This week’s potatoes are Yorkshire grown ‘Romano’ and 'Cara'; next week we hope to be using new potatoes. The lettuces (Cornish cauliflower on Thursday!) are from Lincolnshire, the greens and cucumbers are from Yorkshire and the courgettes and pepper are from Spain. We have a few UK grown courgettes for the UK only boxes too. No potatoes boxes have Spanish kohl rabi and large boxes have Italian tomatoes. Extra large boxes have Asparagus from a farm near Thirsk in North Yorkshire. Fruit boxes have English ‘Gala’ apples, mangoes from Ivory Coast and Fair Trade pineapples.
NON HOMOGENISED MILK ... We often get asked for this and it’s increasingly hard to find, but we have a new supply from the excellent Calon Wen dairy cooperative in Wales. Homogenised milk has been forced through tiny holes that break up the fat and distribute it evenly throughout the milk, so no layer of cream forms.
Organic whole milk 1 litre £1.10.
Our Acorn Dairy (homogenised) organic milk comes in 500ml, 1L and 2L sizes, semi-skimmed, skimmed or whole, and costs 70p, £1.10 and £1.98.
COURGETTE AND HALLOUMI SALAD
A box. Standard veg. Potatoes, carrots, onions, local lettuce, red pepper, courgettes, Yorkshire spring greens, Yorkshire cucumber.
B box. Standard veg no potatoes. As above with kohl rabi instead of potatoes.
D box. Large Veg. As for A with tomatoes and extra carrots and potatoes.
E box. Large veg no potatoes. As for D with kohl rabi and chillies.
G box. As for A with local asparagus to replace carrots and peppers from Spain.
Extra large boxes have local asparagus.
K box. Standard fruit. Fairtrade pineapple, bananas, mango, apples. oranges.
Q box. Large fruit. As above with pears and kiwis.
]]>We have the first cornish new potatoes arriving this week. They’re later than usual due to the strange weather, and quite pricey, but we should be sending them out in the boxes in a couple of weeks. In the meantime we're using local 'Romano' and 'Ambo' potatoes stored from last year. The Cauliflower, cucumbers and mixed salad are from Yorkshire and the pak choi is from Lancashire. No potatoes boxes have red chillies, large boxes have butternut squash and large no-potatoes boxes have Spanish tomatoes. In the fruit boxes we’re still able to use some English Gala apples. The season for the superb Spanish Hass avocados is nearly over but we should have them for a few more weeks.
MOROCCAN CAULIFLOWER AND CARROT SOUP ... Colourful and filling with a lovely texture, this soup is enriched with egg yolks ...
It’s been a while since I took my camera up to the shop but I had it with me today as I snapped up some Spring Goodies...
Grass
Of course we’re in the middle of the Asparagus season at the moment. It started early this year with the warm March but has subsequently suffered with the heavy rainfall through April. This might account for the stories in the press that Asparagus is in very short supply this year. Matt hasn’t found it difficult to get yet but he did say that this morning some of the ‘grass’* he was offered was looking as if it had been soaking under water for a while... He said by rights he should be charging a bit more for it but that sometimes the pleasure principle is a stronger motivator than profit – it’s a relatively short season, let’s make the most of it.
*Veg Factoid: did you know that in the veg trade Asparagus is known as ‘grass’. It’s a corruption of the name Asparagus – Sparrow Grass – grass.
English tomatoes are coming in now and these ‘cocktail’ tomatoes are really tasty. There's UK spring produce just sneaking into the background of this picture too - cauliflowers and purple sprouting broccoli!
'Spoilers'
We’re seeing the first of the cherries now– these are from Spain. Cherries are the first English soft fruit to crop but they won’t be available for another few weeks yet. These Spanish ones may not be quite as tasty as our homegrown varieties but they are a sneak preview of the good things to come. Check out new season French broad beans too, they're small, sweet and tender but I couldn't get a photo.
I always think of fungi… ]]>
A box. Standard Veg. Potatoes, carrots, onions, cauliflower, pak choi, cucumber, mixed salad.
B box. Standard veg no potatoes. As above with red chillies instead of potatoes.
D box. Large veg. As for A box with extra potatoes and butternut squash.
E box. Large veg no potatoes. As for D with extra tomatoes.
Extra large boxes have red cabbage and courgettes.
K box. Standard fruit. Packhams pears, oranges, avocados, bananas, UK Gala apples, lemon.
Q box. Lare fruit. As above with mango and grapefruit.
]]>A box. Standard Veg. Potatoes, carrots, onions, cauliflower, pak choi, cucumber, mixed salad.
B box. Standard veg no potatoes. As above with red chillies instead of potatoes.
D box. Large veg. As for A box with extra potatoes and butternut squash.
E box. Large veg no potatoes. As for D with extra tomatoes.
Extra large boxes have red cabbage and courgettes.
