Our bumper Xmas boxes contain a fabulous selection of seasonal vegetables to see us into the New Year.

There’s also a tasty jar of our homemade tomato and apple chutney in each double-size box + honey from Lewis Cox of St Mabyn and his grandson Chris Tamblyn in Helland. You can’t get more local than that!

A very merry Christmas and happy New Year to you all.

All boxes have: –
* tomato and apple chutney (Camel CSA)
* cavolo nero – Tuscan black kale (Camel CSA)
* squash – Crown Prince or Bon Bon
* small salad bag (Camel CSA) **
* parsley (Camel CSA)
* onions (Mark Norman, Bodmin)
Brussels sprouts stalk (Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)
savoy cabbage (Restharrow)
carrots (Restharrow)
potatoes 1.5kg ‘Wilja‘ (Restharrow)
Cornish honey (Lewis Cox, St Mabyn / Chris Tamblyn, Helland)

Standard boxes also have:-
extra 500g potatoes
* beetroot (Camel CSA)
red cabbage (Restharrow)
leeks (Restharrow)
swede (Restharrow)

* = grown to organic principles
** mibuna, mizuna, baby leaf beet, pak choi, lettuce, rocket,  red mustard and golden mustard greens

A quick and easy way to give kale a kick from ever-reliable BBC GoodFood. Use the kale in Camel CSA’s veg boxes this week along with our homegrown garlic and chilli.

Serves: 4

Preparation: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 8 minutes

Ingredients
200g curly kale
1tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
1 red chilli pepper, deseeded and sliced

Method
Heat the oil in a large wok or frying pan, then add the kale and a couple tbsp water. Season, then stir-fry for 5-8 mins, adding the garlic and chilli for the final 2 mins. When the kale is tender and a vibrant green, remove from the heat and serve.

We have a wide selection of Cornish-grown winter vegetables in our boxes this week: –
* curly kale (Camel CSA)
leeks (Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)
cauliflower (Restharrow)
carrots (Restharrow)
swede (Restharrow)
potatoes ‘Wilja‘ (Restharrow)
* onions (Mark Norman, Bodmin)

Standard boxes also have: –
extra potatoes
* purple sprouting broccoli (Camel CSA)
* cabbage (Camel CSA)
Jerusalem artichokes (Restharrow)

* = grown to organic principles

“A rich winter warmer with a kick,” says the excellent West Country FoodLover magazine, which has this variation on a classic recipe. Use the Crown Prince or Uchiki Kuri squash in Camel CSA’s boxes.

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 50 minutes

Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil or large knob of butter
1 onion, finely chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
5cm fresh root ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 tbsp honey (optional)
pinch of dried chilli flakes
1 small cinnamon stick
900g winter squash, like Crown Prince or Uchiki Kuri, peeled, deseeded and diced (keep peel and seeds)
900ml hot stock, with muslin bag of peel and seeds

Method
Heat the oil or butter in a large heavy-based pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 3–4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and add the garlic, ginger, chilli flakes and cinnamon stick and cook for a few seconds before adding the squash. Add a little more oil/butter if needed. Add the honey (optional).

Put the seeds and peel in a thin muslin cloth and securely tie at the top. Pour in a little of the stock, increase the heat and scrape up the bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the remaining stock, and the muslin bag, and boil for about a minute. Reduce the heat to a simmer; cover with the lid and cook for about 45 minutes until the squash is soft and the flavours have developed.

Remove the cinnamon stick, and whiz with a stick blender until smooth. Add hot water if the soup is too thick. Transfer to a clean pan to heat through, and season if required. Serve with wholemeal or rye bread.

this week both standard and small boxes have: –
* Crown Prince or Uchiki Kuri squash (Camel CSA)
sprout stalk (Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)
carrots (Restharrow)
potatoes ‘Wilja‘ (Restharrow)
* beetroot (Camel CSA)
* onions (Mark Norman, Bodmin)

Standard boxes also have: –
extra potatoes
* garlic (Camel CSA)
cauliflower (Restharrow)
swede (Restharrow)

* = grown to organic principles

Our new pond is a safe refuge for the frogs and toads that eat pests in the polytunnels. Camel CSA’s volunteer growing team landscaped it on a beautiful late autumn day. Many thanks to Adrian (turf lifter extraordinaire) and the rest of the squad – Bob, Bridget, Charlotte, Jane, Mark N, Mike, Simon and Max.

