Artisan food - The on-line magazine for lovers of food in the Lake District and Cumbria - Turkeys, fruit, pumpkins and a day out at Acorn Bank

Location: Blogs On the farm at Howbarrow
Posted by: Paul Hughes	10/19/2006
Will you participate in the www.historymatters.org.uk blog to record your day (17th Oct)? This is mine…..6.30am saw me in the office processing orders for today’s (Tuesday) deliveries; dawn came up and with that, pig and turkey feeding; a robin sat and watched me. A quick breakfast and the farm staff start to arrive at 8am; my focus turns to briefing staff and then into the action of packing orders. Seb is on holiday this week so I’m packing boxes with Dave and Steve. 9.15am: Stan Atkinson shows up with several hundred bunches of carrots and beetroot which are quickly unloaded and put directly into boxes. 9.45: tea break and staff meeting - we talk about Apple Day, the new delivery van – the ups and downs of the past week… 10am: the mushroom man arrives with the first of two deliveries this week and as he unloads, a delivery of fruit shows up. I help unload 2000kg of stock – the weekly workout! Back to packing boxes as the first delivery van has to leave for the Penrith run at 12pm. This is the last entry as this has to go to the press so you can read it…… Pumpkin Competition - This year we are again having a ‘guess the weight of the pumpkin’ competition; see the pumpkin and enter on line at www.howbarroworganic.co.uk on the ‘News’ page or visit the farm shop. First Prize is a fabulous day course at the new ‘Lucy Cooks’ cookery school in Staveley, (‘Cooking with your local vegetable box’ course – on the theme of Ready Steady Cook!) a second prize of £25 voucher to spend in farm shop and 3rd prize of a ‘Boxing Clever’ Cookery Book. Closing date is 31st October. Apple Day at Acorn Bank, Penrith – We had a very successful day at Acorn Bank, with many box customers stopping by to say ‘Hello’. There were lots of entries for the ‘Guess the weight of the pumpkin’ competition as well as lots of enquiries for potential new customers. Newsletter – We are getting some good feedback regarding the newsletter, especially the fruit and vegetable origins section. It is great at this time of year when there is so much produce available locally and regionally, but during the winter months, more will be sourced from overseas. We have a policy of not using air-freighted produce. Spotlight on ….Red Cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata f. rubra) is a sort of cabbage also known as Red Kraut or Blue Kraut after preparation. Its leaves are coloured dark mauve. However, the plant changes its colour according to the pH value of the soil. On acidic soils, the leaves grow more reddish while an alkaline soil will produce rather blue coloured cabbages. This explains the fact that the very same plant is known by different colours in various regions. Furthermore, the juice of red cabbage can be used as a home-made pH indicator turning red in acid and blue in basic solutions; it is for this reason that some have claimed that red cabbage is perhaps the vegetable most responsible for many scientific advances and the technology that we enjoy today. On cooking, red cabbage will normally turn blue. To retain the red color it is necessary to add vinegar or acidic fruit to the pot. Thanks to wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, for these veg facts. Recipe – Spaghetti Squash Soup Preheat oven to 200c/400f/Gas 6. Peel, deseed and chop half a spaghetti squash into 1 inch chunks. Toss with a chopped red pepper, chopped garlic and chopped shallot (or onion) in olive oil and season well. Place on a baking tray with the remaining half squash that has been deseeded and roughly hollowed out (be careful not to pierce the skin as this will be used as a bowl), and roast for 15-20 mins. Heat 1 pint of good veg or chicken stock in a saucepan. Add roasted veg. Stir and check seasoning. Blend half the amount and then mix it in with the chunks. Serve in the hollowed out squash. Previous recipes can be found at www.howbarroworganic.co.uk Now for the Joke – Two mushrooms in a small plastic container. One turns to the other and says, “Not mushroom in here”. Thanks to Thomas Hinson, a visitor to our stall at Apple Day, for the joke.

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