Farm
- At least 25 chicks have hatched from our own hens and cockerels this week as well as another 15 ducks.
- 11 Berkshire piglets were born in the field near the car park on Monday.
- The pigs have nearly completed their move to the Great Field where they are now enjoying a salad of chicory. Our cattle and calves are in the same field.
- The subsoiling and cultivation of Lowany field has been taking place since the pigs have moved out. This will then be planted with a mixture of peas, forage rape and stubble turnips for late autumn fodder.
- On a more serious note, cattle with calves will attack and chase dogs. Tim saw them chase off a fox very aggressively the other day. This is how people tend to get
trampled by cattle. Did you know that two people died this way in the UK last year?
- On a cheerier note, thanks to BBC Radio 4’s programme “On your farm”, we will be hosting a steady stream of visiting farmers from all over the UK in the coming months.
Store, Cafe and Veg & Meat Boxes
- A welcome return to our renowned quiches and mixed leaf salad in the Café.
- There’s also a new popular addition to our Café menu: Lamb’s liver and bacon served with mashed potato and gravy.
- Frozen mutton is available in store.
Events, Workshops and Courses
- A welcome return to our renowned quiches and mixed leaf salad in the Café.
- There’s also a new popular addition to our Café menu: Lamb’s liver and bacon served with mashed potato and gravy.
- Frozen mutton is available in store.
Rural Care
- This week, the co-farmers planted spring onions in the vegetable fields, strimmed the grass, removed labels from old veg boxes, and boxed up all of the eggs that went into your veg box. One co-farmer said ‘you now know what I am capable of don’t you?’ - in reference to his excellent strimming and use of a power tool!
Monday, 31 May 2010
Recipe of the Week: Honeyed Chicken and Potato Salad
Prep Time: 15 mins (+60 for marinading)
Cook Time: 25 mins
Serves: 4
Ingredients
Marinade
2 x 15ml spn (2 tblspn) Olive oil plus an extra spoonful for frying
_ Lime, juice of (see dressing also)
1 Clove garlic, crushed
1 x 5ml spn (1 tspn) Clear English honey
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 Chicken or Turkey breasts, skinned, boned and cut into strips
450g (1 lb) British new potatoes, scrubbed and halved
Dressing
2 x 15ml spn Olive oil
1/2 Lime, rind and juice of
1 x 2.5ml spn (1/2 tspn) Dijon mustard
1 x 2.5ml spn (1/2 tspn) Clear English honey.
Cherry tomatoes and salad leaves to serve.
Method
1. Combine all the marinade ingredients in a large bowl then add the chicken. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
2. Place the potatoes in a pan of boiling water, cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until tender.
3. Meanwhile heat the oil for frying in a large frying pan or wok then add the chicken with the marinade and stir fry for 10 – 15 minutes or until the chicken is thoroughly cooked.
4. Drain the potatoes then add to the cooked chicken in the wok and continue to cook for 1 minute.
5. Place all the dressing ingredients plus seasoning into a screw topped jar and shake well. Pour over the salad leaves and tomatoes and serve immediately with the honeyed chicken and potatoes
Cook Time: 25 mins
Serves: 4
Ingredients
Marinade
2 x 15ml spn (2 tblspn) Olive oil plus an extra spoonful for frying
_ Lime, juice of (see dressing also)
1 Clove garlic, crushed
1 x 5ml spn (1 tspn) Clear English honey
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 Chicken or Turkey breasts, skinned, boned and cut into strips
450g (1 lb) British new potatoes, scrubbed and halved
Dressing
2 x 15ml spn Olive oil
1/2 Lime, rind and juice of
1 x 2.5ml spn (1/2 tspn) Dijon mustard
1 x 2.5ml spn (1/2 tspn) Clear English honey.
Cherry tomatoes and salad leaves to serve.
Method
1. Combine all the marinade ingredients in a large bowl then add the chicken. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
2. Place the potatoes in a pan of boiling water, cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until tender.
3. Meanwhile heat the oil for frying in a large frying pan or wok then add the chicken with the marinade and stir fry for 10 – 15 minutes or until the chicken is thoroughly cooked.
