reaping what we sow
August is full to brimming with special dates as well as fresh food. Read on to find out about the traditional harvest celebration day, a beautiful children’s summer craft activity and fifty four (!) in-season fruits and vegetables that we can help you enjoy to the full in the coming month
it's all going pear shaped
If we’re lucky, we’ll start to see pears in our seasonal fruit bags / boxes (or ready for picking in our back gardens!) from the end of August all the way through to the beginning of February.
Pears come from the same family as apples but when ripe usually have much softer flesh than ripe apples. Unlike other fruits, pears ripened on the tree are less delicious and smooth than pears that are harvested and finish their ripening off the branch. If they are left to ripen on the branch, pears develop a particularly gritty, woody texture.
One of the most interesting things about pears is, I think, that they cause the fewest allergic reactions in people of all the fruits. Which has lead many people (although not vegetarians, I’m afraid) to live on a “lamb and pears” diet for a short while whilst they reintroduce foods they suspect they may be allergic to, as lamb is also very rarely associated with allergic reactions.
Read on to find out more about buying, storing, preparing and cooking pears, and (more importantly!) to drool over our latest addition to the VBR recipes database – “Particularly Piggy Pear Pie”!
TWELVE ways to cook kale
An earlier article on kale has proved to be by far and away our most popular piece of veggie information over the years, confirming that it’s still one of the vegbox ingredients that few folk feel confident to cook. Since our first feature on kale, we’ve had so many suggestions from our wonderful readers that we wanted to bring them all into one article for everyone else to benefit from. Thanks to everyone who has submitted kale ideas over the years.
winner: sebastien durieu!
Thanks to all the wonderful folks that submitted their recipes for the “Grown in Britain” Prize Draw.
The recipe lucky enough to be pulled from the bag was submitted by Sebastien Durieu from Glasgow. Thanks so much, Sebastien – we really hope you enjoy the book!
If you weren’t lucky this time round, don’t despair, you can still buy a discounted (20% off) copy of this book at www.dk.com. Simply enter the code VIPbonus at the checkout to receive your 20% discount. Offer ends 31st December 2009, while stocks last.
Click through for the recipe for Sebastien Durieu’s Courgette Cake, and for a chocolate variation too!
sweet sweet summer...
July – the very depths of British Summer. At it’s best, it can be truly sweltering. The kids finish school and it’s the season for the Great British Barbecue.
Our cousins across the pond celebrate Independence Day on July 4th, and a little closer to home, we can look forward to the annual “Swan Upping” conservation event on the Thames (starting Monday July 20th)!
What will you be doing in July, (imagine I’m your hairdresser) are you planning to keep your holidays local, what is your favourite veggie barbeque food, and what will be in season to keep us fed?
yours in 15 minutes!
Last night’s dilemma:
We have 30 minutes before we have to leave the house.
We’re starving.
Cue “Flight of the Bumble-Bee” and chopping for my life…
It was stir fry time!
wimbledon juice
Well the men’s qualifiers have started, and the first day of Wimbledon (22nd June) is approaching fast.
If you’re planning on tuning in, and if the idea of coughing up for champagne is less than appealing, how about trying a British seasonal fruit juice perfect for mid-Summer?
We’ve called it Wimbledon Juice in honour of the sporting season.
Late summer and early autumn are the classic “runner bean season”, although harvesting can start as early as June in some areas.
what to do with runner beans?
The season starts with fresh, young beans, with delicious, soft pods that simply need to be topped and tailed and briefly steamed. The season ends, however, with rather tough, stringy pods and oversized beans.
Chances are you’ll love your runner beans early in the season but might not be quite so keen by the end. Which is why we’ve recruited the talents of regular VBR reader, Steve in KL, to provide us with a solution for end-of-season bean fatigue 
Read on.
andrew williams' spicy vegetable lasagna
This month we’ve been joined by fellow food blogger and newbie food grower and chili pepper enthusiast, Andrew Williams.
Andrew talks to us about why he grows veg at all, why he’s passionate about growing chilis, shares advice on getting started yourself and passes on an amazingly creative recipe for spicy lasagna that is more Mexican than Italian, including the use of enchiladas instead of lasagne pasta! Read on!
he stuck in his thumb ...
Plums come into season in late July or early August in the UK, and stick around being bloomin’ delicious until the end of September to mid October. Here’s a simple guide to buying, storing, preparing and cooking them, including a new recipe for Plums Poached with Earl Grey, courtesy of our friends Abel & Cole. Enjoy!
DIY Tsatsiki...
Pretty much every weekday morning right now I’m mindlessly chunking up cucumber and throwing it into the box with salad leaves, peppers, spring onions, cashews, and mushrooms for VegBox Husband’s lunch. Add a bit of black pepper, a splash of balsamic or even a tin of tuna and some mayo and I can be pretty sure I’ve saved him from the pot noodle for another day!
But is there more to cucumber than salad? Is there more to cucumber even than tsatsiki? Cucumber side effects? And is it possible that it can be cooked?!
Hrm … Read on!
a "new" veggie?
We were recently contacted by the marketers of Tenderstem® broccoli. And I have to confess that I had never heard of it!
It turns out that Tenderstem® broccoli has its origins in Japan where it was developed using classical plant breeding techniques. The idea was to breed a more flavoursome Brassica by crossing Broccoli and Chinese Kale.
I’m told that British crops of this veggie are mostly grown in Kent and Jersey, and its season runs from June through to December.
Read on to find out how to buy, store and prepare this “new” veggie on the chopping block, and to access the brand new recipe for Barbecued Tenderstem with Melting Goats Cheese and Sun-Dried Tomato Dressing, created by TV chef and food writer Jo Pratt and provided for us to use by the UK marketers of Tenderstem broccoli.
sweet sweet summer...
July – the very depths of British Summer. At it’s best, it can be truly sweltering. The kids finish school and it’s the season for the Great British Barbecue.
Our cousins across the pond celebrate Independence Day on July 4th, and a little closer to home, we can look forward to the annual “Swan Upping” conservation event on the Thames (starting Monday July 20th)!
What will you be doing in July, (imagine I’m your hairdresser) are you planning to keep your holidays local, and what will be in season to keep us fed?
looking forward to raspberries...
Oh my, but June is an amazing month when it comes to cooking and eating. In fact, we don’t think there is another month when there is more new stuff to look forward to, so here’s hoping you’re hungry!
You can find the full “In Season in June” list here, and don’t miss the “Spotlight” features we’ve published on Apricots, Broad Beans, Cherries, Courgettes, Raspberries, Rocket and Samphire!
The final veggie we’re featuring ready for June is Samphire – specifically Marsh Samphire.
Marsh Samphire
And the main reason we wanted to feature it is because we didn’t know anything about it!
To our rescue … The utterly encyclopaedic Lee Hamilton of Hertfordshire BuyLocal.net. Read on, over on our sister site www.ooffoo.com for more information on this mysterious veggie, a simple recipe, and for more about BuyLocal.net to boot!
Photograph of Salicornia europaea, near Southhampton, UK, by Marco Schmidt.
the new veggie patch
Last time I wrote, I said I was going to:
- finish digging the rubble out of the newly exposed ground in my back yard;
- plant the broad beans and tomato into the bed;
- sow the sweetcorn; pak choi; purple sprouting broccoli; black (Cavalo) nero cabbage; endive, and kohl rabi;
- eat some of my own lettuce!
So how’s it all coming along? And how’s yours? Read the full article and let us know how you’re getting on, over on our sister site, www.ooffoo.com.
some like it hot ...
Traditionally, after washing, there is little left to do other than savour this healthy, tasty leaf. It is said that if you want to enjoy rocket in its most natural Italian way, simply wash and dress with a good quality olive oil and freshly squeezed lemon.
But of late, a certain contingent of trendy people have been using rocket in HOT FOOD!!! Are you among them? Will you be joining them? To help you along, here are some rocket facts and a recipe for Rocket and Gruyere Omelette.
are you relishing raspberries?
This week, and to make sure we keep VegBox newsletter reader “Diana J” happy, the fruity spotlight is on raspberries, in readiness for their big entrance in June.
Click through to find out:
Are you looking forward to raspberry season?
you could nab a free copy!
Courgettes are in their main season in the UK in June, July, August and September, and we’re celebrating their arrival on the Summer scene with:
Find out more over on our sister site, www.ooffoo.com.
Stay tuned for the next Fruit Feature … Raspberries!
what's your favourite veggie soup?
18th – 24th May is National Vegetarian Week 2009, and in celebration, we bring you our take on a “Top 10 Vegetarian Soups” hit parade!
What would be in your Top 10?
be nice to nettles!
VegBox Recipes reader, Carol G, contacted me yesterday, after the May newsletter went out, to let me know that May also brings with it “Be Nice to Nettles Week” (13th – 24th May).
It would have been a crime to miss an event like this, when nettles can be found and foraged in abundance without costing us a penny. So here are some nettle factoids and, more importantly, Carol G’s recipe for Nettle Pesto.
Will you be giving it a go?
click for matt's cherry recipe
Cherries are a short-lived summer treat, just like strawberries (and they’re delicious together, by the way!). They can be either sweet or sour, depending on the variety so check before you cook with them as you’ll need sugar for the sour ones (which make better jam).
Click through to ooffoo to find out what makes cherries so nutritionally valuable, and to access a sophisticated new cherry recipe that’s been provided for us from the gorgeous seasonal cook book “Matt Tebbutt Cooks Country“, courtesy of Mitchell Beazley and Octopus Publishing. Thanks, folks!
what's your favourite?
This week (10th – 16th May) is British Sandwich Week, and not that long ago, we asked you to let us know what your fave sandwiches are. We had so many delicious responses, we just had to compile them for you.
So here are the highlights for you to savour … And oh look, it’s lunch time!
in season in may
Here’s a refresher for you:
On their way in:
Apricot, Aubergine, Courgette, Fennel, Globe Artichoke, Gooseberry, Raspberry, Strawberry, Tomato and Watermelon.
Going strong:
Asparagus, Lambs Lettuce, Lettuce, New potatoes, Peas, Pepper (capsicum), Radish, Sorrel, Spring greens, and Watercress.
Goodbye for a while:
Cauliflower, Leek, and Purple sprouting broccoli.
And here are the fruits and veggies that we’ve featured especially for this month:
Enjoy, and do let us know what’s arriving in your box and what you’re doing with it!
The VegBox Team
all about apricots
When they’re in season, how to store them and a brand new summer sorbet recipe…
Plus why not to chew on the kernels, what on earth they’ve got to do with Henry VIII, and the (possibly!) secret to a long life!
Read on for an All-About-Apricots kind of an article!
brand new recipe just for you!
Broad beans are also known as fava beans (eek, memories of Hannibal Lecter!).
In the UK, we usually use them fresh, but they can also be dried and then used as pulses. They are one of the most common garden vegetables in the UK. You can eat them whole, podded or skinned, depending on their age and size, and they are SO easy to grow, yielding beautiful purplish and white flowers into the bargain!
However, often there are gluts of them, and “our survey said” that lots of folks feel a bit stumped by how to use them.
Read on for a little un-stump-ing, and for the brand new broad bean recipe we’ve been given by our lovely friends over at Octopus Books, who recently published “The Seasoned Vegetarian” by Simon Rimmer.
honey sauce stir-fry
Did you know that May 4th – May 10th is the UK’s National Honey Week? Used in beauty treatments, as an antiseptic, and by the Romans to pay their taxes (!) it is also delicious on bread, in yogurt, in cakes as a sugar substitute, and in sauces for savoury dishes, like this delicious pak choi, tofu and honey stir fry.
How do you like your honey?
Any apiarists out there?
And have you seen many bees yet this year?
looking forward to raspberries...
Oh my, but June is an amazing month when it comes to cooking and eating. In fact, we don’t think there is another month when there is more new stuff to look forward to, so here’s hoping you’re hungry!
Other dates for your diary are Father’s Day and the Midsummer Solstice (June 21st), and the start of Wimbledon (June 22nd). Anyone for tennis?!
with you, little spinaches, I will change the world...
Bless my cotton socks, but I thought I was going to go down in history as some kind of vegetable crusader. Remember the Earth Day Challenge I was preparing myself for?
Well, let’s just say it didn’t quite go as expected
Was I pelted with copies of last week’s TV Times? Perhaps I was routinely ignored in a slightly sneering way by all and sundry… Or maybe there WEREN’T any passers-by to accost with smiles and spinach seedlings…
No. I can assure you it was worse. Or maybe that should be better? I’m still a little confused!
Read on over on ooffoo to find out what exactly became of my attempt to change my neighbourhood.
“If your association with fennel is soggy, aniseed-tasting ratatouille, you’re in the right place.
Fennel will always been something of an acquired taste, admittedly, but there are a lot of alternatives to sogginess…”
Read the full article over on our sister-site, ooffoo.com, to find out what to look for when you’re buying fennel, how to store and prepare it, some of the medicinal qualities associated with it, and a brand new recipe that is a world away from soggy aniseed ratatouille : )
four brand new recipes!
Were strawberries used as face scrub or toothpaste?
Are they delicious simply with sugar or black pepper?
And are they a member of the lettuce or the rose family?
There are no prizes, but there ARE four brand new recipes for you, just in time for British strawberry season. Simply click through to read the full article over on our sister site, ooffoo.
And if you’re contemplating growing your own, here’s an extra bit of motivation for you…
beware leprosy!
Once upon a time, but not actually that long ago or far away, aubergines were attributed with the power to cause leprosy, bad breath and madness! During these times, people used them primarily ornamentally, and frankly, who can blame them with that kind of a reputation?!
Fortunately, those days are gone. But that doesn’t mean their reputation has improved much. A bit like cabbage and cauliflower, over-cooking renders them mushy, reminiscent of bad school dinners and generally a bit grim. And eating them too early in the season can leave you with the impression that they’re a bitter vegetable.
But it doesn’t have to be this way! Read on over on ooffoo, our sister site, to find out when and how to prepare and cook them, and to get your mits on our absolutely most favourite aubergine recipe…
Announcing progress beyond my wildest dreams!
1. The VegBox Garden just got a WHOLE lot bigger.
2. The veggies already planted just got a whole lot bigger (and some are about to be eaten).
3. And the global Grow Your Own movement just got a whole lot bigger too.
PLUS I haven’t killed ANYthing now since March!
Read on over on ooffoo.com to find out exactly what we’ve been up to, to compare notes, to offer your own advice (please!) and to access some other really useful online resources to help you along.
bigger bigger bigger!
it's so frustrating!
Reading a recent blogpost on the Guardian website about “local” food being sold in supermarkets, I could feel a wave of frustration rising.
I try to keep it perky here on VBR, and yet it’s true that it’s not always easy sticking to the local, organic principles that VBR is all about.
Please have a read, over on our sister-site ooffoo.com, and if you’ve got any additional comments, and any encouragement, I’d appreciate it!
what's your favourite?
I have no idea whether there really is a collective noun for sandwiches, but in my case, I think it would be a “snarf” (thanks to PVH for introducing me to this word!).
As in, if I see a plate full of sandwiches, I usually end up “snarfing” most of them myself.
May 10th-16th will be British Sandwich Week. In honour and in preparation, we’re using our sister-site, ooffoo.com, to host an “ooffoo round of sandwiches“.
We’ve contributed three seasonally scrumptious sandwich recipes to the round-up, and are inviting everyone we know to submit their own favourites to the list. Really special recipes will be added to the VegBox Recipes database, with your names on them of course, and also to the ooffoo recipes listings.
