Woodfield Weekly

 

 

The weather is having a wonderful effect on the farm crops; rhubarb is in plentiful supply and we should see some asparagus coming through over the next couple of weeks too.

If you want to add to your veg box order we have lots of new seasonal produce coming through; including the Norfolk rhubarb. Additional lines of produce can be ordered as either a regular item in your box, or as a one off. All of the new produce lines are shown on our website and are updated each week as more items become available. 

 

 

Carrot and courgette cake

 

This is an absolutely fantastic dairy free recipe and its fairly easy to make. It’s taken from a small book of recipes produced by the Trident Ploughshares group.

 

1 cup of white flour

1 cup of brown flour

½ tsp salt

½ tsp mixed spice

1 tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 ½ tsp baking powder

2 tbs soya flour (or brown flour if not available)

1 ¼ cups of grated courgettes and/ or carrots (squeeze excess liquid from courgettes)

¾ cup margarine

1 cup dark brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence

Rind of 1 lemon

Method

1. Mix all the dry ingredients together.

2. Melt the margarine and sugar and when melted add the vanilla essence and lemon ring and mix well till smooth.

3. Add the flour mixture and grated carrots/courgettes in thirds to the margarine mixture and mix well. Add a little water if too dry.

4. Put into a 8 to 9 inch greased cake tin or bread tin and bake at 175 C for about an hour (or until the knife comes out cleanly).

Tofu Steaks Not your standard veg box recipe, but this tofu recipe is really versatile and can be served up with any veg of your choice. Tofu is hailed in some quarters as one of the new superfoods, providing plenty of protein and calcium.

Ingredients 2 x 250g/9oz packs firm tofu, drained 55g/2oz plain flour, seasoned with salt and freshly ground black pepper, for dusting dash olive oil 100g/3½oz butter 2 tbsp soy sauce 1 tbsp rice syrup (substitute with honey if no rice syrup is available) small handful coriander, chopped squeeze lemon juice Method 1. Pat the tofu dry and put in a colander with a plate on top. 2. Lay a double layer of kitchen paper on a chopping board, and place the colander on top to absorb any excess liquid from the tofu. Leave for about 10-15 minutes. 3. After the tofu has been left to drain, cut each piece in half horizontally to make thin 'steaks'. 4. Dredge the tofu in the seasoned flour, coating it on all sides. 5. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and add each steak to the pan when the oil is gently sizzling. 6. Gently fry the tofu until golden-brown all over. Transfer the tofu steaks to a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain any excess oil. 7. Add the butter to the pan. As soon as the butter has melted, add the soy sauce and rice syrup. When it starts to thicken slightly, remove from the heat and pour over the steaks. Scatter over the chopped coriander, add a squeeze of lemon juice and serve immediately.

Mushy Peas with lettuce

Lots of lettuce coming through now, so it is always nice to have a few alternative recipes for it. Here is one interesting one we found recently.

4 side servings

·                            1 medium yellow or white onion, chopped

·                            2 medium garlic cloves, chopped

·                            2 tablespoons butter

·                            1 head green lettuce, ends discarded, chopped

·                            2 tablespoons water

·                            200 g frozen peas, thawed

·                            ½ teaspoon salt

·                            ½ tablespoon fresh lemon juice

·                            2 teaspoons chopped fresh herbs, such as tarragon, thyme, mint or parsley

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5-7 minutes or until softened. Add the lettuce and water, and simmer, covered, until the lettuce wilts, about 5 minutes. Stir in the peas and cook until they are heated through, stirring, for 4 minutes. Coarsely puree in a food processor or blender, and transfer the mixture back to the pan. Cook over a medium heat, stirring, until heated through, then stir in the salt, lemon juice and herbs.