manure and organic farmers spray this on their crops" News reader guessing as to outbreak.

I don't know any Farmer that sprays manure! Plants take up nutrients from their roots, duh. These are some of the idiotic comments coming out to put doubt in the consumers mind as to what is safe to eat. This is when Spanish produce was found not to be the cause.

1/6/11
The German government has now confirmed that the E.coli virus that has now killed 16 people did not come from Spanish cucumbers, tomatoes or salad! This has been a disaster for all Spanish growers that export their goods. Amazing that a whole countries agriculture can be devistated be a food scare made in error. Amazing that most people are happy to eat produce that has been sprayed with pesticides, herbicides and fungicides, which are chemicals designed to kill living cells!

Lots of salads from the polytunnels now.
News letter coming soon!

Last of the leeks this week. Bolted, but still good for soup and stir fries if chopped finely!

Purple sprouting broccoli now ready! Salads are now growing again in the warm weather. Our last patch of leeks are finally growing a bit bigger. Some of the polytunnels are back in action, so we should have ruby chard and spring onions in the boxes shortly. The apple, pear and plum orchard is now complete. we just need to keep the hares from nibbling the trunks until the perimeter fence is finished. There are a few dwarf apple trees left over if any one is interested, for a good price!

Apologies for green bananas! Below is a tasty recipe for them from cook Sophie Grigson. I have requested that we only receive yellow ones from our supplier. Let us know if the green ones don't ripen so we can offer you a replacement if required.

Ingredients

5 green (under ripe) bananas
2-3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, finely sliced
1 tbsp curry paste
400 ml coconut milk
3 tbsp chopped coriander

1. Slice the bananas into slices 2.5cm thick.

2. Heat the oil in a deep frying pan and fry the banana slices in batches, until lightly browned on each side. Drain on kitchen paper.

3. Add the onion to the pan and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft.

4. Return the banana slices to the pan and stir in the curry paste. Pour over half the coconut milk and stir well. Cook for 10 minutes on a low heat. Season.

5. Pour in the remaining coconut milk and simmer until the mixture thickens and the bananas break down a little. Garnish with coriander and serve with rice.

Winter is tree planting time.

From morning

to dusk.

East Lothian used to have hundreds of orchards. Now there are but a few left. We are now establishing a brand new orchard with apples, plums and pears. it's also organic!

The pigs and piglets after spending the winter running wild in the snow are now secured on the failed purple sprouting broccoli patch.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
The snow has nearly all gone now so we can start repairing what's left of the polytunnels. There is such a mass of tangled metal that it is difficult to know where to start.
We also have a 1000 apple trees ready to plant. The ground should be dry enough by the end of the week to add the compost and get the stakes in first.
We are also busy fencing the perimeter of the land to protect the trees and crops from deer, hares, rabbits etc.
In the East Block We have sown field beans for animal feed and are about to sow spring wheat and barley.
Our two pigs and 18 piglets (1 piglet went to Robin at Garvald for Boar services!) are busy clearing an area for our potato patch.
The propagation polytunnel, our first tunnel, is still intact. We are just starting to sow spring onions, onions and salads in trays, to germinate on our hot beds.

So it's all go go go!

Please remember to leave out ALL the folding crates you may have stockpiled while there was too much snow around. We had to spend thousands of pounds on extra crates before xmas!

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The Open day in September was a great success

despite the cold North wind. The new larger trailer for the tractor rides meant queues were kept to a minimum. Hot food supplies lasted to the end. The new composting toilet was only finished seconds before the first customer arrived. Chocolates hidden in the maize went down a treat as it didn't grow tall and thick enough to make in to a proper maize maze. The shy Soay sheep escaped in a panic at the amount of people, but soon came back in for their tea once everyone had gone home. One of the polytunnels turned in to a huge soft-play with children's wriggling limbs protruding out everywhere from the mass of straw bales! The piglets were a big hit, always fun to watch. Face painting, hair braiding, walking tours , pumpkin picking, small animal handling all made the day complete! We plan to make this an annual event now and also aim to have monthly walking tours.

Thank you to everyone that gave ideas for the name of the new land. The first two suggestions on the top of the list were 'Newland' and 'Dave'. The latter jokingly suggested because we have so many Dave's working here on the farm. There was a bit of a Twilight Zone moment when I saw the list, as the previous farmer of the land is called David Newlands! Guess we can't really call it that.

In early September we had a lone swan scouting the land and the pond. In November he or she returned with their mate to the pond. Both of them were quiet and friendly as they fed on the pond weed. They stayed as long as possible through the cold spell, constantly breaking the ice that was surrounding them. I'm sure they will be back.

The recent snow has devastated some of the polytunnels, but at least we have managed to save most of them. It has not been an easy couple of weeks. Thanks for all the positive emails regarding deliveries, with drivers being described as 'heroes'. Apologies if you were one of the few we couldn't deliver to, but at least we tried our best, unlike the supermarkets who just cancelled all their home deliveries.

GM news: Carrefour, the world's second largest supermarket is now labelling all animal products that are GM free. The Soil Association is pushing all UK supermarkets to do the same. Nearly all UK non organic milk and pork is produced from animals fed on GM feed stuffs. Consumers are being mislead as present labelling is incomplete.

As an Organic farm we are not allowed to use any GM animal feed or manure.

As all of us, I would guess, have drank at least some non organic milk, I don't know where that leaves us standing, or sitting, with our new composting toilet. Not that the compost would be used on any edible crops, it does seem strange that we could potentially lose our organic certification while supermarkets profit out of inadequate labelling.

For more anti-supermarket bias see the Price Comparison section of our blog!

Graham's Dairies have sorted out their delivery problems and we can now offer a reliable supply of reasonably priced organic milk with a good shelf life, weather permitting!

Just before the snow came, 900 apple trees arrived just to make life more challenging. With the ground too frozen to plant, we have to try and keep them frost free and spray the roots regularly with water. Not sure when we will get them planted as more snow is now forecast.

Anyway, no point in moaning, may as well make the most of it and go play in it for 2 weeks!

Best wishes from all the ECO BOX Team.

Should be back to normal next week!
To see what's in the boxes leading up to xmas, go to that section.

11am Thurday update 8th December: Cheese has also run out now!

7pm Wednesday 8th December: Deliveries are going well despite the -10 temperature. Eggs are very limited at the moment, but at least the milk arrived yesterday. If any extra items are missing from your delivery you will not be charged for them and the credit will remain on your account. Please check your payment and charge history on our website if you think there are any mistakes.
Mushrooms have also run short now, but these will be replaced with an alternative item.

6am Tuesday 7th December update: Aghhhhhhhhhhhh! Another 5" snow yesterday. Deliveries will again be difficult this week as there is still so much snow on side roads.

4.30am Saturday update: All drivers back again safely yesterday with most of the boxes delivered. Very relieved that they managed to deliver about 800 boxes, in all and without a single pang. We will take a few extra boxes to the Edinburgh Farmers Market today (9am-2pm) along with the ones some customers have already redirected there. We will also have plenty of other produce there.
We have now lost some of our new polytunnels with the frames completely distorted under the snow load. We have cut the sheeting to alleviate the pressure. This is certainly the worst week we have ever had!
We also had 900 apple trees arrive on Monday that we need to heel in temporarily, as it doesn't look like we will be able to plant for a couple of months!

7.00am Friday update: All deliveries yesterday went well with only a few missed off, despite constant snow showers in Edinburgh.
No snow last night, but Hilly areas and parts of Midlothian might still be off limits today.
We have cleared some of the snow off our remaining multi-span polytunnel, so hopefully it is still up this morning. We have had to make a few holes in the plastic to let the snow through. On the center gutter areas the snow is over 2 feet deep!

9.30am Thursday update: 2" snow last night. All vans set to go! They will do their best!

7.15pm Wednesday Update: All vans back safely again with only a few areas still to risky to deliver to. As the Automatic Payments have now all gone through, you may find money has been taken for a delivery or part delivery you have not received! You will not actually be charged if this is the case and any money will remain as credit on your account to the following month.
The remaining polytunnels are now looking as if they are about to collapse. If they are still up in the morning we may have to start slashing all the plastic to release the pressure if we get any more snow.

8.15am Update: Roads are now icy so we may not be doing any deliveries today!

6.30am Wednesday update: Only 1" of snow last night and the snow plough has just driven past. So it looks like we should be able to do most of our Wednesday deliveries.

7.30pm update Tuesday: Well done to all the van drivers! Nearly everybody got their delivery. Most of the problems were around Fairmile head where some areas had to be missed. There is more snow forecast, so will post an update in the morning.
Don't think Tesco were delivering today!!!!!

Apologies if our blanket email was confusing. To add some clarity. We have 3 vans that deliver Monday to Friday on pre-set routes. Most are in Edinburgh, except for on Thursday we have an East Lothian Run and on Friday an East and Mid Lothian Run. It is therefor not possible to re-schedule any missed deliveries easily.

Milk did not arrive for Tuesday or Wednesday deliveries
Wednesday deliveries will have chillies instead of mushrooms as they were not delivered to us
Salads and herbs are off for the rest of this week due to that
half our multi-span tunnels have now collapsed. Just too much weight of snow.

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Our other multi-span are still up. Not sure if they will survive the night.
Now too dangerous to harvest.
Note that this is the tunnel constructed by ourselves and the one that fell first was put up by the manufacturers!

Tunnels at the new land are not looking good with the snow mounting up on the left

9.30am Update (Tuesday) Make that another 4'' of snow not 2. Vans just leaving.

It's 4.30am. Whoopie, only 2" of snow last night! Previous two nights dumped 8" each. There's about 15" still lying. We spent all day yesterday digging ourselves out. The polytunnels are in a state of almost collapse. After googling weight of snow I reckon they are supporting about 300 tonnes! Will try and find time to take some photos today.
We still aim to carry on delivering, although I thought we were almost licked. We will have two people out in each delivery van with spades and buckets of grit. Some areas maybe to risky to deliver. If we have to miss your delivery, we could always take it to the Farmer's Market on Saturday, if you let us know.

To see what's in the box, click on the new section.

We have now streamlined our online shop. Most of the wholefoods are now in larger units so are better value for money. They are also mostly for sale as a pre order which means you need to order them by Wednesday to receive them the following week.

Xmas hampers available again. The perfect present! just order on our online shop. We will make them up to the correct value from items from our shop or you can make up your own order to suit.

We also have a selection Farm Stuff for sale. which might be of interest, if you have a garden!

18th November 2010 See our latest price comparison survey.

OPENDAY 2010
We hope everyone enjoyed the day! The wind was cold but the rain stayed away.

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The Tamworth / Old spot piglets were a big success.

.4th May
Our other Soay sheep had her twins last week. All seemed fine and healthy and they were feeding well. Unfortunately one died in the first night and the other one stopped feeding. With a bit of bottle feeding the other one has survived and is now back on his mothers milk. We have borrowed a Gloster Old Spot boar from Garvald Home Farm so we hope to have some spotty Tamworth piglets running around on the open day in September.
Salads: It's been a cold start to the year so the lettuces outside the tunnels are not growing very fast. Our salad leaves grow in abundance though so will be in the boxes every week! If you don't like them because they are a bit peppery you can add a sweet dressing or mix them in to a stir fry - last minute or just let us know you don't want anymore and we will swap in something else.
We have now planted 5000 trees at the new land. onion sets are in and the broad beans are up and looking good. We have put up 3000 msq of polytunnels and hope to put the plastic sheeting on tomorrow, wind permitting!
Andrew our neighbouring organic farmer has sown 15 acres of wheat for us. We will share it between us and use our portion to feed our laying hens.
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April 2010: Our new sheep have arrived. Two Soay, one with lamb and the other one expecting twins! We also have three orphan pet lambs, Thumper (the dark one) and Dingle and Dongle. At first they had to be bottle fed three times a day, butnow they are onto solids as being fed by Sula.

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4th March 2010.We are now aproaching the
period known as 'The Hungry Gap'. Sourcing UK Produce becomes increasingly difficult, Especialy with the coldest winter for 50 years still hanging on. Most of the year we manage to provide 100% home grown veg' boxes. We were surprised when doing our supermarket 'Price comparison' in the summer how much of their produce was imported when it was all available UK grown. We do offer a 100% UK box year round but it has very limited variety and no swapping items are allowed.

Our polytunnels are still full of crops. While everything slows down in the winter we have found that most produce is uneffected by the extreme weather outside. So in order to provide as much home grown produce as possible, we have ordered another acre of polytunnels with another 4 acres hopefuly grant assisted. We have also ordered the trees for our new apple, pear and plum orchard. Livestock on the farm has increased and we know have Soay sheep with lambs, geese, bantams, pigs, hens and a dog! (Will add photos soon). Our Open Day is planned for the end of September this year!

Our two Tamworth sows gave up on digging with all the snow. Unfortunately we still had to find and dig up leeks!

