Meet the veg pickers and packers

They slave away in all weathers on our behalf, battling against the Cornish elements.  Wind, rain or sun, they ensure Camel CSA’s weekly veg boxes are ready by midday every Friday.

I’m referring of course to our intrepid picking and packing team of volunteers.   

The digging squad has had to endure strong winds, driving rain and ferociously muddy conditions in the last month while harvesting parsnips and carrots at St Kew Highway.

The packing squad has also had to overcome some challenges, as their temporary shelter blew away in a gale.  Sorting and weighing is now being done in the shelter of a borrowed polytunnel generously provided by Jeremy Brown, one of our expert growers.

In spite of these setbacks, the team seems to have remained remarkably cheerful.  And it’s not always noses to the grindstone. 

Trish says:

“One week we were finished at 11!   At least an hour earlier than ever before.   And the sun shone…”

We owe a grateful thanks to all of them over the past few weeks -  picking and packing supremo Trish  and to Carla, Cathy, Henrietta, Jennie, Mike H, Mike S, Penny, Robert and Steve.

Hands on

Last Friday we were glad for additional help from Rosa, the latest in a series of WWOOFers “lent” to us by Camel CSA members Dominic and Cathy at South Penquite Farm on Bodmin Moor.

World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) is an exchange network. It encourages farmers and horticulturalists to offer food, accommodation and opportunities in return for volunteer help from people wanting hands-on experience of organic lifestyles.

Rosa’s come from Sweden. She’s here to learn English and wants to stay in England as long as possible.

She was a nurse for many years and has a bit of a reputation as a horse whisperer. She’s helping out at South Penquite for a couple of weeks and will assist us again this Friday.

In September two WWOOFers from London helped Camel CSA’s volunteer growing team plant onion sets at one of our regular Sunday sessions.

It’s all down to us, stupid

It’s a case of first come, first served.  Admission is free when the Regal Cinema in Wadebridge screens The Age of Stupid this Sunday 29 November at 8.15 pm.  

Oscar-nominated Pete Postlethwaite stars as a man living alone in the devastated future world of 2055.  He looks at old footage from 2008 and asks a simple question:  Why didn’t we stop climate change when we had the chance? 

Camel Friends of the Earth is bringing the film to Wadebridge as part of the Indie Screenings distribution system which allows anyone anywhere to screen it.

This much talked-about movie was released earlier this year.  It spawned the 10:10 campaign, which aims to cut 10 per cent of our carbon emissions in 2010.

In it, the Archivist (Pete Postlethwaite) says:  “We could have saved ourselves, but we didn’t. It’s amazing. What state of mind were we in, to face extinction and simply shrug it off? 

“We wouldn’t be the first life form to make itself extinct. But what would be unique about us is that we did it knowingly. What does that say about us?”

Watch the official trailer here -

Seasonal recipe No 22 – Black-eyed beans with mushrooms

Another excellent recipe from Madhur Jaffrey’s Indian Cookery. She says: “I like this bean dish so much, I often find myself eating it up with a spoon, all by itself.”  Serve on its own with naan bread and a salad or as a side dish. It does take a bit of time to make but it re-heats very well.

Serves 6

Preparation time: 1 hour 10 minutes (includes 1 hour soaking time)
Cooking time: 1 hour

Ingredients
225g dried black-eyed beans, washed and drained
1.15 litres water
225g mushrooms
6 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp whole cumin seeds
2.5cm stick of cinnamon
150g onions, peeled and chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
400g tinned tomatoes
2 tsp ground coriander seeds
1 tsp ground cumin seeds
½ tsp ground turmeric
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper
3 tbsp chopped coriander or parsley

Method

Put the beans and water into a heavy pot and bring to a boil. Cover, turn heat to low and simmer gently for 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the  pot sit, covered and undisturbed, for 1 hour.

