Sackville

They say don't knock it till you've tried it so who knows... but it certainly doesn't seem the most likely of combinations! Spinach Jello 1 3oz pkg jello (lime, lemon or orange) 1 c boiling water 1 T lemon juice dash salt & pepper Dissolve jello in boiling water; add lemon juice, salt, & pepper. Let cool to room temp. 1/2 Miracle Whip 1/4 c sour cream (opt) Blend in Miracle Whip and sour cream. Add: 1/4 c chopped celery or zucchini 1 sm onion, chopped 1/2 10oz pkg chopped spinach, thawed & drained 3/4 c small curd cottage cheese

Saw this pop up again and thought I'd add in my two cents, yet again. Are you all sick of me yet ;) Still using A&C and reasonably happy with their service. There has never been a problem with quality, just the occasional problem with repetition. I seem to get a lot of zucchinis and carrots! However, to be fair, I could ask for these to be excluded from the box some weeks if I only remembered to do this in time. I still have not gotten a refund from Farmaround, despite their repeated promises that they are doing it "right away". I have given up any hope of ever getting my £30 back.

Just FYI, it took us about 2 months of soaking the olives in fresh water and then a brine solution before they lost enough bitterness that we could then add flavours back in. Having said that, we did not cut a slit in them immediately, which we probably should have done to speed up the process. They were absolutely magnificent in the end and definitely worth the time! I think it was about 1/2 cup salt to 5 litres water that we used as a brine solution, changing every week.

For a drink, you can cut up rhubarb and freeze it. Then set it in a colander with a bowl underneath and let thaw. Juices will collect in the bowl. You can squeeze the rhubarb to get the most juice possible out of it. Mix with 7UP or Sprite or sparkling water and a bit of sugar to taste. We like this when we get sick of all those pies and crumbles!

Definitely check out that curry cookbook. I have it and it's quite good. The onion sauce is a key thing, I think. Also, I was making an Ethiopian curry the other day and the recipe called for stirring in some melted butter at the end. It gave a texture not unlike some curries I have had so I wonder if that might be a factor too, in things like lamb rogan josh, for example?

This is a new one for me. Can anyone point me to a recipe? Or is it just as simple as boil, salt, squeeze over some lime? Shelled or still in the pods?

What did you do? Shell, toss with ingredients, and then roast in the oven? At what temp and how long may I ask? ← Sorry I haven't replied to this sooner. To be honest, it completely slipped my mind that I'd posted it This is the recipe. Hope it's not too late!

This was darn good. I'm still not getting the "french fry" taste but it is definitely a pleaser for old and young alike!

Just wanted to add a bit more feedback, in case anyone reads this in future to make a decision. DO NOT USE FARMAROUND. I canceled by email two weeks ago and received a confirmation. The following Wednesday the bag still arrived. I called them and they said they would credit my account and stop all future orders. This Wednesday the bag arrived again. I called again and they promised once more to sort it out, but said they were "behind with their credits" which I never take as a good sign. It has been a hassle to sort out (doesn't look like it's sorted yet, either) and the two bags I have wrongly received have continued to have poor quality produce in them (slimy greens, cauliflower already going very brown). By contrast, I have been most impressed with Abel & Cole. Both Farmaround and A&C had purple sprouting broccoli this week and the difference in quality between the two was stunning.

I love edamame beans but up until now they've been a special treat when we go out for sushi. Normally they're served in the pods with a bit of spice on them as an appetiser. But yesterday I discovered a Japanese supermarket where they sell them frozen!! I came home and made this recipe (new for me) for roasted edamame with chilli, cumin, basil, olive oil and other spices. What are your favourite ways to cook edamame beans?

You can get them in Turkish grocery stores, in my experience.

That's what I thought too, but a study recently made me think twice. It pointed out that because so much food is transported by road, and relatively little by plane or sea, we would do better to focus on minimising road transport as opposed to being concerned about buying one package of green beans from Kenya. Here is the story, first out sometime in March: By Jeremy Lovell LONDON, March 2 (Reuters) - People should buy their food as much as possible from local sources as part of global efforts to stop potentially catastrophic climate change, British environment experts said on Wednesday. They stressed this did not mean shutting down world trade in food -- comparatively little of which travels by air or sea -- but radical reform of road distribution in developed countries that sent even carrots hundreds of miles to reach consumers. "Food miles by road are far more important than we had thought. In environmental cost terms, buying local is even more important than buying green -- although we would like people to do both," Professor Jules Pretty of Essex University said. In a groundbreaking study of food distribution patterns and hidden costs, Pretty and co-researcher Tim Lang of London's City University said food in Britain now travelled 65 percent further by road than it did two decades ago due to centralised storage. Added to the fact that local shops were closing and being replaced by huge hypermarkets that meant people more often than not drove to get their shopping, this was taking a huge toll on the environment. Cycling to the shops or even shopping online was better than the current unsustainable system, Pretty said. Vehicle exhaust emissions along with the widespread use of fossil fuels like oil and coal to generate electricity are blamed by environmental scientists for producing greenhouse gasses like carbon dioxide and choking the atmosphere. The scientists warn that global warming will push average temperatures up by at least two degrees centigrade this century, melting ice caps and leading to extreme weather events like floods and droughts, putting millions of people at risk. Lang, who said he had coined the term 'food miles', said that while the study focussed exclusively on Britain it had relevance to the rest of the world. "This is a global issue. It cannot be resolved by Britain alone," he told a news conference. "This is the first study of its kind. The figures are shocking. Other countries need to follow it up. The European Union needs to tackle this now." Pretty noted what he called food swaps in which large quantities of apparently similar foods like milk and meat were both imported and exported by the same country. One the face of it this did not seem to make economic sense and certainly did not make environmental sense, he said. At the same time, centralised distribution networks in the developed world often meant that even staple foods like potatoes and beans travelled hundreds of miles to main depots only to be packaged and sent straight back. "This whole centralised system has to go. But what will replace it is uncertain," Lang said. "This study asks some searching questions."

