Camel Community Supported Agriculture » veg boxes

We need some more help with packing our veg boxes

charlotte — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 21:12:16 +0000

Now our spring-sown crops are beginning to mature, there’s more harvesting to do for the veg boxes on a Friday morning. So we could use some more volunteers on our picking and packing squad.

The team meets every Friday at 10am in the new packing shed on our plot at St Kew Highway.

Veg box preparation takes about two hours and involves harvesting and sorting vegetables, weighing them and distributing them among the 25 or so weekly boxes.

Afterwards, there’s always the opportunity to relax and have a friendly cup of fair-trade tea or Cornwall-crafted Origin coffee and home-made cake next door at St Kew Harvest Farm Shop.

If you’re able to help out please contact Robert Manders on 01208 880022 or e-mail him at manders@waitrose.com

Our veg box scheme is a year old

charlotte — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 20:44:18 +0000

Camel Community Supported Agriculture’s first ve g boxes were distributed exactly a year ago today.

Over the last 12 months our volunteer picking and packing team have braved extreme conditions - frost, snow, hail, gales, mud, rain and shine - to prepare the weekly vegetable boxes for our members.

Together with our growers and local suppliers in north Cornwall they ensure that the quality of the veg box contents remains of a consistently high standard.

Between us we’re growing a fantastic variety of fresh seasonal vegetables.

Our veg box scheme has vacancies for new members. So if you’re interested in a regular weekly supply of locally-grown food, please contact us.

We’ll make sure you feel very welcome.

Tasty chard in the veg boxes

Trish — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 17:00:05 +0000

… as well as more of the mixed basil, baby carrots and other spring vegetables, all supplied by two of Camel CSA’s expert growers – Mark Norman of Bodmin and Jeremy Brown of St Kew Harvest.

* new potatoes (Mark)
* carrots (Mark)
* Swiss chard (Jeremy)
* salad bag (Jeremy)
* basil (Jeremy)

Standard boxes will also get:
* extra potatoes
* calabrese (Mark)
* spring greens (Jeremy)

* = grown to organic principles

We’re raising the roof

charlotte — Wed, 19 May 2010 13:23:28 +0000

At long last we have a shed to shelter our volunteer picking and packing team from the Cornish elements.

We’re marking the occasion with an informal picnic at the veg plot this Sunday 23 May. This will start to happen as the volunteer growers finish work about 12.30 pm.

It’ll be a chance to get together and celebrate the season, plus anything else that comes to mind…

Everyone’s welcome. All ages of course. Please bring your own food and drink and be prepared to share it! I expect we’ll be on site until around 3pm.

According to a rumour from the Met Office it promises to be sunny and warm, so keep your fingers crossed.

They’re springing up everywhere!

charlotte — Tue, 18 May 2010 19:55:08 +0000

The number of community supported agriculture projects like ours is increasing all the time, notably in other parts of the far south-west of England.

Members of the newly-formed Trevalon Organic Co-operative at Herodsfoot near Liskeard in east Cornwall are coming to see us during our volunteer growing session next Sunday.

They’re hoping to get a perspective on how we’ve achieved our 50-strong membership and and built up a list of more than 30 weekly veg boxes in just over a year.

St Just Allotment and Growers Association and Lands End Peninsula Community Land Trust have just secured an 18-month land lease from Cornwall Council to set up Bosavern Community Farm at St Just in west Cornwall. They want to set up a CSA to prevent this 36-acre organic farm from going into private ownership and to keep it in perpetuity for the benefit of the local community.

In Devon, Chagford Community Agriculture members have got planning permission from the Dartmoor National Park Authority for three polytunnels and two sheds. This means the project is now eligible for £38,600 of funding from the Lottery Local Food Fund.

The newly-formed Broadclyst Community Farm is based on 32 acres of National Trust land on the Killerton estate near Exeter in east Devon.

Occombe Farm, which is run by Torbay Coast & Countryside Trust, is setting up a 4-acre smallholding as a CSA scheme. It’s been awarded £475,000 from the Lottery Food Fund for its One Planet Food project.

These new CSA schemes in the south-west join the already up-and-running Harrowbarrow and Metherill Agricultural Society (known as Hamas) in east Cornwall, Lowarth Brogh (Badger’s Garden CSA) near Penzance in west Cornwall, and Exeter Community Agriculture in Devon.

And of course us - Camel CSA at St Kew Highway in north Cornwall.

