The Transition Leytonstone/OrganicLea stall (10:30 to 3pm) outside Matalan, is there as usual tomorrow (Saturday, 10:30 to 3pm) with its organic produce. Samosas, rhubarb, grapefruit, lemons, swede, etc etc From the newsletter: Purple Edgecote potatoes (Lancs): as the local potatoes are less easy to source, we are enjoying trying some Heritage potatoes from Lancashire, sourced by Perrycourt Farm in Kent. A purple skinned potato with a creamy, firm waxy interior which will hold it’s shape well when cooked. Useful for salads or curries where you want the potato to hold it’s shape. Stir Fry greens (Dagenham): All the way from Growing Communities Starter Farm in Dagenham, these mixed Stir Fry bags contain pak choi, mustard greens, mizuna, mibuna, chard, spin, and mixed kales. For the simplest stir fry – hot pan, a little veg oil, chopped garlic and ginger (keep stirring), add your chopped greens and stir til just wilted. Splash with soya sauce, it will fizz and caramelise. Serve with noodles or rice. Rocket (Chingford & Kent): Here comes the green season! By celebrating what’s green (and not stored root veg) this is a flavourful reminder of what the changing of the seasons means for our plates. ========================================= Crown Prince squash (Norfolk B): More squash! This is eating with the seasons. Symptomatic of a good year last year for squash and a bad year this early spring for mushrooms…we keep trying to bring you mushrooms, a veg we take great pleasure in during the ‘hungry gap’ as it’s not season specific…except poor old Capel Mushroom growers in Suffolk are struggling to get their compost right and are enduring significant crop failures right now…so squash it is. Roasting brings out the flavour, then use in soups, stir-fries, risotto, pasta sauce, warm salads… Rhubarb (Chingford): This time it’s maincrop rhubarb, the milder weather has set it a- crazed with growth. Rhubarb was originally a medicinal plant, hailing from China and grown in the middle ages in this country by monasteries to stock their pharmacies. Rhubarb is formally a vegetable – being the stalk of the plant (not the fruit) and we at Organiclea have experimented with it in a savoury context. Last year, Caroline who supports our Wednesday volunteer lunch conjured up an amazing rhubarb pasta sauce! Pears (Kent): Small word on this week’s pears, these really are the last of the UK pears and you may find them not as pretty as super market pears. After a chat with Paul down in Kent, we felt the tasty-ness and not having them for another however many months warranted putting them on the stalls for a final time. They’ve served us well. Monty Don recommends sitting down with a beautiful plate and knife to slice and peel your pear before eating (so the skin texture doesn’t interrupt your enjoyment of the flavour) – enjoy! Pappardelle with squash and sage The classic Italian combo of squash, sage and pasta is very hard to beat, Serves four. 750g squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into 2-3cm cubes 4-6 fat garlic cloves, skin on, lightly squashed Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 4 tbsp rapeseed or olive oil 75g walnuts, very roughly chopped (optional) 250g pappardelle (or other pasta) 50g unsalted butter or equivalent 15-20 sage leaves, cut into ribbons Finely grated parmesan or hard goats cheese, to serve (optional) Heat the oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5. Put the squash in a roasting tin, add the garlic and some salt and pepper, trickle over the oil and toss together. Roast for 45 minutes, stirring once or twice during cooking, until the squash is completely soft. Add the nuts for the last 10 minutes, taking care they dont burn. When the squash is about halfway cooked, bring a large pan of water to a boil, salt it well and add the pasta. Cook for the time suggested on the packet, then drain. While the pasta is cooking, heat the butter very gently in a small pan. When foaming, add the sage and cook over a low heat, without letting the butter brown, for three minutes. Turn off the heat. Toss the sage butter, the hot squash and walnuts into the pasta – add any pan juices, too, as well as the garlic, provided its not too burned. Season to taste and transfer to warmed dishes. Finish with more pepper and serve with parmesan for people to help themselves. Cultivate, Waltham Forest Urban Food Growing Festival 21-30 March 2014 Waltham Forest will host its first urban food growing festival – Cultivate – over a 9 day period this spring. The aim is to mark Waltham Forest as the garden of London by harnessing the knowledge, skills and enthusiasm of all food growers and producers in the borough. The event kicks off with a conference on Friday 21st March at Leytonstone Library, which seeks to inspire and develop ideas for increasing the number of people involved in growing and selling local food in the borough. The conference is followed by a week-long programme of events and activities, including stalls and information, practical workshops and demonstrations, films, cycle and walking tours, and a big food fair/marketplace at Waltham Forest College on Saturday 29 March. There’s even a competition to win a year’s rent-free allotment plot… Check out the website for more info: appetitefestival.co.uk/cultivate-2014 On Saturday March 22nd at our Leytonstone stall will host a SeedSwap and Taste of the Local from 12 – 3pm, a great way to kick off this 9 day festival. Can Organiclea help you with your garden? Organiclea has just launched its new garden maintenance enterprise, Organiclea Garden Care, which is helping to provide work experience for people looking to find employment in this sector. We can provide a team of experienced and trainee gardeners to carry out all elements of garden care including pruning, weeding, mowing, strimming, garden clear-out, etc. In addition, our experienced team can give you specialist advice in growing at home, garden design, and can even build you some raised beds! To book a free initial assessment please contact: [email protected]. ========================================= Organiclea Community Growers organiclea.org.uk Distribution hub: Hornbeam, 458 Hoe Street, E17 9AH ( 020 8558 6880 Growing site: Hawkwood Nursery, 115 Hawkwood Crescent, E4 7UH ( 020 8524 4994 Email [email protected] Join us online Facebook: Organiclea Twitter: @organiclea
Posted on: Fri, 07 Mar 2014 12:26:12 +0000
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