This Week At Farm Direct....

While we've all been basking in the North London sunshine this week, the lack of rain on our farms have been causing a few headaches.

The new crops are now ready to bed, but with recently ploughed fields rapidly drying out, the race is on to plant our veg as quickly as possible.

Last week's brief wet spell did, however, give a huge boost to our salad leaves (we now have land cress back as well as purslane) as well as our organic spinach and chard (both will be available next week).

Our white sprouting broccoli has been causing a bit of a storm on our twitter page, it really is like a 'spring asparagus' and apparently quite hard to come by. It's only likely to be with us for a few weeks so try it while you can.

After several customer requests, we are able to bring you gluten free sausages for the first time this week. Andrew Bates from Gill Wing Farm will be making a 100% pork, rusk free sausage, from his organic rare breed pigs and at only £8.80/kg. Choose from pork and herb, spicy pork or 100% pork.

This Saturday is St Patrick's day, and as a nod of acknowledgement we have Irish themed sausages in the form of 'The Dubliner' (steak, pork and cabbage) and steak & Guinness. Also, try Shokoh's home-made colcannon, using our wild fields veg.

Our featured slow cook cut this week is lamb neck chops from Beatbush Organic Farm. Perfect for a St. Patrick's day Irish stew or even oven baked, this cut is great value and the bones impart delicious juices into your dish. Pair it with some traditional Irish Soda Bread for a hearty, warming meal.

And finally, this Sunday is Mothering Sunday - a tradition stemming from the annual practice of visiting one's mother church on the fourth Sunday of Lent. This is the time when young apprentices and women in service were released by their masters and allowed to see their mothers for one day a year. Show your appreciation by giving a bunch of daffodils or tulips to your mum this Sunday.

This Week At Farm Direct....

While the last of the snow melts away, a few days of sunshine serves as a timely reminder that spring is just around the corner. Now it's a potential drought that concerns us and with water shortages expected this summer, we are having to re-think our growing strategy for the year.

It's amazing how quickly the change in weather affects what we have available. The first of the baby plum tomatoes are now ripe and ready to pick, these were the sweetest of last years crop and we can expect the same this time around. We have baby parsnips (smaller and sweeter than last seasons giants), as well as organic cylindria beetroot (it looks a bit like a beetroot sausage!) and purslane (a salty salad leaf that's also at home in a stir fry).

To keep you busy in the kitchen, we have wild meats from the Suffolk countryside (see below for more details), or for a night off cooking try Shokoh's new range of prepared meals.

If the last few days of sunshine have still not shifted those winter blues, the first daffodils of the season will brighten up your mood and your living room (1 bunch 99p, 5 bunches for £3.99).

New to our seasonal sausage range, we have Duck, Orange and Apricot, Lamb and Rosemary, Pork Honey and Mustard and Spanish Sausages (made with Paprika and Red Pepper). Give them a try and let us know what you think.

And finally, a resounding success from last week, our hand-roasted Suffolk coffee has received some great feedback. This week our Kenyan range is complimented by a new single estate Brazilian bean - sweet from start to finish, with floral, caramel and honey notes. Enjoy!