So read on to check out our sarnie recipes and to share yours : )
something the kids can help with
The long Easter weekend is almost upon us. If you haven’t already made plans, here are some ideas:
For something to do with the kids on Friday or Saturday, how about having a go with this Easter Simnel Cake recipe, published over on ooffoo?
Making the almond paste balls and creating other decorations is a particularly fun and easy bit. You could use food colouring to dye the balls (which represent the Apostles, I’m told!) different colours.
Also, do check out this lovely article by our friends over at Small Homestead for step by step guidelines on painting Easter eggs.
Finally, if you decide to blow rather than hard boil the eggs, how about using the egg-y-ness to try Warborne Organic Farm’s Sorrel Omelette? It’s their Easter Open Day this Sunday, so if you’re in or near Boldre in Hampshire, that promises to be a great day out.
And if you have made plans, we’d love to hear what you’re looking forward to doing / cooking.
The VegBox Recipes Team
submit yours!
Since we posted the list of what will be in season in May, we’ve had lots of suggestions of what May ingredients to feature:
Apricot
Aubergine, and
Raspberries
And in response, our factoid and recipe engines have whirred into action. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves! What about you, lovely reader? If you have a recipe or story or fact about one of these ingredients, drop us a line (info [@] vegbox-recipes.co.uk].
Here at VegBox Recipes we’re fond of saying that the “veggies are the stars”. But there’s no reason you all can’t have a squinch of limelight once in a while ; )
We’ve already got the lovely Berni B lined up for an article about Fennel and a farm… Who’s next? Could it be YOOOOO?!
spinach
When is Spinach in Season?
Spinach is best from April to September.
How to Buy
Look for bright leaves and a fresh smell. Avoid anything even slightly yellow or slimy.
How to Store
Keep spinach in the salad drawer, but NEVER wash before storing it – it will get very soggy!
Nutrition
Spinach leaves are a rich source of vitamins and minerals, particularly vitamin K, calcium, folic acid and antioxidants. It is a good source of iron, but not as good as Pop-Eye would have us believe! 1 cup of lightly cooked spinach contains 1/3 of a woman’s recommended daily intake of iron, but a cup of cooked spinach is a lot of spinach!
Spinach Secrets
Spinach originated in Iran and didn’t arrive in Europe until the 11th Century. It was imported to Spain and when it arrived in Britain, it was known as the “Spanish Vegetable”.
Like tomatoes, lightly cooking spinach makes it easier for the body to absorb the nutrients it contains. For example, 1 cup of cooked spinach contains 10 times your daily requirement of Vitamin K, 6 times the amount of raw spinach.
How to Prepare Spinach
The absolute key with spinach is to wash it well. It tends to pick up grit and soil and nothing spoils a dish as easily as lumps of gravel in your lasagne!
If you’re going to eat spinach raw in a salad, or if you’re going to saute it, then once it’s washed you need to pat it dry again.
How to Cook Spinach
new recipe
Check out this brand new recipe:
Tom’s Breakfast Spinach Special
Let us know how you feel about spinach using the comments box down there, and if you try the new recipe, perhaps you’d send us a photo? We were so hungry we ate it before we remembered to take its picture!
We absentmindedly missed not only St. David’s Day and St. Piran’s Day but we also missed celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with you. BAD VBR.
To make up for it, we thought we’d have a St. George’s Day recipe challenge, in preparation for April 23rd.
Fancy having your name in lights not only here on the blog, but also on the VegBox Recipes main site AND over on our sister site, ooffoo?
Then all you need to do is submit a recipe for something scrumptiously traditional that uses seasonal ingredients … And we’ll announce the winner at the beginning of April.
Now then … cabbage, spinach, spring onions, watercress … which ingredients will they choose to use?
what did st george eat (other than dragon, that is) ?
new potatoes
The last of the stored potatoes were probably finished off in February, and we won’t be seeing the “big boys” of the potato world again now until late June. So it’s just as well that the newbies are starting to arrive and will be with us until the end of July : )
Shopping
Best to get the mucky ones rather than the washed ones as the mud helps keep them fresh and blemish free.
Cooking
If you eat organic, you probably don’t peel your taters anyway, but newbies are even lower maintenance, because you don’t even need to chop them before cooking. Just a quick wash and a plunge into boiling water and you’re cooking (groan).
Storing
If you keep them cool and shaded, they should last a few days after buying them. If you can resist them, that is!
Recipes
And now it’s over to you…
What do you most like to do with new potatoes? Share your recipes here and we’ll get them added to the main database with your name on them. And do send us your photos … Always good for getting a lunch time tummy rumbling.
The VegBox Team
In 1969, Gladwin Hill wrote in the New York Times:
earth day
“Rising concern about the environmental crisis is sweeping the nation’s campuses with an intensity that may be on its way to eclipsing student discontent over the war in Vietnam…a national day of observance of environmental problems…is being planned for next spring…”
That national day of observance has now become an international and annual event called Earth Day. And it takes place on April 22nd.
Which gives us just over a month to plan something :O
Now, given the VBR passion for seasonal eating and for growing our own food, it seems sensible to play to our strengths. And I personally have been promising myself that one day I will organise something designed to help create a more friendly community in the street where I live. So I guess this is my chance.
But I can’t decide exactly what to do. And that’s why I need you, dear reader!
1. Please vote in the poll to help me choose between three ideas:
2. And then please use the comments box down there to share ideas on how you plan to use Earth Day to promote seasonal / local / organic eating or “victory gardening”.
We’ll pick all the events we really like, publicise them for you here, and even see if we can get a bit of radio or print publicity for you when we issue our own press releases announcing whichever event gets the most votes.
Can’t wait to hear from you!
The VegBox Team
out of hibernation
Although called “spring” onions, these veggies are in their main season from April to October.
So why are we writing about them in March?
Because there are certain types of spring onions that can be “over-wintered“, the Japanese variety being a common favourite. By making late sowings in August, September and October, veg growers are able to harvest an early crop from around now.
On the farm that provides the delicious produce for Home Organics in Dublin, there are some over-wintered spring onions (also sometimes called scallions) that will be ready to come up from the soil any time now. And in preparation, Margaret, Mary and Sarah have passed on one of their favourite spring onion recipes to share with you. Thanks folks!
Spotlight One: The Recipe
spring onion recipe
This is a simple yet elegant lunch time recipe that will serve 2, or one really hungry bunny!
Ingredients
1 large bunch spring onions
1 tablespoon pine nuts
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (red wine vinegar will also work well)
1 thin slice of sourdough bread
1 round of chevre goat’s cheese about 1/2 inch thick
Method
1. Wash and trim the spring onions cutting away most of the green part which can be saved for something else.
2. Heat a dash of olive oil in a pan and when it starts to get hot throw on the onions and toss for about 3 or 4 minutes until they have turned golden brown.
3. Just before taking them off the heat add a pinch of sea salt, give them a final toss then cover to allow them to wilt a little more.
4. Toast the pine nuts until they start to change colour.
5. Roughly chop the spring onions and mix with the pine nuts.
6. Dress with the olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
7. Toast the bread then place the goat’s cheese on top and grill until golden.
8. Serve alongside the spring onions and pine nuts and eat immediately.
Time From Cupboard-To-Table
20 minutes
Notes & Variations
Why not try bulking out this salad by serving everything on a bed of dressed salad leaves.
Spotlight Two: Key Facts
also available in red!
Full season: March to October. Those available now in March will be overwintered Japanese varieties. Look out for red as well as white varieties.
Buy: Firm green leaves not wilted or yellowed and definitely not slimy!
Store: In the fridge preferably unwashed . Use within a few days.
Freeze: The white parts, if cooked.
Cook: Normally eaten raw, they can also be roasted, grilled, griddled or fried. To prepare wash and trim root and snip tops of leaves. The green parts are great as a garnish or in stir-fry. Milder and more delicate than an onion they can be used in many ways – try stirring them into Asian noodles, creamy mash, on top of soups and stir-fries, in omelettes, sambos and of course in all kinds of salads.
fast growers
Spotlight Three: Other Interesting Facts
It only takes two to three months to grow a spring onion, so they are sown all through the spring and summer to extend the availability.
If you want to get children interested in salad vegetables, spring onions are a great way to start because the seeds germinate quickly and you can harvest them after just a few weeks, if you want mild-flavoured, teeny weenie baby ones! It’s quite interesting watching the seedlings, which are initially folded in half, straighten out and grow so fast.
sprouts away!
We just had to do it.
Like the roots we’re also saying goodbye to in March, it’s their last month with us before they pack their cases (like the picture?!) and migrate to cooler climes, not to return until December. And a little like this month’s other Veggie-in-the-Spotlight, they’re still misunderstood and they still haven’t made it to the sunglasses-sporting veggie A-list.
So, here’s some stuff that you may not have known about Brussels Sprouts:
1. They were cultivated in Belgium from cabbages. Hence the name.
2. They’re an excellent source of Vitamin C, with just 6 lightly cooked sprouts containing an adult’s recommended daily allowance. They’re also packed with Vitamin D and folic acid, which are both common deficiencies in our modern diet.
3. If cooked right, they should have a pleasant, nutty flavour.
4. Like cauliflower, it’s the sulphur released during cooking that gives Brussels Sprouts their infamous smell. So the less time you cook them for, the less they’ll stink!
5. They’re migratory*.
*OK, no they’re not. But it’s a funny thought.
How To Choose
How To Store
Our Favourite Brussels Recipes
Remember the annual “sprout peddling” competition?
Here are the winning recipes, past and present:
three sprouty winners
Sauteed Brussels and Apple – still our favourite, thanks to Nadja.
Garlic & Almond Sprouts - a creamy dish that has converted several friends…
Brussels Sprout & Pine Nut Salad – no chance of stink with this one, and the balsamic works perfectly!
So be honest, folks – will you be giving Brussels a sumptuous send off? Or are you determined to hand them their hats?
VegBox Novice Lesson 1: Get seedlings right up to the glass in the sun.
they shouldn't be lying down ... they should look like tony's!
A picture speaks a thousand words.
Mind you, to sum up the picture on the left above, I only need five.
“I killed the lettuce seedlings.”
Thanks to my mentors (Ann, Red and Tony) over on the selfsufficientish forum, I saved the carrot seedlings from the same fate by moving them right into the window.
very floopy broad bean stalks
VegBox Novice Lesson 2: Start bigger-seeded veggies off in their own separate pots right from the beginning.
The support of more experienced growers has been vital over the last few weeks. They keep reminding me: the first year is about learning as as much as growing.
Phew. Because 1) I should have planted the broad bean seeds in separate pots from the beginning, 2) I waited far too long before planting them out, and 3) if I’d grown them closer to the window, their stems would now be fatter, shorter and less, well, floopy…
VegBox Novice Lesson 3: Seedlings started indoors need “hardening off”.
Then Tony patiently instructed me to “harden them off”.
“Eh?”
“That means putting them outside in a warm spot during the day and bring them in again at night. Do that for a couple of days and they should be OK to leave them out all the time, then you can plant them in your garden.”
Thanks Tony!
VegBox Novice Lesson 4: Boo. Broad beans don’t climb. No “Jack” impersonations for me!
Next, Tony assures me that broad beans, unlike runner beans, don’t climb. So all I needed to do was give them some canes and string for support as they get bigger.
And finally …
VegBox Novice Lesson 5: Keep outdoor seedlings warm and sheltered in the beginning.
mini greenhouses
What about the poor old lettuce seedlings? Well, I picked them and used them as “cress” on top of a new soup I was trying, and am starting again with new seeds. I’ve placed a trough on a South-facing outside windowsill, and have sown new seeds into that, covering them with mini-greenhouses made of re-used plastic bottle tops, thanks to a great tip from Anne.
In another 10 days, following Red’s advice, I’ll sow another lot in a second trough, and in 20 days another, etc etc. This should guarantee a long harvesting period for me, PVH and the neighbours.
Well, that’s enough growing antics from me for this week. Next week I’ll be planting the spinach and thinking about where to start the butternut squash.
Please, use the comments box to let me know that you’re making less of a mess with starting to grow your own veggies than I am over here!
Until next month!
watercress
April is always our favourite month. April Fool’s Day, Easter Sunday, World Health Day, showers, rainbows, and a certain someone’s birthday ; )
Here’s a look at the list of seasonal veggies which April will bring with it.
Please do use the comments box below to let us know which ones you’d most like us to feature in the coming weeks.
Asparagus (towards end of month), Cabbage, Endive, Mushrooms, Purple sprouting broccoli, Radishes (early), Rhubarb, Sorrel, Spinach, Spring Greens, Spring Onions, Swiss Chard, and Watercress.
And who out there would like to help me understand the difference between Endive and Chicory, because I still have some confusion when it comes to that topic!
The VegBox Team
ready to go in the lunch-box
March has arrived. And March is an important month in the seasonal food calendar. Because it’s the last month of the winter root vegetables. For many of you lovely folks, this isn’t coming a day too soon!
After all, how many swedes can one girl eat?
Just when we thought we couldn’t find any more ways of making root veg interesting for you, reader Paula J presented her trump card.
Paula says “I had the most enormous swede delivered in my veg box last week and was immediately returned to my childhood when mashed carrots and turnip was the standard accompaniment to all roast meats. This came along with boiled potatoes. Now I have not eaten boiled potatoes (except new!) since then, so you can imagine my trauma when faced with the prospect of swede!
Anyway a quick trawl through a recipe book left me inspired to adapt an Italian Style Turnip Soup with what I thought was a great result. And the end of my childhood swede trauma!”
Ingredients
Serves 4
1 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil
1 tbsp butter
1 onion, diced
3 rashers streaky bacon (optional)
1 large swede, diced
1 handful quinoa
stock
chopped parsley
Method
1. Heat 1tbs olive / rapeseed oil and 1tbs butter in a large pot
2. Gently fry a chopped onion and 3 rashers of chopped streaky bacon (optional) for about 5 mins.
3. Add the chopped swede and continue to fry for 5 – 10 mins until the swede begins to soften.
4. Add a handful of quinoa, cook for a couple of mins until coated with oils.
5. Add enough stock to cover and cook until the quinoa is tender. I added a little thickener at the end and also some chopped parsley.
Time From Cupboard-To-Table
30 minutes
When Can I Cook This?
Swede is in season in the UK in October, November, December, January, February and March
Over to you. Use the comments box below to tell us what tricks you have up your sleeves for getting through the last month of root vegetables for this year.
sorrel leaves
April means no more root veggies, and a big hello to sorrel (amongst many other things). We haven’t featured sorrel before, so it seemed about time, and who better to help us out than our friends over at the award-winning Warborne Organic Farm in Hampshire.
The lovely Sophie sent us the deliciously simple recipe below for Sorrel Omelette, straight from the kitchen of one of their own box scheme customers, a self declared avid fan of sorrel.
And while Sophie was chatting with us over the virtual farm-fence, we were excited to learn that the family at Warborne are once again holding an Open Day, this time an Easter-themed one.
