Church FarmYour Monthly Newsletter

Friday 25th August 2012

A Note from the Grower

The picture above shows a selection of vegetables which are collectively known as summer squash. One of these will be very familiar; the courgette or zucchino has been a widely used summer and autumn vegetable in this country for many years. The marrow, which has a still longer heritage of use in Britain, is really the same species as the courgette, but is stripey with a more rotund form, and is traditionally allowed to grow to a large size with a harder skin. The others, however, seem to lead to a little confusion and provoke extraordinary cries of “weird!”, or “hippy food!”. At the bottom of the picture are a few types of “patty pan” or scallop squash. These are really variants of the same plant as the courgette and marrow, and differ only in their shapes and colours. Another kind is the crookneck which, as the name suggests, has a curved “crook” at the point where the fruit attaches to the plant. They can all be used in the same way as courgettes, but the different shapes and colours can provide more variety and interest. Summer squashes are all harvested when young, small and tender, before the rind has hardened. This distinguishes them from the winter squashes, which are allowed to fully develop and ripen before harvest.

This year we have grown three types of courgette to offer more variety of colour and pattern. We have a pale skinned “Genovese” type, the dark green “Nero di Milano”, “Goldrush”, a gorgeous yellow skinned variety, and lastly “Tiger Cross”, with its distinctive light and dark longitudinal stripes. This is usually grown as a marrow but can be picked young as a courgette, when I think it’s much nicer to eat anyway. Of course, some of the Tiger Cross will be allowed to mature into marrows. Try the small patty pans steamed or roasted whole, sliced in a lasagne, or stuffed and baked with a filling of your choice. Just a funny shaped courgette, they’re not so weird after all.

Rik

There are 3 main types of fennel that you can stick your culinary teeth into. Bitter and sweet fennel are both used as herbs. We have a lot of sweet fennel growing around the farm, and the flowers have a strong, aniseed taste that are a great wake up if you have an early start!

Florence fennel is the large bulb that is sliced and diced as a vegetable, and has a much milder flavour. The beauty of this vegetable is that all parts can be eaten. The bulb and stems can be finely sliced raw into salads or cooked in a variety of ways to add a touch of anise flavour to your food. The green frond tops that look a little like dill can also be used as a herb to complement fish dishes or add a bit of pa-zazz to a Mediterranean stew.

Fennel is extremely good for you, high in vitamin C, potassium and fibre, 3 of the key nutrients that keep your body functioning well. Storing fennel properly is essential for retaining its crisp texture. Pop it in the fridge, where is should last well for up to four days. Like all fresh produce however, it is best to eat fennel as soon as possible after your box is delivered, as the flavour will fade over time.

A great way to use fennel is with a whole fish. Take a large fresh sea bass or sea bream. Slice your fennel bulb quite thinly, and do the same with a whole lemon. Rinse out the cavity of the fish and season well with salt and black pepper. Stuff the cavity with the lemon and fennel slices, and add some chopped parsley. Rub some olive oil over your fish and season the skin, before popping in the oven for about half an hour at 180oC.

Getting the Best from your Box

Method:1. Remove any obvious spare fat from inside the bird. Using a needle, prick the skin all over the fatty parts at the breast and where the breast joins the leg. Don’t prick deeper than is necessary just to pierce the skin. You want the fat to run, but not the juices from the meat. 2. Season the skin lightly with salt and pepper. 3. Put the bird in a roasting tin. Place into a very hot oven for about 20 minutes, so the fat starts to run. Then turn the oven down to 180°C/Gas Mark 4, baste the bird and return to the oven. Baste the duck every 20 minutes or so. 4. After about 1½ hours’ total cooking time poke a skewer into the thickest part of the leg. When the juices runs clear, the bird is done.

How To - Roast A DuckAre you feeling daunted by the whole duck in this week’s meat box? Fear not, the following simple tips will make for a crispy, succulent roast bird.

What to do with Leftovers:You can make a fantastic summer salad with any left over duck from your roast. Simply mix together the following:1 clove garlic, grated; 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated; 2 tbsp soy sauce; 3 tbsp honey. Toss with your duck meat and a bag of Church Farm Salad for a perfect summer lunch.