Our rare breed, slow reared, Tamworth pigs are now ready. See our online shop now as limited amounts. Min £25 worth (£10 with your regular delivery).Cool box with ice pack need left out if you're not in.

photos of new hens that arrived last week. Tamworth pigs with an old lone hen.
Newly planted spinach in the polytunnels

18th October

There will be no Open Day this year as we have only been having them every two years. From next year they will be every year as we have plenty of space at the new land. We are hoping to have a big organic event with lots of stalls and tractor rides etc. There are lots of projects planned, starting with tree planting and orchards. At the moment all the fields are sown with grass and clover to improve fertility and soil structure. We are making a proper entrance and track at the moment so there will be easy access for farm visits.

If you are a new customer and want to come out and see us at Boggs Holdings You can phone and arrange this.

Some of our apples and pears are from a new supplier with a biodynamic orchard so they are even sweeter than normal. The apples at the moment are Cox, Pippin, Gala or Falstaf and the pears are conference.

13th October

Last weeks boxes contained our own biodynamic green celery. This is different to the wishy washy blanched and cut variety sold in most shops and usually imported from Spain! The green variety is tougher and stronger in flavour. The tops can be used in soups and as a garnish.

With Halloween coming soon, next weeks boxes will contain a Scottish Turnip (swede) The traditional vegetable for crafting into a lantern. The following week there will be pumpkin squashes, so you have the choice!

3rd October

The Farmers Market was officially cancelled the day before, due to predicted high winds. We attended anyway as we had already finished harvesting. We also new that most customers would not know it was cancelled so we would not want to let them down. It turned out to be a fine day with the only disappointment that I forgot my sunglasses!

Essential Edinburgh manage the market for us all. They now appear to live in a fear of being sued again after a stall was blown over and hurting several people. EE should have had a contingency plan in place, after all, stall holders vans are not going to blow away!

September Remember:

Broccoli needs to be kept chilled! Even then it should be consumed sooner rather than later. If your delivery has been left outside on a warm day the broccoli needs to be cooked as soon as possible. Salad, lettuce, celery etc can also wilt on warm days but can be rejuvinated by standing in cold water.

If you ever have any problems with quality, let us know!

If you don't like something let us know so your delivery driver can swap in something else instead!

24th August

Appologies to any one who has been getting runner beans that are too tough to eat. We have had another training session, so every one here knows only to harvest and bag them when they are young and tender. If you do get any that are unacceptable, please send them back so they can be force fed to the culprit!

20th August.

Next week sees the start of the English apple season! We may even get some English plums aswell. We have a few apple trees here but the fruit is not quite ready yet.

We are in the process of ordering loads of trees for our new 2 acre orchard.

7th August.

Our Rare Breed Tamworth pigs have been growing well on our biodynamic surplus veg. We intend to breed some of our own now and so help preserve this wonderful species. We have reared tamworths in the past and in fact Clarissa Dixon Wright bought our last one - whole!

They are a slow growing hardy breed and their meat is completely different to the intensive factory farmed option available in supermarkets.

Please let us know your requirements through our shop section if you are interested. They should become available end of September onwards. We also intend producing hams for Xmas.

Minimum order for delivery is £40 or collect from farm. Discounts on big orders!

Crops on the farm are doing really well this year but apologies if the box contents are a bit repetitive at present. At least the veg is 100% local, which is what every one wants is it not!

7th July 2009

Just arrived on the farm are 19 Tamworth piglets from an organic farm on Arran. They love all the fresh vegetable scraps and over ripe bananas. We are also getting some Highland cows from the same farm, but we can't decide on the colour! We thought they were only available in reddish brown, but no, they also come in black, almost white and grey.

7th June 2009

The New online Shop is now running very smoothly and hopefully customers are finding it useful and easy to use.

The bread from the Engine Shed community bakery seems to be going down well, though probably more crust than the Tusty Crust. Unfortunately they take the bank holiday Mondays, so this will effect Tuesday delivery customers, ie. no bread then!

New Potatoes will be in the boxes in two weeks, though I still like the Kifli ones even if they are starting to sprout. UK tomatoes are now going in the boxes and they are normally very tasty and good quality (Our own tomatoes are just starting to flower - so a few weeks yet). Our outdoor lettuces are now ready and free from Greenfly Unlike the polytunnel ones.

The new land has now had it's first Biodynamic preparation added and the grass and clover are greening up nicely.

24th May 2009

Still no rain. Think we have only had about 1cm in last three months.

Fantastic spinach growing now, so it will be in all the boxes for a few weeks. We had severe problems with lettuce germination earlier in the year so we are a bit short at present. The salads on the other hand have done really well. We grew them in modules and then planted them out later. This has helped prevent the flee beetle attacks we normally get at this time of year. They don't really do much damage. It just doesn't look good with all those perforated leaves. Some people find the oriental leaves a bit spicy. You can use a sweeter dressing if necessary or if you really don't like them we can swap something else in instead!

18th May 2009 GOOD NEWS

Our online shop is up and running! So you can get all those essentials delivered now.

2 pint Scottish organic milk only 99p (Can also be frozen, to save topping up elsewhere later in the week!)

But now the BAD NEWS

Trusty Crust Organic Bakery Ceased trading on Sunday 17th May. We will be supplying Engine Shed bread from now on. All credit resulting from non supply of bread products can be carried over to next month.

26th April 2009 Biodynamics made the news last week when Tesco and M&S revealed that they were influenced by the biodynamic lunar calendar on what days to hold their wine tasting days on. They hadn't shared this information with the public in fear that it would only confuse them!

Pears, either rock hard, or going off. Last week we had the latter problem. Let us know if you couldn't use them and we will give you something extra next time. The pears were perfect and ready to eat when packed, but unfortuately just don't travel that well on our bumpy roads.

Spring work on the farm is progressing well with the help of the dry weather. The polytunnels are now full of cucumber, courgette, tomatoe and runnerbean plants. Outside there is loads of salads and spinach ready. The new season beetroot, carrots, parsnips and turnips have just been sown. The last of the leeks have been harvested and the soil is now being prepared for cabbages. The garlic and broad beans should be ready next month, so long as we get a little rain!

4th April 2009 Our new shop is now up and running, so you can now order all those other essentials from us! See the 'Shop' section of our web site. Michael will soon have added the finishing touches to the online facility, which will make ordering very easy. Until then you need to download the price list. We have listed the sort of things that we like to use here, but we can order other items in, on request. We are stocking items that are as local as possible. Our prices should be mostly comparable or cheaper than supermarket prices.

23rd March 2009 A fantastic dry and sunny week. Loads of salad and spinach are being harvested and planted! Purple sprouting broccoli is now ready so it's good to have a little luxury at this time of year. The Elstar apples are coming to an end. They are still sweet, but need to be kept COOL to stop them going wrinkly. Royal gala apples are on their way.
At the new land we've started digging ditches for pipes so we can sort out the drainage problems. The nature pond is now full of masses of frog sporn and frogs!

15th March 2009 This week all our onion and shallot sets were planted out, along with radish and salad seedlings. A late crop of broad beans has also been sown. It must be getting warmer as the automatic vents on the polytunnels are going up and down like yoyos!
Some of the plums in the boxes recently have been brownish around the stone. We don't think this discolouration is the start of them going off, though it doesn't look very appetising. They can always stewed with a bit of sugar! We will be putting avocados in the boxes instead of tomatoes occasionally.

9th March 2009 The propagation polytunnel is almost bursting at the seems with lots of lovely seedlings just itching to get planted out. The soil is also now being prepared for our main crop of onion sets and shallots. Our over-wintering broad beans managed to survive the hard frosts, so far! but still won't be ready until May/June.

The new block of land awaits the warmer weather so we can sow the grass and clover that will increase fertility and improve the soil structure. We have started sorting out the woodland shelter belt, but there are still five huge willows half blown over and resting on other trees.

Think this is a job for the professionals!

In March we hope to have our online shop up and running. Please let us know now if there are any specific items you would like us to stock. Recent research has shown that it is less harmful to the environment to get home deliveries as compared to driving to the supermarket.

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The polytunnels on a freezing misty morning in February, but......

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Inside the tunnels there is a fantastic amount of crops growing for this time of year.

BIG NEWS FOR 2009!

After spending many years trying to rent, lease or buy more land, we have finally managed to acquire 110 acres with the help of Triodos, 'the ethical bank'. The land is about 2 miles south of Haddington. It has mostly been used for wheat production, but has a small stream, a pond and a bit of woodland.

It may appear foolhardy to take on this expanding venture when the 'News' is full of reports of a big downturn in organic sales due the recession. However, we are confident that there will always be a demand for fresh, local, organic produce and certainly we have not experienced any big downturn. Most of the slump in organic sales has been experienced by the supermarkets that rely mostly on expensive imports and processed foods. The farmers that have been effected worst are mostly dairy and beef farmers that converted to organics recently and rely on the supermarkets for sales.

Anyway, back to the land. It is already undergoing organic and biodynamic conversion and has been ploughed, soon to be ready for sowing grass and clover to start the rejuvenation process. We have great plans for orchards (apple, pear and plum), lots of polytunnels to keep the variety through the winter months and extend the summer range, More hens so we can produce all our own eggs and feed the hens on our own biodynamic grain, more animals (pigs, sheep ,cattle, geese & goats), community focused farm with more Open-days (without the present parking problems we have here), a farm shop / cafe, farm holiday accommodation, and......

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THE FARM OPEN DAY WAS A GREAT SUCCESS!
Blue sky and sunshine all day & no wind. Just luck or was it written in the stars!
There was a massive turn out of 800-1000 visitors. We hope you all had a good time and didn't have to queue too long for food and tractor rides.

It wasn't long before the top carpark was full and the tractor just on its first trip round.

Most people headed straight to the food area! All the food was vegetarian and organic and also prepared here by our hardworking team.

Helga & Ed slaving over a hot stove with Sarah serving flat out behind

Chris giving a walking tour by the herb area

Jan demonstrating how the seeding is done in the propagation polytunnel.

Michael & Jack serving in the make-shift farm shop (packing shed). Justin (in fancy hat) entertaing the customers.

Nina & Cecile doing a fantastic job with the ever popular face painting. Four hours non stop must be a record!

Lesley's Dought Sticks cooked on a open fire: Another hit with the younger ones.

Last trip of the day: Some of the team relaxing after an exhausting day! Michael still standing at the back after doing loads of tours and Dave happy as ever , behind a steering wheel!

OPEN DAY COMMENTS
Just a quick email to say thank you for the Open Day.It was great to be able to see the crops in the fields and tunnels and to taste some of your excellent cooking.Thank you to everyone who works day in day out to grow the veggies, wereally appreciate your efforts.

We had a fabulous time at the farm today with the children - it looked well supported and we were really lucky with the weather.

Thanks for organising the box for us and for the day out.

Just a note to say thank you all very much for the open day which all the family enjoyed today. Food was great, highlight was the tractor ride and who did you speak to to arrange that weather?

We were at the open day yesterday and had a lovely time!

Thank you for lovely day yesterday, we loved it

Sunday was really good. I hope you all thought it was worth the effort and have recovered!

Just to say that we really enjoyed the Open Day, which we thought was wonderful. I know the weather was absolutely glorious, which was a great bonus. However, the effort you had gone to was fantastic! It was just great to see where our wonderful veg comes fromThanks so much.

The open day was greatly enjoyed by us and the kids, thanks.
Appreciate the hard work and friendly welcome

Thank you for a fab day yesterday - our son loved the tractor ride!

We came to the open day on Sunday and had a fantastic time - the kids loved it. Very nice sweet potato and kidney bean pitta breads! Thanks.

FARM OPEN DAY SUNDAY 5th OCTOBER 2008

For box customers, old and new and friends.

View Larger Map
Car: take the B6363 from the A1 and head towards Pencaitland.
Bus: Lothian Buses no 44 every 1/2hour to Pencaitland. Then 1 mile walk to Boggs Holdings.
Train: To Longniddry then cycle south on the B6363
Bike: Cycle from Edinburgh to Pencaitland along the railway cycle path.
From Pencaitland head north at the cross roads on the East side of the village, then take the first right into the Holdings, then take the lane heading east opposite the community hall.

What's in the box

2008-09-15T23:54:00.000-07:00

All weights are approx', normally over! Some items may need to be substituted for something else.
Potatoes: Kifli are smallish and long with an uneven surface. Hungarian variety resistant to blight. Waxy salad potato with outstanding flavour. Cosmos are longish and larger and good all rounder.

WEEK STARTING Monday 23rd January 2012

£12 Veg Box
4lb Kifli salad Potatoes or Lady balfour
1 1/2lb Carrots
1 1/2lb Onions
Lettuce Red Oakleaf
150g Mushrooms Chestnut
Tomatoes
Swede
Beetroot
Spinach
Leeks
Red Pepper

£6 Fruit Box
1 1/2lb Apples
2lb Bananas
Pears
Clementines or oranges and kiwis

£18 Fruit & Veg Box
All of the above

£6 Veg Box
7 items of the £12 box and less quantity

£24 Large Family Box
As £18 but more quantity and includes 1/2 doz Eggs plus 3 additional items:
Butternut squash
Fennel
Ginger or garlic or avacadoes

£10 uk box (no swaps allowed!)
Potatoes
Carrots
Onions
SwedeCabbage red
Leeks
Beetroot
Sprouts
Celariac

Meat

2008-09-10T05:15:00.000-07:00

We Have meat available on the web site shop again. All of it was frozen from fresh so will have about 5 days on it. If you want to collect you can always keep it frozen.
There is a little bacon left, but plenty of lamb and mutton. The lamb and mutton are only free range but have been reared organically since we got them. The mutton is from 2 Soays so is quite gamey and the chops are not any less tender than the lamb. The lamb is actually hoggit as they were over one year old. Many rare breeds are slow growing so do take longer before they are up to weight ,but then that is reflected in the quality of the meat. The lamb / hoggit we reared since they were a few weeks old.

