At last it feels like summerspring has sprung and with purslane in our boxes this week, we are starting to see more of the early salads harvest. For the fact it is a weed, sorry we meant vegetable and not a fish, it certainly punches above its weight, being high in omega-3 fat, vitamin E and beta-carotene. Not sure what to do with it? Check out this most enlightening post on purslane which has many many eating ideas!

We also have a very welcomed rhubarb to our standard veg boxes this week. Dessert ideas for rhubarb are a dime and dozen but what about eating it as part of your main meal? Why not try a smoked salmon with orange & rhubarb salad using your blood oranges, and with purslane instead of watercress albeit without the fiery kick. Or check out the Guardian’s 10 best recipes for rhubarb and try the Vietnamese sweet and sour soup at the top.

Or do something new with rhubarb and try roasted rhubarb, with honey instead of sugar if you fancy. Great with ice cream or with pork as a tart-ish alternative to apple.

Meanwhile farmside, there’s been a fair amount of biodynamic preparations being sprinkled around the young crops to encourage the diverse macrobiotic life in their soils. This alongside a later spraying of crushed quartz crystal which will improve light refraction for photosynthesis can really benefit the plants and the environment in which they grow. With some additional de-stoning for the soon to be planted potato crops work on the farm has been ploughing ahead and weeding will soon take priority to ensure the best start to the growing season. Looking forwards to more produce from the land soon!

For more ideas on how to eat the vegetables in this week’s box, try searching on our webpage for past blogs!

This Week’s Bounty

No-Potato Substitute
Mushrooms, Suffolk

Fruit Supplement
Blood Oranges, Spain
Apples – Topaz, Kent (standard only)