Happy Birthday to Daddy Danny

You might recognise the taller of these two from visits to the farm. It’s Danny the Butcher, who is often to be found in the Farm Store giving people great tips on getting the best from cooking their meat, and telling not so great jokes (sorry Danny).

Danny’s a recent first-time dad, and his little boy came to visit the farm to wish Danny happy birthday. So cute!

This week at Rural Care we have been practising our acting skills on camera! A film crew from Care Farming UK came for a visit on Wednesday 15th August and spent some time getting a few shots of our co-farmers at work. The footage taken will be part of a DVD about care farming and its positive impact on the people involved. We are now waiting for the film release and expect a call from Hollywood any day now!

Care Farming UK is a new organisation which has evolved from the National Care Farming Initiative. They state that their mission is ‘to provide a voice and supportive services for care farmers’. Furthermore they wish to see ‘thriving farms and landscapes providing social, educational, therapeutic and development opportunities’. If you would like to find out more about Care Farming UK you can by going to their website, www.carefarminguk.org.

Rural Care Make a Film

New next week we’ll be harvesting shallots and garlic for the Store, as well as all of the fresh summer ingredients we’ve been picking recently. Shallots go wonderfully well with any veg you’ve got too much of, if you want to preserve them in a chutney. Or they’re a great base for light summer dishes, with a more delicate taste than traditional onions. Garlic, as Rik recently wrote about in his column, is a terrific panacea, as well adding a great flavour to even the simplest of recipes or salad dressings.

The weather this year seems to have created exactly the right conditions for growing cucumbers, so do pop down to the Store to pick up some of these. They’re often accused of being plain, but they go well with everything, and are used in several cuisines around the world. Go Mediterranean with Tzatziki, or stick them in a stir fry for more of an Asian flavour. You can also check out the Church Farm blog for a cucumber soup recipe: www.churchfarmardeley.blog.com

The Latest from the Harvest

Recently, a letter was sent in to Rural Care by the mother of one of the co-farmers. Though her son was only here for a week of work experience, she was so moved by the great work that’s being done here, that she sent in this letter :

Nick, as you know, has Asperger’s syndrome, with this he suffers more than his far share of anxiety! During his week on work experience at Church Farm, I can honestly say, I have never seen Nick so at ease with himself and with the world around him.

The service you provide at Church Farm is so perfect for young people like Nick. You provide a positive, life enhancing environment where everyone is valued. I watched with great respect as your support workers (pictured, top right) modified their interactions with a wide range of vulnerable adults. They got it just right with Nick every time, which is rare. I have witnessed countless occasions throughout Nick’s interactions with others where a carer has underestimated him. When this happens, he first gets angry and later gets anxious, it’s happened so many times in the past that I have found myself reluctant to seek outside support.

The excellent support workers at Rural Care managed to set up a good rapport amongst those they supported. Nick loved the animals and all the work available to him and the confidence it gave him is priceless.

I really can’t thank you and your support workers enough - you probably don’t realise what a big difference you make or how good you are compared to other provisions. As a carer who has been through a lot in all respects, I would love to give your team a Gold medal for giving vulnerable people a chance!

Gold medals for the Rural Care staff

Next Week’s Farm Members’ Box

MEAT (small box)

Farm VarietySausages, pork joint, beef stir fry strips, lamb mince, back bacon

Lean Cuts (NEW FOR 2012)Skinny sausages, skinless chicken fillets, extra lean minced beef, supertrim diced pork strips

Premium SelectionSausages, lamb leg steaks, back bacon

VEGETABLESExtra Small (6 varieties)Potatoes (new), carrots, onions, mini cucumber, spinach, red pepper

Small (8 varieties)Savoy cabbage, courgette/beetroot

Medium (10 varieties)Calabrese, celery

Large (12 varieties)Rainbow chard, garlic

Extra Large (15 varieties)Shallots, patty pan squash, climbing French beans

FRUIT (extra large box)Apples, plums, mandarins, kiwi, raspberries, blackberries

Please note that these are standard items and are subject to change. If you have asked not to be supplied with a particular item, a substitute will be provided in your box.