Still reeling slightly from the resounding success of the TV series about them (”Farm Life” on Animal Planet), the Heathcotes will be swinging the gate open from midday till 4pm on Sunday 12th April. There’s no charge for entry, and visitors can look foward to:
Address: Warborne Organic Farm, Warborne Lane, Boldre, Hants SO41 5QD
Tel: 01590 688488
sorrel omelette recipe
Ingredients
(Serves one hungry person)
1 good handful of sorrel
40 ml milk
3 organic eggs
Salt and pepper
Veg oil or butter
Method
1. Whisk 3 eggs in a large bowl, along with seasoning and milk.
2. Rinse the sorrel in clean water, and drain. Roll the leaves and roughly chop or tear the leaves.
3. Heat butter or oil in a small frying pan on a medium heat.
4. Pour the mixed eggs into the frying pan.
5. Let the bottom of the omelette cook slightly before adding the sliced sorrel.
6. Using a spatula mix the leaves slightly in to the eggy mixture.
7. Finish cooking the omelette until done as preferred.
8. Serve alongside a good crusty roll.
Time From Cupboard-To-Table
20 minutes
When Can I Cook This?
Sorrel is in its prime in the UK in April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December
Sorrel is a green leaf (very easy to grow in pots if you have limited space) that can be used raw or cooked. It is usually the young leaves, that are lemon-y and have a little kick to them, that are best in salads. Later on in the season, sorrel is better cooked, and is traditionally used in sauces for fish or in soups.
As with all other leaves, the best flavour and nutrition comes from leaves that are crisp and bright in colour. Sorrel should only be stored for a few days in the salad drawer in the fridge.
So that’s all from us on sorrel… Let us know whether you’ve used it yet, whether you try out this recipe, and, if you do head over to the Warborne Farm Open Day, let us know all about it using the comments box.
The VegBox Team
Two weeks ago we wrote about the Brassica Growers Association’s campaign to Save Our Cauliflowers. The campaign was launched following the alarming reports that sales, and subsequently production, of British cauliflowers have gone into decline.
We invited you to remind us how good cauliflower can taste, and as always, you came up with the goods!
frugal cooking
We particularly love this recipe for Cauliflower Bhaji, which has come from VegBox-regular, “Steve in KL“. Steve is passionate about green and frugal living, and this includes cooking his veggies on top of his cast iron wood-burning fire.
Now I used to think that a Bhaji was a little ball of veggies, but Steve’s put me straight. While a lot of people use it that way like me, it’s actually a more generic Indian word for a vegetable dish. Thanks Steve!
When Can I Cook This?
Cauliflower is at its best in the UK in mid-December, January, February, March and mid-April
How Do I Choose a Cauliflower?
Choose cauliflower that’s still white, rather than browning. If it’s going brown, just slice these bits off before using – but it’s a sign that you need to use it, fast! The leaves on a cauliflower should be green and not wilting. If the stalks don’t “snap” as you remove them, then your cauliflower has been hanging around for a while…
Does it Always Smell?
The stinky smell often associated with cauliflower is from the sulphur released during cooking. Want less stink? Cook it less!
How Do I Store the Cauliflower?
Store in a paper bag in the fridge for up to a week. In plastic bags, they tend to sweat, which can make the florets go mouldy.
Can I Eat the Leaves?
Traditionally only the white part (called the curd) of the cauliflower is eaten. However, the leaves and stalk can be added to stock, to improve flavour.
Bhaji Ingredients
Serves 4
1 very large or 2 medium potatoes
1 medium size cauliflower
2 tbsps oil
quarter teaspoon of mustard seeds
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 or 2 green chillies, according to taste
half tsp ground cumin
quarter tsp ground coriander
quarter tsp turmeric
three quarter tsp garam masala
125ml warm water
fresh coriander leaves to garnish
Method
1. Cut the cauliflower into florets and dice the potatoes
2. Heat up the oil then throw in the mustard seeds. Pop the lid straight on and listen to them leaping up against it. Once they stop “trying to escape”, take the pan from the heat
3. Take the lid from the pan and add the potatoes
4. Saute for 3-4 minutes
5. Add the cauliflower and all other ingredients than the water, and fry for around 5 minutes, stirring
6. Add the water and simmer for roughly 15 minutes until the cauliflower and the potatoes are cooked (but not mushy)
7. Serve, garnished with fresh coriander.
Time From Cupboard-To-Table
30 minutes
Your Views…
Let us know if you use this recipe and how it comes out for you. And we’d love it if you took a photo of it to share with us here.
Any more cauliflower inspiration, anyone?
Tomorrow is Shrove Tuesday aka Pancake Day – did you think we would leave you unseasonal?
Course not!
We want to hear from those of you who already know what you’ll be putting on your pancakes.
Cinnamon sugar mix is my hands-down favourite, bringing back memories of my South African grannie, who I seem to remember used to invite her whole tribe (13 of us!) round and then spend the entire evening in the kitchen churning out “pannekoek” to pass through the hatch into the front room.
savoury pancakes
These days I’m making my own pannekoek, and I’m just as likely to use pancakes for a savoury dish. They make a great substitute for canneloni tubes or you can use them as wraps.
Here are links to our two favourite savoury pancake recipes:
Pancakes with blue cheese sauce
Do share what you plan to have, and let us know whether you’ll be observing lent and how.
Now, have we got enough eggs …?
The VegBox Recipes Team
salsify plant
Salsify is on its way out until October, but we didn’t want our newest addition to the VegBox Recipes tribe to disappear without a send off.
A member of the dandelion family, Salsify is really quite a versatile plant. As well as being pretty good-looking in the garden, you can eat the sprouting seeds, the young shoots and the flowers as well as the roots. The roots, once matured, have an oyster-y taste, earning Salsify its nickname of “Oyster Plant”.
Spotlight One – How to Choose Salsify
Salsify roots look a bit like a bundle of grubby black candles! Look for firm smooth ones when you’re shopping.
Spotlight Two – How to Store Salsify
Best kept in the fridge in a sealed container.
Spotlight Three – How to Prepare Salsify
Salsify discolours very quickly once peeled, so it’s best to peel and chop it quickly, dropping the chunks into water that has either lemon juice or vinegar in it.
Spotlight Four – Salsify Recipes
We’re delighted to have finally been able to add two brand new Salsify recipes to the VegBox Recipes database.
salsify recipes
Salsify Gratin – This recipe is the first we’ve added for this unusual root vegetable and has been generously provided to us from the lovely book “Veg: The Cookbook” by Greg Wallace.
Simple Salsify Fritters – This simple recipe, generously provided for us by Abel & Cole, makes a brilliant lunch or a special side for a bigger meal.
We’d love to hear from you if you’ve cooked Salsify recently.
The VegBox Team
We suspect that you, dear reader, are NOT a statistic on a Government chart when it comes to cauliflowers.
Because apparently sales are declining, forcing production to fall. Which in turn has prompted the Brassica Growers’ Association to launch a campaign to Save Our Cauliflowers.
S0, to shamelessly steal a slogan, have YOU forgotten how good cauliflowers taste?
We can’t believe you have, but just in case … Let’s get recipe swapping.
Here’s our contribution for an early Spring lunch-box filler:
our recipe
Cauliflower and Chickpea Pitta Pockets
This is a lovely way of enjoying cauliflower. The chickpeas give the meal a nutty flavour and the watercress means it’s packed with nutrients. If you can get hold of tahini (sesame seed butter), it adds to the flavour and is also full of calcium and essential fatty acids.
What have you been doing with your cauliflowers then, cauliflower-eating comrades?
Today has been like a very happy cross between Blue Peter and Ground Force!
blue skies again
Somehow, the snow of last week put me off even doing the indoor jobs needed to keep the new VegBox Garden heading in the right direction. But today the sky is blue, and the lean-to seemed more inviting. Having turned off the central heating and confined myself to this one room, I felt ok about having a little electric heater going. And whilst the bobble hat and fluffy socks are not my most alluring look, I’m cosy enough not just to do the gardening but to blog whilst I’m in here!
Step 1 - I filled my arms full of all the cardboard boxes and tubes and plastic yogurt pots I’ve been saving to re-use since before Christmas, then shuffled through the house dropping them like breadcrumbs, finally reaching the lean-to dribbling toilet roll inner tubes like an FA cup champion on training day.
home-made seed planters
Step 2 - watched Mrs Green’s video on making carrot seed planters out of re-used toilet roll inner tubes, keeping up with her as she went and ending up with a happy little row of home-made containers, slotted into converted catfood product boxes to keep them secure, and finally set inside rolled-down biodegradable plastic recycling bags.
I was really chuffed with the orange bag touch. Firstly, I’m hoping it will help keep water from leaking all over the place when I water the little seedlings. Secondly – I’ve just discovered I’ve got to move out at the end of this month, so I figure that when the time comes, I can move them by rolling up the bag to carry them in.
polystyrene cooler for re-use as a planter
Step 3 - Carrot planters duly made, I moved on to creating a planter for the broad beans out of the last Abel & Cole cooler box my milk arrived in. I wasn’t sure if it was OK to plant directly into polystyrene, but I found a brilliant Australian website called PermUP and they were using very similar boxes, so I felt reassured.
Step 4 – Ahem … texted the VegBox Husband and ask him to pick up some soil for me on his way back from work … Then checked the RocketGardens guidelines on seed spacing for broad beans and lettuce so I know what I’m doing when the soil is delivered. Oops. That is, graciously acquired on my behalf and brought home lovingly, of course. Not delivered. No no.
puy and red lentil mix for bake
Step 5 - Gazed adoringly at the array of home-made planters, peeked inside the broad beans packet, took photos of everything in site, including the new composting dalek in the garden, and snaffled down some lunch, which today was left-overs of last night’s VegBox House-mate enticing success – lentil bake with spicy red cabbage and apple on the side.
Step 6 – Posted about this morning’s “re-use“-erama on the eco community site “ooffoo“, where they are asking readers to vote (at the bottom on the homepage) on whether re-use is good for the economy, and running a competition to find the most innovative and inspiring re-use ideas.
If there is a better route to happiness than steps 1-6, I haven’t found it yet!
What have you lovely folks been doing on the growing your own front?
have you seen any this year?
The main season for rhubarb is from April through to July. Unless you buy forced rhubarb, which may be around as early as this month.
“Forcing” rhubarb isn’t quite as cruel as it sounds – it simply means that it’s grown in the dark, which means it sprouts earlier, is more vibrantly pink and has a less intense flavour.
What to look for when you buy rhubarb – Make sure it’s nice and red or green or pink and free from brown mushy bits or obvious bangs and bruises. Go for straight, firm stalks rather than curling or limp ones. Avoid rhubarb with black or brown leaves.
How to store it - In a bag in the fridge for up to a week. Cut the leaves off first. Or freeze it. First cut it to a length that will fit into your container, and then boil it for one minute only before freezing, to help it retain its flavour. It can also be frozen raw or completely cooked.
How to cook rhubarb - Rhubarb isn’t eaten raw. It’s traditionally baked with something to sweeten it, and can be cooked either peeled or with the skin still on. It’s better to cook in non-aluminium pans because of its highly acidic nature. The easiest and healthiest way to sweeten it is with orange juice or apple juice. For really sour rhubarb, you’ll want to add sugar or honey.
beware!
Never eat the leaves – they’re poisonous! We’re not sure how poisonous, but we’re also not about to try it to find out!
Little Known Rhubarb Facts
rhubarb chutney recipe
TV Chef and proprietor of The Foxhunter in Nantyderry, Matt Tebbutt, has very generously provided us with this new recipe for rhubarb chutney to share with you. Unlike all the other recipes we currently list, this is for serving with savoury dishes. Just click the picture to the left.
You can find this recipe in Matt’s new book “Matt Tebbutt Cooks Country“, and we’ve included it in our database courtesy of Mitchell Beazley and Octopus Books. Thanks folks!
If you’ve already had some rhubarb this year, we’d love to hear from you. Just use the comments box below.
The VegBox Team
red chicory is common in italy
This month we interviewed Denise Tolson, who discovered chicory at the tender age of 18 whilst doing a grand tour of Europe. Years on, she’s still a fan with a rather tasty chicory recipe up her sleeve.
VBR: Hi Denise – thanks for spending some time with us talking about Chicory. Not everyone has eaten this veggie. When did you discover it?
Denise: I discovered chicory when I went to Italy aged 18 with my sister aged 17. We were doing one of those ‘take a flight and see what happens’ holidays with hardly any money and no sense to speak of. Anyway, we tended to eat in very cheap places where you ate what you were given. One day we got chicory in some sort of salad. It was a bit of a shock as it was quite bitter but we definitely developed a taste for it. In Italy you can get glorious red chicory as well as the beautiful pale green version you more commonly see in this country. I think Waitrose do it sometimes.
VBR: What was the first meal you ever cooked using it?
Denise: I started off just mixing in in with other salad stuff and putting french dressing on it which was very nice. I grew up on those round floppy lettuces with cucumber and tomato and plenty of salad cream when salad was on offer at home but after Italy I got a lot more adventurous.
VBR: What does Chicory taste like to you?
Denise: Chicory tastes quite bitter but much less so than it used to. I wonder whether English growers have bred some of the bitterness out to make it more palatable to the British market. Either that or my tastebuds are jiggered! I think it is a really pretty vegetable and it also has a good texture, especially at the white end so it gives a bit of crunch to your salad.
VBR: Do you know any strange facts about chicory?
Denise: I know that it is sometimes called Belgian endive which can be a bit muddling as to me that is a different type of lettuce.
VBR: Care to share your favourite Chicory recipe with us?
Denise: Sometimes I make a caesar salad with half little gem and half chicory and that is nice. I have two sorts of dressings that I use just with chicory and they are both Nigella Lawson ones: Mustard dressing and Anchovy dressing.
Here’s a full recipe for any fish eaters out there – it also uses beetroot, another veggie that’s currently in season.
use any white fish
Cod with Chicory and Baby Beetroot
VBR: So are you a vegetarian, Denise?
Denise: I am not a vegetarian myself although I was for about 20 years. I have eaten fish for about the last 10 years and I have managed to end up in a family of carnivores, don’t know how that happened, punishment for sins in a previous life probably.
I studied nutrition at university in the early 80’s and I think that made me very thoughtful and curious about the food I was putting in my mouth. One of the reasons I stopped eating meat was that at that time it was factory farmed meat or nothing and I couldn’t see that those intensive farming methods could be good for either us or the animals involved in the process. People used to laugh at me for that but they went surprisingly quiet after BSE.
VBR: Do you get a vegbox?
squash
Denise: I used to grow my own veg before organic became available. Now I am a mother and work full time I’ve become very lazy and use a box scheme. We grow tomatoes and squash in the summer for fun and because I am a food bore and want the sprogs to know where there food comes from. I will probably go back to grow your own at some point. I’m hoping to buy some chickens for my son’s birthday in the spring (really an indulgence for me thinly disguised as generosity).
I do use the supermarket for most of my shopping but I also like the local farmer’s market (only comes once a month sadly) and the local Saturday market. I try not to buy out of season stuff like strawberries in winter and I only ever buy English asparagus because it is the best and we are really lucky to have a farm down the road so we get it really fresh.
VBR: How did you first discover VegBox Recipes?
Denise: I get a bit bored with root veg in the winter. We started looking at the recipe site to get ideas about what to do with root veg as boiling and mashing or roasting can get very dull. There is also a great vegetarian cookery writer in the weekend Guardian magazine called Yotam Ottolenghi. He recently did a two potato curry using sweet potato (which I don’t like much) and ordinary potato, it was delicious and will become a favourite. We have also used organic meat boxes and they are very good.
VBR: Do you like the vegetables available at this time of year, or is there another time of year you prefer?
Denise: I’m more of a leafy / green veg / salad kind of gal. Though I am rather fond of the old jerusalem artichokes as our friends know to their cost…
VBR: Denise, thanks so much for helping us get to know February’s first Veggie-in-the-Spotlight.
