Online Ordering for 30th March – 3rd April (Week 13)
A few highlights this week, and a couple returning next š
Biovergelās spring onions are looking especially good – medium bulbs, perfect forĀ roasting with dill butter and lemonĀ (weāve gotĀ both). The Angelys pears from Dynamis are also on great form: sweet, aromatic, and v juicy. š
Back next week: loquats from Biovergel (woop woop – always a crowd favourite šš¼) and some large mustard greens from Kindling – these chaps are great blanched, braised or stir-fried with garlic and shallots. š„¬
Good afternoon Organic Northerners,
Well spring was lovely, eh!
The newsletter is coming at you today from a train bound for Harrogate. Iām away to a āmeet the supplierā event run by North Yorks Council this evening all to do with supplying veg to schools. Iāve been about a fair bit these last couple of weeks on similar missions to Bury FC for a School Food People event and to a primary school in Sheffield too. The hope at the moment is just to learn about how public procurement works by putting myself about a bit and hopefully in the process, maybe meet a few souls willing to give us a try to be their supplier.
Between the super early starts and lumping and delivering the veg about, a few of my comrades have been doubly busy of late working behind the scenes to neaten up our, ahem, back-end functionalities.
- Our Mo is getting busy tagging all of our veg, suppliers and customers so that we can better analyse the vast amount of data we have. In time weāre gonna have some free data gifts for you guys- excited much!? : )
- Our Ell is busy compiling exhaustive info on all of the 9000 different lines that weāve listed in the past 6 years. This will all be included on the price list that you guys see and will include, storage info, culinary advice, historical and nutritional info and any other titbits of knowledge that we have for aaall of the items we list.
- Lastly, our Alph has been contacting all you guys for the last few weeks to find out how weāre doing, if there are any improvements we could make for you in how we do things and to learn about your preferences for any subs that might need to be made to your orders on occasion. So if youāve not yet heard from Alph, expect to soon and also if youāve any ideas on how we can improve things this end, be sure that weāre always up for hearing them.
Casting a view more widely, last week seen the launch of the new UK Land Use Framework. WTF is that you might be thinking- well in a nutshell, here goes. After lots of work and lobbying for many years by lots of folk in many sectors including food, the government have launched this thing that maps out how as a country, we would better be making use of our land.
This is of particular interest to us lot because although organic veg production isnāt mentioned and directly mandated, the frameworkās core goal is sustainable food production and the environmental benefits that come with that. It was one of the things recommended by Henry Dimbleby in his Food strategy that Boris the bellend decided to duly completely disregard. The report:
- Encourages more government support for nature friendly farming.
- Includes recommendations that strongly overlap with long-established organic practices like mixed land use, agroforestry, reduced pollution and increased biodiversity.
- Has a strong emphasis on climate resilience, soil management and a reduction of chemical run off.
- Expects growers to stack multiple new environmentally-based income streams beyond food production including carbon reduction project payments, tree planting and habitat restoration payments. Because organic farms already diversify crops and integrate ecosystems in with their production methods, this could in turn favour them.
It’s to be seen yet how well this national framework will be interpreted and utilised practically but this is certainly a positive development for our sector and summat the government/civil service should be commended for getting behind and producing.
The fruit and veg headlines:Ā
- Starting strong, we see the return of Middle Ground this week. Theyāve got a great mix for us including beetroot with tops, PSB, mixed salad leaves, spinach, squash, stir fry greens, parsley plus some beautiful cut tulips and flower bouquets.
- Staying in the UK, from Royal Oak we have some 10kg celeriac, small leeks and black Spanish radish. From New Farm some spring greens both bagged and loose and some 5kg PSB from Tresemple.
- Elsewhere, SKEA spuds are back on the list this week. Weāve got all the usual suspects including arran victory, Casablanca, red Heidi, java and twinner.
- Lastly from the UK, as mentioned above we have some giant mustard greens from KindlingĀ and Mole End have added some spartan apples.
- Before we move on – a quick heads up: due to the weather at the moment, European tomatoes are a bit pricier and harder to come by.
- From Spain, weāve artichokes, loquats (woohoo) and lanelate oranges from Biovergel. Flat beans, green beans and pointy red pepps from Ecosur.
- From Holland, Zann has some green jalapeƱos, yellow peppers, Anjou pears and red Bartlett pears.
- From France, our top picks from Dynamis this week are purples caulis, red chicory, peas, rougette lettuce, passion fruit and strawberries.
- And to line your pantryās, weāve got some lemongrass and ginger tea bags from Nemi and a load of nut butters from Carleyās including Brazil nut, walnut, hazelnut and pumpkin seed.
Iāll sign off this week with a link to our YouTube channel where you can now find all of our wee videos from our farm visits. Feel free to use and share these as you see fit and the same goes for any of our pricelist website/pricelist photos and info. Whatās ours is yours : )
Have a lovely week, friends,
Sean, Cathryn, Mads, Ell, Alph and Team ON x
Pulled Jackfruit Buns with Asian Slaw š
For the Jackfruit:
- 2 Tins Jackfruit, Drained ā Coconut Merchant
- 1 Tin Chopped Tomato ā Classico
- 3 Tsp American BBQ Seasoning ā Steenbergs
- 1 Onion Sliced ā Cal Valls
- 3 Cloves of Garlic Sliced ā Zann
For the Slaw:
- Ā¼ Red Cabbage ā New Farm
- 1 Onion ā Cal Valls
- 2 Carrots ā Royal Oak
- 3 Tsp Coriander Finely Chopped ā JW European
- 3 Tbsp Sriracha ā Biona
- 2 Tbsp Honey ā Coato
For the BBQ Sauce:
- 5 Tbsp Ketchup ā Mr Organic
- 1 Tsp Dijon Mustard ā Biona
- 2 Tbsp Vegan Worcester Sauce ā Bonsan
- 1 Tsp Smoked Paprika ā Steenbergs
- 1 Tsp Salt Fine ā Bras del Port
To Serve:
- White Rolls ā Paulās Bakery
Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees.
For the jackfruit, grab a deep, oven safe pan with a lid and place over a medium to high heat with a little olive oil. Once hot, sweat the onions down for 5 minutes, add the garlic and let this cook for a couple of minutes, then add the drained jackfruit. After this has softened slightly add the BBQ seasoning, once warmed through add the tomato and allow to warm while stirring. When it starts to bubble, take it off the heat and pop it in the oven, itāll need a couple of hours to properly break down the jackfruit.
While thatās cooking, get started on the slaw. Shred all the vegetables, use a knife for the cabbage and onion and a grater is handy for the carrot. Mix it together in a large bowl, then add the sriracha, honey and a pinch of salt and combine thoroughly. Allow to sit for an hour to soften the veg.
For the sauce, mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and set aside to pour over or dip the sandwiches into later.
Once the jackfruit is cooked, toast some buns on the sliced side and load them up with jackfruit, slaw and sauce. We added some slices of Rosset Red cheese from Calon Wen as well. Enjoy! š§āš³