K box. Standard fruit. Packhams pears, oranges, avocados, bananas, UK Gala apples, lemon.
Q box. Lare fruit. As above with mango and grapefruit.
]]>This week’s potatoes are Yorkshire grown Romano. The leeks and spring cabbage are from the same area in the vale of York, the lettuce are from Lincolnshire and the courgettes and the peppers in the large and no-potatoes boxes are Spanish. We've never before been able to keep going this long with English apples. It's great to see more fruit, and better keeping varieties, being grown. This week's varieties are Jonagold and Gala.
GREEN MINESTRONE ... The ‘orzo’ pasta in this recipe is in the shape of a large grain of rice, but any pasta shape will do as long as it is quite small, or you can just break up some spaghetti. A tasty, filling soup; very quick to put together and with a nice range of textures.
A box. Standard veg. Potatoes, carrots, onions, Yorkshire Spring greens, Yorkshire leeks, lettuce (mostly Lincolnshire), courgettes.
B box. Standard veg. No potatoes. As above with red pepper instead of potatoes.
D box. Large veg. As for A with extra potatoes and red and green peppers.
E box. Large veg no potatoes. As for D with celery instead of potatoes.
Extra large veg boxes have Tomatoes and fresh garlic.
K box. Standard fruit. English apples. bananas, kiwis, lemons, rhubarb, oranges.
Q box. Large fruit. As above with pears and pineapple.
]]>This week’s potatoes are Yorkshire grown ‘Romano’; a good all-rounder. We’re using Spanish new carrots but are still able to buy English onions stored from last season; not always the case this far into the Spring. The white sprouting broccoli is from Yorkshire, coming a little later than the purple and usefully extending the season by a couple of weeks. It’s very rare and very hard to sell in the shop as people are unfamiliar with it, but it’s superb. Pak choi isn’t winter hardy like sprouting broccoli but being quite happy in an unheated polytunnel at this time of year it makes an excellent early crop; excellent in salads or stir fried. This week’s batch is from Lancashire. The celeriac is from Herefordshire and the tomatoes and the red peppers in the small no-potatoes boxes are Spanish. Larger boxes have Yorkshire cucumbers and large no potatoes boxes and UK only boxes have greens from our most local supplier, Wortley Hall. The English apples in the fruit boxes are ‘Gala’ and ‘Jonagold’.
CELERIAC, CARROT AND PAK CHOI SALAD A crunchy, colourful and refreshing combination.
A box. Standard veg. Potatoes, carrots, onions. Yorksire white sprouting broccoli, Lancashire pak choi, celeriac, tomatoes.
B box. Standard veg no potatoes. As above with red pepper instead of potatoes.
D box. Large veg. As for A with extra potatoes, carrots and Yorkshire cucumber.
E box. Large veg no potatoes. As for D with spring cabbage from Wortley hall.
Extra large boxes have extra green pepper and butternut squash.
K box. Standard fruit. Bananas, oranges, lime, lemon, English Gala and Jonagold apples, avocados.
Q box. Large veg. As above with extra pears and kiwis.
]]>This week’s potatoes are Yorkshire grown red ‘Romano’. As the English carrots are coming to the end of their winter season we’re using new Spanish ones; new English ones arrive in a couple of months. The spring cabbages are locally grown and the cucumbers are the first from the glasshouses of East Yorkshire. The peppers aubergines, and courgettes are Spanish. No potatoes boxes have Spanish kohl rabi and large boxes have Yorkshire leeks. In the fruit boxes the apples are English Jonagold.
BOXES ... It’s usually possible for us to re-use the cardboard boxes many times, but please leave them somewhere dry for us to collect. When folding them please press them in at the sides and press down on the base. Any other way of folding them tends to weaken them and they collapse. We are trying out some stronger and more water resistant boxes, but they need to be folded in the same way.
ROASTED RED PEPPER HOUMMOUS
A box. Standard veg. Romano potatoes (Yorkshire), carrots, onions, spring greens (Yorkshire), courgettes, aubergine, cucumber (Yorkshire), red and green peppers.
B box. Standard veg no potatoes. As above with kohl rabi instead of potatoes.
D box. Large veg. As for A with extra potatoes and leeks.
E box. Large veg no potatoes. As for D with tomatoes instead of potatoes.
G box. UK only veg. As for A with mushrooms and pak choi instead of aubergine and peppers.
Extra large boxes have additional lettuce and kohl rabi.
K box. Standard fruit. Apples, grapes, bananas, pears, oranges.
Q box. Large fruit. As above with lemons, additional apples and kiwis.
]]>A box. Standard veg. Potatoes, carrots, onions, courgettes (fennel on thursday and Friday), cauliflower, leeks, lettuce (cucumber on Thursday and Friday).
B box. Standard veg no potatoes. As above with kohl rabi instead of potatoes.
