This week's veg box is...

[Habbibu]

Potatoes 1 kg
Onions 0.3 kg
Carrots 0.5 kg
french beans 0.2 kg
courgettes 0.3 kg
chard 0.15 kg
milan turnip 0.4 kg
midi cucumbers 1 head
lettuce 1 head

Go on - inspire me...

[CvQ]

soup

[Nappyzoneneedssleep]

how much does that cost then and what is chard and ahead of cucumbers?

Yes soup !

[Habbibu]

£10. We had carrot and coriander soup today and it was v. nice. Chard is a bit like spinach, and I think they mean just one cucumber!

[Nappyzoneneedssleep]

is it a national company or a local thing - i think i would like to give it a whirl something like this....

[Habbibu]

Local - in Fife/Dundee. Don't know much about national companies as we're in real farming country round here, so have several schemes on offer. If you google your county/city plus box scheme you might get some ideas.

[Habbibu]

bumping for non-soup recommendations

[lucysmam]

some sort of stir fry concoction? maybe not with the lettuce though, or cucumber, or turnip.

[policywonk]

Veg fritters (grate stuff, squish into patties, fry - nice if you add cubes of feta)?

Have you tried vegbox recipes?

[Carmenere]

Potato salad, potato gratin
Carrots with lime butter
French beans with garlic and mint
Carrot and almond salad with sultanas and orange juice dressing
Courgette fritters
Chard wilted with garlic and nutmeg
Turnip cubes steamed and tossed with fried lardons of bacon
Cucumbers thinly sliced and marinated with sugar, chilli and vinegar
Lettuce soup.

[Habbibu]

pw - discovered that the other week, but had forgotten, so thanks. Am being a lazy arse, tbh - have bookshelves groaning under weight of recipe books, but thought I would get MN to do the work... Feta & veg fritters sound nice - have to be for dd and me only, as DH is mortal afeard of cheese. How are you doing, anyway?

[Habbibu]

Lucysmam - I think you can stirfry lettuce, actually - may have to experiment.
Carm - fab list, many thanks - turnip thing sounds very good!

[policywonk]

Blimey, carmenere has blasted away my puny veg suggestions. I am OK, so long as people don't mention mothers or play sentimental music. How are you?

at 'mortal afeard of cheese'. I have grown thousands upon thousands of aubergines and chillis (latter were a mistake - thought they were pepper seeds), only to discover that everyone I know (except me) hates aubergines and chillis - so if you want any, let me know.

[Habbibu]

Am good, thanks - went to wedding with lots of pregnant people and was positively cheery, so things are looking up. How are things with dses? And blerg to aubergines too, though chillies good. Am going to make harissa for dh, but rashly bought birds eye chillies. May not be a good move.

[lucysmam]

really? oh, well include the lettuce then. seems strange to me but could be worth investigating

[HolidaysQueen]

onions, spuds, carrots, courgettes, turnip and probs the beans would be great in a veg chilli. soften veg in oil, throw in tomatoe puree, tinned tomatoes and tins of chilli beans (kidney beans with chilli sauce already added). you can throw in any other veg you have as well and a tin of other beans like pinto or canellini. add more chilli to taste.

a lovely veg side dish is potatoes boulangere. slice potatoes and chop onions finely. layer in a dish with plenty of seasoning, top with stock (until stock comes to just below level of top layer of potatoes), dot with butter and put in oven for about 50-60 mins until most of teh spuds are soft and teh top layer is nice and crispt. this is the basic recipe, but you can use the same idea with other veg as well - potato, carrot, onion and turnip concoction would be really nice. serve this with steamed salmon and green beans on the side.

[HolidaysQueen]

potato boulangere and bastardised versions thereof are also great with lamb chops and other simple meat/fish.

[policywonk]

Well done re. wedding thing. DSs are well and strangely easy-going atm.

This thread is making me hungry.

[Swedes]

Policywonk - How can you not love aubergines? They are my favourite veg of all. I don't know anyone who doesn't like them.

Roast thick slices of aubergine in oven drizzled with olive oil and crushed garlic. Place aubergines in sterlised kilner jar and top up with olive oil and seal. Perfect gifts for aubergine lovers.

Shame we don't live closer and we could do a swap - I could bake you four loaves of walnut, pumpkin and sunflower seed bread (perfect for Welsh rarebit) in exchange for aubergines.

[policywonk]

Oh, I DO love 'em Swedes. It's just that in about three weeks I'm going to have about 40 of them and I don't think they freeze very well. Your roasting idea sounds good - I only got into this aubergine lark so that I could have aubergines in the winter without paying the muchos spondoolicks for them.

I don't live that far away from WelcomeToHarpendenPleaseDriveCarefully you know. Your swap sounds awfully tempting.

[Swedes]

[policywonk]

Oooh, good idea!




I'm in. I think Habb lives a bit further away though (although I could be wrong). I've just acquired an allotment that's covered in brambles, so in a couple of weeks I'll have my own bodyweight in blackberries too.

In the time-honoured manner of a PTA committee member... I'll leave that one with you, yeah?

[Swedes]

[Habbibu]

It's my thread, and now you're organising produce fairs hundreds of miles away I hate aubergines. They are the devil's weed.

[Swedes]

Habbibu - Shame you are so far away. You are invited but I can see that Dundee to Herts for a couple of aubergines.....

Sorry to have hijacked your thread.

[Habbibu]

Bah. Can't offer much in return for the hated purplies anyway - all my courgette flowers are male...