Apologies to customers that ordered sausages after we ran out. We will still aim to have another batch made.

It is becoming more and more difficult to do the meat as 2 more abattoirs have recently closed down. We were going to use Galasheils, but will have to continue with the one at Shotts instead. This means about a 130 mile round trip. This is the reason why we can't have a continuous supply of meat as we need to make sure the trailer is full, rather than taking one animal a week. Amazing that the capital of Scotland doesn't have an abattoir closer than 40 miles! That's Supermarkets for you.

We therefore have started a meat club, so we can deliver fresh meat boxes as soon as it is all ready. Customers can also collect if easier. Please order on the web site shop or send an email. We will let you know when it will be coming, when we have enough orders to justify the trip. The meat will be divided evenly and will be better value than buying individual cuts from the web shop. There won't be any sausages or bacon as they are not ready at the same time as the fresh meat.
The lamb will be as above and supplied in various cuts, inc' chops, mince, giggot, shank, rolled shoulder, etc. Whole butchered weight approx' 18kg.
The pork will be organic from birth. inc' chops, mince, diced, rolled shoulder, tender loin, escalope, fillet, spare ribs.

Meat box offer: (order now for festive supply!)
1/4 Lamb box £40
1/2 Lamb box £70
Whole lamb box £130

1/8 Pig Box £40
1/4 Pig box £75
1/2 Pig Box £140

Recipes & Vegetable Pictures

2008-09-06T13:57:00.000-07:00

Artichokes Globe
Artichokes Jerusalem
Aubergine
Avocados
Beetroot
Broad beans
Broccoli
Cabbage
Carrots
Cauliflower
Chard (Ruby or Swiss)
Celeriac
Celery
Courgettes
Cucumber
Fennel
Garlic & Ginger
Jerusalem artichokes
Kale
Kohlrabi
Leeks
Mushrooms
Onions
Parsnip
Peppers
Potatoes
Purple sprouting broccoli
Spinach
Squash and pumpkin
Swede
Sweet potato
Tomatoes
Turnip

Apples
Bananas
Oranges
Pears

ARTICHOKES GLOBE
Basic cooking instructions
Break off the stem, trim the spiky top leaves, and place in pan with enough water to come half way up their sides. Simmer, covered, for about 30 mins or until the leaves pull off easily. Turn artichokes upside down and drain for 5 mins. The remove spiky central leaves and remove hairy choke. The base of each remaining leaf is the edible bit, together with the heart. Dip in melted butter or hollandaise or bearnaise sauce.
Freezing
Can only be frozen COOKED, or will go brown and mushy! Cook, drain, wrap tightly in foil and place in plastic bags.
Recipes
Artichokes with rosemary béarnaise
4 globe artichokes 4 cloves garlic
3-4 sprigs rosemary
Prepare artichokes as above. Place in pan with water, garlic, rosemary and a little salt and simmer for 30 mins or until tender.
Sauce:
4 tablespoons wine vinegar 25g onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon rosemary, finely chopped 6 peppercorns, crushed
2 large egg yolks 125g butter
Place vinegar, onion, rosemary and peppercorns in small pan and simmer very gently until only 1 tablespoon of piqued remains. Strain into mixing bowl, add egg yolks and mix thoroughly. Stand bowl over pan of hot water (NOT boiling) and add about 1/6 of the butter. Whisk thoroughly until butter has melted and mixed into the eggs. Continue to add the butter in stages until all used up and sauce is thick and foamy.
Stand artichokes in serving bowls and fill cavity with sauce. Serves 4.

ARTICHOKES JERUSALEM
Basic Cooking Instructions
Peel thinly. May be sliced, diced or left whole. Boil for 15 minutes whole, 10 minutes if sliced. May also be stir-fried for about 5 minutes.
Freezing Instructions
Peel, cook with added lemon juice, then puree. Pack in foil containers. Use for soup.
Recipes
Creamy Artichoke Soup
400g Jerusalem artichokes ............................................1 tablespoon sunflower oil
1 onion, chopped ...............................................................2 sticks celery, chopped
1 medium potato, peeled and chopped ..........................2 tsp grated root ginger
1 litre stock (chicken or vegetable) ...............................1 bouquet garni
small pot single cream ....................................................parsley to garnish
Peel and chop the artichokes. Gently fry with the onion, celery, ginger and potato for 2-3 minutes. Add stock and bouquet garni and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the artichokes are tender. Remove bouquet garni and puree. Reheat and serve with a swirl of cream and chopped parsley. Serves 4.

Baked Artichokes
150 ml double cream ....................................................150 ml crème fraiche
400g Jerusalem artichokes, peeled and sliced ..........2 cloves garlic, crushed
large handful fresh thyme leaves (no stalks)............. 4 tablespoons grated cheese, eg gruyere
juice of one lemon ...........................................................2 slices wholemeal bread as crumbs
50g bacon or pancetta, cooked until crisp (optional)
Mix together creams, garlic, lemon juice, half the thyme and half the cheese, and season to taste. Mix in the artichoke slices and bacon, and place in an ovenproof dish. Cover with foil and bake at 200C/Gas mark 6 for 25 minutes. Then cover with breadcrumbs and remaining cheese and bake for a further 15 minutes until golden.
Mashed Artichokes
400g Jerusalem artichokes, peeled and diced
400g potatoes, peeled and diced .................................50g butter
50g cheese, grated ........................................................4 tablespoons milk (approx)
Place artichokes and potatoes in pan of boiling water and cook for 15 minutes, or until tender. Mash with milk, butter and cheese. Add more milk, if required, to reach desired consistency. Season to taste.

AUBERGINE
Basic Cooking Instructions
Cut off stem and flower ends. Cut into 1cm slices, sprinkle with salt and leave for 30-45 minutes. Rinse and pat dry. Fry in oil for 5-10 minutes. May be baked whole (with both ends intact) at 180C/Gas 4 for 45-60 minutes. Serve with a little soured cream.
Freezing Instructions
Cut into slices. Blanch for 5 minutes. Pack in rigid containers interleaved with paper. May be cooked from frozen, but become very soft and disintegrate easily.
Recipes
Stuffed aubergines
2 small aubergines (approx 100g each) .......oil for brushing
2 medium eggs..................................................1 teaspoon Marmite,
150g chopped mixed nuts...............................1 onion, chopped
2 sticks celery.................................................. chopped 100g cheese,grated
1 clove garlic,crushed......................................1 teaspoon fresh herbs
Cut the aubergines in half and scoop out the flesh, leaving a shell about half a centimetre thick. Roughly chop the flesh, sprinkle with salt and leave to drain for 30 minutes. Meanwhile. Mix other ingredients to make stuffing. Brush the shells with oil and place in a shallow ovenproof dish. Rinse and drain aubergine flesh and add to stuffing. Pile into the prepared shells and bake at 200C/Gas 6 for 30 minutes. Serves 4
Aubergine bake
1 large aubergine, sliced
1 red pepper .................................................1 yellow pepper
1 onion, finely chopped ................................1 carrot, finely chopped
1 stick celery, finely chopped ......................1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons oil ............................................700g passata
4 tablespoons basil leaves ............................100g prosciutto (optional)
100g parmesan, grated .................................200g mozzarella
Cut the peppers in half and grill until softened and skins are black. Cool in a plastic bag and then remove skins and seeds. Slice aubergines lengthways and sprinkle with salt. Drain for 20 minutes, then rinse and pat dry with kitchen paper. Fry onion, celery, carrot and garlic until soft. Add passata and simmer for 10 minutes until begins to thicken. Add torn up basil leaves and season to taste. Brush aubergine slices with oil and grill for 3-4 minutes each side until softened and browned. Spread a layer of sauce in an ovenproof dish. Top with a layer of aubergine, a third of the cheese and a third of the prosciutto. Continue layers, finishing with a layer of sauce. The remaining cheese and drizzle with oil. Bake at 190C/Gas 5 for 40 minutes until golden. Serves 4.
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Avocados
Basic instructions
Cut ripe avocado in half and remove centre stone. Will go brown if not eaten immediately or treated with lemon juice. May be eaten raw in salads or cooked.
Freezing
Not recommended!
Recipes
Quick Guacamole
2 avocados, stoned and peeled 1 onion, peeled and juiced (use lemon squeezer
2 tablespoons lemon juice to obtain a few drops of “juice”)
1 fresh chilli (or chilli powder to taste)
Place all ingredients in food processor and whiz to obtain smooth puree. Use immediately – or place in a bowl and pour lemon juice over and surface and cover, if required for later!
Avocado prawn grills
2 ripe avocados 50g prawns
50g cheese, grated 200ml cheese sauce
Halve avocados – don’t damage the skins - and remove stone. Remove flesh and chop. Mix with prawns and cheese sauce, and season to taste. Refill the avocado skins with this mixture and sprinkle with grated cheese. Grill until golden brown. Serves 4 as a starter.

BEETROOT
Basic Cooking Instructions
Do not peel or break the skin or colour will bleed. Trim off leaves and boil for 2-3 hours. Alternatively, wrap in foil and bake at 150C/Gas 2 for 2-3 hours. Serve with butter and lemon juice.
Freezing Instructions
Cut into halves or quarters, depending in size. Blanch for 5-10 minutes and peel. Pack in bags and freeze. May be cooked from frozen in salted water for 1 hour.
Recipes
Beetroot, orange and apple salad
200g raw beetroot, peeled and grated ..................1 clove garlic, crushed
grated zest and juice of one orange .........................3 tablespoons French dressing
2 eating apples, cored and chopped ........................2 tablespoons lemon juice
Place the beetroot in a salad bowl. Toss apple pieces in lemon juice to prevent discolouring and add to beetroot. Mix orange juice, orange zest, dressing and garlic and pour over vegetables. Toss well. Cover and chill until required. Will keep 2-3 days in the fridge. Serves 4.
Borscht
400g raw beetroot, peeled ............................1 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled ...............................................1 stick celery, chopped
small tin chopped tomatoes ..........................2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 litre stock .....................................................1 bouquet garni
1 tablespoon lemon juice ...............................seasoning
soured cream to serve (optional)
Grate the beetroot and carrot, and fry, together with onion, garlic and celery, for 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Add tomatoes, stock, bouquet garni and seasoning, and bring to the boil. Simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Remove bouquet garni and add lemon juice. Puree if desired. Serve with a swirl of soured cream and crusty bread. Serves 4. Traditionally served with a measure of vodka thrown in !
Beetroot in yoghurt
400g beetroot ...............................................1 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon oil .............................................1 tablespoon flour
half teaspoon ground cumin ........................2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
seasoning ......................................................200ml natural yoghurt
Bake the beetroot (see above), peel and dice. Fry the onion in oil until translucent, add beetroot and fry gently. Sprinkle over flour, cumin and half the parsley and season to taste. Mix well. Pour on yoghurt and stir over moderate heat until the mixture thickens and simmers. Garnish with remaining parsley. Serves 4.

Broad Beans
Basic cooking instructions
Baby beans when pods are small– top and tail and remove any strings. Cut into diagonal strips and boil for 5 minute
Broad: mature pods– remove beans from pods and boil for 10-20 mins depending on age and size – should not be mushy!
Freezing
Prepare beans as above and blanch for 2-3 mins. Drain, cool and pack into bags. May be cooked from frozen – French/Runner for 5 mins, broad for 7-8 mins.
Broad bean POD puree - for the adventurous and thrifty among us!
Remove any black spots and strings from the pods and throw into large pan of boiling water. Boil until tender. Skim and drain, keeping the water. Pass the soft pods through a mouli or sieve back into the pan and stir for 2-3 minutes over a gently heat to remove excess moisture. Season well and add a generous knob of butter and a pinch of nutmeg. Suggest serving as a sauce with bacon and crusty bread.

Broccoli
Basic cooking instructions
Remove leaves and divide large heads into florets. Rinse well. Boil or steam for 5 minutes. Serve with a knob of butter and freshly ground black pepper, or finish under the grill with grated cheese, or with a hollandaise sauce.
Freezing instructions
Blanch for 2-3 minutes, drain well and pack into freezer bags. Cook from frozen in boiling water for 5-8 minutes.

