What's in the bags: white peaches and pattypan squash

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Tomatoes and cucumbers are coming through thick and fast here at Hawkwood, and the bags are feeling decidedly salady - here's hoping for some warm days to go with them! Read on for updates from our growers here in Chingford and in Essex, a job opportunity at Sutton Community Farm, and a brown rice miso cucumber salad recipe...

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What’s in my bag?

From OrganicLea in Chingford: Blackcurrants, basil, callaloo, chillies, cucumbers, tomatoes, tomatillos, plums, courgettes and salad.
From Sarah Green in Essex: Golden beetroot, kohl rabi and little gem lettuce.
From Peach & Pippin in Essex: White peaches.
From Stort Valley in Hertfordshire: Spring onions, lettuce, bunched beetroot, french beans and courgette.
From Ripple Organics in Kent: Chard, new potatoes and spring onions.
From Bore Farm in Kent: Fennel, white cabbage and spring onions.
From Wye Orchard in Kent: Aubergine and french beans.
From Bedlam Farm in Cambridgeshire: Pattypan squash.
From Bagthorpe in Norfolk: Carrots.
From organic wholesalers Langridge: Gala apples (Kent), plums (Herefordshire), grapes (Italy) and bananas (Dominican Republic).

Large vegetable bags have new potatoes, carrots, spring onions, chard, white cabbage, courgettes, cucumbers, tomatoes and basil. No potato bags have fennel.

Standard vegetable bags have new potatoes, carrots, spring onions, salad or lettuce, callaloo or chard, courgettes, tomatillos or chillies and aubergine. No potato bags have french beans.

Medium vegetable bags have new potatoes, carrots, lettuce, golden beetroot, pattypan squash and kohl rabi. No potato bags have cucumber.

Small vegetable bags have new potatoes, spring onions, salad, cucumber and tomatoes. No potato bags have bunched beetroot.

Standard fruit bags have plums, bananas, white peaches, gala apples and grapes or figs.

Medium fruit bags have bananas, blackcurrants, plums and gala apples.

Small fruit bags have grapes, plums and gala apples.

Contents may vary due to availability. To help you plan your meals and shopping, this info is published on our website and on Twitter every Monday.

If your bag is not at your pick-up point please email us by 11am on Friday, and we will be able to redeliver by 6pm that day.

Produce Highlights

White peaches (Essex): Some beautiful local peaches from Peach and Pippin, run by Rebecca and Ian who took on the orchards with their three daughters five years ago. We often struggle to transport tender fruits like these without bruising, so even though we're putting them in punnets this week it's best to eat them quickly in case they've been damaged on their way to you. White peaches are lower in acid and sweet to eat whether they're firm or soft, so tuck in!

Pattypan squash (Cambs): A pretty and tasty summer squash, excellent for stir fries and quick-frying, cut into chunks or sliced with a mandolin. Try them blanched in stock, just softened, then dressed in olive oil and a mix of green herbs - how they're eaten in Greece.

Growers' Notes

Ru writes from Chingford: We "hit the tonne" today in the glasshouse - the tomato yield exceeding 100kg. Our mixed punnets contain a selection of our 16 heritage cultivars this year. Long-standing customers may recognise our "standards" such as the acidic "Green Zebra"; the chocolate-red smokey beefsteak "Paul Robeson", bred by Soviet agronomists as a tribute to the eponymous singer-activist; and if you find a classic medium red fruit, it is "Essex Wonder", a variety indigenous to our Lea Valley, once thought to be extinct, until someone found three seeds in a tobacco tin in an allotment shed! New for this year our nominations from our growers Emma - "Blue Fire" (it's blue!); and Vi's Oxheart, which rather unnervingly resembles its namesake, but is delicious and vegan. The medium orange toms are "Caro Rich", from France's seed pirates Kokopeli, which contains 10 times the betacarotene than your average type. Always pleased to hear your feedback on these varieties.

Sarah Green writes from Essex: As I write this at the end of the week it’s dark and grey outside and the rain is pouring down. We’re not planted up to date but we’re not frustrated by the recent change in the weather. The rows of growing vegetables in the fields were in need of a decent drink. With all the forecasted rain missing us over the last two weeks Stuart was preparing to water all of the crops this week. He made a start watering the potatoes, Courgettes and Squash and following that we received over an inch of rainfall which in turn saves us a lot of work and it is absolutely ideal for the growing vegetables!

Recipes

Cucumber, brown rice & miso salad

A summery salad for our tasty cucumbers. Serves 4

150g brown rice
1 whole cucumber
1 chilli, halved and chopped
1 small bunch coriander, chopped
3 spring onions, finely sliced
2cm piece of ginger, peeled and grated
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tablespoons miso paste
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon caster sugar
2 tablespoons sesame oil

Cook brown rice according to instructions, usually 30 to 40 minutes. Meanwhile slice cucumber in half lengthways and scoop out seeds. Slice thinly and at an angle to produce crescent shapes. Tip into a bowl and combine with chilli, coriander and spring onions.

Make dressing by putting all ingredients into a jar with a lid and shaking vigorously.

Drain the rice and rinse with warm water. Stir through the dressing before adding the cucumber mixture. Serve with a few coriander leaves for garnish.

What's On

Support Global South activists get to the UN climate talks to fight for climate justice

When the UN climate talks come to Glasgow this November, we need nothing short of urgent climate action based on justice across the world. Those on the frontlines of the climate crisis will be central to this, and must be front and centre at the negotiations.

But frontline, Global South and other marginalised communities will face many obstacles even getting to Glasgow for COP26. To ensure that Global South communities do not continue to get side-lined, we must stand in solidarity with their activists and delegates.

The COP26 Coalition is working to provide support in overcoming the huge hurdles of obtaining visit visas - read more and support here.

Job opportunity: Vegbox Logistics Coordinator

Start date: As soon as possible
Hours: Full time (37.5 hrs) Monday-Friday. Early start on Monday mornings.
Salary: £25,000 pa
Location: Sutton Community Farm, SM6 0SH, with option for some home working

Sutton Community Farm are recruiting for a new VegBox Logistics Coordinator. They are looking for someone who is passionate about efficient logistics and amazing customer service, is highly organised and will bring a can-do, proactive attitude to the team.

Please read the job description for more information including how to apply. Deadline: Sunday 15th August.

About OrganicLea

We grow and distribute food and teach others about food growing. Our site in Chingford supplies produce for our box scheme and operates as a learning space.

The rest of the produce in your bags comes from local growers including those from our Farm Start programme; we strive to create distribution systems for fresh, seasonal and organic produce that allow growers to set fair prices. Produce is sourced as close to London as possible, and we directly support a number of small independent farms.

We operate a zero waste food policy and all our deliveries are zero or low carbon delivery. We are a part of the network of Better Food Traders, working towards a more sustainable food system.