June 14, 2012
Camel CSA’s veg boxes contain a typical mix of freshly-picked, seasonal vegetables this week. Some were cultivated on our own plot at St Kew Highway and some were supplied by other Cornish growers.
All the veg boxes will have: –
potatoes (Growfair)
* broad beans (Camel CSA)
* baby carrots (Camel CSA)
* spring onions (Camel CSA)
* mixed salad bag (Camel CSA)
* Swiss chard (Camel CSA)
Standard boxes will also have: –
extra potatoes
strawberries (Growfair)
* coriander (Camel CSA)
* mange tout peas (Camel CSA)
tomato marmalade (made by Camel CSA member Henrietta Danvers)
* = grown to organic principles
June 10, 2012
Love local food? Like to eat fresh, seasonal local vegetables? Come and visit our Big Lottery-funded project on Open Farm Sunday – this Sunday 17 June from 1.30-4.30pm.
Come and see: –
• What vegetables we’re growing
• What’s in our weekly vegetable boxes
• How we support other local growers
• How we promote local, seasonal food
There’ll be family fun and games, guided tours, vegetable box raffle, home-made cakes, cold drinks.
Find us on the A39 at St Kew Highway beside the St Endellion / St Mabyn crossroads, behind St Kew Harvest Farm Shop. Look out for the signs.
June 8, 2012
A really quick and easy one for families on half-term holiday. It works brilliantly with the mangetout peas or broad beans in Camel CSA’s veg boxes this week.
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall says: “This is a fantastic recipe for super-fresh homegrown baby peas or beans. Risoni pasta, also known as orzo, is a lovely, rice-shaped type that I find particularly satisfying, especially when the ingredients it’s served with are also small.”
Serves two
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
150g risoni (or other small pasta)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
150g baby peas and/or broad beans
1 tbsp rapeseed, sunflower or olive oil
3 rashers unsmoked streaky bacon (or pancetta), cut into small dice
1 clove garlic, peeled and cut into slivers
Method
Bring a pan of water to a boil for the pasta, add a good dose of salt and then the pasta. Cook as suggested on the pack, and throw in the peas and/or beans for the last two minutes of the cooking time. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the bacon and cook for five minutes, stirring often, until crisp. Add the garlic for the last minute or so. Take the pan off the heat. Drain the pasta and peas, tip into the bacon pan and toss. Season to taste, and serve.
June 6, 2012
Our veg boxes are overflowing with new season’s produce. All the vegetables – bar the potatoes – are from Camel CSA’s own plot. Our growers have been working very hard to beat the “hungry gap“.
All the boxes will have: –
new potatoes (Growfair)
* broad beans (Camel CSA)
* mangetout peas (Camel CSA)
* salad leaves (Camel CSA)
* spring greens (Camel CSA)
* spring onions (Camel CSA)
Standard boxes will also have: –
extra potatoes
* kohl rabi (Camel CSA)
* baby carrots (Camel CSA)
* parsley (Camel CSA)
* = grown to organic principles
Apologies for the absence of a veg list last week. Our attention was elsewhere – garden open (Trish); walking holiday (me).
June 1, 2012
I can vouch for this easy and delicious potato recipe. Harissa is the hot spicy paste wisely used in North African cooking.
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall says: “Crisp, red and spicy, these potatoes are fantastic on their own, eaten greedily from the tin with your fingers… In all cases, serve with lots of green salad.”
Serves four
Preparation / cooking time: 1 hour
Ingredients
750g new potatoes
3 tbsp rapeseed or olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tbsp harissa
2 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, coarsely chopped
Method
Heat the oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5. Cut the potatoes into even-sized chunks and put in a roasting tin – you need one big enough for there to be a little bit of space between them. Add the oil, season, and toss the potatoes so they are well coated. Roast for 30-40 minutes, or until the potatoes are starting to turn golden brown and crisp.
Remove from the oven, give them a good stir, then mix in the harissa, making sure it coats all the potatoes. Return to the oven for 10 minutes, until the harissa just starts to caramelise. Serve hot, scattered with chopped parsley.
Hugh adds: “To turn them into even more of a meal, serve them with crumbled ricotta, puy lentils or a poached egg, or add a tin of drained chickpeas to the potatoes along with the harissa for the last 10 minutes of roasting.”
May 29, 2012
Camel CSA member and garden author Trish Gibson is opening her beautiful north Cornwall garden again this Sunday 3 June from 2-5.30pm under the National Gardens Scheme.