Recipes

Broccoli and Feta Pie
1 large head broccoli, chopped 1 onion, chopped
25g melted butter 3 eggs, beaten
handful parsley, chopped 50g feta, crumbled
8 sheets filo pastry

Saute broccoli and onion in oil until tender. Combine eggs, parsley, cheese and seasoning, and add in the broccoli and onion mix. Oil an ovenproof dish and line with4 of the sheets of filo, brushing each sheet with butter. Pour in the filling and then cover with the other 4 sheets of buttered filo. Brush top with butter and bake at 200C for about 30 minutes.

Broccoli Soup
25g butter 1 onion, chopped
1 potato, diced 600g broccoli, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed 1 litre stock
250ml evaporated milk or cream chives and cheese to garnish

Melt butter in large pan and sauté onion, potato and garlic for 5 mins. Add broccoli (including stalks) and then stock. Bring to boil and simmer for 15 mins – do not overcook! Liquidise soup until smooth. Return to pan, add milk and season to taste. Serve sprinkled with chives and grated cheese – or crumbled stilton – if desired.

Chicken Divan
250g cooked chicken, chopped 400g broccoli
tin condensed cream of chicken soup 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 teaspoons lemon juice 1 heaped teaspoon curry paste
200ml crème fraiche 100g fresh breadcrumbs
50g mature cheddar

Boil broccoli florets for 2 minutes, then drain. Place in ovenproof dish, together with chopped chicken. Mix together soup, crème fraiche, lemon juice and curry paste and spread over the broccoli and chicken. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and then cheese. Bake at 180C for 25 mins until golden brown. Serves 4.

Cabbage
Basic cooking instructions
Remove any coarse or damaged outer leaves and hard core. Chop coarsely or shred finely. Boil for about 10 minutes, and serve with a knob of butter and a sprinkle of nutmeg or caraway seeds.
Freezing instructions
Prepare as above and then blanch for 2 minutes before packing into bags. May be cooked from frozen.

Recipes

Savoy cabbage with bacon
Half a small savoy cabbage 50g smoked bacon, chopped
½ teaspoon nutmeg 2 tablespoons crème fraiche
Shred the cabbage and boil or steam for 3-4 minutes. Fry bacon until crispy and add cabbage, stir frying for several minutes. Add nutmeg and black pepper to taste. Finish with crème fraiche and stir to mix well. Serves 4.

Coleslaw
350g white cabbage 225g carrots
1 small onion 300ml mayonnaise
Shred cabbage, grate carrot and finely chop onion. Combine all ingredients and toss well. Chill until required – will keep for several days in the fridge. Serves 6-8.

Mulled wine red cabbage
50g butter 1 onion, peeled and chopped
50g bacon, chopped 2 large cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 medium red cabbage, sliced 1 cooking apple, peeled and chopped
150ml red wine 150ml stock
half tsp ground cloves good pinch ground nutmeg
good pinch ground cinnamon grated zest of tangerine / orange

Heat butter and sauté onion, bacon and garlic until softened, then add cabbage, stirring for a few minutes until coated. Stir in remaining ingredients, plus seasoning, and stir well until combined. Bring to boil, then cover and place in a preheated oven (170C) for 2 hours, stirring once. Check seasoning before serving.

CARROTS
Serving instructions
Try cooking with orange peel in the water. Serve buttered with chopped parsley. Try shredding with courgette and microwave with a little orange juice for a change.
Recipes
Carrot cake – as served at our Open Day – highly recommended !
3 eggs ...................................................................175ml sunflower oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract ...............................55ml soured cream
175g muscovado or Barbados sugar ................175g soft brown sugar
250g wholemeal flour.........................................1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons cinnamon .......................................1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
half teaspoon salt ...............................................300g grated carrots
75g dessicated coconut
Topping :
110g full fat soft cream cheese .........................50g unsalted butter
50g icing sugar ....................................................1 tablespoon lemon juice
Place eggs, oil, vanilla and sour cream into a large mixing bowl. Sieve in the sugars – these sugars are prone to lumps – and mix together. Add flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, bicarb and salt and fold into wet ingredients. Finally, add carrots and coconut and mix well. Turn this wet mix into a 20cm greased and lined baking tin and bake in the middle of a pre-heated oven at 150C/Gas 2 for 1.5 – 2 hours. Mix together topping ingredients except lemon juice. Add juice little by little to ensure correct thickness of frosting – may not need full quantity. Once cake is cool, spread frosting thickly over the top.
NB – white flour may be used rather than wholemeal if desired; full fat yoghurt rather than soured cream; any combination of sugars; chopped nuts rather than coconut; any other oil. However, do NOT use lower fat cream cheese or you will end up with a bowl full of liquid goo rather than thick frosting !
Carrot Savoury Pie
400g carrots, grated ...............................................400g onions, chopped
50g butter ................................................................2 teaspoons fresh thyme
2 tablespoons flour ..................................................2 teaspoons marmite
seasoning
Cheese pastry – made with 100g self raising flour, 100g wholemeal flour, 100g margarine, 100g grated mature cheddar, half a teaspoon dried mustard powder and 3 tablespoons water.
Fry the carrots and onions gently. Add thyme and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add flour and marmite and season to taste. Cool slightly. Roll out half the pastry and use to line a 20cm plate or flan dish. Fill with carrot mixture and the top with remaining pastry, sealing edges well. Pierce the pastry in several places and brush with milk. Bake at 200C/Gas 6 for approx 30 minutes until golden. May be served warm or cold. Serves 6.
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CAULIFLOWER

Basic cooking instructions
Remove outer leaves and break into small florets. Steam or boil for 5-8 mins. Serve with butter and lemon juice, or with cheese sauce.
Freezing instructions
Prepare as above, blanch for 3 mins and pack in rigid containers. Cook from frozen in boiling water for 5-8 mins.

Recipes

Cauli mash with parmesan
600g potatoes, peeled and diced 300g cauli, cut into small florets
150ml cream
50g parmesan
25g butter
Boil the potato and cauli for 10 minutes or until tender, and drain. Mash until smooth. Place pan over low heat and add cream, parmesan and butter, stirring until well combined. Season to taste. Serves 4.

Cauliflower Cheese Soup
1 tablespoon oil 1 onions, chopped
2 rashers lean bacon, chopped juice of half a lemon
1 medium cauliflower, chopped (including stalk and leaves) 750ml water
750ml milk 2 tablespoons flour
225g grated mature cheddar fresh parsley to garnish

In large pan sauté onion and bacon for 10 mins on a low heat. Add cauliflower, water and lemon juice, and bring to boil. Simmer to 30 mins. Liquidise soup. Whisk together milk and flour until smooth. Stir into soup and continue heating, stirring continuously, until slightly thickened. Season to taste. Remove from heat and stir in grated cheese. Garnish with chopped parsley. Serves 6.

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CELERIAC
Basic Cooking Instructions
Peel and shred, or peel and cut into 2 cm cubes. Boil for 10-15 minutes if cubed.
It should still be slightly crisp.
Freezing Instructions
Wash, peel, cook, then puree. Pack in foil containers. Reheat in an oven-proof dish with a little cream or butter.
Recipes
Celeriac and Apple Salad
250g celeriac ....................................................1 red apple
3 tablespoons crème fraiche ...........................juice of half a lemon
seasoning
Peel the celeriac and grate finely. Core the apple, cutting it into fine slices and mix with celeriac. Mix lemon juice, crème fraiche and season to taste. Add to celeriac and apple and combine. Serve garnished with apple slivers. Serves 4.
Roasted Celeriac Chips
1 large celeriac ....................................................3 tablespoons sunflower oil
2 tablespoons grated parmesan .......................seasoning
Peel the celeriac, cutting it into fat chips. Blanch in boiling water for 2 minutes. Toss into oil and season to taste. Spread chips over large baking sheet, spacing well apart. Bake at 225C/Gas mark 7 for 20 minutes, then sprinkle with parmesan. Return to oven for further 10 minutes until golden and crisp. Serves 4.
Celeriac Soup
2 tablespoons sunflower oil ................................1 large onion, chopped
1 large celeriac, peeled and chopped .................400g potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 pints stock (chicken or vegetable) .................2 teaspoons thyme
small pot single cream (optional) ......................100g smoked bacon or pancetta (optional)
Fry onions in oil until soft and translucent. Add celeriac and fry gently for 10 minutes, covered, stirring regularly. Add stock, thyme and potatoes, and simmer for 15 minutes, or until tender. Season to taste, then puree. To serve, add cream and reheat gently – do not boil. Garnish with small pieces of crispy bacon or pancetta, and serve with crusty bread. Serves 4.

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CELERY
Basic Cooking Instructions
Cut off roots and leaves and remove any tough strings. Separate the stalks and cut into 7cm lengths. Rinse well. Great raw, or may be sliced and boiled for 6 minutes or stir-fried for 4 minutes. May be served buttered or with warm vinaigrette or cheese sauce.
Freezing Instructions
Prepare as above. Blanch for 3 minutes. Pack in bags and freeze. Not suitable to be eaten raw. Cook from frozen in boiling water for 10 minutes, or add to casseroles.
Recipes
Celery and stilton soup
400g celery, chopped .....................................1 onion, chopped finely
1 tablespoon oil ................................................1 tablespoon flour
1 litre milk ........................................................175g stilton
Fry celery and onion over low heat for 10 minutes until soft but not brown. Sprinkle on flour and stir until well coated. Remove pan from the heat and add the milk gradually, stirring well until smooth. Return pan to the heat and bring to the boil, stirring continuously until thickened. Season and simmer for 15 minutes. Add crumbled stilton and heat for further 5 minutes, stirring to prevent cheese from sticking. Serve with a little crumbled stilton and a sprinkling of paprika. Serves 4.
Braised celery
400g celery, cut into 5cm lengths ......................1 tablespoon oil
1 onion, chopped ...................................................2 tablespoons flour
250ml vegetable stock .........................................1 teaspoon Marmite
Fry the celery until just beginning to brown. Remove from pan and set aside. Fry onions until brown. Sprinkle over flour and stir until smooth and gradually add stock, stirring constantly. Add Marmite. Bring to boil, stirring, until smooth and thickened. Season to taste. Place celery in ovenproof dish and pour over sauce. Cover and bake at 180C/Gas 4 for 40 minutes. Serves 4.
Celery and almond pasta sauce
400g celery, finely chopped ..................................1 onion, finely chopped
100g blanched almonds .........................................2 tablespoons oil
150ml vegetable stock ...........................................150ml single cream
1 clove garlic, crushed ............................................seasoning
Fry the onion, celery and garlic at a moderate heat for about 10 minutes. Add the flour and mix well to coat. Gradually add the stock and stir until the sauce thickens. Stir in the cream and season to taste. Dry fry the almonds until golden brown. Chop and sprinkle over top before serving. Serve with freshly cooked pasta. Serves 4.

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CHARD Photo: Variety Ruby (top) Swiss (below)
Basic Cooking Instructions
Discard any damaged or discoloured leaves and rinse well. Stems require more cooking than leaves, or may be discarded – feed to the guinea pig ! Boil for 10 minutes or steam.
Freezing Instructions
Blanch leaves for 2 minutes in boiling water. Pack in rigid containers and freeze. Cook from frozen in a little butter and its own juice for 3-5 minutes.
Recipes
Braised Swiss / Ruby Chard
400g Swiss or ruby chard ......................3 tablespoons oil
1 clove garlic, chopped ...........................1 glass water
seasoning ..................................................half a red chilli pepper, chopped (optional)
Rinse leaves and cut into small strips. Fry garlic and chilli, add the chard and stir fry for 2-3 minutes. Add water, cover and cook for 12-15 minutes or until tender, stirring from time to time. Season to taste.
Chard and Gruyere Tart
100g plain flour .......................................5g wholemeal flour
100ml oil, plus extra ...............................500g chard
3 medium eggs ........................................75g gruyere cheese, grated
25g parmesan, grated ............................50g pinenuts
Sift flours into a bowl, pour in oil and knead to a sticky dough. Press into fluted flan dish. Chill for 20 minutes, then bake blind for 10 minutes at 180C/Gas 5. Meanwhile rinse and steam/boil chard leaves until just wilted. Cut into tiny pieces and season. Spread the chard across pastry case. Beat together eggs and cheese and pour over. Dry fry the pinenuts until toasted and sprinkle over the top. Bake for 30-35 minutes until just set. Serves 4.
Cheese, chard and cherry tomato lasagne
1 litre milk .............................................50g butter or margarine
50g plain flour .......................................500g chard
250g lasagne sheets ..............................500g cherry tomatoes
4 tablespoons fresh basil leaves ..........100g parmesan, grated
250g mozzarella seasoning
Melt butter, mix in flour, add milk gradually, and bring to boil, stirring continuously to make a smooth sauce. Season. Rinse chard and wilt. Squeeze to remove excess moisture. Spoon approximately a third of the sauce into an ovenproof dish. Scatter over half the chard, a third of the tomatoes, a third of the cheeses and a third of the basil. Place a layer of lasagne on top. Repeat the layers, ending with a layer of sauce, basil, cheese and tomatoes. Bake for 45 minutes at 190C/Gas 5 until golden. Serves 4.