Cornish asparagus in the veg boxes

Trish — Thu, 13 May 2010 21:31:18 +0000

At last! We’re getting the first of the Cornish asparagus and Cornish Early new potatoes in our veg boxes this week:

Cornish asparagus (Lower Croan, Sladesbridge)
Cornish Early new potatoes (JH Allen & Sons, Marazion)
spinach (Rest Harrow Farm, Trebetherick)
onions (Rest Harrow Farm)
* salad leaves (Jeremy Brown)
* baby carrots (Jeremy)
* parsley (Camel CSA)

As well as larger quantities of some of the above, standard boxes will also have
* baby beet (Jeremy)

* = grown to organic principles

Spring salad in this week’s veg boxes

Trish — Fri, 07 May 2010 08:34:51 +0000

All the veg boxes will have:

potatoes (Gavercombe Farm, Tintagel)
onions (Rest Harrow Farm, Trebetherick)
* salad leaves (Jeremy Brown)
spinach (Rest Harrow Farm)
cauliflower (Rest Harrow Farm)
leeks (Rest Harrow Farm)

Standard boxes will have extra potatoes and:
* bunched beetroot (Jeremy)
* parsley (Camel CSA)

* = grown to organic principles

Seasonal recipe No 42 – Sweet-and-sour marinated cabbage

Trish — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 17:45:00 +0000

Largely from Sarah Raven’s Garden Cookbook but with a few tweaks from Camel CSA member Henrietta Danvers. It’s great with cold meats, smoked fish, cheeses, almost anything. You need to make it at least the day before you need it so that the flavours of the spices really come through. It will keep in a screw-topped jar in the fridge for two to three weeks.

Serves 6-8

Preparation: 15 minutes plus at least 24 hours in fridge

Ingredients
½ white cabbage
100ml cider vinegar
100g soft brown sugar
large bunch of dill/parsley/mint/coriander
3 tbsp sunflower oil
1 garlic clove, chopped
2 tsp dill or fennel or caraway seeds
2 tsp mustard seeds
salt and black pepper

Method
Cut the cabbage into quarters and remove the hard core, then slice very thinly. Don’t use the stem.
Heat the vinegar in a small pan over a low heat and then stir in the sugar until it has dissolved. Leave to cool.

Finely chop the herbs. Mix the oil, garlic, seeds, salt and pepper. Add both herbs and oil mix to the sweet vinegar. Dress the cabbage with this marinade. Put in a jar or container and leave for at least 24 hours in the fridge.

Tasty spring greens in the veg boxes this week

Trish — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 21:06:28 +0000

As predicted, this week’s veg boxes are a little bit more restricted but it’s a tasty selection nevertheless. All boxes will get:

potatoes (Burlerrow Farm, St Mabyn)
onions (Rest Harrow Farm, Trebetherick)
leeks (Rest Harrow Farm)
spring greens (Rest Harrow Farm)
white cabbage (Rest Harrow Farm)
spinach (Rest Harrow Farm)

Standard boxes will get larger quantities of some of the above.

Seasonal recipe No 41 – A risotto of leeks and pancetta

Trish — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 21:23:52 +0000

This recipe from Nigel Slater’s Tender makes a beautifully creamy risotto. And it’s dead easy too – no celery or onion to chop, just the leeks to slice. A good farewell to one of our winter stalwarts which won’t be around much longer.

Enough for 2

Preparation: 10 minutes
Cooking: about half an hour

Ingredients
2 medium leeks
about 50g butter, plus a walnut-sized lump to finish
300g arborio rice
a glass of Noilly Prat (or white wine)
1 litre chicken or vegetable stock
6 thin rashers of pancetta (or streaky bacon)
3 tbsp grated parmesan plus more to finish

Method
Wash the leeks thoroughly, splitting them down their length and rinsing under a cold running tap, then slice them finely. Melt the butter in a wide, high-sided pan over a low heat and add the leeks. Let them soften without colouring, stirring from time to time. [A lid can help prevent burning or a piece of greaseproof paper on top - just don't let them brown.]

Stir in the rice, then pour in the Noilly Prat or wine. Let the mixture boil until the alcohol has evaporated, then tip in the first ladleful of hot stock. Continue stirring, adding stock as and when the rice has absorbed almost all of the previous ladleful, till the rice is plump, tender and yet has a little bite left in it – a process that will take about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, grill the pancetta or bacon, or cook in a non-stick frying pan, until truly crisp. Cut into pieces the size of a large postage stamp, leaving a couple of rashers whole. Fold the cut pieces into the risotto.

Stir in the walnut-sized lump of butter, adding the 3 tbsp of parmesan as you go. Divide between warm dishes and finish with a piece of pancetta/bacon and more grated parmesan.