Denise: You’re very welcome. I hope the recipe goes down well. I’m off out now for a spot of snowball throwing!
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Over to you! Tell us what you love (or loathe!) about chicory by using the comments box below.
The VegBox Team
Well for starters, SNOW seems to be in season!
Which means that here at VegBox Recipes, garden activity has ground to a halt and we’re considering wrapping the composter in bubblewrap and carpet to keep the bacteria warm and working. Whilst pondering, we’re making cosy Jerusalem Artichoke soup and working in front of the fire. Lovely …
Here’s the run down on what’s in season during the shortest month of the year …
Beetroot
Brussels Sprouts
Cabbage (white, red and Cavolo Nero)
Carrots
Cauliflower
Celeriac
Celery (on it’s way out, now)
Chard or “Swiss” Chard
Chicory (watch this space for a special feature!)
Jerusalem Artichoke
Kale or “Curly” Kale
Kohlrabi
Leeks
Mushrooms
Onions
Parsnips
Potatoes (from store)
Purple Sprouting Broccoli
Rhubarb (watch this space for a recipe donated by our favourite TV chef)
Salsify(on its way out)
Spinach
Squashes (last ones from store)
Swede
Turnips
What are you eating this week?
The VegBox Team
It’s been an incredibly significant week in the history of the world.
And at first it seemed slightly surreal to blog about vegetable recipes in the midst of it all!
Yet strangely, how to feed ourselves is one of the most critical topics on the current political agenda. And not just in the USA.
In this month’s “Dis-Patch from the Veg-Patch” section of our newsletter, we talked not only about our own efforts to grow food in the back garden, but also spoke for a second time about the Eat the View campaign to persuade the new President to convert the White House lawn into a “Victory Garden” designed to inspire others to do the same. Less food miles so less petrol (oil) and less carbon emissions, less pesticides (oil again), less global warming, improved health, lower healthcare costs …
The resounding message right now is not just that “we are what we eat”, but that “we are how we grow and buy what we eat”.
Over on AboutMyPlanet, there is a timely reminder from Craig Baird that if we are going to change how we grow, we’d better do it soon. A reminder that the way we grow – and shop for – food now will have a direct impact on whether we’ll be able to grow food at all in the future. According to some estimates, in only 91 years, one in two people will be going hungry because of the effects of rising temperatures both on crop yields and on how much water falls to fill supplies.
Barack Obama invited Americans to “seize gladly” the opportunities to meet our duties to the planet and the people on it. Whether or not you’re American, if you’re already committed to personal changes designed to preserve and sustain our life on earth, keep going! Is there any more can you do? Who else can you inspire?
zero waste week
And if you’re at the beginning of this journey and are not sure where to start … how about starting your own Victory Garden? Or reducing your household waste just like Mrs Green and so many of the residents of Gloucestershire this week?
And (of course!) how about moving away from eating oil disguised as asparagus flown in from Peru, and moving toward simply buying, cooking and savouring the flavours of what’s in season where you are?
Broccoli is a member of the brassica family, like cabbage.
The plant produces green flower heads on thick stalks. They are picked and eaten before the flowers bloom. Broccoli and calabrese are often confused.
calabrese
sprouting broccoli
Calabrese is the large headed variety (see the picture on the left) that most of us call Broccoli (confused yet?!). The other is a sprouting variety (on the right), with individual stalks for each flower clump. It is usually purple, or sometimes white, and is often known as PSB – short for Purple Sprouting Broccoli.
“PSB” is a delicious spring vegetable that can start to appear as early as the end of January and has a long season. It cooks quickly and is packed with nutrients, with a more delicate flavour than full heads of calabrese.
We already feature one recipe on the site especially designed for sprouting broccoli – Sprouting Broccoli with Toasted Seasame Seeds.
Now we’re pleased to bring you a recipe for Spicy Purple Sprouting Broccoli Pasta, courtesy of Abel & Cole.
Ingredients
* 500 g purple sprouting broccoli
* 1 medium sized fresh red chilli
* 2 cloves garlic, peeled
* 1 small tin of anchovy fillets in olive oil, drained (optional, if you’re anything like me!)
* good quality olive oil
* 350 g pasta: fusilli, oriecchiette, penne rigate or conchiglie
* parmesan or hard pecorino cheese to grate
Method
So has PSB shown up in your box yet? If it has, we’d love to know where in the country you lucky folks are!
The VegBox Team
negative calories??
We thought it was appropriate to feature this much-maligned veggie in January, in the spirit of all those new health regimes and diets that get started at the beginning of a new year.
For those of you who, like us, are feeling a bit scales-shy after SO much cake, some celery in your veg box might be the very thing. We’re talking, of course, about that oft-cited “factoid” that celery actually contains “negative” calories. That is, we supposedly burn more calories crunching it than we gain digesting it! Now we have no idea if this is actually true, but it certainly is a pretty low calorie snacking option.
Historically, celery was also valued for its sedative powers, and it’s ability to reduce hypertension. This may be due to the “phthalide” compounds celery contains. And one last strange celery fact before we get down to business: After Top Gear’s Richard Hammond recovered from his horrific motor crash, he discovered that he liked celery, having previously hated it!
SPOTLIGHT ONE: Celery is in good condition when the sticks have a solid, rigid feel, and the leaves are at the most only slightly wilted. It can be stored in the salad drawer for up to two weeks, and it can be eaten raw or cooked in stir-frys, stews, bakes and soups.
SPOTLIGHT TWO: Here’s a new celery recipe from us.
tuna, sweetcorn and celery
Tuna, Sweetcorn and Celery Salad Mix
This recipe is brilliant for that moment when you (or the kids!) are starving and need something NOW… The texture and combination of flavours are hugely satisfying for munching at lunchtime.
And if it’s closer to dinner time, how about serving it stirred into freshly cooked pasta!
Ingredients: Serves 2 as a main course
1 can of tuna in brine or spring water, drained and broken up into chunks;
4 or 5 sticks of celery, diagonally sliced into 1cm pieces;
200g tin of sweetcorn, drained;
For the dressing:
5tbsps sunflower or grapeseed oil;
the juice & zest of half a lemon;
1 tsp Dijon mustard;
1 tsp sugar;
salt & fresh ground black pepper
Method:
Put the celery, tuna and sweetcorn in a bowl.
Mix the dressing ingredients together and pour over the salad.
Mix well and serve.
Cupboard-To-Table: 10 minutes
And now over to you… Are you working to eat more healthily? And will celery be featuring in your lunches or dinners this month?
They aren’t from Jerusalem.
NOT a Jerusalem Artichoke!
They aren’t even artichokes.
And although they look like root ginger, they are actually sunflower tubers!
Now my mum used to tell me that if I ate apple pips, I’d have apple trees growing out of my belly-button / ears / nose etc etc … If that’s true, then does it follow that if I eat a sunflower tuber, then … ?
Oh I DO hope so ; )
Given the curious nature of this ingredient, we thought it should be one of our January
“Veggies-in-the-Spotlight”
SPOTLIGHT ONE: Check out how to shop for, store and prepare it on the main website.
SPOTLIGHT TWO: check out all the new Jerusalem Artichoke Recipes we’ve added just in time for their peak season. Here’s what you can look forward to:
Jerusalem Artichokes in Wine, Rosemary and Cream
Jerusalem Artichoke and Carrot Salad
This month, our new Jerusalem Artichoke recipes are kindly provided by Abel & Cole.
Let us know what you think if you try one of these, and do share your own “J.A.” recipe favourites with us, using the Comments feature at the bottom.
The VegBox Team
PS Watch this space to our other January Veg-in-the-Spotlight: Celery.
Firstly, a hearty hug and a “Happy New Year!” to you all.
Look out!
Here at VegBox Recipes we’re waving goodbye to Pak Choi and Winter Lettuce. And it’s almost goodbye time for Apples and Pears… But if you’re lucky towards the end of this month, it’s also hello time for Purple Sprouting Brocolli, (aka PSB to save the mouthful!).
Here’s the run down …
Apples (last ones from stores)
Beetroot
Brussels Sprouts (check out winning entry of the Sprout Peddling Competition)
Cabbage (white and red)
Carrots
Cauliflower
Celeriac
Celery
Chard or “Swiss” Chard
Jerusalem Artichoke (STOP PRESS – watch out for a special feature!)
Kale or “Curly” Kale
Kohlrabi
Leeks
Mushrooms
Onions
Parsnips
Potatoes (from store)
Purple Sprouting Broccoli
Salsify (STOP PRESS – watch out for a special feature!)
Spinach
Squashes (from store)
Swede
Turnips
So we’re interested to know, what did you get this week in YOUR veg box?
The VegBox Team
PS – don’t forget there’s only one month left to vote for your veg box provider in our annual awards!
what IS it?!
The excitement of the Brussels Sprouts competition has started to die down, and we can’t stand it.
So we thought we’d ask you for yet more recipes, this time for a different “unusul ingredient” – the Jerusalem Artichoke.
It looks like a daffodil bulb or a lump of ginger root, and truth be told, it has nothing to do with either Jerusalem or artichokes.
But it is deliciously nutty, and it’s in season for another couple of months.
So we’re calling all cooks.
Send a Jerusalem Artichoke recipe to claire.vandenbosch@vegbox-recipes.co.uk and we’ll test it and feature our favourite entries here on the blog, as well as in the main VegBox Recipes database, with your name all over it, of course!
To get you in the mood, check out the truth about what a Jerusalem Artichoke really is, discover its antisocial side effect, and have a look at a recipe we already feature:
Jerusalem Artichokes with Pine Nuts
recipe
This is a lovely way of serving Jerusalem artichokes. The garlic and ginger give the dish a spicy, warming feel, while the toasted pine nuts beautifully compliment the flavour of the artichokes.
Looking forward to your inspiration.
The VegBox Team
let's grow 'em!
It had already been a week since since we hosted the “Grow Your Own” webcast with Penney Poyzer, but the VegBox Team had definitely been procrastinating about getting the promised VegBox Garden started. Until we read what Hilary Benn MP said about growing veggies on December 10th.
Having been reminded about the importance of growing our own (how quickly can one team of people forget, for goodness sakes?!), we came over all industrious : )
So now, we’ve 1) started our own composting, 2) chosen our crops, and 3) decided what we’re going to plant where.
1) We checked out Recycle Now to see if they provided compost bins in our area, but they don’t, so we contacted our local government Environment team, and ordered a compost bin. We also ordered a kitchen caddy from them (both dead cheap), so that The Patient VegBox Housemate – or PVH as she will henceforth be known – can have her big lunch-box back (THANKS, PVH)!
2) In 2009, and in order to keep PVH happy in the kitchen, our veggies of choice will be: tomatoes, lettuce, butternut squash and spinach.
3) We’ve got a very little patio back garden, so we are going to try starting the tomatoes indoors and then moving them to two hanging baskets (grrrreat idea from Penney Poyzer). The lettuce and spinach will go in the raised beds, and the butternut squash in a big tub near the trellis on the wall.
So now it’s time to order the seeds in. Unless … Santa, is it too late to put in a last minute present request?!
We hope you’re proud of us … and we’re wondering – have you started yet?
The VegBox Team
the competition
And the winner of this year’s “Sprout Peddling Contest” is…
One Ms Nadja Sumichrast from Brixton!
Nadja actually truly did it. She submitted a recipe, right before the metaphorical whistle blew, and when I tasted it my very first thought was “oh botheration, I wish I’d made more!”
That does not happen to me when it comes to Brussels!
Thanks to everyone who submitted recipes, with a special thank you to Elizabeth Smith’s dog Millie! (Dog owners, we strongly recommend you read Millie’s suggestions.)
Here is the winning recipe, which earns Nadja a copy of the very beautiful “Grow Organic” courtesy of Natural Collection.
Ingredients:
(Serves 4 as part of a Christmas lunch)
I really did make it!
24 Brussels Sprouts
1 Apple
50g butter
3 tbsps olive oil
Method:
1. Whilst gently heating the butter and olive oil together in a heavy bottomed saucepan, prepare the sprouts and chop them into quarters
2. Add to the heated oil and butter and cook for 5 minutes, tossing gently in the pan now and then, until they just start to brown
3. Grate in the apple (skin too, if the apple is organic) and stir through the Brussels, cooking for another couple of minutes
4. Serve and devour!
So, will you be trying out Nadja’s recipe this week? If not, how will you be serving up your Brussels?
The VegBox Team
PS don’t forget, you can access hundreds more seasonal recipes on the main site.
get voting!
Hot off the press! Voting is now open for the 2008 UK Veg Box Awards, this year being affectionately dubbed the “Golden Gourds”!
If you get a veg box, read more about the awards and get voting now on the VegBox-Recipes.co.uk homepage.
You can rate your veg box provider on quality of produce, locality of produce and value for money, as well as telling us what they’re doing well and what they could do to improve.
And if you run a veg box scheme, read more about the awards here, and don’t forget to let all your customers know where to vote. After all, you’ve got to be in it to win it!
Look out for the results in February’s newsletter*
The VegBox Team
*not signed up for the newsletter? Easily fixed! Just click here.
ho ho ho!
What’s in season this month has not changed much since we wrote about what you should expect in your boxes in November.
But in the kitchen at VegBox Headquarters, the recipes we’re matching our ingredients up with have more than a hint of jingle bells and deck the halls about them.
Here is our suggestion for a main course that lends a distinctively seasonal flavour to the 2008 Christmas proceedings.
Juicy Nut Loaf, served with Balsamic Roasted Parsnips, Red Cabbage and Apple, and Mystery Brussels Sprouts!
Mystery Brussels Sprouts?
Well, this year’s Christmas Day Brussels Sprouts recipe is still waiting in the wings like a little green Ms (Veggie) World. The Annual VegBox Recipes Sprout Peddling Contest is still running, and until the winner is announced, our menu will have to remain incomplete.
Meantime, and turning our attention to dessert … in the last couple of years here at VegBox we have suggested these in-season puddings as alternatives to the more traditional Christmas pud…
So here’s an invitation to you to help us finish off the festive menu.
If you were going to keep your Christmas Day pudding seasonal (apples, pears, pumpkin from storage, or pomegranate if you’re lucky…) – what would you make?
Answers on a postcard (OK, in the comments box below then). Not that there’s a prize, but if we test drive your suggestion and it’s yummy, we’ll post it (with your permission and a credit to you) as an official recipe on the main site.
Looking forward to hearing your suggestions!
The VegBox Team
It seems the VegBox Team is beginning to morph into the cast from The Good Life!
As per other blogs that we’ve posted of late, and judging by the MULTI-multitude of similar articles being published around the world every week, “Growing Your Own” seems never to have been more relevant than now.
For our money, starting to grow fruit and vegetables at home, even on a small scale, is right up there on the list of “green practices” we can embark on in pursuit of a healthier economy, ecologically more respectful living, physical well being and stronger communities.
If you are in any way considering dusting off the trowel, you might be interested to know that at 7pm on Tuesday, December 2nd, we hosted a free, live webcast, in association with the team at ooffoo.com (where it’s FREE to swap, sell, give away, recycle and share ideas with like-minded people), to provide some straightforward guidance to help you get started.
We were joined by writer, broadcaster, and veritable eco-hero Penney Poyzer, who dispelled some of the myths surrounding the GYO lifestyle choice, and shared priceless “How To” tips for beginners.
A large group of growers and aspiring growers rang in to support, listen to and learn from Penney and some incredibly useful questions were asked. And answered!
