CSAs benefit from short food supply chain in big freeze

Our picking and packing team harvested the remainder of the celeriac this week. In spite of the freezing conditions in Cornwall – so unusual for this part of the UK – we managed to dig it up.

The celeriac came up with great chunks of frozen earth attached to it. Once the heavy clods were removed, the roots had to be trimmed. Not a pleasant job in a cold Cornish nor’easter.

We’re fortunate we can source so much local food, including what we grow ourselves. Nearly every week we’re able to fill the weekly veg boxes from within an eight-mile radius.

It means our food miles are low and our supply chain is short. And, unlike the big supermarkets, we’re less likely to get caught out by a shortage of fresh, seasonal produce when the weather turns against us.

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Seasonal local food recipe No 69: A remoulade of celeriac and smoked bacon

Nigel Slater describes celeriac in his Tender cookbook: ‘Knobbly, whiskery and impenetrable, its roots curled round its feet like a viper’s nest, it poses something of a problem for the newcomer’. Thankfully he also gives this good recipe for a variation on the classic French remoulade. First off, though, you’ll have to ‘Brush off the encrusted soil, hack away at the thick, warty skin …’

Radish sprouts are sprouted seeds with a spicy heat. If you can’t get hold of them, you could sprout your own in a salad sprouter. Equally, you could use any sprouted seed.

Preparation/cooking: half an hour
Serves 2 as a light main course

Ingredients
for the dressing:
250ml crème fraîche
juice of half a lemon
2 tbsp grain mustard

for the salad:
large handful parsley leaves
about 500g celeriac
8 rashers smoked bacon
50g radish sprouts or mung bean sprouts

Method
Mix the crème fraîche, lemon juice and mustard together and stir in a little salt and black pepper.

Roughly chop the parsley. Peel the celeriac and shred it coarsely. This is probably easiest with a food processor and coarse grater attachment. Grill the bacon until it is starting to crisp and the fat has turned gold, then cut it into pieces the size of a postage stamp. Stir the celeriac, radish sprouts, parsley, bacon and dressing together. Serve while the bacon is still hot.

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This week’s boxes

We are enjoying some more of our recently-harvested onions in Camel Community Supported Agriculture’s veg boxes this week. 

The Swiss chard, beetroot and potatoes also come from our own plot at St Kew Highway. 

Our expert growers have provided most of the rest of the vegetables.  Jeremy Brown cultivated some of the cucumbers and the flat-leaved parsley.  Jane Mellowship supplied the salad packs.  Mark Norman grew the courgettes and the remaining cucumbers, which feature in our Recipe No 7 – Cucumber raita.

We have a new local supplier – Polmorla Market Garden, Wadebridge – which provided the freshly-picked runner beans.  Unlike the rest of the box contents, these are not grown organically.

Oops!

The boxes also contain bunches of celeriac leaves, picked in ignorance as they were mistaken for mature flat-leaved parsley. 

These could be used as a garnish on salads or soup.  However they are rather coarse and have a distinctive, strong flavour.

It emerges that I may have caused irrevocable damage to our celeriac crop as a result of this inadvertent act of horticultural vandalism.  This is one of the downsides of relying on enthusiastic amateurs like me. 
S-o-o-o embarrassing!

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Jobs for Sunday 14 June

There’s a great deal to do at Camel Community Supported Agriculture this Sunday as the growing season continues apace.

As expert grower Jeremy Brown explains: -

There are runner beans to plant out and French beans to sow.  We also need to sow some more rows of carrots.

Everything needs weeding – the carrots (yet again!), the parsley and celeriac…  But the onions are okay. 

The early potatoes also need weeding and ridging up.  The peas need supporting and tying up.

Just turn up to join the team on our site at St Kew Highway between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. 

If you can’t manage Sunday, why not come to our new mid-week volunteer session every Thursday morning at the same time?  Or ring Jeremy Brown on 07971762227 if you’d like to help out another day.

Mid-summer celebration for members

Don’t forget it’s our mid-summer barbeque next Saturday 20 June in St Mabyn from 6 p.m. onwards.  Please contact Charlotte Barry if you can come at charlotte.barry@btinternet.com so we have an idea of how many people to expect. 

Everyone is asked to bring some food for the barbeque, a drink and a seasonal side dish or pudding.  Don’t forget to bring your own plate and cutlery as well!

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They deserve a medal!

We’re having an extra mid-week volunteer session on Thursday as there’s so much work to do at Camel Community Supported Agriculture.  Charlotte, Kitty and Mike S have already put their names forward.

We need to plant out brassicas, celeriac, parsley and spring onion plants and, if we have time, sow sweetcorn and squash seeds.

If you’re able to give a hand, we’ll be on the site this Thursday 28 May between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.  Click here for directions. 

If you can’t make it on Thursday morning, why not give expert grower Jeremy Brown a ring on 07971762227 to find out when else it might be convenient to help out.

Medals all round

Last Sunday’s team deserves special praise.  Everyone got down on their knees and hand weeded. 

The onion, shallot and Swiss chard beds were comparatively easy to tackle, but weeding the carrots by hand was an exacting and extremely fiddly job. The air was blue at times.  We’ll savour every single one of those carrots when they appear in our weekly vegetable boxes!

Grateful thanks to volunteer expert growers Jane, Jeremy and Mark and to their willing helpers – Beverley, Cath, Carolyn, Charlotte, John, Kitty, Mike H and Mike S.

There’s so much effort going into preparing the first vegetable shares, which should start to be available in mid-June.  A lot of thought is being given to when and how they will be picked, packed and distributed.  

We’ll be working on the site as usual next Sunday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.   Do come along and enjoy the fresh air and exercise.  It’s not all hard work.  It’s good company – and fun too.

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Sunday jobs – Whitsun weekend

We need all the help we can get on Sunday.  The growing season has hit us with a vengeance at Camel Community Supported Agriculture .  Weeds are shooting up – they love this showery weather! 

Expert grower Jane Mellowship says: -

“On Sunday we have lots to get done. Brassica, celeriac, parsley and spring onion plugs need to be planted out, there’s sweetcorn and squash to sow and plenty of weeding too.

Hope to see you all then!”

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