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COURGETTES
Basic Cooking Instructions
May be sliced, diced or left whole. Boil for 4-15 minutes, then serve or mash with butter. May also be stir-fried for about 5 minutes.
Freezing Instructions
Slice and blanch in boiling water for one minute. Pack slices in bags interleaved with greaseproof paper to prevent them from sticking together.
Recipes
Stuffed Courgettes
2 plump courgettes, halved lengthways ..................100g packet of cream cheese
1 clove garlic, crushed .................................................1 tablespoon chopped herbs (to taste)
Place the courgettes in a pan of boiling water and cook for 3-5 minutes. Drain. Scoop out seeds. Preheat grill to high. Mash the cream cheese with the garlic and herbs and stuff courgettes with the mixture. Grill until cheese is beginning to go brown. Serves 2.
Courgettes and Pesto Tart
250g shortcrust pastry ...........................................2 courgettes, sliced
250g new potatoes, cooked and sliced ..................4 tomatoes, sliced
150g mozzarella, grated ..........................................2 tablespoons red pesto
3 eggs .........................................................................200ml crème fraiche
150ml milk seasoning
Preheat oven to 200C/Gas Mark 6. Line 20cm diameter dish or tin with pastry and bake blind for 20 minutes. Fry courgette slices with minimal oil until lightly browned. Spread base of tart with pesto and then layer courgettes, potatoes, tomatoes and cheese to fill. Scald milk. Add crème fraiche and eggs and whisk together. Pour over tart and season. Bake for 30-40 minutes until golden and firm. May be served warm or cold. Serves 4.
Baked Courgettes in Cheese and Sage Sauce
2 courgettes, sliced ...................................................25g butter
25g flour .....................................................................300ml milk
75g mature cheese, grated ......................................2 tsp chopped sage
seasoning
Cook the courgette slices in boiling water for 2 minutes. To make sauce, melt butter and stir in flour. Add milk gradually and then bring to boil, stirring continuously. Add cheese, sage and seasoning. Place courgettes in oven-proof dish and pour sauce over, sprinkling a little cheese on top to garnish. Bake for 20 minutes at 180C/Gas Mark 5 until golden. Serves 4 as an accompanying vegetable.

Cucumber
Basic instructions
Usually served raw, but may be sliced or diced and cooked gently in butter for 5 mins, and served with a butter or hollandaise sauce.
Freezing
Not recommended.

Recipes

Tzatziki
1 cucumber, cut into small dice
1 garlic clove, crushed
300ml natural yoghurt
1 tablespoon mint, finely chopped
1 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped
paprika

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Season to taste with salt and paprika. Serve 4-6.

Bulghur salad with tomato and cucumber
150g bulghur wheat (or couscous)
4 tablespoons French dressing
1 cucumber
2 large tomatoes
1 bunch spring onions
2 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
2 tablespoons mint, finely chopped

Place bulghur wheat in mixing bowl, cover with boiling water and leave to stand for 5 mins, forking through from time to time. Leave to cool. Finely chop cucumber, tomatoes and spring onions. Add to bulghur wheat, together with herbs and dressing and mix well. Season to taste. Cover and chill until required. Serves 4.

FENNEL
Basic Cooking Instructions
Remove root base and top leaves. Cut into half or quarters. Boil for 10 minutes. Serve buttered or with a mild cheese grated on top.
Freezing Instructions
Quarter and blanch in boiling water for 4 minutes. Cool and pack in freezer bags. May be cooked from frozen in boiling water for 5-8 minutes.
Recipes
Fennel au Gratin
2 bulbs fennel .........................................284ml carton double cream
100g mature cheese, grated ................seasoning
Remove root and separate fennel into leaves, cutting each in half across. Blanch for 5 minutes in boiling water. Layer fennel leaves with half the cheese in a greased oven-proof dish. Pour over cream, sprinkle with remaining cheese and season to taste. Bake at 200C/Gas Mark 6 for about 20 minutes. Serves 4.
Fennel and Potato Soup
2 bulbs fennel, coarsely chopped ....................800g potatoes, thinly sliced
2 onions, chopped ..............................................1 litre stock (chicken or vegetable)
small pot single cream ......................................1 tablespoon chopped chives to garnish
Fry onions gently until very soft. Add fennel and potatoes. Fry for further 5 minutes, covered, stirring frequently. Add stock and simmer for 20 minutes. Season, puree and add cream. Reheat without boiling. Scatter chives to serve. Serves 4.
Braised Pork and Fennel
400g pork fillet, cut into chunks ...................2 bulbs fennel
1 large onion, chopped ....................................2 large cans chopped tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, crushed ...................................2 tablespoons tomato puree
250ml stock (chicken or vegetable) ..............seasoning
Fry onion and garlic until soft. Add pork and brown all over. Add tomatoes, tomato puree and stock and season. Bring to the boil. Trim and chop fennel into small wedges. Add to pork and simmer for 30 minutes covered. Test for seasoning. Serves 4.
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FRENCH BEANS
Basic cooking instructions
top and tail and remove any strings. Cut into diagonal strips and boil for 5 minutes for young beans or 10 minutes for older ones.
Freezing
Prepare beans as above and blanch for 2-3 mins. Drain, cool and pack into bags. May be cooked from frozen – French/Runner for 5 mins, broad for 7-8 mins.
Recipes
Fu’s red pepper and bean burgers
75g French beans, trimmed and roughly chopped 2 tablespoons oil
1 red pepper, cored, deseeded and diced 4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons mild chilli powder 425g can red kidney beans
75g fresh breadcrumbs 1 egg yolk
Blanch the French beans in salted boiling water for 2 mins until softened, and drain. Saute the pepper, garlic and chilli powder in oil for 2 mins. Place in food processor, together with kidney beans, breadcrumbs and egg yolk. Process briefly until all ingredients are coarsely chopped. Add French beans, season and process until just combined. Divide mixture into 8 portions. Using lightly floured hands, shape into burgers. Pan fry for 3 mins per side until crisp and golden. Serve with lemon mayonnaise.

GARLIC & GINGER

Strong garlic paste – how to avoid cleaning out that garlic press all the time and use up the backlog!
3 heads garlic
juice of one lemon
1 inch of fresh ginger root, peeled and grated
black pepper
1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes (or to taste)
vegetable oil, as required
spices to taste – I use cumin and coriander, freshly ground

Separate and peel garlic cloves and place in mini food processor with all other ingredients and process until fairly smooth. Add sufficient oil to make a loose paste. Place in a small sterilised jar and cover with a layer of oil before screwing on lid tightly. This oil seal helps protect the paste from bacteria and under it the paste will keep for up to 3 months IN THE FRIDGE. Use as you would use fresh garlic, but without the fuss of peeling and crushing, and hands smelling of garlic every time!

Ginger and tomato sauce
400g tomatoes, cored and chopped
small bunch spring onions
2 teaspoons ginger root, peeled and finely grated
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons sugar
1 fresh green chilli, deseeded and chopped
2 tablespoons coriander leaf, chopped

Place all ingredients in blender or food processor and liquidise.
This sauce may be used to accompany any vegetable, meat or fish dish.

Ginger and lemon dressing
1 tablespoon ginger root, peeled and finely grated
juice of one lemon
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce

Put all ingredients into a clean jam jar and shake until well combined.

Cockney’s Salsa - as served at the Open Day!
500g fresh tomatoes, skinned, deseeded and chopped
1 stick cinnamon
1 tablespoon cumin seeds, crushed
1 fresh chilli, chopped
1 tablespoon honey or sugar
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Juice of one lemon

Boil all ingredients except the lemon juice for 40 minutes. Then remove cinnamon stick and stir in lemon juice.

Thai marinade/sauce
200g block of creamed coconut
bunch fresh coriander, chopped
300ml boiling water
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
juice and zest of 1 lemon or 2 limes
1 fresh chilli (red or green), seeded and chopped

Melt the coconut cream in the boiling water and then place all ingredients in blender and process. This may be used simply as a marinade or as a cooking sauce. Makes a fabulous curry with chickpeas, butternut squash and spinach, or with chicken. (Separates out if brought to the boil, but just stir to reamalgamate!)

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KALE Photo: Variety Redbor (top) Westland Winter (below)
Basic Cooking Instructions
Discard any discoloured leaves. Save the stalks for the guinea pig ! Rinse well and check for insects ! Boil for 5-10 minutes in just enough water to cover. Steaming is not advisable. Serve buttered and sprinkled with herbs. May be drizzled with cheese sauce and finished off under a hot grill.
Freezing Instructions
Not recommended.
Recipes
Sauteed Kale with Peanut Butter – the basis for this recipe was passed to us by one of our customers, for which many thanks ! I believe it’s a South African recipe.
400g kale, rinsed and shredded ....................1 onions, peeled and chopped
4 tomatoes, chopped .......................................4 tablespoons peanut butter
100ml vegetable stock seasoning
Saute the kale with the onion. Add tomatoes and cook for 3-4 minutes. Mix the peanut butter with stock and add to pan. Reduce to desired consistency and add seasoning to taste. Serves 4.
Rumbledethumps
400g potatoes ................................................200g neeps (swede)
50g butter ......................................................200g kale
50g mature cheese .......................................150g ham or bacon in small chunks
Peel and dice the potatoes and neeps and boil together for 15-20 minutes until tender. Fry kale in butter, until tender but still bright green, with the ham or bacon. Add kale to potatoes and neeps, and mash together roughly. Season to taste. Tip into ovenproof dish. Sprinkle with cheese and bake at 170C/Gas 4 for 25 minutes. May be browned off under grill if desired. Serves 4.
Kale with Cream and Nutmeg
400g kale ..........................................................25g butter
2 tablespoons soured cream a.........................good pinch of nutmeg
seasoning
Shred the kale finely and rinse. Cook in boiling, salted water for 5 minutes until slightly soft but still crunchy. Drain well, returning pan to heat to evaporate excess moisture – do not allow to burn ! Sprinkle with black pepper and nutmeg. Toss in the butter. Take of the heat and stir in soured cream to serve. Serves 4.

Kale and Chorizo Soup
1 tablespoon oil 200g chorizo (sausage, not sliced)
250g kale, rinsed, stemmed and chopped 250g potatoes
1 large onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 litres stock handful fresh parsley, chopped
2 bay leaves Sprig fresh thyme
1 teaspoon smoked paprika

Fry onion and chorizo in oil for 2 mins. Add potatoes, garlic and parsley and cook for further 2 mins. Add stock and kale and bring to boil. Add bay leaves, thyme and paprika, and season. Simmer for 30 mins until potatoes are tender. Garnish with fresh mint if desired.

Baked Kale with Potatoes and Olives
250g kale, rinsed, stemmed and sliced 400g potatoes, in 2cm slices (unpeeled)
20-ish black olives, halved and pitted 2 cloves garlic, sliced
100ml white wine 100ml water
1 lemon, cut into wedges Oil

Heat oil in flameproof casserole dish, sauté garlic and then add potatoes, kale olives, white wine, water and lemon wedges. Toss well and season with black pepper. Bring to boil and then place in oven. Bake at 180C for about 40 mins, stirring occasionally.
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KOHLRABI
Basic Cooking Instructions
Cut off roots and leaves. Peel if necessary, and slice or dice. Boil for 20 minutes, or braise in well-flavoured stock. Serve with butter, or mash with butter, yoghurt or soured cream.
Freezing Instructions
Top, tail, peel and dice. Blanch for 2 minutes. Pack in bags and freeze. Once thawed, cook in salted water for 10-15 minutes.
Recipes
Kohlrabi au gratin
1 kg kohlrabi, peeled and sliced thinly ......................4 tablespoons parsley, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed ................................................zest of a lemon
50g butter .....................................................................300ml milk
125g mature cheddar cheese, grated ........................1 medium egg
Layer the kohlrabi slices in an ovenproof dish with parsley, lemon zest, garlic, cheese, dots of butter and seasoning. Finish with a layer of cheese. Scald the milk and whisk in the egg. Pour over the top and bake at 190C/Gas 5 for about 1hour until tender and golden. Serves 4.
Roast Kohlrabi
500g kohlrabi, peeled and cut into wedges zest of an orange
3 tablespoons oil seasoning
Steam the kohlrabi wedges for 8 minutes. Pour the oil into a roasting tin and heat until smoking. Tip the kohlrabi into the tin, sprinkle with orange zest and season. Roast at 190C/Gas 5 for 45 minutes until golden and tender. Serves 4.
Optional orange glaze- simmer the juice of 2 oranges and 2 tablespoons of sugar until syrupy. Pour over the roasted kohlrabi wedges and serve.
Warm Kohlrabi Salad
500g kohlrabi, peeled and sliced thinly ...............6 rashers smoked streaky bacon
50g pinenuts ...........................................................half a small green cabbage
vinaigrette dressing to taste
Steam the kohlrabi for 10-15 minutes until tender but still crunchy. Grill the bacon until crisp and cut into small pieces. Dry fry the pinenuts until golden. Fry the cabbage in a little oil until wilted. Combine with vinaigrette dressing, toss and serve warm. Serves 4.