D box. Large veg. As for A with extra potatoes and purple sprouting broccoli.
E box. Large veg no potatoes. A for D with Kohl rabi and extra carrots instead of potatoes.
Extra large boxes have additional tomatoes and red pepper.
G box. UK only produce. As for A with spouting broccoli instead of courgettes.
K box. Standard fruit. Rhubarb, bananas, apples, kiwis, pears, apples, oranges, grapefruit.
Q box. Large fruit. As above with Mango, lemon and extra oranges.
]]>Part Time Vacancy for Bagging Assistant
Beanies currently has a vacancy for a part time worker approximately 2hours per day, 4 days per week at their
Cat Lane Bakery in Heeley.
Hours will be 6am to 8am
Please apply in writing enclosing a CV and a brief covering letter
Beanies
205-207 Crookes Valley Road
Sheffield
S10 1BA.
Telephone: 0114 - 2681662
Closing date for applications:
Saturday 14th April 2012.
]]>Bakery Vacancy
Beanies currently has a vacancy for a full-time baker to work at their Cat Lane Bakery.
Hours will include early mornings and some weekends
Applicants should ideally have baking experience and a full driving licence.
Rate of pay will be dependent on experience.
Please apply in writing enclosing a CV and a brief letter explaining why you would like to work at the Cat Lane bakery for Beanies, and what you feel you could contribute, to:
Beanies
205-207 Crookes Valley Road
Sheffield
S10 1BA.
Telephone: 0114 – 2681662
Closing date for applications 27th April 2012
POTTING COMPOST ... This year we’re trying out some Soil Association approved organic composts from West Riding Organics. They contain a proportion of peat that is filtered out of the water supply, not extracted from peat bogs.
In this week's fruit boxes we have the first outdoor rhubarb from Herefordshire. The outdoor crop now replaces the forced rhubarb.
RHUBARB UPSIDE DOWN CAKE ... An easy and delicious ‘puddingy’ sort of cake. Lovely still warm from the oven and served with cream ...
A box. Standard veg. Potatoes, carrots, onion, Yorkshire purple sprouting broccoli, courgettes, tomatoes, Lincolnshire pak choi or lettuce.
B box. Standard veg, no potatoes. As above with aubergine instead of potatoes.
D box. Large veg. As for A with extra potatoes and aubergine.
E box. Large veg, no potatoes. As for D with tundra cabbage instead of potatoes.
Extra Large boxes have additional leeks and red pepper.
K box. Standard fruit. Rhubarb, apples, oranges, avocados, bananas, lemon.
Q box. Large fruit. As above with pears and extra apples and oranges,
]]>The lovely warm, bright days have brought a flood of purple sprouting broccoli. This week's is from St Helen's farm near Tadcaster, just North of Leeds, in the mild and fertile vale of York. We're using leeks from the same farm while they're still in good condition; the good weather is not good for them as they'll 'bolt' and try to flower soon. Then it's late summer before we'll see them again.
A box, standard veg. Cosmos potatoes, carrots, onions, purple sprouting broccoli, leeks, celery, mushrooms.
B box, standard veg no potatoes. As above with green pepper.
D box, large veg. As for A with extra potatoes and butternut squash.
E box, large veg no potatoes. As for D with cauliflower instead of potatoes.
L box. Extra large veg. As for D with Extra tomatoes and swede.
M box. Extra large veg no potatoes. As for E with extra tomatoes and swede.
G box. UK only veg. As for A with pak choi instead of celery.
K box. Standar fruit. English apples, oranges, red Williams pears, bananas, kiwis, lemons.
Q box. Large fruit. As above with extra grapes.
]]> This week’s potatoes are ‘Desiree’, a tasty all-rounder with a fairly waxy textured flesh. We’re still using UK grown carrots and onions, though we may have to switch when their quality becomes too poor. Then it’s a few week’s of imports from the continent until our own new season crops arrive in summer. The Purple sprouting is from Yorkshire and the Savoys are from the same farm; probably the last we’ll see of this winter cabbage until the autumn. The fennel and tomatoes are from Spain and large boxes have Spanish courgettes. In the fruit boxes the apples are English ‘Red Topaz’; we thought we would be running out of home grown apples by now, but we keep finding odd batches. We have run out of European pears so we’re now using New Season ‘Williams’ shipped from Argentina.
CONCHIGLIE WITH PURPLE SPROUTING BROCCOLI
I’ve adapted this recipe from one in the great ‘River Cafe Cookbook’; a source inspiration even if the quantities of ingredients can be quite bonkers. The sun-dried tomatoes are a replacement for salted anchovies. If you’re using soft, plump tomatoes they can go straight into the sauce, but proper dried ones will need soaking (we have really good ‘Merchant Gourmet’ roasted tomatoes; good value at 89p 100g) ... For 4