June 13, 2013
An amazing selection of fresh seasonal veg, including asparagus, baby carrots, broad beans, mange tout and peas in this week’s boxes… AND strawberries for the standard boxes. All from this part of Cornwall!
Everyone will have:
new potatoes (Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)
* broad beans or peas (Camel CSA)
* baby carrots (Camel CSA)
* mixed lettuce bag (Camel CSA)
* radish bunch (Camel CSA)
Cornish asparagus (Lower Croan, Sladesbridge)
Standard boxes will have extra new potatoes plus:
* mangetout or parsley (Camel CSA)
strawberries (Mitchell Fruit Garden)
spring greens (Restharrow Farm)
* = grown to organic principles
June 8, 2013
Camel CSA’s growing team are in the middle of a big rush to plant out more salad crops started in our small seeding tunnel.
Aubergines, peppers and chillis are to go next to tomatoes and cucumbers being planted in succession in the big polytunnels.
Basil, radishes, lettuce and flat-leaved parsley are already cropping well.
June 6, 2013
“Simple and scrumptious,” says asparagus grower Julia Colgrave of Wykham Park Farm (via Guardian Cook). We’re making it with Cornish asparagus from Roger and Gill Derryman at Lower Croan near Wadebridge. All Camel CSA veg box members have got a bunch in their veg boxes this week.
Serves 2
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
500g English asparagus
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Parmesan cheese shavings (optional)
Salt and black pepper
Preheat the oven to 220C/450F/gas mark 8. In a large, shallow baking tin, toss the asparagus with oil, salt and pepper. Roast the asparagus for around 10 minutes, shaking the pan every 3 minutes, until it is tender and lightly browned.
Remove the pan from the oven and drizzle the vinegar over the asparagus. Give the tin a good shake to combine them well and serve with a grating of fresh parmesan shavings.
This week everyone will have:
Cornish asparagus (Lower Croan, Sladesbridge)
* broad beans (Camel CSA)
* flat-leaved parsley (Camel CSA)
spring greens (Camel CSA/Newquay Fruit Sales)
rhubarb (Mitchell Fruit Garden/Camel CSA)
potatoes (Newquay Fruit)
Standard boxes will have extra potatoes and rhubarb plus:
* beetroot bunches (Camel CSA)
* spring onions (Camel CSA)
* peas (Camel CSA)
* = grown to organic principles
June 1, 2013
A simple and healthy side dish for spring from BBC GoodFood.
Serves 8
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking: 5 minutes
Ingredients
600g shredded spring greens, thick stalks removed
OR 400g spring greens and 250g broccoli, thicker stalks halved
For the dressing
2 garlic cloves, crushed
zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
Method
Make the dressing first. Mix together the garlic, lemon juice and zest, olive oil and some seasoning. Bring a large pan of water to the boil, then add the broccoli and/or greens, and cook for about 5 mins until tender. Drain well, then toss through the dressing and serve.
May 31, 2013
Everyone will have:
* radish bunch (Camel CSA)
* peas/broad beans (Camel CSA)
* turnip/beetroot (Camel CSA)
cauliflower (Newquay Fruit Sales)
spring greens (Newquay Fruit Sales)
rhubarb (Mitchell Fruit Garden)
Standard boxes will have extra potatoes and rhubarb plus:
* sprouted mung beans (Camel CSA)
* salad bags (Camel CSA)
* = grown to organic principles
May 23, 2013
This week everyone will have:
* beetroot (Camel CSA)
* radishes (Camel CSA)
* salad (Camel CSA)
potatoes (Newquay Fruit Sales)
cauliflower (Newquay Fruit Sales)
spring greens (Newquay Fruit Sales)
rhubarb (Mitchell Fruit Garden)
Standard boxes will have extra potatoes and rhubarb plus:
* turnip bunches (Camel CSA)
* peas/broad beans (Camel CSA)
* = grown to organic principles
May 19, 2013
We’ve also been planting out leaf beet, cauliflower and cabbage, with spring onions, salad leaves and beetroot to follow. Other outdoor sowings include parsnips, peas, carrots and three varieties of leek.
May 17, 2013
I tried this out on Camel CSA’s growing team (they’re always hungry) and they gave it the thumbs up. It’s from Jane Hornby at BBC GoodFood and caught my eye because it’s had over 100 enthusiastic reviews.
Our growers suggest it would taste even better served lukewarm as a pudding with lots of Cornish clotted cream.
Serves: 16 (or eight hungry vegetable growers)
Preparation time: 20 mins
Cooking time: 1 hour (plus rhubarb cooking and cooling)
Ingredients
1 quantity Barney’s roasted rhubarb (see recipe, below Method)
250g pack butter, softened, plus extra for greasing (I used Flora)
150g pot ready-made custard, not chilled kind (I used Ambrosia)
250g self-raising flour
½ tsp baking powder
4 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
250g golden caster sugar
icing sugar, for dusting
Method
Make the roasted rhubarb first, carefully draining off the juices before you let it cool. Butter and line a 23cm loose-bottomed or springform cake tin. Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4.
Reserve 3 tbsp of the custard in a bowl. Beat the rest of the custard together with the butter, flour, baking powder, eggs, vanilla and sugar until creamy and smooth.
Spoon one-third of the mix into the tin, add some of the rhubarb, then dot with one-third more cake mix and spread it out as well as you can. Top with some more rhubarb, then spoon over the remaining cake mix, leaving it in rough mounds and dips rather than being too neat about it.
Scatter the rest of the rhubarb over the batter, then dot the remaining custard over.
Bake for 40 mins until risen and golden, then cover with foil and bake for 15-20 mins more. It’s ready when a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean, so it may take a little longer. Cool in the tin, then dredge with icing sugar when cool.
Barney’s roasted rhubarb
Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Rinse 400g rhubarb and shake off excess water. Trim the ends, then cut into little-finger-size pieces. Put in a shallow dish or a baking tray, tip over 50g caster sugar, toss together, then shuffle rhubarb so it’s in a single layer. Cover with foil, then roast for 15 mins. Remove foil. Give everything a little shake, roast for 5 mins more or until tender and the juices are syrupy.