Leeks

Basic cooking instructions
Cut off roots, discard discoloured leaves and leaf tips. Cut in half lengthways to about 5cm below green and wash well under a running tap to dislodge mud and grit. Slice if required. Boil for 10 minutes or stir fry for 5 mins. Serve with a knob of butter or béchamel sauce.

Freezing
Prepare as above and freeze in plastic bags for up to 3 months. Use from frozen.

Recipes

Leek slice
50ml oil ........................................................................ 500g leeks, washed and shredded
200g onions, sliced finely ............................................ 225g self-raising flour
125g margarine/butter .............................................. 150ml water

Fry leeks and onions in oil until soft, and season. In bowl mix flour and margarine together, adding water to make soft and sticky dough. Mix in leek mixture. Place in greased ovenproof dish and bake for 30mins at 200C/Gas 6 until brown and crispy.

Leeks with ham in cheese sauce
4 large leeks ........................................................... 4 slices ham
500ml cheese sauce ...............................................50g grated cheese

Trim and wash leeks, and cut each leek in half (horizontally). Boil for 5 mins. Then wrap each piece in half a slice of ham and place in ovenproof dish. Pour over cheese sauce and sprinkle with a little additional cheese. Season with black pepper or paprika. Bake at 180C/Gas 4 for 30 mins. Serves 4. Serve with crusty bread.

Leek and sausage hash
8 good quality sausages ......................................... 350g leeks, washed and sliced
4 large potatoes ......................................................... 1 tablespoon wholegrain mustard
140ml single cream .................................................... 100g grated cheese, eg gruyere

Slice the potatoes and boil until tender – no more than 10 mins max. Dry fry sausages until well browned, and then slice and set aside. Fry leeks in a little oil until tender, then add potato slices, cooking until they begin to turn golden and crisp. Return sausage slices to pan with mustard and cream and heat for further 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat, sprinkle with cheese and season to taste. Serves 4.

Mushrooms

Basic cooking instructions
Wipe with a damp cloth to remove any traces of compost – do not wash!. Leave whole or cut into slices, and stir fry in oil or butter for 3-5 mins, seasoning to taste.

Freezing instructions
Raw – freeze whole mushrooms on tray and when frozen pack into bags or containers, will keep for up to 3 months. Parboiled – boil for three minutes in water with salt and lemon juice, drain, rinse, then pack into bags – will keep for 1 year. Sauteed – also OK to freeze.

Recipes

Quick mushroom soup

25g butter ....................................................... 25g flour
300ml stock (veg or chicken) ........................ 300ml milk
1 tablespoon fresh thyme................................ 150g mushrooms, finely sliced
1 tablespoon lemon juice ................................. 2 tablespoons cream (optional)

Fry the mushroom slices in the butter, then take off the heat and stir in the flour. Add the milk little by little, stirring to make a roux. Then add stock and thyme, season to taste and bring to the boil, stirring continuously. Simmer for 10 minutes. Take off heat, stir in lemon juice and cream (if using). Serves 4.

Mushroom pâté

1 tablespoon oil .................................................. 1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed ..................................... 300g chestnut mushrooms, chopped
1 tablespoon sherry ........................................... 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
125g cream cheese ............................................. 2 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

Fry onion heat until softens, then add garlic and fry for further minute. Add mushrooms and cook until tender. Add sherry and thyme and cook until liquid evaporates. Set aside to cool. Once cool, place in food processor with cream cheese and parsley and process until smooth. Season to taste. Put into serving dish, cover and place in fridge to set. Serve with toast or crusty French bread. Serves 4-6.

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ONIONS
Recipes
French onion soup
2 tablespoons oil ...................................................500g onions, sliced
2 teaspoons sugar ................................................2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 litre dark stock ..................................................200ml white wine
Heat the oil in a heavy-based deep pan. Add the onions and sugar and cook over a moderate heat, stirring frequently, for about 20 minutes, or until caramelised to an even brown colour. Add the garlic and fry for a further 2 minutes. Add the stock, wine and seasoning, and simmer at a low heat for one hour. May be served with toasted French bread topped with melted gruyere cheese. Serves 4.
Glazed onions
8 medium onions, peeled ..................................................8 cloves
350ml dark stock ...............................................................25g melted butter
seasoning .............................................................................8 teaspoons demerara sugar
Push a clove into the base of each onion and place in a greased ovenproof dish. Pour over the stock, season and drizzle with melted butter. Bake at 180C/Gas 4 for about an hour or until tender. Sprinkle sugar over onions and cook under a hot grill until caramelised. Serves 4.
Baked stuffed onions
4 medium onions, peeled ...............................................2 tablespoons fresh breadcrumbs
50g grated gruyere ........................................................25g butter
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves ...................................seasoning
Boil the onions in salted water for 15 minutes. Drain and cool. Cut off the top of the onions and scoop out the centres with a teaspoon. Chop the centres and mix with the other ingredients. Fill the onions with this mixture and place in a greased ovenproof dish, topping each with a knob of butter. Bake at 190C/Gas 5 for 20 minutes until golden. Serves 4.
Caramelised onion flan
2 tablespoons oil ................................................................700g onions, sliced
2 eggs .................................................................................150ml milk
150ml double cream ........................................................seasoning
shortcrust pastry case – 20cm (bought, or made with 125g flour, 50g butter, 1 egg and 1-2 tablespoons water and used to line a flan dish/tin)
Fry the onions gently for about 30 minutes until golden brown, stirring frequently. Beat the eggs, milk and cream together and season. Place the onions in the pastry case and pour over the egg/milk mixture. Bake at 190C/Gas 5 for about 40 minutes. Serves 4-6.
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PARSNIP
Basic Cooking Instructions
Cut off top stem and spindly root. Peel and dice or slice or cut into strips. Boil for approx 10 minutes or roast for 40 minutes at 180C/Gas Mark 5.
Freezing Instructions
Peel and cut up as desired. Blanch in boiling water for 2 minutes. Cool and pack in freezer bags. May be cooked from frozen in boiling water for 5-8 minutes.
Recipes
Parsnip and Carrot Mash
200g carrots ..............................................200g parsnips
50g butter ..................................................4 tablespoons double cream
Peel and dice the carrots and parsnips. Boil carrots for 5 minutes, then add parsnips and boil for further 15 minutes, or until tender. Puree with butter and cream until smooth and season to taste. Serves 4.
Roast Parsnips with Parmesan
400g parsnips ................................................3 tablespoons oil
4 tablespoons parmesan, grated .................seasoning
Peel parsnips and cut into batons. Coat in oil, season with black pepper and roast for 30 minutes at 180C/Gas 5. Remove from oven, sprinkle with parmesan and roast for further 10 minutes until golden. Serves 4.
Parsnip, Cheese and Chive Bread
200g parsnips, coarsely grated ...........................100g Cheshire cheese
1 tablespoon chives, chopped ...............................225g self raising flour
1 teaspoon salt .......................................................2 large eggs
1 tablespoon milk
Sift flour and salt into large bowl. Add the grated parsnip and toss to coat. Add chives and Cheshire cheese and mix well. Mix the egg with the milk and add, a little at a time, mixing with a knife. The resulting dough should be loose and sticky. Transfer to a baking sheet and shape gently into a rough circle, slashing the top in the shape of a cross. Scatter a few chives and a little cheese on top, plus a little flour. Bake at 190C/Gas 5 for 45 minutes until golden and crusty. Serve warm.
Parsnip & chestnut croquettes
500g parsnips, peeled and diced ...............................250g chestnuts
2 teaspoons oil ..............................................................2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon chopped parsley ....................................75g smoked bacon (optional)
1 egg, beaten ................................................................50g fresh breadcrumbs
Pierce chestnuts and roast at 200C for 10-15 mins, together with the bacon. Skin and crumble the chestnuts, break the bacon into tiny pieces. Boil parsnips for 15 mins. Cook garlic in oil and then mash in parsnips, add crumbled chestnuts, bacon and herbs and season to taste. Take one tablespoon mixture at a time and form into croquette shapes. Dip in egg and cover with breadcrumbs. Place on greased baking tray and bake at 200C/Gas 6 for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Peppers

Basic cooking instructions
Remove stem, seeds and ribs. Cut in half for stuffing (see recipe below) or cut into slices or dice. Stir-fry sliced or diced peppers for 3-5 mins.

Freezing
Loses quality and texture but fine for adding to casseroles. Freeze dice in freezer bags and use from frozen.

Recipes

Roasted Peppers
3 peppers, ideally mixed colours ............................... 3 rashers bacon
6 cherry tomatoes / 3 small tomatoes ..................... 3 cloves garlic
12 basil leaves, torn ................................................... oil to drizzle

Cut peppers in two from top to bottom, through the stalk. Remove seeds and spines, and place in roasting tin. In each half, place 2 cherry tomatoes/2 half tomatoes, a few slices of garlic and half a bacon rasher (rolled). Drizzle with oil, season with black pepper and sprinkle over basil leaves. Roast at 200C for 20-25 minutes. Serve with focaccia or ciabatta to mop up the juices! Serves 2.

Veggie option – prepare the peppers as above. Drizzle each half with oil and bake for 10-15 minutes until softened. Then place a piece of halloumi cheese, a small spoon of pesto and a few pine nuts in each cavity and grill until the cheese is melted and golden, taking care not to scorch the pine nuts.

Cheat’s gazpacho
4 tomatoes, cored and chopped .................................... 250g passata
1 red pepper, seeded and chopped ............................. 1 red chilli, seeded and chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed ................................................... 1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

Place all ingredients into blender and whiz until smooth. Season to taste. Serve chilled, garnished with olives if desired.

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POTATOES
Recipes
Rosti
450g potatoes, preferably waxy 50g butter
Peel and grate the potatoes and squeeze hard to remove excess moisture. Melt butter in frying pan. Place 10cm diameter heaps of potato in pan and fry at high heat for 3-4 minutes, pressing down to flatten with a spatula. Flip over and fry other side until golden. Season to taste. Serves 4.
Easy Dauphinois potatoes
550g potatoes ...................................50g butter
2 onions, sliced .................................150g grated cheese
500ml milk .......................................1 egg
Wash and slice potatoes thinly (may be peeled if desired). Butter an ovenproof dish. Layer potatoes, onions, knobs of butter and cheese, and season each layer. Finish with a sprinkling of cheese. Scald the milk, beat in the egg and pour over potatoes. Bake at 200C/Gas 6 for at least one hour, until well browned. Serves 4.
Souffle baked potatoes
4 large baking potatoes ..........................................50g butter
150g grated cheese ................................................2 eggs, separated
Bake the potatoes until tender (1hr – 1hr 30 minutes at 180C/Gas 4). Cut in half and scoop out flesh, leaving a shell approximately 5mm thick. Mix flesh with butter, cheese and egg yolks, and season to taste. Whisk egg whites to soft peaks and fold into potato mixture. Refill potato shells, sprinkle with paprika, return to oven and bake for further 20 minutes until golden. Serves 4.
Roast potato stacks
500g potatoes ................................50g butter, melted
Wash and slice potatoes thinly (approx 4mm thick), peeling if desired. Brush both sides of each slice with melted butter and place in stacks of 6-8 slices, securing each stack with a cocktail stick. Season to taste and roast at 200C/Gas 6 for 45 minutes or until golden. Serves 4.
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PURPLE SPROUTING BROCCOLI
Basic cooking instructions
Boil or steam for 3-4 mins until barely tender, as it becomes soggy and sulphurous when overcooked!
The “flowers”, leaves and stems are all to be eaten. The heads cook more quickly than the stems, so cut the stems into short lengths and cook for a couple of mins before adding the heads. Serve with melted butter and a squeeze of lemon juice, or even as the “soldiers” with a dippy egg!
Recipes
PSB au gratin
400g PSB ..................................................25g butter
4 hardboiled eggs ....................................25g flour
400ml milk ...............................................4 tablespoons cream
500g chopped ham (optional) ................75g grated cheese (gruyere or emmental are ideal)
Breadcrumbs from one slice wholemeal bread
Cook and drain the PSB. Melt butter in pan, sit in flour to make a roux. Add milk gradually to make a smooth sauce and bring to boil, stirring constantly. Add cream and season. Arrange PSB in ovenproof dish, top with sliced eggs and ham, and cover with sauce. Sprinkle over cheese and breadcrumbs and bake at 200C/Gas 6 for about 20 mins until golden brown.
PSB with lemon and pasta
250g PSB, cut into 5cm lengths ...............................150g pasta shapes (penne is ideal)
1 tablespoon oil ...........................................................2 cloves garlic, crushed
Zest and juice of a lemon ...........................................4 tablespoon white wine
100ml cream
Boil pasta for 10 minutes or as advised on packet. Drain and return to pan. Simmer or steam PSB for 2 mins, drain and add to pasta. Try garlic and lemon zest for 2mins, then add wine and lemon juice and reduce by half. Sit in cream and season to taste. Add to PSC and pasta and toss to combine. Sprinkle with black pepper., and serve immediately.
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SPINACH
Basic Cooking Instructions
Wash with care and remove any tough stalks. Young leaves are great raw in salad. Larger leaves – may be stir fried for 2 minutes, microwaved for 2 minutes or steamed, as desired to wilt. Drain well. Serve with butter or a little cream and nutmeg.
Freezing Instructions
Prepare as above. Blanch for 2 minutes. Pack in bags and freeze. May be used for soups, pasta sauces, etc.
Recipes
Chicken Florentine
500g spinach, washed and wilted .....................1 large tin chopped tomatoes
handful fresh basil leaves ...................................150g cooked chicken, chopped (optional)
0.5 litres cheese sauce ........................................50g fresh breadcrumbs
Place tomatoes in deep oven-proof dish, add torn up basil leaves and season to taste. Layer wilted spinach leaves on top. Sprinkle over chicken and cover with cheese sauce. Finish with a sprinkling of breadcrumbs. Bake at 200C/Gas 6 for 40 minutes until bubbling and golden brown. Serves 2-3. Chicken may be replaced with any other cooked meat, sliced hard-boiled eggs, etc.
Spinach & three cheese pasta bake
500g spinach, washed, wilted and chopped ...................0.75 litres white sauce
50g mozzarella, diced .........................................................50g grated mature cheddar
50g dolcelatte/stilton, diced .............................................25g Parma ham, torn into strips (optional)
freshly-cooked pasta, shape (eg penne) and amount as desired
Mix the pasta with the spinach and cheeses, and season to taste. Pour over sauce and toss ham strips over the top to garnish. Sprinkle with paprika if desired. Bake at 200C/ Gas 6 for 30 minutes until bubbling and golden brown. Serve with salad and crusty bread. Serves 2-3.
Spinach Crumble
1kg spinach, washed .........................................150ml single cream
1 glass white wine ..............................................1 tablespoon flour
100g fresh breadcrumbs ..................................1 onion, finely chopped
2 eggs ..................................................................25g grated mature cheddar
1 tablespoon oil
Fry spinach gently in a little oil until wilted and remove from pan. Drain. Fry onion in remaining oil until translucent. Mix in flour and add wine gradually until smooth. Add spinach and single cream, season to taste, and then place in oven-proof dish. Sprinkle over breadcrumbs. Make two hollows with the back of a spoon. Break eggs into these hollows and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 200C/Gas 6 for 20 minutes. Serves 2.

