Week 47: What's happening
All systems go at the moment (with cuppa in hand), we've finally got the keys to a unit in Denbigh which is a bit more accessible for unloading/loading the vegetables and fruit, and just gives us a bigger space to pack the boxes in. This is the 4th time we've moved our packing shed in the past 3 years so hopefully that's it for a while! It means we can hopefully now add another round as we have a bit of a waiting list.
The shop is going to remain as it is for now, but by packing the boxes elsewhere we should be able to open the shop a bit more (as until now we've been limited by needing the shop to pack the boxes). We'll keep you posted.
We do have an update about Christmas dates though, see below.
The shop will be open -
Tues 21st Dec 4-7pm
Wed 22nd Dec - tbc
Thurs 23rd Dec 9.30am-1.30pm
Fri 24th Dec - closed (don't expect people to be out buying their veg then, let us know if this is a problem for you)
2022
Thurs 6th & Fri 7th Jan (hours tbc) - minimal stock as not all farms supplying by then
Monday 10th Jan - veg box delivery will restart w/c (after a 2 week break)
We've not been in the field much this week, but Rosie's been doing sterling work planting out spinach, chard and salad in the polytunnel and covering them with fleece. Chris did also do some planting last Sunday to be fair so we (the royal we, always) haven't been totally slacking...Rosie comes on a Monday during the winter months, and Chris likes to make sure we've done some work in the field between her visits so it's a good incentive! And this frosty morning pic shows we've also been down there harvesting.
Eat Your Greens Veg Boxes:
We're getting great feedback on the veg at the moment but if you do have anything that doesn't seem quite right or you don't know what to do with (or can't identify! - we didn't recognise chard when we first started getting a box!) please just let us know.
Small boxes have got spring greens, squash, celeriac, cherry tomatoes, sweet potato. Regular boxes have sprouts, leeks, swede, cavalo nero, beetroot, cauliflower, mushrooms, oranges.
The Vale Grocer shop:
Plenty of: Carolus potatoes, orange / purple carrots, parsnips, red / chiogga / golden beetroot, yacon, swede, turnips, sweet potato, sqaush celeriac, red cabbage, sprouts, , brown / pink / red / Roscoff onions, purple garlic, fresh turmeric
Limited: cauliflower, cavalo nero, spring greens, leeks (large!), cherry tomatoes, Prion tomatoes (green ones still available for chutneys!), white and chestnut mushrooms
Fruit: oranges, clementines, Kidd's orange apples, bananas
+ local free-range eggs (no quail at the moment)
+ local Bryn Cochyn and Cae Main apple juice
+ local sourdough bread from Nant y Felin (this is selling out every week so if you know you want some let me know before Wednesday of the Friday you want it so we can pre-order)
The fresh turmeric went down amazingly well last week, we've still got some in so if you want to see what the fuss is about come and try some (it's not expensive - one little bit goes a long way and costs about 10p!).
A few customers said we should charge more for it but we love that we can offer something really tasty and beneficial for your health at a low price. Some of the produce we sell is more expensive than what you could get elsewhere, but some of it is cheaper - we want to make sure that you benefit from any cost savings that we get so we can spreasd the word that eating good fruit and veg doesn't have to come at a premium price.
This turmeric milk is lovely (shared last week but in case you missed it) plus you can do similar with water instead of milk or use the turmeric in a curry or daal. Go turmeric crazy!
Recipe inspiration:
This Riverford celeriac gratin recipe looks good although haven't tried it yet! We've shared this red cabbage biryani recipe before, but it's a really good one, and super easy. We sometimes over do it a bit but having not had tit for a few months we really enjoyed it this week.
Use your spring greens or cavalo nero (shred the leaves, don't use the stalk if it's really thick) in this simple recipe with bacon and mustard seeds.
If you know anyone Wrexham-way who is looking for a veg box business similar to ours, hot off the press we have a new one called Watery Lane Produce run by the lovely Sarah who's been over to visit us a few times and who we've been trying to help as much as we can. She's just starting out and currently delivering within about 5 miles of Overton on Dee but may go further if there's demand so worth getting in touch with her. She's put a lot of work in so far, and we're so happy to see another veg box business popping up.
Finally, if you fancy an interesting half-hour listen, this episode of the Radio 4 Food Programme is interesting (30 mins), the work going in on York particularly resonated with us, we always struggle a bit with the more traditional farmer's market but these guys seem to be doing something a bit different. And they're only open a total of 3 hours a week! Very inspiring.
have a good week