I used to have a recipe for a Pumpkin Seed Risotto that used pumpkin seed oil, but darned if I can find it. I did find this online but it's not the same as what I had.

This is quite common in London. There are stands in the train stations, where you can buy various dinners in a bag on your way to the platforms. Veggies all chopped up and ready to go so you can have dinner on the table in just a few minutes. It's not for me but I can see the appeal. Imagine if you're a busy parent and want to serve your kids something better than takeaway but don't have the time or inclination to cook? Or a couple who get home too late and tired to cook every night? If you can afford it, why not?

Harold McGee's book The Curious Cook has an entire chapter about Jerusalem Artichokes, called "Taking the Wind Out of the Sunroot." He lists cold storage, slicing/boiling for 15 minutes, or (for maximum elimination of gas) cooking for 24 hours. ← I will have to try those methods! I happen to be, ummmm, shall we say prone to flatulence I wonder if you could parboil to get rid of some of the "wind" and then roast? I really like the idea of roasting them!

So where does all this lovely organic un-seasonal veg come from originally? Flown in from Spain? ← fresh produce from spain is not flown in - it comes in trucks. as does produce from france, italy, portugal...... -che ← I'm not sure which would be worse. Either way is pretty bad for the environment. But, you know I'm not going to feel bad about buying the occasional thing from overseas. Already I've stopped buying from supermarkets (apart from the odd trip to Waitrose), made most of our veg organic and the majority of that sourced from Britain. I think that's pretty good progress for someone who was in Tesco or Sainsbury every second day not so long ago.

I have come across some Jerusalem Artichokes but never had them before. Any tips on preparing them and recipes? Thanks!

So where does all this lovely organic un-seasonal veg come from originally? Flown in from Spain? ← According to their website: Cauliflower (which I requested to leave out of my box as I had tons already): Kingston, South Devon Carrots: Yelland Croft in Devon Jerusalem Artichokes: Herefordshire Leeks: British (from various suppliers) Spinach: Devon (again) The rest does not specify so it is presumably imported.

Just wanted to report back on my Abel & Cole delivery. I was actually quite pleased with the quality. Got some gorgeous cherry and normal tomatoes, which look just right in terms of ripeness (the ones I got from Farmaround last time were slightly green), a large cucumber, lots of big, leafy spinach, jerusalem artichokes, carrots, lemons, courgettes, red and green peppers. There might have been a couple other things too but I can't remember I also ordered some meat from them too, braising steak and sausage. We had a few of the sausages last night and I was happy with the quality/quantity of the meat. It comes from Wootton Organic.

You mean Riverford? I was able to put in an Enfield postcode and a SE1 postcode with luck, but not a WC1X postcode.

you're in devon, they're in devon, so if they deliver to you, then their service must be 'virtually nationwide' to those of you not living in the south of england, dont bother with the link, as 'virtually nationwide' actually mean to parts of the south of england.............. ← That's a bit harsh. They don't deliver everywhere but they do deliver in Peterborough, for example so it's not just Devon ;-) I am trying Abel & Cole on various good reccomendations this week and will try Riverford soon. I have a friend who is extremely pleased with their Southampton service. I have NOT had good luck with Farmaround and Organicdelivery.co.uk

Thanks again for the thoughts! I have placed an Abel & Cole order for Weds and will report back. Plan to try them and then Riverford for a couple weeks before sticking with one or the other. The only problem with Riverford is I'd have to convince the husband to carry the veg home as they don't deliver to my work.

Could you use a muffin tin to make individual Yorkshire Puddings or would that just be a silly experiment?

They're on my list What do you do with them? Just eat 'em or do you have a special recipe for them? I just ordered for next week and am trying out their meat as well. I really do like the idea of that likes/dislikes list, as long as they stick to it and the quality is good!

Right-o. I will try Abel and Cole this week or next.