While the pot is resting, cut the mushrooms through their stems into 3mm thick slices. Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium flame. When hot, put in the whole cumin seeds and the cinnamon stick. Let the sizzle for 5-6 seconds. Now put in the onions and garlic. Stir and fry until the onioin pieces turn brown at the edges. Put in the mushrooms. Stir and fry until the mushrooms wilt. Now add the tomatoes and ground coriander, ground cumin, turmeric and cayenne. Stir and cook for a minute. Cover, turn heat to low and let the mixture cook in its own juices for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat under the pan.

Bring the beans to the boil again. Cover, turn heat to low and simmer for 20-30 minutes or until the beans are tender. To this bean and water mixture, add the mushroom mixture, salt, black pepper and fresh coriander/parsley. Stir to mix and bring to a simmer. Simmer, uncovered, on medium-low heat for another 30 minutes. Stir occasionally. Remove cinnamon stick before serving.

Mushrooms this week!

In this week’s small veg boxes there’ll be:
* onions/shallots (Camel CSA)
* carrots (Camel CSA)
* white cabbage (Camel CSA)
potatoes – Wilja variety (Burlerrow, St Mabyn)
cauliflower (Rest Harrow Farm, Trebetherick)
leeks (Rest Harrow Farm)
Cornish mushrooms (Tregonning Mushrooms, Stithians)
* curly parsley (Camel CSA)

Medium boxes will also have:
* parsnips (Camel CSA)
* swiss chard (Camel CSA)
calabrese (Rest Harrow Farm)

Fixing the food chain

Members of Camel Community Supported Agriculture will be working with Camel Area Friends of the Earth this Saturday 29 November as they promote thriving, planet-friendly farming.

We’ll be in Molesworth Street, Wadebridge outside Barclays from 9am to 12 noon.  If you’re out and about in the town, please come and speak to us.  You’ll be able to have a look at one of our weekly seasonal veg boxes. 

At the same time we can tell you more about our pioneering community vegetable growing project at St Kew Highway.  This involves building strong, mutual relationships with small-scale farmers and growers in north Cornwall with the aim of reducing supply chains and making local food work.

Friends of the Earth’s Food Chain Campaign aims to change the way factory farm animals are fed.  Factory farming demands massive amounts of soy - a key ingredient in animal feed.  Most of this comes from huge soya bean plantations in Latin America. 

Vast areas of land have to be cleared to grow the soy.  This causes deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions and the loss of valuable wildlife habitat.

Watch FoE’s video -

A is for apple… P is for pruning

Our volunteer growers will be pruning apple trees for a change this Sunday.

Landscape gardener Jeremy Simmons, a Camel Community Supported Agriculture member, will lead a training session on how to prune fruit trees in an old orchard at West End, St Mabyn.

The CSA has taken over the task of renovating a small farm orchard at this former smallholding.  In return, members will be able to enjoy all the fruits of their labours when the apples are harvested next year. 

The trees are a mixture of culinary and dessert types – including the familiar Bramley, as well as Lord Burghley(?), Gascoyne’s Scarlet, Tom Putt (cider), Emneth Early, Beauty of Bath and Lord Hindlip.  There are also unidentified trees, which may be cider varieties and are probably native to Cornwall.

If you would like to learn more about the finer art of apple tree pruning, please come along.  Sunday’s session lasts from 10am to 1pm.

Seasonal recipe No 21 – Root vegetable stew

This really tasty recipe comes from Riverford Organic Vegetables. It works just as well without the turnips – just add a bit more of the other roots.

Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 hour

Serves: 4

Ingredients
2 large onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
250g puy lentils, rinsed
3 tbsp oil
2 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp cumin seeds
250g carrots, peeled and cut into 2cm chunks
250g turnips, peeled and chopped
250g swede, peeled and chopped
250g parsnips, peeled and chopped
900ml vegetable stock
1 x 400g tinned chopped tomatoes
salt and pepper

Method
Saute the onion in hot oil with the crushed garlic, until the onion is transparent.

Meanwhile, put the coriander and cumin seeds into a small pan and dry fry for a few minutes, stiring occasionally. Crush with a pestle and mortar. Add the seeds to the onion mixture and cook, stirring for 2 minutes. Add the root vegetables to the onion mixture and cook for a few minutes. Add the lentils and stir well to mix. Pour in the stock and chopped tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper.

