At last, the first asparagus of the season is now ready to pick - a welcome fig leaf over the barren bareness of the annual hungry gap!
The cold & rainy weather has meant the asparagus is starting quite late this year, and this being the first week, availability is limited. So best be quick, because it will all go. We have kept the same prices as last year, so it is excellent value (2 for £5) - and it will be super fresh too.
To compliment the asparagus, we have some organic baby eggs (from young hens) that we need to find a home for, and Trealy Farm's beef pastrami makes a welcome return too.
So, sit next to the radiator, close your eyes, dunk your asparagus in a baby egg, and pretend summer is nearly here!
And another seasonal bonus - we have sorrel in for the first time - highly recommended by Hugh F-W, and fiendishly hard to get hold of!
Flooding has caused us lots of problems this year, washing away our radish and cucumber plants, decimating our French beans and delaying our celery and new potato harvest. So if availability seems sporadic, or if there are veggie substitutions in your order, it will because we get to Thursday & Friday and realise that some crops just can't be picked.
Fortunately our spring salad leaves (which are undercover in poly-tunnels) have survived and are flourishing in these conditions after a warm winter (in case you forgot!).
This week we have two new lettuces - can can, which is frilly and green and lollo bionda, which is very frilly and green. See if you can spot the difference!
On the way out, our over-wintered crops are coming to an end - spinach from Wild Fields has now been ploughed back into the ground, while our organic spinach and chards will only be around for a week or two.
And finally, a spring tide (part of the fortnighly lunar cycle, when the waters are higher than average and the fish further away) means we only have two boats out tomorrow. There is expected to be plenty of mackerel and smooth hound fillets available as well as ray wings, monkfish and crab. Keep an eye on our fresh fish section for the latest updates.
Showing posts with label over wintered spinach. Show all posts
Showing posts with label over wintered spinach. Show all posts
Thursday, 10 May 2012
Wednesday, 7 March 2012
This Week At Farm Direct....
This morning's rain caps off a great week for Farm Direct, both for our new produce and for next seasons crops.
There has been a verdant revival on our farms, with our over-wintered greens lurching back into life and wild salad leaves creeping out over our shaded woodland.
Meanwhile, our farmers have been hard at work planting for the summer ahead and today's downpour has been perfect for bedding our new crops.
This week sees the second coming of last seasons spinach, it's final spurt of growth before being ploughed back into the fields ready to make way for our squashes and cabbage.
Our watercress from Chalke Valley returns, adding a peppery, yet smooth edge to dishes, as does our slightly subtler salad rocket
We also have the first wild garlic of the year, picked from a wood on Burscome Cliff Organic Farm in Kent. It is paid for by Martin from Ripple Farm using left-over spuds to feed Burscome's livestock. Whoever said bartering was dead?
The frustratingly short white sprouting broccoli season begins this week. Delicately charming, it is less cabbage-like than it mauve-tipped agnate and deserves to be treated accordingly. I like to think of white sprouting broccoli as a spring asparagus - it responds to the same sauces (holendaise, butter, lemon) and also appreciates gentle cooking.
Our featured slow cook cut this week is Ox Tail from Sacombe Hill Farm. Cooked on the bone it is sweet and succulent, possibly the most flavoursome cut of beef - try it stewed or braised for a classic, warming one-pot meal. Oh, and don't forget to dig out the marrow, it's a privilege not to be missed.
And finally, ever place your order, only to realise that you've forgotten something? Haven't we all! Well now you can add items to your completed order. Just locate your current order in the 'accounts' section and select 'add to order'. Simple.
There has been a verdant revival on our farms, with our over-wintered greens lurching back into life and wild salad leaves creeping out over our shaded woodland.
Meanwhile, our farmers have been hard at work planting for the summer ahead and today's downpour has been perfect for bedding our new crops.
This week sees the second coming of last seasons spinach, it's final spurt of growth before being ploughed back into the fields ready to make way for our squashes and cabbage.
Our watercress from Chalke Valley returns, adding a peppery, yet smooth edge to dishes, as does our slightly subtler salad rocket
We also have the first wild garlic of the year, picked from a wood on Burscome Cliff Organic Farm in Kent. It is paid for by Martin from Ripple Farm using left-over spuds to feed Burscome's livestock. Whoever said bartering was dead?
The frustratingly short white sprouting broccoli season begins this week. Delicately charming, it is less cabbage-like than it mauve-tipped agnate and deserves to be treated accordingly. I like to think of white sprouting broccoli as a spring asparagus - it responds to the same sauces (holendaise, butter, lemon) and also appreciates gentle cooking.
Our featured slow cook cut this week is Ox Tail from Sacombe Hill Farm. Cooked on the bone it is sweet and succulent, possibly the most flavoursome cut of beef - try it stewed or braised for a classic, warming one-pot meal. Oh, and don't forget to dig out the marrow, it's a privilege not to be missed.
And finally, ever place your order, only to realise that you've forgotten something? Haven't we all! Well now you can add items to your completed order. Just locate your current order in the 'accounts' section and select 'add to order'. Simple.
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