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SQUASH & PUMPKIN Picture: Variety Gem (top), Butternut (middle), Hokkaido (bottom)
Basic Cooking Instructions
Large fruit – cut off required section, remove pips and fibrous section, and peel. Cut into 1cm thick slices or dice. Boil for 20-25 minutes or roast. Small fruit – cut in halves or quarters. Remove pips and fibrous section. Peel and boil for 10-30 minutes, depending on size, or stir-fry slices for 10-15 minutes, or bake unpeeled for 30-60 minutes, testing with a skewer.
Freezing Instructions
Peel, remove seeds and cut into slices or dice. Blanch for 2-3 minutes. Pack into bags and freeze. Thaw and saute in butter, or use in a casserole or soup.
Recipes
Roast Squash
1kg squash, peeled , seeded and diced ............................2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons thyme ..........................................................2 cloves garlic, sliced
seasoning
Place squash in a roasting tin. Drizzle with oil and toss to coat. Sprinkle with thyme, garlic and seasoning, and roast at 200C/Gas 6 for 20-25 minutes until tender. Serves 4.
This may also be used as the base for soup : once roasted, place in large pan with 1 litre stock and 1 tsp ground coriander, a pinch of turmeric and cayenne pepper. Simmer for 20 minutes and puree. Add a swirl of cream to serve if desired. Serves 4.
Baked Squash with Cream and Gruyere
2 small squash 150ml single cream
150g gruyere, grated seasoning
sage leaves
Halve the squash and scoop out the seeds. Place halves in an ovenproof dish and fill the cavities with cream, sage, cheese and seasoning. Cover and bake for 30 minutes at 200C/Gas 5 until tender. Serves 4.
Pumpkin & parsley soup
1 small pumpkin, peeled and diced ................1 large onion, peeled and chopped
1.5 litres stock oil...............................................4 tablespoons chopped parsley
few drops green tabasco
Fry the onion In oil until soft, add pumpkin and allow to soften slightly. Add stock and half of parsley and simmer for 20 minutes. Puree, season to taste and add remaining parsley. Serves 4-6.
Pumpkin Risotto
1 kg pumpkin, peeled, seeded and diced .........................2 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon thyme leaves (no stalks) .............................1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed .......................................................300g Arborio (risotto) rice
zest and juice of a lemon .....................................................50g cream cheese or mascarpone
50g parmesan
1 litre vegetable stock – kept simmering in a separate pan
Heat the oil in a large pan / deep frying pan / wok, and fry the onion and garlic until very soft. Add the pumpkin chunks and cook for 5 minutes. Add rice and thyme, and cook for 2 minutes until translucent. Pour in a ladleful of stock and cook, stirring continuously until almost completely absorbed. Repeat in this way until all the stock has been used and the rice is cooked and the risotto has a thick and soupy consistency. Stir in lemon juice and zest. Season to taste. Stir in cheese and serve as it begins to melt. Serves 4.
Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Don’t waste the seeds - soak the seeds from a fresh pumpkin in cold water for 1 hour. Drain and rinse. Spread out thinly on a baking tray and bake at 150C/Gas 2 for 30 minutes until toasted and golden. Sprinkle with salt (and/or any other desired seasoning) and serve as a tasty snack.
Pumpkin Muffins
280g plain flour....................................1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon.........................350g pumpkin, peeled, seeded and grated
175g brown sugar.................................1 teaspoon salt
3 medium eggs......................................175ml milk
85g melted butter
small handful roasted pumpkin seeds (without salt)
Line a 12 hole muffin tin with paper cases. Mix flour, baking powder and cinnamon in a bowl and set aside. In another bowl mix eggs, milk and melted butter. Add sugar and beat well. Add the flour mixture and stir until combined to give a lumpy mix. Stir in grated pumpkin and seeds. Fill paper cases and bake for 20-25 minutes at 200C/Gas 6 until well-risen and firm. Dust with sifted icing sugar before serving. Makes 12.

SWEDE
This type of 'Turnip' originated in Northern Europe and came to Britain in the seventeenth century via Sweden and so was known as a swede as opposed to the white or salad turnip. Though it is mostly refered to in Scotland as just a 'turnip' or 'neep'.

Basic cooking instructions
Swede – peel and remove any fibrous parts. Rinse and then slice or dice as required. Boil for 15-20 mins, then serve tossed in butter or mashed.

Freezing
Peel and dice, blanch for 2 minutes and then pack into freezer bags. Cook from frozen. Alternatively, may be frozen as a puree, reheated over a bain marie with a little butter or cream.

Recipes

Three-Root Mash
A great way to use up those roots lurking in the back of the cupboard, not to mention getting your children to eat swede and parsnip!
200g potatoes, peeled and diced
200g parsnip, peeled and diced
200g swede, peeled and diced
50g butter
60ml milk
Dollop of cream cheese
½ teaspoon each of ground cumin, nutmeg and mild chilli powder, if you wish to pep it up a bit!

Place veg into pan and bring to boil. Simmer for 15 mins. Drain and mash with dairy ingredients until smooth. Season to taste. Serves 4.

Roast swede with parmesan
650g swede, peeled and cut into thin wedges
2 tablespoons oil
75g parmesan
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary

Tip swede, oil and rosemary into roasting tin and mix until well coated. Season well. Sprinkle with parmesan and roast at 200C/Gas 5 for around 30 mins until crisp and golden. Serves 4 as an accompanying vegetable.

Neeps and tatties
4 large baking potatoes, unpeeled, cut into chunks
3 tablespoons oil
400g swede, peeled and cut into chunks
30g butter

Parboil the potatoes for 5 minutes, and then place in roasting tin with oil and roast for 45 minutes at 200C/Gas 5.
Meanwhile, boil swede for 30 minutes until very soft. Add to potatoes and roughly mash everything together, leaving it quite chunky. Dot with butter and bake for about 20 minutes. Serve with lots of butter. Serves 4.

Sweet Potato

Basic cooking instructions
Scrub skins and peel after boiling or baking. Boil for 30 mins. Bake at 180C for 45-60 mins depending on size. Serve peeled and mashed with butter and cinnamon.

Freezing
Cook and puree and then prepare as croquettes or duchesse and pack in rigid containers. Can be cooked from frozen in this form (200C for 20-30 mins).

Recipes

Cockney’s Three Sisters
Place chopped squash and sweet potato in roasting tin, together with finely chopped chillies. Drizzle with oil and maple syrup and season with salt and black pepper. Roast for about 20 mins at 200C. Then add sweetcorn and roast for a further 20 mins. Mix in the lime juice, borlotti beans and coriander leaf to taste, and roast for a further 10 mins to heat through.

Louisiana sweet potatoes
700g sweet potatoes ......................................... 25g butter
1 small onion, finely chopped ........................... ½ tablespoon flour
100ml stock ...................................................... 2 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Wash sweet potatoes and boil in their skins until reasonably tender but still firm. Cool slightly and then use a melon baller to scoop out small balls. Melt butter in frying pan and cook the onion until softened. Sprinkle in the flour and stir to coat onion. Then add stock and stir until it reaches the boil and thickens. Add parsley, lemon juice and sweet potato balls, adding a little more stock if necessary. Heat through, stirring until well coated. Garnish with a little more parsley if desired. Serves 4.

TOMATOES

Recipes

Roasted Tomatoes in Basil Oil
125ml olive oil ......................................................... 2 good handfuls basil leaves
6 ripe tomatoes ..................................................... 1 tablespoon honey

Warm oil gently in a small pan and add basil. Crush the leaves with a wooden spoon and cool. Halve tomatoes and place cut side up in an ovenproof dish. Strain oil over tomatoes, sprinkle with salt and black pepper and drizzle with honey. Bake at 160C for 1 hour until very soft. Cool in the liquid. When cold serve on focaccia or ciabatta with extra basil and feta or mozzarella, with the juices spooned over the top! Serves 2-4.

Quick Tomato and Pesto Tart
1 pack puff pastry ........................................................ 6 tomatoes, sliced
3 tablespoons pesto .................................................... 150g sliced mozzarella (or feta)
handful fresh basil leaves, torn

Roll out the pastry to a circle about 25-30cm in diameter. Place on a baking tray. Lightly score an inner circle, leaving a border of around 5cm. Spread the inner circle with pesto and arrange tomato slices over the top. Lay mozzarella slices on top and season with black pepper. Bake at 200C for about 20 minutes until puffed and golden. Toss basil over the top and serve hot. Serves 4.

Uncooked Tomato and Goat’s Cheese Pasta Sauce
500g ripe tomatoes, skinned, seeded and chopped ........... 150g goat’s cheese crumbled
6 tablespoons olive oil ............................................................ large handful fresh basil, torn

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, season and toss with hot pasta.

Tomato and Chilli Jam – another recipe from New Zealand!
500g very ripe tomatoes ............................................... 4 red chillies
large piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped .............. 4 cloves garlic, peeled
300g brown sugar .......................................................... 100ml red wine vinegar
50ml balsamic vinegar

Process half the tomatoes, with the chillies, garlic, ginger and balsamic vinegar to a fine puree. Dice the remaining tomatoes and set aside. Place the puree, sugar and wine vinegar in a deep pan and heat gently, stirring continuously until the boil is reached. When simmering, add diced tomatoes. Cook for 30-40 mins, skimming off any foam and stirring from time to time to ensure that it does not catch. When very syrupy and thick, test for setting, and then pour into sterilised jars. Seal and cool. Store in a cool, dark place. Makes 4 medium jars.

Tomato Tart with Parmesan Pastry
Parmesan pastry : 225g self raising flour ........................ 1 teaspoon baking powder
35g butter ............................................... 35g parmesan
125ml milk
Filling : 50ml olive oil .......................................... 4 large onions, sliced
2 teaspoons sugar ..................................... 6 ripe tomatoes, sliced

Rub butter and parmesan into flour and baking powder. Mix to soft dough with milk. Roll out and line greased baking sheet. Heat oil in heavy frying pan, and cook onions with sugar for 20-25 mins, covered, until golden. Spread over crust, cover with tomato slices and sprinkle with black pepper and herbs if desired. Drizzle with a little oil and bake at 200C for 30-35 min until well browned. Serves 6.

TURNIP

Basic cooking instructions
If very young may be used whole. If cooking is desired, boil for 10-15 minutes and serve as for swede above. Raw – may be served grated, as for coleslaw.

Freezing
Peel and dice, blanch for 2 minutes and then pack into freezer bags. Cook from frozen. Alternatively, may be frozen as a puree, reheated over a bain marie with a little butter or cream.

Recipes

Roasted baby turnips with peaches
3 medium-ripe peaches, halved and stoned
4-5 turnips (depending on size – roughly 300g)
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons sugar
Fresh rosemary
Seasoning

Trim turnips, peeling and cutting only if necessary. Place in roasting pan and dot with butter. Sprinkle rosemary, black pepper and salt as required. Roast at 200C for 20 minutes, then add peaches, sprinkling with sugar. Roast for further 20 mins and then serve with pan juices.