A summary of Penney’s top tips, a digest of other essential resources, and a “get started” list of what to do first / next is available here.
You can listen to the recording of the call by clicking here.
We hope you are as inspired as we were. And we’d LOVE to hear from you on this topic. Do you already grow your own? What do you love about it? What recipes have you cooked recently using home-grown produce? Are you thinking about starting? What questions have you still got? Did you listen in to the call? What did you think? Use the comments box at the bottom to share your thoughts.
The VegBox Team
About Penney Poyzer
Penney Poyzer is an author, broadcaster, trainer and campaigner specialising in the communication of green issues.
She is co-owner of the Nottingham ecohome, a pioneering eco retrofit of a Victorian semi in Nottingham. She and her husband green architect Gil Schalom have lectured extensively on their home and the issues surrounding our existing housing stock. Their ecohome has been cited as an exemplar and has been featured in many case studies, hundreds of media articles and formed the basis of dozens of dissertations. She is mentor to a number of PhD students and green business entrepreneurs.
She presented BBC2’s ‘No Waste like Home’ which has been broadcast on four continents. She is also author of two books with a third out in 2009.
She is a regular guest on TV and radio and frequently appears as panellist at conferences talking on a wide range of green issues. Penney is an advisor to several strategic organsiations including the Environment Agency.
She is a Matron, Patron and trustee of several green charities.
Penney is 48 and lives with husband Gil and toddler Jasmine. Penney also has Lucy, her grown up daughter and her two children. Penney is a happy, busy granny working hard with others to hand our children a planet worth inheriting.
The clock is running on the Annual Sprout Peddling Competition.
In just over a week’s time, the “lines will close”, as they say, and we will have to decide which recipe will receive the Brussels Sprout Crown for 2008. The success of the nation’s Christmas dinners is practically hanging in the balance. Will there be puckered mouths around the table when the tureen is passed, or will ours be a land of little Olivers, begging for more green loveliness on their plates?
So far, I’m delighted (that’s through clenched teeth!) to say that we’ve been receiving and testing your entries, and I (as the VegBox resident Sprout Loather) have even mustered one actual “yum” already. Bah humbug ; )
But there is still time for more entries. So, with your sprouts-on-a-stalk in one hand, as though it were a culinary wand, make your way to the kitchen and do some conjuring.
If you need inspiration, you might want to have a look at some of the recipes we already feature:
Brussels Sprouts Salad – Fresh, young sprouts work well in this raw salad. The sweetness of Balsamic vinegar gives it a delicious twist and the pumpkin seeds and pine nuts give it a nutty crunch.
Brussels Sprouts with Garlic and Almonds – If eating them raw doesn’t tempt you, try frying them with a little garlic and then dressing them with cream an almonds puts a whole new slant on this veggie.
Stir-fried Brussels Sprouts – This recipe is quick, easy and delicious and has been known to receive nods of approval from even seasoned Sprout Naysayers.
Submit your entries using the comments box below. Remember, there’s just over one week to go, the nation is counting on you, and the winner will receive a copy of the very beautiful “Grow Organic” courtesy of Natural Collection.
The VegBox Team
wellies optional
“Growing Your Own” has never been more relevant than now, and is a singular, powerful and personal choice in favour of a healthier economy, ecologically respectful living, physical well being and stronger communities.
With this in mind, and as promised in the last newsletter, at 7pm on Tuesday December 2nd the VegBox Recipes Team will host a live webcast dedicated to providing guidance on how to get started growing fruit and vegetables at home. We will be joined by writer, broadcaster and veritable eco-hero Penney Poyzer, who will dispel some of the myths surrounding the GYO lifestyle choice, before sharing priceless “How To” tips for beginners.
To take part in the call, simply click here. We are encouraging everyone to use the Q&A box at the link above to submit questions before the event.
“See” you there!
Claire, Clare and the VegBox Team
About Penney Poyzer
our eco-hero penney
Penney Poyzer is an author, broadcaster, trainer and campaigner specialising in the communication of green issues.
She is co-owner of the Nottingham ecohome, a pioneering eco retrofit of a Victorian semi in Nottingham. She and her husband green architect Gil Schalom have lectured extensively on their home and the issues surrounding our existing housing stock. Their ecohome has been cited as an exemplar and has been featured in many case studies, hundreds of media articles and formed the basis of dozens of dissertations. She is mentor to a number of PhD students and green business entrepreneurs.
She presented BBC2’s ‘No Waste like Home’ which has been broadcast on four continents. She is also author of two books with a third out in 2009.
She is a regular guest on TV and radio and frequently appears as panellist at conferences talking on a wide range of green issues. Penney is an advisor to several strategic organsiations including the Environment Agency.
She is a Matron, Patron and trustee of several green charities.
Penney is 48 and lives with husband Gil and toddler Jasmine. Penney also has Lucy, her grown up daughter and her two children. Penney is a happy, busy granny working hard with others to hand our children a planet worth inheriting.
going back to our roots
Welcome to November’s newsletter!
Given our slightly more than passing interest in seasonal vegetable growing, we often start off our newsletters with a reference to the weather here in the United Kingdom … and yes, it has continued to be weird (snow in the UK? At the end of October?!) But this month, whilst hanging out on the VegBox sofa, we just couldn’t help shifting our focus to the climate in the US, politically speaking.
It’s been an incredible month, and from an eco perspective, I think it’s safe to say that new hopes abound. So as well as bringing you the usual round-up of what’s in season as we move firmly into the realm of the root vegetable, our feature article brings you news of two fascinating campaigns, one from each side of the pond, that capture the Zeitgeist of a renewed global focus on locally-grown seasonal produce.
As always, we’ve got recipes, this month to help you get cosy with cabbage and toasty with turnips as the nights draw in and the extra sweaters go on, plus an update on our new favourite online green community “ ooffoo”, and the launch of our traditional sprout-peddling contest.
Enjoy!
Claire, Clare and The VegBox Team x
Everyone worth their ethically-sourced salt (yep, including us here on the VBR sofa) is writing to Barack Obama, it seems.
In his open letter to the next President in last month’s New York Times, American activist Michael Pollan spoke of energy independence, climate change and the health care crisis and urged attention on the US food system. He says “You can’t deal with any of those three problems without dealing with the food system”. He’s on the same page as ecologist Satish Kumar in this month’s publication of Resurgence. “People ask, “What can we do to combat global warming, environmental degradation and social injustice?” The answer …. is, “Let us start with food: let us eat local, organic, seasonal and delicious food…”
Hear hear!
Joining in the clamour for President Obama’s attention are the US-based Eat the View campaign and the White House Organic Farm Project, both of whom are petitioning President Obama to dig up his new “back garden” appoint a Farmer in Chief, and appear with the family, come January, not for the customary stroll, but rather with sleeves up, wellies on, picking their own…
And then there’s Boris Johnson. “What?!” you cry! “Has he been writing to Barack too?”
Well, not quite. But on Tuesday November 4th, he unveiled the Capital Growth project which is encouraging the capital’s residents to plant gardens on their empty, flat roofs (and pretty much any other available space) in order to increase the amount of locally grown food available. To be precise, the aim is to create 2,012 new food growing spaces by … you guessed it – 2012!
It’s not a new idea, of course. Think Second World War and Eleanor Roosevelt’s “Victory” Home Gardens. And the corresponding surge in allotments in here in the UK. Maybe the rise and rise of Grow-Your-Own can help all of us living on what Obama describes as “a planet in peril” to reduce our dependence on fossil-fuels and help address the problems of climate change. As well as improving our own personal nutrition in the face of the obesity crisis and helping ease the current strain on our household budgets.
I’ll leave the (almost) last word to Satish Kumar. “We have to transform our [personal] relationship with food, as a first step towards transforming political, economic and social policies… Are we prepared to put our hands in the soil?”
Well, you know that here at VBR we are very up for the whole hands/soil relationship. And given that this is the perfect time to plan and prepare for next year’s crops, we are dedicating the next VegBox Recipes Club webcast to providing some practical guidance to all you would-be-home-gardeners out there to help you get started.
STOP PRESS
We can now announce that the webcast will take place in the early evening of Tuesday 2nd December, and I am DEEEEE-lighted to tell you that our special guest will be none other than the quite incredible writer/broadcaster Penney Poyzer – co-creator of the UK’s first radical eco retrofit of a Victorian house, author of “No Waste Like Home” and Matron of the Women’s Environmental Network!
The tree outside my window, which was a-flame this time last month, is now looking decidedly naked. Mother Nature has definitely shifted her focus from branch and hedgerow and is now working most of her magic underground, summoning up delicious root vegetables for us to bubble and bake and stew and roast to keep ourselves warm till spring.
So, get ready to hunker down with November’s most likely box-stars – here’s a round-up of what to expect this month:
apples, beetroot, broccoli, butternut squash and all other winter squashes, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celeriac, Jerusalem artichoke, kohlrabi (whose time is now, finally, running out), leeks (now even sweeter since we’ve had a frost), onions, parsnips, pears, sprouts (don’t miss the competition!), swede, turnip, watercress
And here are some of our current favourite recipes:
Baked Butternut Squash with Apple
Baking or roasting squash gives it a sweeter flavour. Stuffing it with apple makes a delicious variation. http://www.vegbox-recipes.co.uk/recipes/butternut-squash-recipe-5.php#notes
Spicy Cabbage Soup
Spices are a good way of boosting your metabolic rate, which can get sluggish in winter, so this soup should leave you feeling full of energy. http://www.vegbox-recipes.co.uk/recipes/cabbage-soup-recipe-2.php
Celeriac and Other Root Vegetable Crumble with Cheesy Topping
This is a delicious recipe for carrots and other roots veggies. The secret ingredient gives it a warming kick. Make the most of your celeriac, kohlrabi, turnips, Swedes and parsnips. http://www.vegbox-recipes.co.uk/recipes/carrot-recipe-2.php
Brussel Sprouts with Nutmeg
We thought we’d whet your appetite as we launch our annual “sprout peddling” contest. This recipe was rated 10/10 on the main website, but we reckon you guys can find something even more delicious. Read on! http://www.vegbox-recipes.co.uk/recipes/brussel-sprouts-recipe-5.php
Remember, you can find hundreds more recipes on the main website: http://www.vegbox-recipes.co.uk/recipes/recipes-index.php
The Annual Sprout Peddling Contest
There’s no denying it, the season has well and truly shifted … if the snow and the bare branches aren’t proof enough for you … check out the new arrival in our vegboxes. Yep. Sprrrrrrrrrrrouts!
Love ‘em or hate ‘em (perhaps sprouts are the marmite of seasonal food?), they are here for a while. So in honour of these much-maligned little greenies, we thought we would run the annual VBR “sprout peddling” competition to find arguably the most sought-after of all seasonal cooking treasures … I speak of course, in appropriately hushed tones so as not to scare my family, of The Best Brussel Sprout Recipe of 2008. This recipe will be recognizable by its magical power to convert entrenched sprout-loathers across the Northern hemisphere to “devout-sprout-touters” in time for Christmas.
Since the Going Back to my Roots (Yeah…) blogpost, we have already had one submission, and it’s sounding deeeee-lish (I will be test driving this one next week, Siobhan in London), so thinking caps on, friends. The winner will be announced in the December issue of the VBR Newsletter, and will receive a copy of the very beautiful “ Grow Organic” courtesy of Natural Collection
Last month the hot tip from VegBox was to “Get Ready to ooffoo”. And now that the community is live and kicking, it’s surely only a matter of time before the sheer volume of green souls bartering, buying and blogging there every day make “to offoo” an official verb!
Front and centre on the homepage it says that “ooffoo has been designed to bring together a community of people who share the desire to create a positive vision for our world. ooffoo is for those who really do believe that the world is what we make it and that collectively, positive actions no matter how small, can make a difference.”
And when they put it like that … well, we just had to give it another plug!
Anyway, that’s all for now. I hope you’ve enjoyed this month’s newsletter.
Until next time, may your vegboxes heave with all the root-y beauties this season has to offer : )
Claire, Clare and the VegBox Team x
P.S. If you’re involved with a Box Scheme or other eco business, please do feel free to forward this newsletter to your customers.
Well, what a night THAT was.
I couldn’t help it, I just had to stay up and watch the election results roll in.And while I watched and waited, I tried to work. I skipped back and forth between the usual array of food and eco websites and the online coverage of the votes coming in. Faster and faster I surfed, this way and that, until, mysteriously, the world of VegBox and the world of the US Presidential election had rather unexpectedly become one…
What am I talking about? I’m talking about “The White House Organic Farm Project”. In a nutshell, two major organisations (Eat the View and The White House Organic Farm Project) are running simultaneous campaigns urging the First Family to ‘be the change they want to see’ by using five acres of White House lawn for an organic fruit and vegetable garden!
Now, of all the revolutions we might expect from this particular new President, this may seem at first glance to be a frivolous one to flag on the day after US citizens voted with such passion. And yet, scratch beneath the surface, and it has substance. In his open letter to the next President in last month’s New York Times, Michael Pollen (author, columnist and activist) spoke of energy independence, climate change and the health care crisis and urged attention on the US food system. “You can’t deal with any of those three problems without dealing with the food system” was the point he was making.
And so today, Michael Pollen, the Eat the View campaign, and the White House Organic Farm Project are all hoping that President Obama will be appointing a “Farmer in Chief”, and that Barack and the family will soon enough be photographed not strolling on the lawn, but sleeves up, wellies on, picking their own… It’s not an entirely new idea, of course. According to Michael Pollen’s research, by the end of the Second World War, more than 20 million of Eleanor Roosevelt’s “Victory” Home Gardens were supplying 40 percent of produce consumed by the American people. Maybe a similar initiative today can help all of us living on what Obama describes as “a planet in peril” to reduce our dependence on fossil-fuels and help address the problems of climate change. As well as improving our own personal nutrition and helping ease the current strain on our household budgets.
So, rather unsurprisingly I’m sure, my household will be most voiciferously supporting the campaign. In fact (and yes, I know I know – but it was 4am…) I used the online petition as an opportunity to send the new Commander In Chief some very seasonal congratulations, and assure him of a constant stream of VegBox Recipes to help his farming and kitchen staff make the best use of the veg they’ll soon be growing : )
Which got me to thinking … if they were there now, ready to bring in the daily harvest, what recipe might I offer them for their first supper at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW?
After some reflection, I doubt they could do any better than a wholesome and hearty root vegetable chilli non carne, to replenish their personal energy reserves and to provide them with strength for the road ahead.
Bon appetit, Family Obama!
What seasonal recipe would YOU have sent?
green meanies?
So the clocks went back, we had the first snow (how bizarre was THAT?!), and now the leeks are even sweeter and the parsnips are arriving for the winter in droves.
There’s no denying it, the season has well and truly shifted … it is the time of mash and stews and chunky soups. And sprrrrrrrrrrrouts.
Love ‘em or hate ‘em (perhaps sprouts are the marmite of seasonal food?), they are here for a while, and likely to start making appearances in your vegbox. So in honour of these much-maligned little greenies, we thought we would run a VBR competition to find that recipe worth its weight in gold … the one that will convert sprout-loathers across the Northern hemisphere over the next few months.
We will officially launch the competition with the November newsletter and announce the winners in December in time for the festive season. Meantime, thinking caps on, friends. And if you get some in your box, start experimenting! The person who submits the most delicious suggestion (I can’t believe I am going to have to test drive all your submissions) will win a special prize and free membership to the VegBox Recipes Club.
