The Online Veg Box Shop is Open!

The Online Veg Box Shop is open for deliveries next week!

We’ve got loads of new things on the Online Veg Box Shop this week, so let’s get to it!

It’s only November, but we’re slowly getting ready to get ready for Christmas around here- so this week sees advent calendars hit the Online Veg Box Shop. These aren’t the standard, disappointing variety- they’re filled with delicious, organic Montezuma chocolate in dark, milk, or vegan milk varieties. They’re a perfect way to appreciate the run up to Christmas if you celebrate it, giving a little sweetness to the everyday.

Our foraging friend brings us Wood Blewits! These are fragrant mushrooms which need to be cooked, and work well in creamy dishes and sauces. We also have alexander, an old-fashioned ingredient a lot like a peppery parsley. This is a rare chance to taste something now rarely used, so you should

We are also continuing our ongoing project to improve our range of staples, with organic Suma tahini for flavouring your hummus or dressing your roast veg. I only recently learned the magic trick of mixing water and lemon juice with tahini to make a delicious, creamy emulsion, and now I can’t stop. You can add ginger and/or garlic and/or soy sauce and/or spices and/or whatever you like to make it extra wonderful. I’ll also be experimenting with incorporating tahini into my baking, like in this coffee-and-caramel cake or these honey and tahini cookies, which celebrate the rich nutty taste of sesame.

And, as if this wasn’t enough, we also have the new Locavore extra virgin olive oil, from olives grown in Finca el Albuchar. This olive oil is organic and fresh, having been shipped directly from the farm where the native olives are grown, pressed, and bottled to the UK . We all know a quality olive oil can take your cooking from good to great, and it’s wonderful to have an opportunity to try one that benefits not only our meals, but the farmers, the soil, and the planet.

What a bumper week- I’ll be hopping over and ordering one of everything, I think. 

Remember the deadline to get your orders in is now 11pm Monday for everyone!

Headlines

Covid 19

Cases of Covid-19 are, sadly, on the rise in Scotland. As such we will continue to do out part to keep all our wonderful staff and customers safe. This means we’ll be continuing to practise contactless deliveries, so please keep half an ear out for your veg box on your delivery day. Remember that if you’re worried about the box being left on your doorstep, you can always leave a large plastic box for veg, milk, eggs, and whatnot to be left in to keep it sheltered and hidden. 

We’re also sorry to say we won’t be able to reintroduce our opt-out lists any time soon. We know you’re missing them- we are too. Unfortunately, they require a full staff in our packing shed, which would make socially distanced working for our packers impossible. We’re looking at ways to adapt for the future, but for the next month or two at least I’m afraid opt-out lists will still be suspended. 

All that said, it’s important to note that we don’t expect to see any issues with supply lines over the next months, so please don’t worry. We usually have boxes full to the brim with tasty local root veg and squash over the autumn and winter months, and while the pandemic may continue to have an impact on veg prices we think this is unlikely to matter much to our veg boxes. We thank you for your patience with us as we’ve learned how to deliver veg boxes through a pandemic. 

You can read about changes made to our service due to the pandemic here

Recycling and Reusing Packaging

Just a reminder of what we collect from your door each week: 

Veg Boxes– we reuse these
Mossgiel Milk bottles – we return these to the dairy for reuse
Ed’s Bees jars – we return these to Ed (and his bees) for reuse
Plastic bottle lids – we recycle these
Plant pots from Locavore potted herbs- our farm reuses these
Locavore hummus Vegware pots – we return these to vegware to be biodegraded
Ella’s Kitchen baby food pouches – we recycle these
Toothpaste tubes and toothbrushes– we recycle these

We aren’t able to accept glass bottles, egg boxes, or any other items for recycling, I’m afraid. Most councils will recycle both of these items- in Glasgow, egg boxes can go in the recycling bin outside your flat, but glass may need to be taken to the bottle bank.

In the Veg Boxes This Week

Subject to last minute changes

Check out storage guidance for helpful tips and tricks on how to prolong the life of your fresh produce. If you’re wondering where your veg comes from, have a look at these maps. You can also join your fellow subscribers over in the Facebook group for lots of tips, tricks, and recipe ideas!

To contact us, ring 0141 378 1672 or email us at subscribers@glasgowlocavore.org

Click here for Veg Box Contents

The Nice Bit

I think brussels sprouts suffer a little from their association with Christmas. So strong is the mental link that it might not occur to many of us to include them in our meals throughout their season, even though they’re one of the few green things we have all winter long. And we might not want to! Many of us have eaten far too many sulphurous, water-logged sprouts served as an obligatory afterthought. And now there’s a veg box newsletter insisting I eat them in November? And suggesting I might enjoy them?

Well, yes! Brussels sprouts are like tiny cabbages with a deep, nutty taste and an addictive, al-dente bite. We love cabbage around here, as you know, and many of the best ways to eat brussels are the same: a fry up of onions, sprouts, black pudding or bacon if that’s your style, maybe some potatoes; or  roast the same combo. Or roast with olive oil, garlic, and parmesan for a perfect side dish to just about anything. Creamy, pine-nutt-y anchovy-y pasta with brussels sounds like exactly what I want for dinner today. Or, if you’d prefer something fresh and light and singing, try a coleslaw with finely shredded sprouts as the base. Sprouts can be roasted with halloumi or feta and topped with a tahini dressing (see above– told you I’m obsessed). They can be roasted with apples and rosemary (pancetta optional) for something as autumnal as golden leaves. They can be stir-fried with peanuts and finished with lime juice for a sort of pad-thai style easy dinner. They can be turned into pesto or incorporated into your baked potato to warm you up on a cold evening.