It’s almost time to start picking tomatoes. They share a polytunnel with aubergines, sweet peppers and chillies. We’re already harvesting cucumbers, which are growing happily next to coriander, mixed lettuce and rocket. We picked more than 80 cucumbers for last week’s veg boxes, with hundreds more to come.

Camel CSA’s growers leave long-tailed field mice well alone, provided they stay away from our polytunnels. 

The problem is that mice love the warmth in the tunnels and like certain types of vegetable seed – especially peas – even better.

As we cleared away this year’s mangetout pea bed we disturbed no fewer than THREE mouse nests. Suddenly there were adult, teen and baby mice running everywhere!

• Enterprisingly, the mice bit back in verse last year in response to anti-mouse measures we took then.

Another quick, easy vegetarian dish for those of us who don’t feel much like cooking on a hot day. It comes from a delightful Rome-based food blog – Rachel Eats. Make it with some Cornish free-range eggs and the courgettes and basil in Camel CSA’s veg boxes this week.

Rachel says this is “a quiet and familiar lunch” which she makes a lot. If the courgettes have flowers attached, they should be washed, patted dry and torn into strips before cooking.

Serves 2
Preparation/cooking time: 10 minutes

Ingredients
200g good dried spaghetti, linguine or fettucine
2 tbsp olive oil
(optional – 60g pancetta or guanciale, diced)
a small red onion peeled and cut in thin half moons
2 medium courgettes, julienned (cut into matchsticks)
2 large fresh eggs
20g freshly grated parmesan
20g freshly grated pecorino
freshly ground black pepper
a handful of fresh basil leaves
good extra virgin olive oil and more grated parmesan for on top

Method
“While your pasta is cooking you fry your onion until golden brown (if you are using guanciale you fry that first and then add the onion and fry for a couple more minutes.) Then you add the fine strips of courgette (and courgette flowers), stir and allow them to wilt. While the wilting is happening you beat 2 whole eggs with some finely grated parmasan and pecorino and plenty of freshly ground black pepper in a small bowl.

“Now, drain the pasta but save a little of the cooking water, then tip the hot pasta and a small ladleful of the reserved water into the pan with the onion and courgette – toss everything together. Next add the egg mixure to the pan along with the ripped basil leaves, remove the pan from the heat and stir everything together firmly but gently so the sauce thickens.”

This week’s veg boxes have a stunning variety of summer vegetables: –
* garlic (Camel CSA)
* new potatoes (Mark Norman, Bodmin)
* blackcurrants/gooseberries (Camel CSA/Mark Norman)
* cucumber (Camel CSA)
* flat-leaved parsley (Camel CSA)
* courgettes (Mark Norman)
* Swiss chard (Mark Norman) 

Standard boxes also have extra new potatoes plus:
* salad (Camel CSA)
* calabrese (Camel CSA)
* peas/broad beans (Camel CSA)

* = grown to organic principles

Another easy 10-minute meal – vital in the present heatwave – this time from Allegra McEvedy (via Guardian Cook). Try it with with the peas, broad beans and basil in Camel CSA’s veg boxes this week.

She says: This has long been my top fall-back supper: warming, nutritious, quick and indisputably yum-a-licious. Without meaning to sound like a smartypants… a decent [homemade] stock is both the vital background and making of this dish – cube or concentrate just won’t do on this occasion.”

Serves 2
Preparation / cooking time: 10 minutes

Ingredients
500ml chicken stock
150g ready-made tortellini
A few slices of red chilli (optional)
2 handfuls of seasonal veg such as mange tout or sugar snaps, roughly sliced; courgette, diced; peas or broad beans; french beans cut into batons; or broccoli cut into tiny florettes
A large handful of summer herbs, such as basil, mint and parsley
Lemon juice, to taste

To finish
Parmesan, grated
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and black pepper

Method
Warm up the stock and, once steaming, drop in the tortellini and pop a lid on the pan. After 3-4 minutes, and when just cooked, add the veg of your choice. When the stock has come back to a simmer, turn the heat off and stir in most of the herbs, some seasoning and a little lemon juice to taste.

Ladle into warm, wide bowls and finish with a flourish of grated parmesan, a drizzle of olive oil and the last of the herbs.

What a treat! Mark Norman, one of Camel CSA’s professional growers, is supplying each of this week’s boxes with a punnet of gooseberries grown on his smallholding just outside Bodmin.

Many apologies to those who got a dodgy cauliflower in their veg box last week. Unfortunately our quality control system went awry. We all have an extra item in the boxes this week to make up for it.

UPDATE: We’ve all got a big bunch of basil, and both box sizes now have courgettes. Only standard boxes have calabrese, as there’s not quite enough yet for all of us.

This week everyone has: –
* gooseberries (Mark Norman, Bodmin)
* new potatoes (Mark Norman)
* peas (Camel CSA)
* broad beans (Camel CSA/Mark Norman)
* basil (Camel CSA)
* cucumber (Camel CSA/Mark Norman)
* mixed lettuce bag (Camel CSA)
* courgettes (Mark Norman)

Standard boxes have extra new potatoes plus:
* baby carrots (Camel CSA)
* beetroot (Camel CSA/Mark Norman)
* calabrese (Camel CSA) – just a small head, more next week

* = grown to organic principles

• Make this delectable gooseberry crumble cake
  

In the end it took a dozen of us to finish picking all the peas and pack them into last Friday’s veg boxes. Grateful thanks to professional growers Bridget and Mark N and to Camel CSA’s volunteer picking and packing team members Anne, Bob, Charlotte, Danny, Mike, Penny, Robert, Simon, Toby and Trish.

This is a 10-minute meal from Hugh-Fearnley-Whittingstall via Guardian Cook that uses the beans or peas from Camel CSA’s veg boxes this week. Hugh says: “Broad beans are among my favourite vegetables and this dish makes the most of them. Fresh baby peas are a great, similarly fast-cooking alternative, and you could use bacon in place of the chorizo.”

Serves 2
Preparation / cooking time: less than 10 minutes

Ingredients
250g baby broad beans
1 tbsp olive oil
100g cooking chorizo, sliced or diced
Sourdough, toasted

Method
Bring a pan of salted water to the boil, throw in the broad beans or peas and cook for just 2 minutes, then drain them well. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a small frying pan over a medium heat, add the chorizo and fry for a minute or so until lightly crisp. Throw the drained beans or peas into the pan with the chorizo and toss for a minute, so the beans are heated through and coated with the delicious, spicy red oil. Serve at once, with bread, or piled on to toasted garlic-rubbed sourdough as a bruschetta.

• Simple ways with broad beans

Picture: Shayne and Lucia House

They take a long time for our volunteers to pick, but – oh boy! – the newly-harvested peas are really worth it.

This week everyone has: –
* peas in pods / mangetout (Camel CSA)
* new potatoes (Mark Norman, Bodmin)
* broad beans (Camel CSA / Mark Norman)
* cauliflower (Camel CSA)
* mixed lettuce bag (Camel CSA)
* flat-leaved parsley (Camel CSA)

Standard boxes have extra new potatoes plus:
* carrots (Camel CSA)
* beetroot (Camel CSA)
* spinach / Swiss chard (Mark Norman)

* = grown to organic principles

It’s time to celebrate as we hit a new milestone – a total of 50 vegetable boxes going out to Camel CSA members every week! That’s some achievement for a small community vegetable growing enterprise in north Cornwall. So, why don’t you join us?

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