This is from Nigel Slater’s new Eat: The Little Book of Fast Food. 

Serves: 2 (light main course) or 4 (side dish)

Preparation: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients
potatoes, parsnip, carrots, onion, rosemary, pumpkin seeds, olive oil

Set the oven at 200C/gas mark 6. Shave 250g potatoes, a large parsnip and 2 large carrots with a vegetable peeler. Peel and finely slice an onion into rings.

Toss the potatoes, parsnips, carrots and onion in a large mixing bowl with a heaped tablespoon of rosemary leaves, 5 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of pumpkin seeds, then tip on to a baking sheet. Spread out into a shallow layer. Bake for 20 minutes, till tender and lightly crisp on the edges.

Some of the late autumn vegetables in our boxes are lovingly grown for us beside the Camel estuary by Richard Hoare at Trebetherick. Standard boxes have the first of the Jerusalem artichokes from our plot.

UPDATE: Chillies (Camel CSA) have substituted mixed salad leaves** which don’t like the dull weather.

Both standard and small boxes have: –
leeks (Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)
carrots (Restharrow)
cauliflower (Restharrow)
potatoes ‘Wilja‘ (Restharrow)
* chillies (Camel CSA)
* red Russian or curly kale (Camel CSA)
* parsley (Camel CSA)

Standard boxes also have: –
extra potatoes
* Jerusalem artichokes (Camel CSA)
* swede (Camel CSA)
* kohl rabi (Camel CSA)

* = grown to organic principles
** mibuna, mizuna, baby leaf beet, pak choi, lettuce, rocket,  red mustard and golden mustard greens

Camel CSA has a glut of tomatoes this year, so we got together for another chutney-making evening. Thanks to Chris for so generously allowing us to make a chaotic, steaming, sticky mess of his kitchen and to the rest of the team – Bridget, Charlotte, Danny, Jane, Penny, Robert and Trish.

At Camel CSA we love making preserves. Our expert grower Bridget Gould recommends this beetroot relish. She says: “It’s delicious with cheese so I’ve made some for Christmas presents.” The recipe comes from gardener-come-foodlover Alys Fowler via West Country FoodLover magazine.

Makes several jars (depending on size)

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 90 minutes (in two stages)

Ingredients
1kg beetroot
100ml balsamic vinegar
A handful each of fresh thyme and marjoram leaves
sea salt, to taste
zest and juice of one large orange
2 large red onions, finely diced
50g light brown sugar
2 tbsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
100g caster sugar
400ml red wine vinegar
sterilised jars with lids

Method
Preheat the oven to 160C. Wash and peel the beetroot and cut into quarters. Place in a roasting tin with the balsamic vinegar, marjoram and thyme leaves, add az pinch of sea sla and grate over the orange zest (set aside the juice for later).  Mix everything together with your hands, cover with foil and roast for 40 minutes or until you can pierce the beetroot with a knife. Set aside to cool completely.

The following day, coarsely grate the beetroot into a bowl, scraping in any juices from the roasting tin. Place the diced onions in a large, heavy-based pan wih the light brown sugar and olive oil. Set over a very low heat and stir gently until the onions soften completely and start to caramelise.

Add the sliced garlic, grated beetroot, caster sugar, orange juice and red wine vinegar. Gently simmer for 30 minutes until the liquid has reduced by about two thirds, stirring from time to time to stop it from sticking. You can tell when the relish is cooked when you can draw a spoon across the botom of the pan and it will initially stay clear before refilling wih syrupy juices.

Scoop the hot relish into sterilised jars, cover with waxed discs and put on the lids. Store in a cool, dark place for up to six months.

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