So, going back to my roots before I sign off, I wanted to ask for your help.
The root in question was beetroot. Earlier in the week I decided that it was finally time to dust off my baking tins and try a chocolate and beetroot creation. I used gluten free flour, agave nectar instead of sugar and carotino oil instead of butter. And it was truly horrible. In fact my sister was adamant that it no longer classified as a food stuff.
I think the main problem was the carotino oil and the agave nectar, as I had struggled to find guidelines for substitution amounts.
And I’m hoping that’s where you folks come in. Where do you go when you want to make substitutions for less traditional ingredients and don’t know how much to swap in?
mind your clothes!
Meantime, I will leave you with a link to my favourite beetroot recipe:
Pink Mash – sent in by Natasha Mangion and always a winner in our house!
TOP TIP: use baked rather than boiled potatoes, remembering to rub the skins with oil and salt, then scoop the pink mash back into the skins, grate over some cheese, melt under the grill and serve.
not just for muffins, you know!
In season from early August through to late September, size isn’t everything when it comes to blueberries – often it is the smaller ones that are the most delicious. Read on to find out what else to look for, how to store them, some cunning cooking tips and a surprising new recipe for Blueberry Salsa.
no longer an option 
As part of my VegBox passions, I was, up until recently, using myself as an experiment to see how easy it is to grow some of my own food, rather than sticking to eating food lovingly and healthily grown by others.
But as some of you know, I’ve been fighting somewhat up-hill for the last few years with a lot of pain in my shoulders, spine, hips and now knees.
So I’m looking for some advice from you, dear readers! Perhaps you’d have a read and let me know if you’ve got any suggestions?
how'd you like them apples?
This month we asked a VegBox Regular to be our “Appointed August Apple Afficionado”. Read on to discover what Denise Tolson had to say to us about her love of apples, to find out what kinds of apples are in season in the UK when, and to find recipes for Grilled Apple Sandwiches, Apple Sauce and Smoked Haddock with Apples and Spinach.
which one's which?
It’s too baffling for words.
So I’m going to spare you the majority of what’s in my head!
What I will say is that there is a huge a global confusion about the difference between chicory and endive.
Now I am very far from claiming to be an expert. I just think we need to define our terms for future reference …
So click on for the British solution to the tangle, posted on our sister site ooffoo.com, and to discover a brand new recipe that falls firmly into the category of unusual ways to use salad…
would you grow this?
Thinning the spinach, successional sowing the lettuce for cut and come again, pinching out the broad beans, using manure for the squash, and planning for the brassicas …
All the things our mentors Tony, Ann and Red are telling us we need to be doing over the next couple of months…
But what ARE they?!
Join us over on our sister site, ooffoo.com, as we share what we’re learning on the journey to home-grown food.
one of many!
You may remember that last month I’d been merrily killing off the lettuce and accidentally cultivating giraffe-like broad bean plants?
Well I’m grinning happily now.
To find out how I saved some weedy seedlings, why exactly I’ve planted ten pots of spinach, and how I plan to get the neighbours into the street in their pyjamas, visit our sister site, ooffoo.com, where you can read the whole article.
in season in may
May is another exciting month as Summer gets underway and many much-missed friends come back into season. May also brings with it two Bank Holidays (3rd and 25th), Compost Awareness Week, National Honey Week, World Fair Trade Day, British Sandwich Week, and National Vegetarian Week.
On their way in:
Apricot, Aubergine, Courgette, Fennel, Globe Artichoke, Gooseberry, Raspberry, Strawberry, Tomato and Watermelon.
Going strong:
Asparagus, Lambs Lettuce, Lettuce, New potatoes, Peas, Pepper (capsicum), Radish, Sorrel, Spring greens, and Watercress.
Goodbye for a while:
Cauliflower, Leek, and Purple sprouting broccoli.
And now, over to you:
Use the comments box down there to share with us on one of these May-specific topics:
1) Which of the May veggies would you like us to shine a “spotlight” on?
2) What’s your favourite honey recipe?
3) What’s your favourite Fair Trade ingredient?
4) What’s your favourite seasonal veggie sandwich filling?
The VegBox Team
has spring sprung?
March brings with it Red Nose Day (13th), St. Patrick’s Day (17th), Earth Day (20th), World Poetry Day (21st), Mothering Sunday (22nd) and the beginning of British Summer Time (29th).
Phew!
More on some of these closer to the time.
March also brings with it the following seasonal veggies:
Beetroot
Brussels Sprouts
Cabbage (white, red and Cavolo Nero)
Carrots
Cauliflower
Celeriac
Chard or “Swiss” Chard
Chicory
Jerusalem Artichoke
Kale or “Curly” Kale
Kohlrabi
Leeks
Mushrooms
Onions
Parsnips
Potatoes (from store)
Purple Sprouting Broccoli
Rhubarb (check out the recipe donated by our favourite TV chef)
Spinach
Squashes (last ones from store)
Swede
Turnips
Which of these are you most looking forward to tucking into?
The VegBox Team
Cavolo what?
Black Nero Cabbage? CAVOLO Nero Cabbage?
“Why don’t YOU try asking [for it] at your local Tescos? Make sure you get the facial expression down on your digital.”
So protested Jackaranda Rainbow in a recent email to us.
And we have to confess, JR has a point. If you get a veg box, or you have a local organic store, you’re probably in luck. But if you shop in a supermarket …
I have heard Cavolo Nero / Black Nero Cabbage described as a ’sexy’ member of the cabbage family. Now I accept that for many people, someone’s unavailability can kind of make them sexy … You know, forbidden fruit and all that … But does this hold for cabbage?!
I put my money where my mouth is, and checked out Tesco online. Nope. Not a whiff of a Cavolo anything. Next I checked out a local, more specialised supplier of organic veg, and yep, they had it. And yep, it was, er, slightly more expensive than a Tesco’s white cabbage. £1.99 versus £0.31 for the same amounts.
So returning to the Cavolo Nero as ’sexy’ veg theory, maybe it’s not just its unavailability that makes it such a turn on, but also how much money it’s worth. By this reasoning, perhaps I should be leaving VegBox Husband for Simon Cowell?!
Yikes!
steamy date!
In conclusion, if you’re getting a veg box delivered, and it has some Cavolo Nero in it, brill. I can heartily recommend the Black Nero Soup (which doubles up as a deeply scrummy pasta sauce). I picked up (ha ha ha) 200g of our elusive brassica last week for a steamy dinner date and was not disappointed.
But if you’re buying your seasonal veg yourself from the supermarket, and you’re watching the pennies, the great news is that white cabbage can be just as delicious. In particular, I’d point you in the direction of our recipes for Mustard Cabbage and Spicy Cabbage Soup.
What recipes do you love to dig out for regular old white and savoy cabbages? Do share them and let us know if we can add them to our main recipes listings. Of course we’ll include a big credit to you in the text!
It’s early January and the overnight frosts have been harsh, so I was pleased to see plenty of comfort food in our veg box this week.
I’ve just started with a new provider (don’t you love moving house?!) and went straight for their mega box. It really is as big as it sounds. I wanted to set myself the challenge of moving our diet over to being mainly vegetable based (more alkalising), so decided to start big!
And here’s what was in our box this week:
Potatoes, onions, beetroot, Swiss chard, Savoy cabbage, red cabbage, parsnips, salad leaves, cauliflower, swede, sprout tops, mushrooms, parsley – all grown within a 10 mile radius of the farm – truly seasonal and local 
. It was missing the turnip, carrots and coriander, but that’s probably a good thing, as I’m away this weekend.
Once I had unloaded it all, I realised just how much veg you get in a mega box. I have never seen so many potatoes – 3kg! And 400g chard is a lot, lot, lot.
So how am I going to make sure we get through it all?
So all the muddy root vegetables got a good scrub last night and were left out to dry, before going in the bottom of the fridge. If you’re anything like me, the thought of de-mudding them, when you’re already in a hurry, is enough to make you reach for pasta again.
That way I don’t have to think about what’s left. The idea is that stuff gets crossed off when it has been used.
and decide to use those first.
So cabbages and chard will be eaten early in the week (along with the salad leaves, which would otherwise go off).
And there are plenty of them.
And I thought it might be interesting to do a week’s diary of how we use the veg box, in case it inspires anyone else out there who might be feeling overwhelmed?
Day One
Veg box arrived at lunch time.
Half the swede and some of the spuds became swede mash (I always “dilute” the flavour of the swede with potatoes, but that’s mainly to get it past my fussy eaters). I ate my portion with a sprout top (picture to follow), sliced and sauted with pine nuts.
Evening: 1/2 a red cabbage, finely shredded with a mandolin, served with toasted, ground sesame seeds and tamari sauce.
A long way to go, but we’ve made a start!
More soon in a week in the life of a veg box.
What are you doing with your veg box this week?
Clare
This month has already seen snow storms and Arctic weather in the UK, so it’s just as well we’re well-stocked with winter warming vegetables in season in December.
Here’s a low-down of what you can expect to find in your veg box or local farm shop this month:
Do you love parsnips?
And here is a great December seasonal recipe to get you started:
Beetroot & Celeriac Gratin
Beetroot & Celeriac Gratin
http://www.vegbox-recipes.co.uk/recipes/celeriac-recipe-5.php
This delicious recipe was sent in by Paul – thank you! And it makes great use of celeriac, beetroot, orange juice and thyme.
It’s had rave reviews and apparently even goes down well with teenagers!
Once you’ve tried it, how about telling others what you thought of it, via the recipe page ratings box?
Watch this space in the next few weeks for our favourite Christmas veg box recipes!
Got something different in your veg box this month? Please get sharing via the comments box!
Thanks,
Claire, Clare & the Veg Box Team
Autumn is here
Welcome to October’s newsletter!
Apologies that the newsletter is a bit late this month. Read on to find out about the mysterious disappearing Veg Box Recipes website and you’ll understand why the newsletter is only just gracing your inbox!
Those of us in the UK are finally enjoying a beautiful summer (what’s up with the weather?!) and this month we’re bringing you a round-up of early autumn ingredients to enjoy while you can, plus plenty of ideas for the autumn’s harvest, to help you with the change in season.
We’ve got top tips on what to do with the insides of your Hallowe’en pumpkin, an update on our hens, discussions on eco-cleaning and hot-off-the-press news about the latest green trend: ooffoo-ing your stuff – all will become clear!
Enjoy!
Clare x
October really sees the shift in seasons from summer to autumn. Though there are still a few juicy tomatoes and aubergines around, most produce is now looking decidedly autumnal.
So this is a month of transitions, saying farewell to the summer fare and welcoming in the main crop of the winter squashes.
Here’s a round-up of what to expect in October:
apples, aubergine (the last few), butternut squash and all other winter squashes, beetroot, blackberries, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower (miniature varieties), courgette (some final, large ones, best for soup), kohlrabi, leeks, onions, parsnips, pears, peppers, potatoes, pumpkins, swede, sweetcorn, tomatoes (very much end of season), turban squash, turnip, watercress
And here are some of our current favourite recipes:
Pumpkin Soup
Pumpkin or Butternut Squash Soup
With Hallowe’en looming, millions of us are going to be faced with what to do with the innards of our Jack-O-Lantern carvings. Pumpkin soup is an easy and delicious way to enjoy the fruits of your labour!
http://www.vegbox-recipes.co.uk/recipes/butternut-squash-recipe-3.php
Bramble Jelly
This is a really popular recipe that my Mum used to make when we were kids. With the current bountiful apple harvest and the few remaining seasonal blackberries, this is a great way of keeping the blackberry flavour going throughout the winter.
http://www.vegbox-recipes.co.uk/recipes/blackberry-recipe-1.php
Pumpkin, sage & pine nut ravioli
Pumpkin, Sage & Pine Nut Ravioli
This recipe requires a little patience, but it is soooo delicious. It works well with pumpkin or any of the other winter squashes. Make it for your friends and amaze them with your culinary skills!
http://www.vegbox-recipes.co.uk/recipes/pumpkin-recipe-3.php
Leek And Red Onion Canneloni
This delicious autumn recipe uses in-season leeks and red onions, to make a change from the usual spinach and ricotta canneloni. It’s great on a cold, autumn evening and (if you’ve got any leftovers…) keeps well for a few days in the fridge.
http://www.vegbox-recipes.co.uk/recipes/leek-recipe-1.php
And, in case you’ve still got some pumpkin or squashes left, here’s a traditional recipe for Pumpkin Pie.
Pumpkin Pie
Pumpkin Pie
This classic American dish is a great way of celebrating the pumpkin season.
http://www.vegbox-recipes.co.uk/recipes/pumpkin-recipe-1.php
Remember, you can find hundreds more recipes on the main website: http://www.vegbox-recipes.co.uk/recipes/recipes-index.php
Thank you for the fantastic response to last month’s feature on Getting Clucky.
It was great to hear from so many of you, by email and via the blog comments, with your thoughts and suggestions on raising chickens. Hopefully it will have inspired a few of you to try it for yourselves!
Hen House - WLTM 4 lovely hens with GSOH
We haven’t been able to get ours yet, as our landlord is still refusing (nowt so queer as folk!), so we’re going for virtual hens instead, for the moment.
So if any of you would like to share your chicken experiences with us, to help make up for the fact that our beautiful hen house is still very empty, please do pass on your comments and stories via the blog post!
Confessions Of An Eco Shopper
Thank you to Kate Lock for a great live call last month, sharing her wisdom from her new book: Confessions Of An Eco-Shopper.
The Veg Box Recipes Club has been discussing all aspects from making the most of seasonal bargains to recipes for your own toiletries!
If you missed the call and would like to listen to the recording, then you can still download it from the Club home page and join in the discussions, if you take up the 28 day free membership trial.
http://www.vegbox-recipes.co.uk/subscription.html
The book really is a good read and you can get it via Amazon
The competition copies were won by Lisa and Chris, both of whom were also lucky enough to have Kate answer their questions during the call!
Live Call - All Things Hallowe'en!
October’s live call is on on all things Hallowe’en and how to really get into the spirit of autumn squashes!
Claire Van Den Bosch is even going to do a feature on how to create a healthier Hallowe’en, so you don’t have to resort to e-number-laden sweety bags for the trick-or-treaters and can easily rustle up tasty Hallowe’en party delights.
It’s open to all club members – even those on the 28 day trial. There’s still time to sign up to the club and join in the call and full details are on the link on the Club Members’ Home Page.
Thank you to everyone who got in touch about the mystery of the disappearing Veg Box Recipes website earlier this month!
Apparently we got too popular. We usually get 7,500+ visitors a day, but at one point last week this shot up and, in response, our web hosting company closed our database, effectively closing the website! But they forgot to warn us or tell us…
So huge apologies to all those of you who were looking for inspiration over the weekend and got blank pages with database error messages. Believe me, we were as frustrated as you were!
The upshot is that we’re changing to a more reliable and sympathetic web hosting company this week. The transition should be smooth, but if there are any tiny glitches, please bear with us. We’ll be working as hard as we can to make sure you don’t even notice the move!
Do you ever wonder what to do with those things you no longer need, but are still perfectly usable?
Maybe the idea of sticking them on eBay just seems like too much hard work?
Or you’re not sure your local charity shop can cope with yet another bag of whatever it is you’re getting rid of?
Historically, one of the other options has been Freecycle – a Yahoo-groups-based facility that allows you to offer your unwanted treasure for people in your area to hunt down – or it allows you to request random items that others might be throwing out.
