January 23, 2014
In spite of the lack of warm sunlight, our indoor winter salad crops are going strong in the polytunnels. All vegetable box members are getting a bag of freshly-picked mibuna, mizuna, baby leaf beet, pak choi, lettuce, rocket, red mustard and golden mustard greens, thanks to our picking and packing team.
All boxes have: –
* mixed salad bag (Camel CSA) **
* sprouting broccoli (Camel CSA)
leeks (Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)
onions (Restharrow)
carrots (Restharrow)
beetroot (Restharrow)
potatoes (Restharrow)
Standard boxes also have:-
extra 500g potatoes
* black Tuscan kale – cavalo nero (Camel CSA)
Brussels sprouts stalk (Restharrow)
swede (Restharrow)
* = grown to organic principles
** mibuna, mizuna, baby leaf beet, pak choi, lettuce, rocket, red mustard and golden mustard greens
January 20, 2014
The ground outside may be saturated, but Camel CSA’s growers have plenty to do in the polytunnels.
January 18, 2014
This is the one vegetarian recipe that our student son requests when he’s home! It’s adapted from a favourite Sainsbury’s cook book by Rosamond Richardson.
Serves 4
Preparation time: 15-20 minutes
Cooking time: 35 minutes
Ingredients
450g leeks, washed and cut into slices
100g rice, washed and cooked
1 tbsp chopped parsley
100g Cheddar cheese, grated
2 eggs, beaten
knob of butter
1/2 tsp chilli powder (optional)
2-3 tbsp parmesan, grated
salt and pepper
Method
Preheat the oven to 200 C/gas mark 6. Sweat the leeks in the butter until tender. Mix with the rice, cheddar, chilli powder, parsley and seasoning to taste, followed by the eggs and mix well. Put into a buttered heatproof dish, sprinkle with the parmesan and bake in the oven for 35 minutes or until golden brown.
I usually serve it with jacket potatoes, carrots and peas.
January 17, 2014
Vegetable farmer Richard Hoare at Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick is Camel CSA’s main external supplier at this time of year while we get ready for the new growing season. He cultivates an amazing variety of winter and spring vegetables that thrive in the mild climate alongside the Camel estuary in north Cornwall.
This week all boxes have: –
* carrots (Camel CSA)
leeks (Restharrow )
swede (Restharrow)
potatoes (Restharrow)
Brussels sprouts stalk (Restharrow)
* parsnips (Mark Norman, Bodmin)
Standard boxes also have:-
extra 500g potatoes
beetroot (Restharrow)
curly kale (Restharrow)
white cabbage (Restharrow)
* = grown to organic principles
January 10, 2014
“A recipe that is enough to convert even the most ardent sprouts-averse folk,” according to The Guardian. What a perfect use for the freshly-picked Brussels sprout stalk in Camel CSA’s vegetable boxes this week.
It’s from The Perfectly Tossed Salad by Mindy Fox. Italian Pecorino is a sharper alternative to Parmesan.
Serves 4-6
Preparation time: 10 minutes
No cooking!
Ingredients
450g brussels sprouts
5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
½ tsp salt
3½ tbsp fresh lemon juice
½-1 tsp whole black peppercorns, crushed
115g pecorino cheese, grated or shaved
Method
Rinse the sprouts, then pat dry with kitchen roll. Remove any discoloured outer leaves, then cut the sprouts in half, lengthways. Very thinly slice them the sprouts crossways, transferring to a large, shallow serving bowl as you go.
Drizzle the oil over the sprouts, sprinkle with salt and toss well. Add the lemon juice and pepper and toss again. Lay the cheese on the top of the salad and serve immediately.
January 9, 2014
A great selection of winter staples this week. Standard boxes have the added luxury of some winter salad leaves from our polytunnels. It’s hard to believe there’s been enough light to encourage them to grow.