All Farm Box recipients are invited to join us on the upcoming Farm Experience Day - this Saturday 25th August. This event is a way for you to get to know more about where your food comes from. It’s great fun for all the family, so come along in your scruffy clothes and sturdy boots to learn and have fun for the day:ArriveMeet at 10.30 for an 11.00 start outside the Farm Café.Morning Session on HorticultureWork with Rik and his team on some essential weeding. All the warm and wet weather has had the weeds springing up all over. You’ll learn more about identifying weeds (great for Little Farmers to know), and you can ask the horticulture team for any tips for your own plants. It’s also a good way to get fit in the fresh air.Break for LunchBetween 12.30-13.30 you’re free to wander around the farm, take a break in the Café or Pub, or enjoy some fresh produce from the Farm Store.Afternoon Session on LivestockYou’ll either be egg collecting or feeding the new calves (above) depending on the needs of the farm. Both activities are fantastic ways to get hands-on experience of farming. Your friends won’t expect you to have spent the bank holiday weekend with your hand under a chicken or bottle feeding a cow!Evening EventThe afternoon session is expected to end around 15.30, but as a Farm Box customer you’re welcome to stay on for the campfire in the evening. Your ticket for this is FREE, and you can even camp for free on Saturday night as well if you’d like to make a night of it. (Please let us know if you’re planning to attend this evening event by calling 01438 861 447)

If you can’t make this Farm Experience Day, you can join us for the next one. They’re held on the last Saturday of the month, you don’t need to book in advance, just come along if you want to get out in the fresh air.

August Farm Experience Day

Whatever size your work place, you can contribute to this local, ecological enterprise. Support your local farm and have a great day out with your colleagues. An event with us won’t cost the earth, it will enrich it.

Get Your Company Green at the Farm

To find out more or arrange a visit, contact us on:01438 861 447info@churchfarmardeley.co.uk

Early last week, we took over the stewardship of a small troop of beautiful black Aberdeen Angus cross calves (pictured right).

The Aberdeen Angus breed was developed from the black cattle of North East Scotland in the early part of the 19th century, and is now considered to be one of the best beef breeds in the world. The meat is naturally highly marbled, and it is this threading fat running through the meat which gives Aberdeen Angus beef its reputation for being so tender.

Grass fed Angus cattle are also far superior in flavour, and at Church Farm this is exactly the sort of diet that our new charges will get to experience. Church Farm pasture is rich in a wide variety of plants including clovers, chicory and many different grass types, offering a mix of vitamins and minerals that make for healthier happier cattle and a fuller, deeper flavoured cut of beef.

At only a week old, our 7 little girls will be on milk for a while yet before they get to frolic in the big fields, but right now you can come and visit them whenever you want! We are open 7 days a week between 09:00 and 18:00; come and see our girls growing up, and take part in Church Farm’s new and exciting venture.

7 New Bundles of Fun - Aberdeen Angus Calves

This article first appeared on the NEW Church Farm blog. Keep up to date with all our food and farming news at:

www.churchfarmardeley.blog.com

Church Farm, Ardeley, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, SG2 7AH, T: 01438 861 447E: info@churchfarmardeley.co.uk www.churchfarmardeley.co.uk

New Farm Box Packages!

SALAD BOXA fantastic alternative, especially for

the Summer months:

By popular request, you can now enjoy a lighter box option, containing 7 items of fresh salad produce (subject to variation)

each week.

Boxes will contain lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes and peppers on most weeks.Other items include radishes, sprouts & shoots, mixed salad bags, avocados,

watercress and spinach.

You can have this as a regular order or a one-off addition when you want it. This is great to go with a barbecue or picnic, and it’s a tasty way to get more veg into your

meals.

This box is just £11.65 per week, contact us to sign up on 01438 861 447 or

info@churchfarmardeley.co.uk

BREAKFAST BOXA great new option for your delivery, get this just in time for the weekend:

Enjoy a traditional big family breakfast with all of the following each week:

500g back bacon (smoked/unsmoked)6 Lincolnshire sausages

Small loaf (white/granary/wholemeal)6 medium orchard eggs

750g potatoes350g tomatoes

200g mushrooms

You can have this as a regular order or a one-off addition when you want it.

This is great to have in when family and friends come to stay, or it could be a delicious addition to every weekend.

Order this for just £15.99 by calling 01438 861 447, or you can email

info@churchfarmardeley.co.uk