The Mill House at Pendoggett near St Kew is a 1½ -acre country garden on the site of an old mill with ponds, stream and bridges and extensive views across farmland. Entry is £3 (children free) and there will be cream teas and plant sales.
May 26, 2012
Beetroot is everywhere at the moment – even in cakes and sumptuous desserts. Gone are the days when it only appeared soused in malt vinegar.
Nigel Slater says: “Ten years ago, beetroot was almost a goner. Available then only in pickles or occasionally in vacuum packs of four cooked and preserved globes, it is firmly in the spotlight now. It is almost impossible to find a menu that doesn’t acknowledge its newfound popularity.”
Serves 4
Preparation/ cooking time: 1 hour
Ingredients
250g large green or brown lentils
60g piece fresh ginger or galangal
4 cloves garlic
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp ground coriander
3 heaped tsp garam masala
2 small red chillies
1 tsp ground turmeric
2 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 medium onion
400g can chopped tomatoes
For the raita:
yogurt 200ml, natural and unstrained
beetroot coarsely grated, 4 heaped tbsp
coriander to taste
Method
Bring the lentils to the boil in a pan of deep, unsalted water, then let them simmer for 20-25 minutes, until they are quite soft.
Peel the ginger or galangal, roughly chop it then put it into the bowl of a food processor with the peeled garlic, cumin seeds, ground coriander, garam masala, red chillies, ground turmeric and enough vegetable oil to make a soft, but not runny, paste.
Peel and finely slice the onion. Warm a tbsp or two of oil in a medium, heavy-based casserole over a moderate heat. Add the onion and let it colour, stirring from time to time. When it is fragrant, golden and almost soft add the spicy paste and stir for a couple of minutes longer. Then pour in the chopped tomatoes and a can of water, add salt, and the drained, cooked lentils and leave to simmer for half an hour or so. The lentils should be soft but still retaining a little of their texture; the sauce thick.
To make the raita, put the yogurt into a small bowl, add the grated beetroot and a few leaves of coriander if you wish, then very gently fold the beetroot through the yogurt with a fork. Try not to over mix, unless you actually like vivid pink.
May 24, 2012
All the boxes will have: –
new potatoes (Growfair)
cauliflower (Growfair)
Cornish asparagus (Lower Croan, Sladesbridge)
* beetroot (Camel CSA)
* turnips (Camel CSA)
* mixed salad leaves (Camel CSA)
Standard boxes will have: –
extra potatoes
strawberries (Growfair)
swede (Growfair)
* mangetout peas (Camel CSA)
* = grown to organic principles
May 19, 2012
Just about all cooks, especially American ones, have their favourite recipe for potato salad. This is Felicity Cloake’s attempt at the perfect one.
If you’d like to see how she got there, along with lots of other examples, have a look at How to make perfect potato salad in her Guardian series How to cook the perfect…
Perfect with the Cornish new potatoes in our veg boxes this week. (But please – no salad cream..!)
Serves 4
Preparation / cooking time: 20 minutes (+ time to cool)
600g waxy potatoes
½ tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
115g good mayonnaise
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
3 spring onions, thinly sliced
2 tbsp capers, chopped
2 anchovies, finely chopped
Small bunch of chives, finely chopped
Handful of parsley, finely chopped
Handful of mint, finely chopped
Boil the potatoes in well salted water for about 15 minutes until tender. Meanwhile, whisk together the mustard and vinegar with a pinch of salt, then whisk in the oils. Cut the cooked potatoes into halves, or quarters if large and toss with the dressing, then leave to cool.
Stir the remaining ingredients into the mayonnaise, keeping back a pinch of each of the herbs for garnish, then, when the potatoes are cool, drain off any remaining vinaigrette and toss them into the mayonnaise.
Garnish with herbs and serve.
May 17, 2012
As the “hungry gap” continues, we’re getting inventive. Each standard box has a punnet of strawberries and a jar of the pickle Camel CSA members made from surplus veg last autumn.
Apart from that, we’re relying on new season salad leaves, beetroot and turnip grown in our polytunnels. Also more freshly-picked Cornish asparagus, and bean sprouts from our expert grower Mark Norman.
All the boxes will have: –
new potatoes (Growfair)
Cornish asparagus (Lower Croan, Sladesbridge)
* beetroot bunch (Camel CSA)
* turnip bunches (Camel CSA)
* salad bag (Camel CSA)
* sprouted mung beans (Mark Norman)
Standard boxes will have: –
extra new potatoes (Growfair)
strawberries (Growfair)
* Swiss chard (Camel CSA)
* homemade Camel CSA pickle – sweet apple and ginger, runner bean or sweet cucumber