All boxes have: –
* Red Russian kale (Camel CSA)
red cabbage (Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)
leeks (Restharrow)
Brussels sprouts stalk (Restharrow)
* Jerusalem artichokes (Mark Norman, Bodmin)
* onions (Mark Norman)
potatoes ‘Wilja‘ (Restharrow)
Standard boxes also have:-
extra 500g potatoes
* mixed salad bag (Camel CSA) **
* cauliflower (Camel CSA)
beetroot (Restharrow)
* = grown to organic principles
** mibuna, mizuna, baby leaf beet, pak choi, lettuce, rocket, red mustard and golden mustard greens
January 4, 2014
If you’ve never tasted Brussels sprout tops, now’s the time to start. They’re quite a gourmet veg and there’s plenty more where Camel CSA’s come from!
TV chef Silvana Franco sautées them in this quick and easy frittata on The Good Food Channel. I cheated and used the last of the Christmas stilton in place of Italian gorgonzola.
Serves: 2
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Ingredients
1 knob butter
1 red onion, finely sliced
1 head sprout tops, or spring greens, finely shredded
2-4 cloves garlic, chopped, to taste
6 eggs
1 thick slice rustic whitebread, crust removed
2 tbsp finely chopped sage
1 tbsp olive oil
150g gorgonzola cheese
Method
Heat the butter in a 23cm non-stick frying pan. Cook the onion, greens and garlic for 5 minutes until wilted and golden.
Meanwhile, beat the eggs. Tear small pieces of bread into the eggs. Add the sage and some salt and pepper and set aside for a few minutes. Stir the wilted green into the eggs and mix well.
Return the pan to the heat and add the oil. Pour in half of the egg mixture and crumble over the cheese. Pour in the rest of the egg mixture. Cook gently for 8 minutes until the frittata is almost set.
Carefully slip out onto a plate then invert back into the pan and cook for a couple of minutes more until cooked right through and golden on each side. Allow to stand for a minute then cut into wedges and serve.
January 3, 2014
Congratulations to Camel CSA’s pickers and packers who made sure the veg boxes were ready on time this morning despite the water-logged conditions on our site.
Many thanks to expert growers Bridget and Mark N and to the volunteer team – Anne, Charlotte, Janet, Mike, Penny, Robert, Simon, Toby and Trish.
January 2, 2014
UPDATE: The artichokes are completely waterlogged, so we have replaced them with turnip ‘Golden Ball’.
Our veg growing site is waterlogged and the seeding tunnel is flooded, but the show goes on…
All boxes have: –
* cauliflower (Camel CSA)
* leeks (Camel CSA)
* Jerusalem artichokes (Camel CSA)
* garlic (Camel CSA)
carrots (Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)
Brussels sprouts stalk (Restharrow)
potatoes ‘Wilja‘ (Restharrow)
Standard boxes also have:-
extra 500g potatoes
* calabrese or purple sprouting broccoli (Camel CSA)
savoy cabbage (Restharrow)
swede (Restharrow)
* = grown to organic principles
December 20, 2013
This dead-simple combination of winter vegetables works well with turkey or ham. There’s time to cook it while the turkey rests. The recipe is part of the Season’s Eatings (groan!) mini-series from John Lewis.
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
1 mini squash
4 carrots
4 parsnips
2 garlic cloves, unpeeled
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp honey
3cm ginger root, grated
large pinch of allspice
Method
Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. Scrub the carrots and parsnips (don’t peel) and cut lengthways into evenly sized chunks. Peel the squash and cut into thick slices, removing the seeds. Place the vegetables in a roasting tray with the garlic cloves. Drizzle with the olive oil and stir well so the vegetables are coated. There should be enough space for them to sit in a single layer or they will steam instead of roasting.
Roast the vegetables in the oven for about 30 minutes until tender. Meanwhile combine the honey, ginger and allspice. Ten minutes before the end of cooking remove the veg from the oven and pour over the glaze. Return to the oven until sticky and caramelised.