Although this has been great, lots of people found it all a bit clunky and you either got swamped with 300 requests a day for a free piano, with 150 people offering random collections of chipped mugs…
Do You Ooffoo?
Anyway, my good friend Al Tepper, former editor-in-chief of the eco-blog City Hippy, and his crew are in the process of launching a super-cool site that is going to transform the way we all think about decluttering!
It’s called “ooffoo” and the name comes from 00FF00, which is the web code for the colour “green”.
The site is tipped to be one of the hottest launches of the year and it’s currently in the final stages of beta launch. In addition to the whole listings area, there will be articles, competitions and much more besides. So if you’d like to be one of the first people out there to start Ooffooing, then make sure you sign up to the Ooffoo launch email!
Following the fab live call with Kate Lock in September, we’ve been discussing eco-cleaning on the Veg Box Recipes Club discussion boards.
We’ve been looking at all aspects of being eco-clean – from how not to cover your walls in newspaper print when you eco-clean your windows, through to how to keep your whites eco-bright and your socks eco-un-smelly!
Eco Balls
Find out how we’re cleaning our floors, why we’re scrubbing with e-cloths
It really is a spill-the-beans, humorously-honest kind of discussion topic.
So if you’ve got any experiences, advice or even disasters you’d like to share, just log in to the Veg Box Recipes Club and follow the link on the home page. If you’re not a member yet, you can still take part in the discussions as part of your 28 day free trial.
Anyway, that’s all for now. I hope you’ve enjoyed this month’s newsletter.
Here’s wishing you plentiful pumpkins and a barrel full of autumn apples.
Clare x
If you were forwarded this email and would like to receive your own copy next time, you can register here: http://www.vegbox-recipes.co.uk/resources/veg-box-recipes-newsletter.php
Adul The Orangutan - courtesy of http://www.orangutans-sos.org/
Trying to be a “green parent” can be challenging.
You’ve got the obvious decisions, like nappies, organic, local food, ethicallly sourced toys and organic cotton clothes. All of these are easy to spot, whichever choice you make.
Sometimes I reckon I get it right, sometimes I don’t. And I’ve decided the skill is not to beat myself up over it…
But I was thinking yesterday about the more subtle green decisions.
For example, the boys love peanut butter (yes, I know I instantly earn top prize in the bad mummy brigade for feeding them peanuts before they’re five, but don’t get me onto that one…)
Anyway, I needed to get some more and it’ll still be a few weeks before we do another bulk food club order from Suma, so I had to go to the supermarket.
There was actually a choice of organic peanut butter, which impressed me. Even a year ago, there wouldn’t have been anything vaguely organic on that aisle. So all the talk about the credit crunch affecting the organic food market clearly hasn’t filtered through to jams and spreads yet.
So far, so good.
Unfortunately both brands had salt in – not ideal, when you need to keep salt content low for little ones.
But the real issue was an ingredient that none of us would expect to find in peanut butter:
Palm oil.
??? Why ??? It’s added, according to the ingredients, at the rate of about 5%.
I can only imagine that it makes the peanut butter smoother or creamier. Personally I prefer the brands that are 100% peanuts, but I guess they can be a bit dry.
Why should I care?
Well, now that we’ve finally seen the light and are moving away from hydrogenated fats, the food industry needed another fat that was hard at room temperature, but didn’t have the bad press of ingredients like butter or coconut oil (cholesterol city, here we come).
So palm oil has seen a massive increase in production in recent years, as the new ingredient of choice for processed foods.
Aside from being high in saturated fats, the problem with palm oil is that its production is leading to massive deforestation, which is likely to cause the extinction of orangutangs and other species. So it’s a potential environmental baddie. Find out more about why to avoid palm oil.
And this is just the tip of the iceberg, on ethical decisions, when you’re raising little ones.
What are the green dilemmas you’re facing on a day-to-day basis?
How do you make your decisions? And how do you deal with other people having an opinion about your choices?!
Please share your experiences, thoughts and ideas via the comments box!
Thanks,
Clare x
Where has Veg Box Recipes Gone?
Where has the Veg Box Recipes website gone?
That’s precisely what I wanted to know when I went online after a few days off this week!
My inbox was flooded with emails asking me exactly the same question.
So, despite it being a Sunday afternoon, I managed to raise someone who was half awake with our web hosting company.
It turns out that we got too popular on Friday!
So they’ve shut us down? Duh?!!!
And they didn’t even tell us. Nice people.
Obviously, we’re working away to find a sensible solution to this, as soon as we can. But in the meantime, please just bear with us.
We’re gutted and frustrated and hope to be back tomorrow – the peeps who turn websites back on at the hosting company don’t work weekends. Joy!
And if anyone knows an affordable, reliable, kind-hearted hosting company who can cope with a website as big and popular as Veg Box Recipes, without costing the earth, please let me know!
While we’re waiting, how about sharing some of your current favourite recipes or asking the questions you were looking for answers to, via the comments box on this blog post?
Thank you for your patience!
Clare x
In these post-Jamie days, we’ve finally got the message that fizzy drinks, sugary snacks and bags of crisps are a bad idea, whether lunch is for us or the kids.
But how many of us realise the real impact of our packed lunch – on our bodies and the planet?
Clare Josa of Vegbox-Recipes.co.uk spills the beans on why the humble lunch box might not be as green as it seems.
Here are her 5 steps to a greener lunch box.
I’m not talking about sneaking courgettes into pasta sauces. I’m talking hidden nasties: hydrogenated fats in tortilla wraps, aspartame in “healthy” kids’ drinks, yoghurts and puddings and good old MSG in everything from premium brand crisps to gravies, as we demand lower salt content in food.
Alternatives: either read the labels and make your choices or go organic – there are good reasons why all these ingredients are banned from certified organic foods.
They are likely to contain less nutrients than you’d expect, being picked before they’re ripe and then stored for weeks or months, and have a similar carbon footprint to more guilt-inducing delights.
But this isn’t just about air freighting. And it’s not just about local – out of season UK tomatoes can have a higher carbon footprint than imported varieties, due to heating green houses. So it’s not always an easy decision.
Alternatives: go the whole hog and get yourself a veg box from a local farm, or become a more savvy consumer, check labels, and aim to eat more of what’s naturally in season, near you.
Alternatives: refill a water bottle from home, use paper bags for sandwiches, make the most of eco-friendly tubs and pots, buy larger pots of yoghurt and decant each day into a reusable pot. Above all, it’s time for us, as consumers, to be telling the supermarkets we want less packaging on our food – and for it to be recyclable.
It turns out the pitta bread was “packaged in a protective environment”, as are most pre-packed salads and many other “fresh” products. Sounds harmless enough – maybe even a good idea.
Yet further research shows this claim means that chemicals are used in the packet to slow down the process of decay.
Your pre-packed salads will still look fresh and vibrant, long after the vitamins have gone. If the packaging actually said “has been marinating in a cocktail of chemicals for weeks”, we’d be less inclined to buy it.
Alternatives: luckily it has to be labelled, so you can do your best to avoid it. Even organic food can be subject to the “protective environment” gases. Your only option is to actively avoid it or buy products that aren’t pre-packaged.
At home, composting may be an option, but at school or in the office, your lunchtime leftovers are more likely to go into the general waste.
Alternatives: Put pressure on your local council to actively recycle food waste – and perhaps your employer could be persuaded to join in? Do we see a new trend in desk-top wormeries for the office?
Even if you implement just one of these steps, you’ll be going a long way towards a healthier packed lunch.
How about helping with the debate? What are your favourite packed lunch recipes?
What tricks and tips could you share with others to help them go greener on their lunch boxes?
I’d love to hear your views via the Comments Box!
Thanks,
Clare
Autumn Veg Box
As many of you know, we’ve recently moved.
Where we used to live, our veg box was delivered to our door by friendly Roger, every Friday afternoon.
The boys used to wait, practically by the front door, listening for the familiar, dulcet tones of the Purton House Farm van, as it pulled up, before systematically removing all the veg from the box, covering the hall floor in mud, and declaring their verdict on that week’s selection.
I’ve waited a little while to get to know the local farms where we are now, before deciding which veg box provider to use. So having made my decision, I’ve just spotted that, in the village we’re in, the farm doesn’t do door-to-door deliveries. It only has a drop-off point.
No problem, I thought. I’ll just pop round and collect my box on the way home from work.
Duh! No can do. The office is at home these days. And the village is 2 miles from one end to the other and we’re at one end, so a village drop-off point could be round the corner or an hour’s walk each way (imagine the speed with the little ones in tow). And it suddenly occurred to me that lugging a box of veggies across the forest tracks with a 3 year-old meandering and the toddler in the pushchair or the back pack is a big ask!
So the only option would be to get in the car, to make a round trip of less than a couple of miles, risking the boys falling asleep too close to bedtime, in order to collect our order.
Seems madness!
I guess I had been so used to having my veg box delivered or being “out at work” and picking it up in the evening, that it didn’t occur to me that local drop-off points can be such a challenge.
Not sure what the answer will be on that one.
But it got me wondering whether any of you face similar challenges?
How do you get hold of your veg box?
What’s working? What isn’t? Does the “getting” of the veg box put you off from ordering one?
I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Thanks,
Clare
Patty Pan Squash
Dear All,
Welcome to September’s newsletter!
This time, not only are we bringing you your usual round-up of what’s in season this month, plus some lovely recipe ideas, we’re also talking about chickens, whether kids should know their broccoli from their broad beans and how to be an eco-shopper!
We’ve got news of an exciting live call you can join in on with Kate Lock (author of Confessions Of An Eco Shopper) and even a competition to win a copy of her new book.
So whatever your views on the current weather and whether or not we ever had a summer this year, hopefully we’re bringing some sunshine your way!
Clare x
Although September is often seen as the start of autumn, from a fruit and veg point of view, much of the summer produce is now at its best.
You only have to smell the tomatoes to know they love September!
So this is a month of transitions, saying farewell to the summer fare and welcoming in the earliest signs of the new season in the form of the winter squashes.
Here’s a round-up of what to expect in September:
apples, aubergine, butternut squash (just in, UK), beetroot, blackberries, broccoli (tenderstem), carrots, cauliflower (miniature varieties), chillies, courgette, cucumber, fennel, french beans, globe artichoke, kohlrabi, leeks, onions, patty pan squashes, pears, peppers, potatoes, runner beans, sweetcorn, tomatoes, turban squash, turnip, watercress
And here are some of our current favourite recipes:
Beetroot and Fennel Salad With Sage Croutons
If you’ve not tried this combination, it’s well worth a go and might even convert someone who’s not sure about fennel!http://www.vegbox-recipes.co.uk/recipes/fennel-recipe-4.php
Blackberry And Apple Syrup
A delicious way of preserving a glut of blackberries – time to get picking!
http://www.vegbox-recipes.co.uk/recipes/blackberry-recipe-4.php
Caramelised Onions With Goats’ Cheese
The sweetness of the caramelised onions contrasts wonderfully with the tang of the goats’ cheese. Enjoy!
http://www.vegbox-recipes.co.uk/recipes/onion-recipe-2.php
Remember, you can find hundreds more recipes on the main website: http://www.vegbox-recipes.co.uk/recipes/recipes-index.php
Aside from the fact that my landlord is sulking with me over a rude workman he sent round – and the fact that I kind of have enough to do already – the boys and I are getting clucky.
hen
We’re thinking of getting some chickens – the egg-laying variety.
We’ve got enough space in the garden for them to run around during the day and have been doing our homework on what’s actually involved for the last few months.
But I figured there are probably plenty of people reading this who know far more than we do! So I wondered if you’d mind sharing?
The main reason I want to get hens is so that we know exactly what has gone into our eggs and also so the boys can start to learn to take responsibility for caring for animals. Is this a good idea? Are we nuts?!
I’ve started a blog on this one, to get the discussion going. If you’ve got any opinions, thoughts or ideas, please get sharing via the comments section. I’d love to hear from you! Thanks.
http://blog.vegbox-recipes.co.uk/2008/08/31/getting-clucky/
Confessions Of An Eco Shopper
I recently came across a fab new book from Kate Lock called “Confessions Of An Eco Shopper”.
Kate and I have been chatting about her experiences during the two year journey she took into the world of becoming a more eco-aware shopper.
She’s got a wonderfully down-to-earth attitude towards it all and there’s not a hint of preaching anywhere in anything she talks about, which is so refreshing! Also, she recommends Veg Box Recipes as a resource to her readers, which is very kind (warm, glowy moment coming on!).
Kate gets answers to the questions we just think about:
Are muddy carrots worth the effort? Can a natural deodorant survive a salsa class? Will clothes swapping ever beat clothes shopping?
Two years ago, shopaholic and supermarket addict Kate Lock set herself a series of ‘eco-challenges’, from kicking her Tesco habit to composting her kitchen waste.
The book shares everything she learned over those years, served with a large dollop of humour.
Kate has persuaded her publishers to run a special offer for Veg Box Recipes readers so you can get hold of your copy at a discounted price, with free P&P - very kind of them. If you’d like to find out more, go to:
http://www.pressoffers.co.uk/bsh657
And to find out how to win a copy of Kate’s book next Sunday, read on…
Live Call
On Sunday 7th September at 2pm, we’re running a live call with Kate Lock.
She’ll be tackling, head on, the mis-belief that eco-shopping has to be more expensive!
Given all the talk about the credit crunch, Kate has pulled together her top tips for saving money on whatever you’re buying, whilst also doing your bit for the planet and its inhabitants.
I will also be taking you on a whistle-stop tour of the best bits from the Soil Associations Organic Food Festival that I’m off to on Saturday. I’ll be doing interviews with loads of the businesses there, so I can bring you, hot off the press, the latest eco shopping news.
This call is not to be missed!
And if you’d like to take part, you can call in live, listen live on-line via the webcast, or download the MP3 recording to listen to later.
Here’s where to go to register and book your place:
http://www.vegbox-recipes.co.uk/teleclass-2008-09-07.html
Everyone who registers will be entered into a competition to win a copy of Kate’s book!
In these “post Jamie days”, we’ve pretty much all picked up on the fact that lots of children don’t even know that chips come from potatoes.
And I was wondering what the fuss is all about?
A friend of mine was recently teaching a course on health to a group of children. Of the 7-9 year olds in the room, hardly any knew that chips are made from potato and few could identify vegetables beyond carrots, peas and sweetcorn. And this wasn?t in an area that could be called in any way “deprived” – the excuse we all usually make.
Are we, as a nation, making too much of a fuss about children knowing about fruit and veg? What could we be doing differently? In these days of readily available vitamin supplements, should we care anyway?
Let?s get some discussion going via the blog comments!
http://blog.vegbox-recipes.co.uk/2008/08/24/should-kids-know-their-broccoli-from-their-broad-beans/
Thank you to everyone who has signed up for their free 28 day taster of the Veg Box Recipes Club.
We’ve been sorting out the techy side and this week are moving the main club area over to a dedicated site, away from Facebook, which we know had confused a few of us… So now you’ll get the chance to join in properly – with chat, your own page, discussion boards, posting photos and videos, getting access to your exclusive section on what’s in season in September, with loads of members-only stuff, and lots, lots more.
And we’ve also got some exciting news that the Veg Box Recipes Club has hit the radar of Gordon Ramsey’s team. We had them on the phone last week. Seriously. Club Members: we’ll be telling you more over coming weeks!
If you’ve not joined in yet, here’s how: http://www.vegbox-recipes.co.uk/subscription.html
My Zero Waste
A quick reminder from the last newsletter: if you want to get involved with Rachelle’s Zero Waste Week campaign, it starts today!