4. Drain the potatoes then add to the cooked chicken in the wok and continue to cook for 1 minute.
5. Place all the dressing ingredients plus seasoning into a screw topped jar and shake well. Pour over the salad leaves and tomatoes and serve immediately with the honeyed chicken and potatoes
Help Save Bees
There are about 250 species of bee in the UK. Only 25 of these are native British bumblebees – half of what we had in the 1950s. Three have already become extinct, five are currently under serious threat and two more are precariously close. So what can you do to help? As well as planting bee-friendly plants and not using insecticides, you could join Euan Brierley, our beekeeper, on 4th June for a walk and talk on bees. Or, alternatively, sign up to our in depth course to develop the skills needed to take up the hobby. http://helpsavebees.co.uk/
Figure of the Week: 10
It’s national Be Nice to Nettles Week (19 - 30 May) so here are 10 reasons why nettles are worth nurturing:
1. Nettles are butterfly food for common British species. Without these ruthlessly
efficient plant pollinators all sorts of crops would suffer and that in turn could affect the human food chain.
2. They're medicinal.
3. The sting on the underside of the nettle leaf is designed to protect it.
4. Dock leaves are commonly believed to soothe the symptoms of a nettle sting, and they often grow close by.
5. The fibre inside the plants can be spun into string and used to make fabric for clothing, cushion covers, and even paper.
6. The German army used nettle fabric to make army uniforms during World War I.
7. It's low-maintenance. They will flourish wherever the soil is rich in phosphate.
8. The plants are packed with magnesium, iron and calcium - all essential minerals for healthy humans.
9. They're tasty too, although nettle nutrition is a dish best served hot.
10. Nettle wine is a traditional country wine that's enjoying a bit of a resurgence.
Find out more:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8692782.stm
http://www.nettles.org.uk/
1. Nettles are butterfly food for common British species. Without these ruthlessly
efficient plant pollinators all sorts of crops would suffer and that in turn could affect the human food chain.
2. They're medicinal.
3. The sting on the underside of the nettle leaf is designed to protect it.
4. Dock leaves are commonly believed to soothe the symptoms of a nettle sting, and they often grow close by.
5. The fibre inside the plants can be spun into string and used to make fabric for clothing, cushion covers, and even paper.
6. The German army used nettle fabric to make army uniforms during World War I.
7. It's low-maintenance. They will flourish wherever the soil is rich in phosphate.
8. The plants are packed with magnesium, iron and calcium - all essential minerals for healthy humans.
9. They're tasty too, although nettle nutrition is a dish best served hot.
10. Nettle wine is a traditional country wine that's enjoying a bit of a resurgence.
Find out more:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8692782.stm
http://www.nettles.org.uk/
Food for thought - Animal welfare tops Britain's food concerns
When it comes to our food, there is nothing closer to the hearts of the nation than the wellbeing of animals. Indeed, new research from Mintel finds animal welfare is Britain's number one food concern with as many as four in ten (40%) Brits worried about this issue. And it is women who are showing the greatest concern, with almost half (46%) of British women expressing concern about this issue, compared to just a third (34%) of men. Meanwhile, being of British origin (37%) and free from additives or preservatives (36%) make up the remaining top three food concerns, closely followed by the desire to have locally produced food (35%). By contrast, today organic is important to just one in ten (11%) of Britons.
Find out more:
http://www.mintel.com/press-centre/press-releases/538/food-for-thought-animal-welfare-tops-britains-food-concerns
Find out more:
http://www.mintel.com/press-centre/press-releases/538/food-for-thought-animal-welfare-tops-britains-food-concerns
London Farmer's Market
Having opened on Sunday 16th May, London Fields Farmers' Market is now based at London Fields Primary School on Westgate Street E8 right by London Fields. Every Sunday 10am - 2pm. If you missed us last Sunday, don’t worry we’ll be there
again this coming Sunday! Come and say hello! Find out more: http://www.lfm.org.uk/
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