Caramelised turnips
4 turnips, trimmed and peeled as necessary
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons fresh thyme
grated zest of 1 lemon
Preheat deep frying pan and add all ingredients. Turn pan down to low, cover and cook until turnips are tender, about 20-25 mins, stirring occasionally to make sure they don’t “catch” – in which case a little water may be added. (If desired shallots may also be added with the turnips.)

Apples - recipes

Spanish Apple Flan
250g cooking apples, peeled, cored and diced .................. 6 dessert spoons flour
8 dessert spoons caster sugar ............................................... 8 dessert spoons milk
1 egg ......................................................................................... 125g margarine
peeled and sliced eating apples to cover

Place cooking apples, sugar, flour, egg and butter into food processor and blend. Pour into a greased flan dish and smooth. Cover with overlapping slices of eating apple and bake at 200C/Gas 6 for approx 40 minutes until set. May be eaten warm glazed with apricot jam, or cold dusted with icing sugar. Serves 6.

Cecile’s Vegan Apple Cake - as served at the Open Day!
675g/1 1/2lb apples, peeled, cored and quartered ............ 250g/1lb 2oz caster
15ml/1 tbsp water ................................................................. 350g/12oz plain flour
9ml/1 3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda ...................................... 5ml/1 tsp ground cinnamon
5ml/1 tsp ground cloves or mixed spice ............................. 175g/6oz raisins or sultanas
150g/5oz chopped walnuts (optional) ................................ 225g/8oz margarine
5ml/1 tsp vanilla essence

Icing: 115g/4oz icing sugar .................................................. 30-45ml/2-3 tbsp lemon juice

Put the apples, 50g/2oz of the sugar and the water in saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally to break up any lumps. Leave to cool. Preheat oven to 160C/Gas 3. Oil and flour cake tin. Sift flour, bicarb and spices into a bowl. Remove 30ml/2 tbsp of the mixture to another bowl and toss with the raisins and 115g/4oz of the walnuts. Cream margarine and remaining sugar together until light and fluffy. Fold in cooled apple mixture. Fold flour mixture into apple mixture. Stir in vanilla and raisin and walnut mixture. Pour into tin. Bake until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean, about 1 1/2 hours. Cool completely in the tin on a wire rack, then unmould on to the rack. For the icing, put the sugar in a bowl and stir in 1 tbsp lemon juice. Add more lemon juice until the icing is smooth and has a thick pouring consistency. Transfer the cake to a serving plate and drizzle the icing on top. Sprinkle with the remaining nuts.

Apple and gingerbread loaf
100g syrup ......................................................... 100g butter
100g brown sugar ............................................. 1 egg
1 apple, grated (unpeeled) .............................. 220g self raising flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger .............................. half teaspoon cinnamon
half teaspoon nutmeg ...................................... 180ml milk

Grease and line loaf tin. Melt syrup, sugar and butter in saucepan and allow to cool. Add eggs, milk and apple and mix well. Fold in flour and spices. Fill loaf tin and bake at 170C for around 40 mins until set and golden.

Blackberry and Apple Tealoaf
250g s r flour ....................................................... 175g butter
175g muscovado sugar......................................... 0.5 tsp cinnamon
2 tablespoons Demerara sugar .......................... 1 large eating apple, grated
2 large eggs .......................................................... 1 tsp baking powder
225 g blackberries

Preheat oven to 180C/Gas 4. Grease and line 1.7 litre loaf tin. Melt butter and mix with eggs and sugar. Add apple. Stir in dry ingredients except Demerara sugar. Fold in blackberries GENTLY. Spoon into tin and bake for around 1 hour – 1.25 hours. Check after 45 mins and cover with foil to prevent scorching.

Apple and Blackberry Tray Cake
175g butter ......................................................... 300g s r flour
800g apples, peeled, cored and sliced ............ 284ml carton whipping cream
225g caster sugar .............................................. 3 eggs
300g blackberries

Preheat oven to 200C/Gas 6. Grease 30x20cm roasting tin and dust with flour. Bring cream and butter up to the boil and set aside. Whisk sugar and eggs until thick and pale, and then add buttery cream. Fold in flour. Pour mixture into tin and cover with apples slices and blackberries, and sprinkle with a little extra sugar. Bake for 50-60 mins. Cut into squares to serve. Serves 8.

Bananas - recipes

Sarah’s Vegan Parsnip & Banana Cake
250g wholemeal flour ........................................ 1 tablespoon baking powder
115g brown sugar ................................................ 1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons ginger ............................................. 250g parsnip, peeled and grated
1 large / 2 small bananas, mashed ................... 3 tablespoons orange juice
9 tablespoons vegetable oil

Combine all ingredients in bowl until well mixed. Fill greased and lined loaf tin and bake at 180C for 45-50 mins. May be iced if required – eg cream cheese icing from carrot cake, or just 120g icing sugar and 2 tablespoons orange juice. Option – grated squash is a good alternative to parsnip and makes a more even-textured cake.

Banana Teabread
2 very ripe bananas, peeled and mashed ............................ 225g self raising flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon ............................................................ 110g margarine
110g sugar (any) ..................................................................... 2 eggs

Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix until well blended. Pour into a greased and lined loaf tin and bake at 180C/Gas 4 for approx 50 minutes until golden and firm.

Oat and banana drops – vegan and wheat free
1 cup oats ............................................................. 1 cup oats, processed to make coarse flour
1 teaspoon mixed spice ...................................... 1 teaspoon baking powder
2 ripe bananas, mashed ..................................... 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons oil

Mix dry ingredients, mix wet ingredients and add wet to dry. Drop by the spoonful onto greased baking sheet. Bake for 12/15 mins at 180C/Gas 4.

Oranges – recipes

Caramelised Oranges
6 large oranges, ideally seedless .................................... 150g granulated sugar
175ml boiling water

Remove zest from 3 of the oranges and put aside. Using a sharp knife, remove all skin and pith from oranges and cut into thin, round slices across the segments. Discard any pips. Arrange slices in a shallow serving bowl. Place sugar in a heavy-based pan and heat gently until sugar melts and turns golden brown, stirring as necessary. Do not allow to overheat and burn. Pour in the water – take care as it will spatter - stirring vigorously until a smooth syrup is achieved. Add zest. Allow to cool slightly, then pour over oranges and leave to cool completely before refrigerating. Serve well chilled. Serves 4.

Orange drizzle muffins
175 g butter or margarine ......................................... 175g soft brown sugar
Zest & juice of 2 oranges ............................................ 3 eggs
125g sultanas ............................................................... 1-2 tablespoons milk
100g granulated sugar

Line muffin tin with paper case and preheat oven to 180C/Gas 4. Beat sugar and butter/margarine until light and fluffy. Add zest of 1 orange and sultanas, then add eggs a little at a time. Fold in flour, adding enough milk for the mixture to have a soft dropping consistency. Spoon into cases ad bake for about 15-20 mins. Mix remaining zest, juice and granulated sugar and pour over tops. Cool in tin.

Pears - recipes

Pear and Ginger Loaf
250g s r flour .......................................... 1 tsp bicarb
1 tbsp ground ginger.............................. 1 tsp cinnamon
125g butter ............................................ 250g golden syrup
125g muscovado sugar ......................... 250ml milk
2 eggs ...................................................... 4 pears, peeled, cored and chopped

Preheat oven to 180C/Gas 4. Grease and line 25x12cm loaf tin. Melt butter, syrup and sugar together and then add milk to cool down the mixture. Mix flour, bicarb, ginger and cinnamon and stir in syrup mixture. The add pear pieces and eggs. Pour into tin and bake for 1 hour.

Spicy Pear Shortcake
300g butter .................................................... 300g muscovado sugar
vanilla extract ................................................ 3 eggs
300g self raising flour ................................... 1 tablespoon allspice
3 ripe pears, peeled and sliced ................... 100ml golden syrup

Grease and line 23x35cm tin. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add vanilla. Beat in eggs one at a time. Fold in flour, and spices. Spoon into tin and level off. Place sliced pear over top and drizzle over syrup. Bake for 25-30 mins until firm and golden.

Pear and Bacon Salad (starter)
3 pears, peeled, cut into quarters and cored ............. 12 strips streaky bacon
50ml honey .................................................................... 1 teaspoon five spice powder
1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger ................................... 120ml ginger wine (eg Crabbie’s)
Salad leaves for garnish – eg rocket, mizuna, mibuna

Wrap each pear quarter with a bacon strip and place in shallow ovenproof dish. Mix honey, spice and ginger and brush over pears. Pour over wine and bake at 180C for 1- 12 mins until bacon is crispy and pears are tender. Garnish with salad leaves. Serves 4.

Price Comparison

2008-09-06T05:14:00.000-07:00

We were recently asked if we had done another one of our price comparison surveys.

Initially I thought that there would be no point as I thought Supermarkets had almost dropped fresh organic produce from their stores. However, after nothing better to do on a Saturday night, sad I know, here are the latest results.

It appears that the delivered price of a £12 veg box from us is nearly half that of what it would cost from Tesco.

Depending on what is in the box, our produce even costs less than Tesco conventional produce including 'Value' range.

Price comparison date was Saturday evening 22^nd October 2010

Sample box contents	ECO	Tesco organic
Potatoes new 4lb (1.82kg)	1.60	1.59
Carrots 1 1/2lb (0.68kg)	0.75	0.91
Spring cabbage	1.00	1.45
Mushrooms 150g	1.00	0.95
Tomatoes 1lb (0.45kg)	1.30	1.80
Celery	1.00	1.18
Beetroot bunch	1.00	1.79
Leeks 1 1/14lb (0.57kg)	1.25	2.37
Parsnips 1 1/2lb (0.68kg)	1.10	2.18
Broccoli 1lb (0.45kg)	1.20	1.76
Pepper	0.80	0.89
Sub Total	12.00	16.87
Delivery	0.00	5.00
Total	12.00	21.87

Sample fruit box	ECO	Tesco organic
Apple 1 1/2lb (5)	1.50	2.20
Banana 2lb (6)	1.50	1.68
Orange (4)	1.50	2.00
Pear (3)	1.00	1.86
Kiwi (2)	0.50	0.60
Total	6.00	8.34

Eggs ½ doz	1.60	2.04

Sample box contents	ECO	Tesco (non org')	Tesco (non org') including value range
Potatoes new 4lb (1.82kg)	1.60	2.73	2.73
Carrots 1 1/2lb (0.68kg)	0.75	0.89	0.52
Onions 1 1/2lb(0.68kg)	0.90	0.59	0.59
Lettuce	1.20	0.99	0.99
Mushrooms 150g	1.00	0.60	0.60
Tomatoes 1lb (0.45kg)	1.30	0.91	0.91
Leeks 1 1/14lb (0.57kg)	1.25	1.68	1.21
Broccoli 1lb (0.45kg)	1.20	0.79	0.79
Spinach	1.00	1.55	1.55
Runner beans	1.00	1.75	1.75
Pepper	0.80	0.68	0.68
Sub Total	12.00	13.16	12.32
Delivery	0.00	5.00	5.00
Total	12.00	18.16	17.32

Note:

Our box items have been tailored to suit what was actually available in store to compare.

Our weights of produce are normally slightly over in the boxes.

Fruit is difficult to compare accurately as it is done by count in Supermarkets

Conclusion:

When you support us you are getting better value for money.

You are supporting a local business, farm, staff, their families and the local economy.

Any profits are literally ploughed back into the business.

We believe Organic Farming is inherently better for the environment than conventional farming.

We have also planted over 7,000 trees and are starting to plant a 1,500 tree apple, pear and plum orchard!

Farm Location

2008-09-05T01:04:00.000-07:00

EAST COAST ORGANICS
24 Boggs Holdings, Pencaitland,East Lothian EH34 5BD

Crops

2008-09-04T23:50:00.000-07:00

Michal harvesting yellow courgettes, cucumbers, beans & tomatoes.

Milan salad turnips. We only grew a few this year and they reached a massive size, more like swede!

Gem squashes are prolific in the tunnels. When they turn darker they are ready for harvest.They never really get much bigger than tennis balls.

Spinach harvesting by Chris

and packing it by Ed And Jo. Runner are beans growing in the tunnels behind

Runner beans. A bumper crop this year

Onions lifted and layed out to dry

Garlic layed out in the polytunnels to dry after harvest

Garlic after it has been trimmed and tidied up

Little Leprechaun lettuce suffering after constant rain

Spring onion. Left in the ground a bit too long so they have formed bulbs.

The team

2008-09-03T01:35:00.000-07:00

Robin's last day

From the left: Ormungander, Dready Dave, I.T.Michael, Alan, Joe, Ottilie, Alan S, Charlie, Robin, Fu, Al, Crazy Dave, Ed, Cecile, Scott, Lindsay, Michael, Big Dave, Chris.

Farmers market

2008-09-01T06:03:00.000-07:00

Our busy stall at the Edinburgh Farmers Market on Castle Terrace