Whenever you’re reading this newsletter, it’s not too late to get going. So how about popping by her blog and letting her know how you’re going to get involved today? You could win goodies from loads of eco companies, just by cutting down your rubbish!
Anyway, that’s all for now. I hope you’ve enjoyed this newsletter.
Here’s wishing you bountiful butternut squash and sparkly saucepans.
Until next time!
Clare x
The boys and I are thinking of getting some chickens – the egg-laying variety. Three or four, to be precise.
And I was wondering whether we’re mad or not?!
Getting Clucky - time for hens?
The thing is, for years, I’ve wanted to know where our eggs come from. Even buying free-range, organic eggs, I still want to know how the chickens were raised and whether they’re happy or not. Yes, Pollyanna, here I come…
I’ve spent a couple of months doing my homework and I reckon we can manage the commitment of having hens – as long as the landlord and our neighbours agree. We’ve got the space for them to roam during the day and I’ve been learning about supposed fox-proof chicken runs.
I keep hearing scare stories about mink who were released from a local mink farm last summer, who munch your hens as soon as look at them and it doesn’t matter whether you’re rurual or urban these days, there are plenty of foxes. So I know keeping them safe will be a challenge.
But despite all that, I think I’m up for it.
I’d love to know whether any of you have hens? Or opinions on the subject? Any advice? Thoughts? Suggestions? Things you wish you had known?!
If we decide to go ahead, then this will be the place to follow the Hen House Diaries. So watch this space.
And please do share via the comments!
Thanks,
Clare x
We went to our local farm shop on Friday to top up on the weekly veg (we’re going back to the veg box once our chaotic summer finishes next week!).
Anyway, it was the usual fun of trying to persuade the 15 month old not to eat straw and convicing the 3 year old that I really didn’t need 17 kilos of potatoes. But that aside, as ever, it was an experience packed with the freshest organic vegetables, most of which had been picked in the last 24 hours.
Kohl rabi
The farm shop is teeny weeny, but it’s always busy. And staffed with a friendly smile.
And this week I decided to occupy the 3 year old, while I browsed for inspiration, with a round of “I spy” for vegetables.
So Louis duly started doing the rounds of all the vegetables on display and proudly announcing what they were.
Some of his answers were to be expected – carrots, onions, potatoes are something I would hope most 3 year olds would be able to identify (though Jamie’s research would have us believe otherwise). But by the time my munchkin got round to leeks, broccoli, cauliflower and kohlrabi, I was feeling faintly impressed.
He correctly identified courgettes, French beans, runner beans, kale and even broad beans (”Yuck, Mummy!”…). In fact the only 2 items he didn’t know were:
“What’s that black thing over there, Mummy?” – aubergine
and
Turban squash
“What’s that funny orange thing?” – turban squash.
Pretty good going.
Now you might think that, being a part-time food writer, I’ve been force feeding him vegetable facts before breakfast every morning. Nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, whenever I’m cooking, if he’s around, we talk about the ingredients. And when I go shopping, I get him to help me pick the vegetables, but that’s it. So it really hasn’t been difficult.
Contrast that to the experience of a dear friend of mine when running a recent children’s session as part of her programme on children’s health:
Of the 7-9 year olds in the room, hardly any knew that chips are made from potato and few could identify vegetables beyond carrots, peas and sweetcorn. And this wasn’t in an area that could be called in any way “deprived” – the excuse we all usually make.
So what’s going on?
How come my 3 year old knows his vegetables and these 9 year olds didn’t?
And does it matter?
Well, going back to basics, unless you know what vegetables are, you’re unlikely to know what to do with them and this makes you less likely to cook them.
And learning about food isn’t something that should be done via sterile text books in a classroom environment. You’re much more likely to really learn what it’s all about by cooking them at home.
So what can we do?
Well, it’s one of the reasons I created the Veg Box Recipes website – to provide a one-stop website where people could find out about seasonal food ingredients, what to do with them and discover (and share!) simple, tasty recipes, without the potential embarrassment of having to ask anyone!
What do you think about all this?
Are we, as a nation, making too much of a fuss about children knowing about fruit and veg? What could we be doing differently? In these days of readily available vitamin supplements, should we care anyway?
Let’s get some discussion going!
Clare
Today’s Evening Standard has a great article by Charlotte Ross, all about how to make the most of your veg box.
You know the kind of thing – how to avoid having to compost yet another cabbage or kohlrabi at the end of the week!
Veg Box Recipes - Evening Standard
And she says some glowing stuff about the Veg Box Recipes website and our new Veg Box Recipes Club, in particular!
In her article, Charlotte talks about the challenges facing veg box users to find out what to do with all the different vegetables they receive – and to get out of the rut of just doing stir fries or pasta sauces each night.
Charlotte says: “There is little worse than admitting defeat and throwing your Jerusalem artichokes in the compost bin. My boyfriend… for one, will be thankful that help is at hand, in the form of a new veg box support group. Run by Clare Josa, who also hosts the popular website Veg Box Recipes, and billing itself as a private members club for vegetable enthusiasts, the helpline is fast becoming a hit.”
She goes on to say that she can see quite some demand for the club and she can see like-minded cooks teaming up to share advice on what to do with beetroot or, in her case, the first cabbage of the season, sitting stubbornly in her cool box!
As ever, it’s great to get publicity for the website. Everyone involved puts in lots of effort and it’s great to know it’s appreciated.
If you’d like to join the Veg Box Recipes Club today, we’re offering a free 28 day trial.
The first week of September is zero waste week for Rachelle and her family in Gloucestershire.
Since June, they’ve been working on reducing the amount they send to landfill and, in just 2 weeks’ time, they are going for the big fat zero.
They started off throwing away about a kilo a week of rubbish – already quite small, compared to many households. And in an interview today Raechelle shared with me some of her top tips for keeping your rubbish down.
She started by making it clear that she feels fortunate to live just 3 miles from a recycling centre that takes all the usual recyclables, plus tetra-paks and polythene, which helps.
Shopping locally has a massive impact.
Moving on from that, she found that the more she shops locally from small producers, the more open they are to her requests to bring and use her own packaging.
For example, her local butcher agrees to put the meat in the boxes she brings in, rather than wasting non-recyclable plastic trays. She has a local grocer who allows her to do the same with cheese. And she buys her fruit and vegetables from a local organic farm shop, where she can use paper bags or reuse her own.
All of this makes a massive contribution.
But she said the biggest challenge is the things you simply don’t think about, such as broken CD cases and other seemingly random items that can’t be repaired.
Convenience is what fills up your bin.
Rachelle is pragmatic and practical in her approach and, whilst passionate about inspiring others to reduce the amount they send to landfill, she openly admits that convenience is what fills up your bin.
“Sometimes,” she says, “when you just don’t feel like cooking and get that take away, you end up with plastic pots that have to go to landfill.”
She hopes that her Zero Waste Week in September will serve to inspire others to join in, sowing the seeds that we can all do a bit more, by shopping more consciously.
“I see our zero waste week as a beginning, not an end. It’s the beginning of a new level of awareness. Until life changes and we’re all living off nothing but local produce with no packaging, we will still produce rubbish, but our aim is to keep our bin bag below 150g per week. We will have to be satisfied with that.”
One of the valid questions that Rachelle poses is whether what is collected by our councils is really being recycled or incinerated in a far-flung land. She is actively working with her county council in Gloucestershire as an ambassador for recycling and they have been inspired to launch a county-wide zero waste week challenge early in 2009! Rachelle would love us all to be getting in touch with our councils and MPs to help spread this initiative.
“There is so much mixed information out there, particularly as different districts within even a single county have different recycling policies. We need clarity of information to stop the confusion and allow people to have a go.”
If you’d like to step up to the challenge and get involved with Zero Waste Week in September, make sure you tell Rachelle about how you’re getting on via her My Zero Waste website. She’s got lots of eco companies involved to offer prizes to those who really make the effort!
My Zero Waste Website
And a final thought: Rachelle was spurred into action by reading one MP’s comments that “It is our birthright to have a rubbish collection”. Hmmm. What are your thoughts?
Clare
I didn’t realise how utterly heavenly my latest jam discovery was, until I caught myself absent-mindedly using a teaspoon to eat it straight from the jar…
Whole Earth Apricot Spread
Until today, my favourite jam had been my recently-stumbled-upon treat from the guys at Whole Earth. They’ve got a new range of organic spreads out, which use fruit juices instead of sugar, so they’re called “spreads” rather than jams and only last 3 weeks in the fridge, but that’s never been a problem so far
My personal favourite is their apricot spread. It actually tastes of apricots, which is something few apricot jams bother doing. And the fact that it’s not packed with refined sugar means I’m happier about feeding it to the boys.
Anyway, today I popped out for a walk through the woods to the village (sounds very idyllic; translate as trudged through the horse poo and forgot my waterproof, despite torrential rain!) and spotted a stall I had never seen before in the pub car park.
Curious as to why anyone would stand under a gazebo with a table full of brightly-coloured jars in the pouring rain, I took a detour.
Blackcurrant & Sloe Gin Jam
And that’s where I met Gary Kitson from “Seriously Saucy”. It turns out he’s there (Queen’s Head Car Park, Burley) every 2nd, 3rd & 4th Sunday of the month. Guess I haven’t been going to the pub often enough for Sunday lunch!
Anyway, a jar of seriously deep purple jam caught my eye and the label meant I couldn’t resist Gary’s offer of a free taste. And it was out of this world.
Blackcurrant and sloe gin extra jam from The Cherry Tree.
Made in Dorset (just down the road from me), it’s the first blackcurrant jam I’ve tasted in years where you could actually taste the blackcurrants, rather than the sugar. And the sloe gin is a simply inspired addition.
Blackcurrant & Sloe Gin Jam
So while the Whole Earth Apricot Jam still wins my “everyday treat” prize, today’s jam of the century has to be blackcurrant and sloe gin.
I’m off to grab a couple of bagels out of the freezer, give them a quick toast and spend a quiet evening, trying to deal with my new-found addiction!
If you have a favourite jam recipe you’d like to share, I’d love to hear from you.
Thanks,
Clare
I’m often asked how I find time to cook.
My little sis is famous for saying that she refused to indulge in meals that took longer to cook than to eat.
And I can see her point.
Sweetcorn & Spinach Tortilla
With two little ones and a business to run, I rarely have time for 3 course meals and a la carte menus. But somehow (most of the time) I do manage to make sure we’re eating fresh food that tastes good and is fairly healthy, too.
It got me wondering. What am I doing different?
Well, firstly, believe me, I’m not perfect! There are nights when our evening meal is porridge! But it’s usually got added ground seeds, raisins and grated apple, which is a cheat’s way of turning it into a balanced meal.
But for the times when I do cook “proper food”, what are the time saving tricks I’m using?
I’m going to share a couple of them here, but I’d also love to hear your thoughts – so please get ready to post in the comments box!
I guess the main thing I do is plan ahead.
If I know the day is going to be full-on, then I get dinner ready straight after breakfast, so it’s done.
The other thing I do is really make the most of my freezer. If I go to the effort of making lasagne, I freeze 4 or 5 portions.
Other freezer essentials include what made up my dinner tonight – frozen spinach (just wash it, wilt it, chop it, freeze in ice cube trays and it’ll keep for 3 months in freezer bags) and frozen sweetcorn or peas. They lose their flavour and nutrients so soon after picking that having them in the freezer is kind of allowed…
So tonight I munched my way through an organic tortilla (avoids the risk of hydrogenated fat that so many brands contain), plus some sweetcorn cooked with some frozen spinach, then stir in a dollop of mayo and a little grated cheese. Add a bit of black pepper. Spoon onto the tortilla and roll up like a pancake. 8 minutes from start to finish and it was scrummy.
Time saving tips are a topic we’ll be returning to regularly – so how about sharing? I’d love to hear from you.
Thanks,
Clare
http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2008/aug/11/foodanddrink
*#!VBR just in time to avert Pak Choi disaster!#*
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7389351.stm
Number One Fan claims crown…
After a flurry of activity on the VBR Fan Page
http://www.new.facebook.com/pages/Veg-Box-Recipescouk/21587731425
Cherise Richardson in Nottingham has earned herself the title of Number One VBR fan, with her amazing contributions to the “This week I’m mostly eating…” discussion. There’s a secret treat in it for anyone who steals her crown!
And finally…
Finally, we’ve just opened a new discussion topic, “Being Green?!“, which we’re inviting you to join in on. This week we’re asking you how you find ways to be a greener consumer, and what, if any, obstacles you encounter.
Sending you all our best summer veggie wishes, and looking forward to seeing you on the Fan Page soon,
Claire & Clare
This is a post that is long overdue!
Some of you will have noticed a new name appearing on some of our emails and definitely in our Facebook Fan Page.
The name is Claire Van Den Bosch.
Now some of you may have thought she was simply my alter ego – taller, longer hair, subtly different spelling?
Well I can let you in on the exciting news that Claire has come on board as a fully-fledged member of the Veg Box Recipes team and she tells me she’s loving it!
She’s heavily involved in running the Veg Box Recipes club, keeping things going on Facebook and creating a lot of the behind-the-scenes information that means you’ve always got the latest and best tips, ideas and recipes on hand, whatever ingredients you throw at us!
So please join me in welcoming Claire to the team.
I know she’s looking forward to getting to know you better.
Clare x
P.S. She’s promised me a photo of herself sporting her latest creation – an aubergine top turned into a tie-on nose. I’ll update this post as soon as she delivers!
Being a humungously big website (our servers are groaning at the mere thought of it) and a blog… we decided it was time to reach out in new ways…
… and we realised how many of our Veg Box Recipes friends are on Facebook…
So now we are too!
We’re migrating our forum onto a Facebook Fan Page because it allows you to post discussion topics, share vegetable pictures and watch videos, which is much more than our old forum could do.
And you don’t even have to be a Facebook member. We’ve set it up so that it’s visible to the public (though you do still have to sign up to post, but you had to do that with the forum, anyway).
And so far it’s been great fun.
If you’d like to pop along and have a look, upload some of your most random veg pics or share ideas and recipes, here’s how to find it:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Veg-Box-Recipescouk/21587731425
That’s right – your favourite Veg Box Recipes tips and techniques are now arriving on You Tube.
I’ll be showing you how to prepare seasonal vegetables, to make it even easier.
So if you end up with kohlrabi, celeriac or even enoki mushrooms in your box, soon there will be a mini video on You Tube for you to check out exactly what to do with them!
I’ll also be doing quick vids on basic techniques, so you’ll know the difference between chopping, slicing and dicing – to name just a few!
Check out today’s new video: how to peel and dice butternut squash. Look out for the top tips, to make the job easier and safer.
Let me know what you think!
If you’ve got any ideas for stuff we could stick up on You Tube from the website, please let me know. I’d love to hear from you!
Thanks,
Clare x
Spring is here and it’s time to drag ourselves out from under our winter duvets, as we hope for sunshine and warmer weather.
If you’re anything like me, the daffodils’ sunny colour helps get you feeling more motivated about the year. I literally come out of hibernation!
So, how about trying something new? My challenge for you in March is to pop along to our “Rogues’ Gallery” section, check out what’s in season and try something you’ve not eaten before.
Maybe you don’t realy hate spinach, after all? Perhaps turnips aren’t as bad as they seem? Or could it be that shallots are actually worth the effort?
Whatever you try, please share your experiences via the comments.
Thank you!
Clare x
Have Your Say...