30/10/2009 by D.

Fruit: bananas, pears, gala apples, lemon, custard apples
Vegetables: romero peppers, cavolo nero, hackney salad, leeks, broccoli, kuri squash, onions, carrots, ambo potatoes

We’re gearing up for halloween here, so the apples will be toffee’d, the squash carved, and the lemon used in mulled apple juice.  I’m planning to do a sage & onion squash soup with the kuri carvings.  The cherimoyas have already been devoured for breakfasts by spoon wielding little people and were delicious.  The broccoli has been made into a pasta bake: a surefire toddler (and hungry man) supper.  I’ve found that the kale, when de-stalked and shredded works very nicely wok-fried with egg noodles, onions, sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds and is a delicious accompaniment to pan fried salmon.  I’m hoping to do a welsh pizza with the leeks (recipe to follow later), and salad paysanne with the peppers and leaves.  Thank goodness half term is finally over!  It has been a fantastic week, with the Growing Communitites trip to Stocks farm a definite highlight.  It was great to see the apples we are to eat this season growing in the orchard and pick large, flat field mushrooms.  The Spartan apples looked amazingly like plums growing on the trees and were so delicious that even though I must have eaten more than 5 of them during the visit, I’m still looking forward to more of them in our boxes (hint, hint)!

Posted in Sage, Cavolo nero, Broccoli, Kuri Squash, Pepper, Toddler, Onion, Lemon, Organic Box | Print | 1 Comment »

27/10/2009 by D.

2 small or 1 large beetroot
1/2 red onion (or 1 small one)
1/2 pack feta
dash balsamic (optional)

Roast the beetroot whole as you would potatoes (why not put some pototoes in at the same time, this is lovely with baked spuds).  They take around 40 mins to an hour.  Don’t expect them to go soft like baked potatoes though, you’ll just get a little bit of give when they are ready!  While they are baking, finely dice the onion, and cube the feta into small cubes.  When the beets are ready, leave to cool a little, then peel and cube the same size as the feta.  Mix them all together.  Thats it.  Add balsamic if you like it, though usually this beautiful pink and red salad balances perfectly without it.  I keep a tub of this in the fridge and stuff toasted wholemeal pitta breads with it for lunch.  It keeps well for a few days.

Posted in Beetroot, Feta, Onion, Recipe | Print | 1 Comment »

22/10/2009 by D.

4 pears  (or as many as you can fit in the pan and want to eat)
100g sugar
1/2 lemon (juice)
1/2 tsp cinnamon or a cinnamon stick (or a vanilla pod for the classic version)
100ml single cream 
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp brown sugar
100g dark chocolate
vanilla ice cream

Heat enough water to cover the pears standing up and add the sugar and lemon juice and cinnamon.  Peel your pears, keeping them whole including the stalk and core.  Stand them up in the pan and bring the syrup to boil and simmer for around half an hour, depending on the size of your pears.  They are ready when the pears are tender.

Meanwhile, put the sauce ingredients in a pan (apart from the chocolate) and bring gently to the boil.  Turn off the heat and after a minute add the chocolate (broken into chunks).  Take your vanilla ice cream out of the freezer to soften slightly.  Stir the chocolate sauce well, making sure all the chocolate has melted.  You can add a little of the pear syrup to the sauce too, if you like.

When the pears are ready, drain them and serve immediately with the ice cream, and a jug of the hot chocolate sauce.  Bon Appetit.

Posted in Ice cream, Cream, Pudding, Chocolate, Cinnamon, Lemon, Toddler, Recipe, Pear, Organic Box | Print | No Comments »

21/10/2009 by D.

fruit: conference pears, cox apples, bananas, lemon, honeydew melon
veg: spinach, butternut squash, button mushrooms, carrots, ambo potatoes, onions, beetroot, reddish green peppers

The bags smell lovely and earthy tonight and those mushrooms look delicious!  I’m pleased to see plenty of pears too, so poached pears with chocolate sauce and ice cream will definitely feature this week as a recipe.  I also fancy a retro melon and prosciutto starter; very popular with both the babies!

The mushrooms are either going into a mushroom barley bake, or will be wiped, stalk trimmed and dipped in garlicky egg, then breadcrumbs and shallow fried in hot groundnut oil.  Yummy with some thick herby greek yoghurt (oh alright then, or garlic mayonnaise!).  The butternut squash will be stuffed, and I’m going to bake the beetroot at the same time, for a beetroot, feta and red onion salad later in the week.  The spinach will probably be curried along with the potatoes and carrots.  I’m getting very hungry now: I just have to decide which one is for supper!

Posted in Garlic, Melon, Feta, Beetroot, Mushroom, Pear, Weaning, Toddler, Onion, Organic Box | Print | 1 Comment »