Cover and simmer gently for 40 minutes (or cook in a medium oven) until the vegetables are tender and the lentils are soft.

Tasty Tuscan kale

There’s some delicious dark-leafed ‘cavolo nero’ in this week’s veg boxes, along with some of Camel CSA’s own onions, carrots and parsnips. Take any thick stems off the kale and shred the leaves. Cook till tender and then drain and toss with olive oil or butter.

In the small boxes there will be:
* onions (Camel CSA)
* carrots (Camel CSA)
* parsnips (Camel CSA)
potatoes – Wilja variety (Burlerrow, St Mabyn)
* salad bag (Jane Mellowship)
calabrese (Rest Harrow Farm, Trebetherick)
black kale (Rest Harrow Farm)

Standard boxes will have the same plus:
romanesco cauliflower (Rest Harrow Farm)
swede (Rest Harrow Farm)
* brussels sprouts (Camel CSA)

* = grown to organic principles

The price of cheap food

A new short film made in Cornwall questions the sustainability of current food production.  It’s the first part of The Price of Cheap Food project.

Kerris Farmers is about four Cornish farmers. It’s been produced by Barry Cooper, lecturer in digital media at University College Falmouth. 

The film’s being premiered at the Cornwall Film Festival in Falmouth this Saturday 14 November. Screening will be part of the Cornish Shorts in the Phoenix Cinema, Falmouth starting at 2pm.

Camel Community Supported Agriculture is pleased to hear that The Price of Cheap Food project will also look at experiments in alternative agriculture, local food and allotments.

Barry says:

“In this film four Cornish farmers and family say how things are in an environment where food often costs more to grow than supermarkets eventually pay for it.

“Jeffery was eventually paid 18p per packaged cauliflower even though each one cost him 34p to grow. In the supermarkets they sold at around 78p.

“Adding to the pressure on farmers is the rising cost of fertilizer, fuel and a shortage of labour; farmers are an ageing community. Alan, the beef farmer runs his farm on his own and is totally reliant on a fleet of machines which he has adapted to do all the work by himself.

 

“East European and other migrant workers did the work in recent years but now that sector seems to be shrinking. So eventually the film leaves us with a question, who will grow the food in the future?”

Further parts of The Price of Cheap Food project seek to explore experiments in alternative agriculture, local food and allotments, along with surviving Chinese and Bulgarian pre-industrial farming cultures and the strategies of the supermarkets to globalize production.

* Find out more here about the LoveWadebridge initiative in Cornwall.  It’s arisen out of concerns about the impact of another supermarket on Wadebridge in the north of the county.

Seasonal recipe No 20 – Palestine soup

Jane Grigson gives this recipe in both her English Food and Vegetable cookbooks.   Ideal for the first appearance in the boxes of our own Camel CSA Jerusalem artichokes.

In general, because they are so knobbly, rather than peeling them raw, it’s best to scrub and parboil Jerusalem artichokes for about five minutes, refresh in cold water and then rub the skins off. 

Jerusalem artichokes have a bit of a reputation for causing wind so, as Grigson advises, eat: ”A little and not too much, too often.”

Serves 6

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes

Ingredients
500g Jerusalem artichokes or 250g each artichokes and potatoes
1 large onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
½ stick celery, chopped
125g butter
2 rashers unsmoked bacon or 60g ham
1 litre light chicken or vegetable stock
250ml milk (optional)
salt, pepper
6 tbsp cream
chopped parsley and chives

Method
Scrub, parboil and then peel the artichokes as suggested above. Cut up the artichokes and, if you are using potatoes, peel and slice them. Put them with the onion, garlic and celery in a large pan with half the butter. Cover tightly and stew over a low heat for 10 minutes, giving the pan an occasional shake or stir. Now add the bacon or ham and cook a moment or two longer. Pour in the stock and leave to simmer until all the vegetables are soft. Liquidise or sieve, Reheat, adding water or the milk to dilute to taste. Correct the seasoning. Finally stir in the last of the butter, the cream and herbs. Serve with croutons of bread fried in butter.