We’ve got the most amazing unsprayed lettuces on the Veg Van this week as well as lovely fresh salad bags. Come and get them tomorrow from the Van for the bargain price of 80p for the lettuces and £1 for the salad bags. Sutton Community Farm enjoyed the weather this week and worked on the lettuces and salad for us. They ended the day with a fun BBQ. Check out some great photos here.

Veg of the week: BEETROOT!!!! This week we are loving Beetroot. Did you know that Beetroots are not only low calorie but also packed full of nutrients. They contain high levels of carotenoids and flavenoids; anti-oxidants that help reduce the oxidation of LDL cholesterol, protecting our artery walls and reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke. It is one of the richest sources of folic acid, which helps to protect unborn babies from spina bifida, and is also thought to help lower homocysteine levels in the blood. Beetroot also contains the mineral silica, which helps the body to utilise calcium, so is therefore important for musculo-skeletal health and reducing the risk of osteoporosis. Many people juice beetroot for its cleansing and detoxifying properties.

I’ve got a great beetroot recipe for you this week.

Creamy beetroot risotto

Serves 4
500g fresh  beetroot
2 tbsp olive oil
knob of marg
1 onion , finely chopped
1 garlic clove , finely chopped
250g risotto rice
150ml white wine
700ml hot vegetable stock
4 tbsp soured cream (optional)

Method

1. Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4.
2. Peel and trim the beetroots (use kitchen gloves if you don’t want your hands to get stained) and cut into large wedges. Place on a large sheet of foil on a baking sheet. Toss with 1 tbsp olive oil, season, then cook for 1 hr until the beets are soft.
3. Meanwhile, heat the remaining olive oil with the marg in an ovenproof pan with a lid. Tip in the onion and garlic, then cook for 3-5 mins until translucent. Stir in the rice until well coated with the butter and oil. Pour over the white wine, then let the mixture bubble away for 5 mins.
4. Stir well, then pour over the stock. Stir again, cover and place in the oven. Cook for 15 mins until the rice is soft. Remove the beetroots from the oven. Whizz ¼ of them to make a purée, then chop the remainder into small pieces. Stir the beetroot purée and chopped beetroot through the risotto, then serve with some soured cream dolloped over the top.

Happy Beetroot week! Hope to see you all soon on the Veg Van!
Find out where we are here: http://www.vegvan.org.uk/where-we-are/
Beetrooty wishes from,
Jill, Sam and Seeta

yes! It’s true! Sutton Community Farm’s first harvest is going to be sold at the Veg Van! We can’t wait!

St. Helier smoothies
We had a great day on Saturday at the St. Helier festival! Jill and Sam made amazing smoothies: Banana and cocoa (with a dash of milk) and Apple, pear and cinnamon. We had a really great day and everyone loved them! We also sold our famous strawberry punnets which were a big seller! Hope you can make it next year if you didn’t make it this time round. Hopefully someone took some pictures as we totally forgot!!! Please do send them through if you took any.

Since we’re getting some great lettuces from the farm, here’s my favourite salad recipe:

Chickpea Spinach Salad
Ingredients
4 tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, diced
some black olives, sliced
2 sundried tomatoes
half a tin of chickpeas
8 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
4 tbsp. lemon juice
1 bag of spinach
1 lettuce
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1. Place frying pan over med-high heat and add olive oil.
2. Add the onion and saute for one minute.
3. Add olives, sun toms, chickpeas and tomatoes.
4. Reduce heat to medium and stir occasionally for 1-2 minutes or until the tomatoes start to blister and onion starts to caramelize.
5. Add lemon juice.
6. In a large bowl toss spinach and lettuce with salt and pepper
7. Add ingredients from frying pan and toss well.
8. Serve immediately so that the spinach and lettuce doesn’t wilt too much!

Enjoy! Have a great week everyone and see you soon,

Seeta, Jill, Sam and Jenny

hello there everyone, what a great weekend!!! Hope you have all been enjoying the sun! This week looks like it’s going to be grey and rainy Apparently in North London there was a downpour! Luckily Sutton didn’t get a drop!
Half term is over and the kids are back at school! How about picking up some delicious fresh local strawberries? Last week we got raving reviews! They really are wonderful and cheaper than Sainsbury’s!

Tell us your thoughts?

We’ve been running for just over two months now and would really value your feedback. If you could take a few minutes to fill in our questionnaire, there’s a Veg Van hamper to be won if you fill it in before the end of this week! Here’s the link. Many thanks in advance!

This week I thought I should feature one of the most popular veggies on the stall: Mushrooms!

Mushroom stroganoff

Serves 2
250-300g mushrooms
2 tbsp red wine
200ml (soya) cream
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp dried oregano
black pepper to taste
rice to serve

Chop the mushrooms and fry in the olive oil. Add the pepper, oregano and red wine and allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the (soya) cream and heat gently to serving temperature. Serve with rice.
Perfect as a main meal and ready in less than 30 min! What more do you want?

have a great week! Don’t forget that Sutton Community Farm have an activity day on Saturday if you feel like having a day out in the countryside but don’t feel like leaving Sutton – come along!

See you all next week!

Jill, Sam, Seeta and Jenny

It’s half term and the sun is out! Great news! We’re basking in the sun at the moment and loving it. But unfortunately it does mean that we won’t be at Victor Seymour school tomorrow BUT we will still be on Denmark Road at the council offices from 16.30 – 17.30!

This week we’ve got some great English Peas, the first of the season! But today I thought it would be great to have a cauliflower recipe as the caulis we’ve had the last couple of weeks have been absolutely amazing! (Also it’s my favourite vegetable!)

Stir Fried Cauliflower with Spicy Peanuts

Ingredients

1 medium cauliflower, (about 600g trimmed weight)
3 tbsp chili oil
100g natural roasted peanuts in their skins
4 spring onions, chopped
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp dark brown sugar

1. Cut the cauliflower into florets. Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a medium frying pan and gently fry the cauliflower for 5 minutes, turning the pieces frequently. Drizzle carefully with 2 tbsp water, cover with a lid or foil and gently cook the cauliflower for about 15 minutes or until tender

2. While cooking, finely chop the peanuts. (This is easiest done in a food processor using the pulse setting). Tip into a small pan and toast until beginning to colour

3. Add the remaining oil, spring onion, lemon zest and juice, sugar and seasoning and heat through gently for 1 minute, stirring regularly.

Tip the cauliflower into a warmed serving dish and scatter with the peanut mixture.
Enjoy!