Veg Box Newsletter w/c 30.10.19

Hello Folks,

It’s October! Well, as I write this it is almost October, which is good enough. I love October: the leaves crisping and crunching as I wander through the park, the nights drawing in like a heavy duvet, the actual heavy duvet coming out from the cupboard- and the veg! October’s a rather veg-focused month. We might look forward to March asparagus or July sweetcorn, but we don’t buy asparagus fairy lights (I would though, please send a link if you know where I can buy them). The pumpkin with its orange glow is special. But I’d like to call for appreciating all squash as iconic, not just the giant orange ones. After all, the smaller, knobblier ones are tastier, and they look just as spooky in the candle light. We posted a recipe last week on our website for a squash and chickpea dish, and as some boxes this week feature acorn squash, you have another opportunity to try it.

This week’s boxes feature the very last of the Locavore Left Field celery. It comes in such abundance that it can be hard to remember that we will miss it in the winter months. One nifty idea is to finely chop celery, carrots, and onions, and freeze them mixed together, portioned out in reusable containers. This can be used to cook up sofrito through the winter, a tasty base for minestrones, ragus, risottos and stews.

We’re also very happy to see broccoli in the boxes this week, and there’ll be a recipe going up on Friday to celebrate this rather underrated greenery. As always, please keep us up to date on what you’re cooking! You can email us, post in our Facebook group, or tag us on Instagram.

Here’s the important part of the email, choc-a-block with news! We’re sad to say that we won’t be opening the Open Food Network shop again this week. We need just a little more time to sort it all out, but it looks like it will be open again next week, so if I were you I’d start daydreaming about all the beans I was going to order. Sorry about the inconvenience of this, and thank you everyone for your continued understanding.

I know there was a problem last week with some hummus orders. The hummus will be back in deliveries this week, and, drumroll please: we can now take hummus packaging away with your old boxes (like honey jars or milk bottles)! The hummus pots are Vegware, a compostable plastic made from plants, but they can’t be composted domestically, and it’s been unclear whether local councils accept them in food waste. We know this was a concern for a lot of you, so we’re pleased to say that we’re now part of the Vegware closed loop, so vegware packaging can be brought to Locavore for composting, and we can take hummus pots.

Check out storage guidance here 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 and check out our Veggiepedia!

In the veg boxes this week:

Subject to last minute changes

Small veg box Farm Organic Certifier
Potatoes Chapel Farm SA
Carrots Mcleods Organics SA
Savoy Cabbage Chapel Farm SA
Mixed Chard (rainbow, swiss & white) Locavore, Left Field SA
Standard veg box Farm Organic Certifier
Potatoes Chapel Farm SA
Onions Chapel Farm SA
Carrots Mcleods Organics SA
Savoy Cabbage Chapel Farm SA
Sweetcorn Strawberry Fields SA
Kale Pollybell Farm SA
Broccoli Yorkshire SA
Large veg box Farm Organic Certifier
Potatoes Chapel Farm SA
Onions Chapel Farm SA
Carrots Mcleods Organics SA
Acorn Squash Strawberry Fields SA
Savoy Cabbage Chapel Farm SA
Celery Locavore, Left Field SA
Mixed Chard (rainbow, swiss & white) Locavore, Left Field SA
Broccoli Pollybell Farms SA
Oakleaf Green Salad Strawberry Fields SA
Extra Large veg box Farm Organic Certifier
Potatoes Chapel Farm SA
Onions Chapel Farm SA
Carrots Macleods Organics SA
Acorn Squash Strawberry Fields SA
Savoy Cabbage Chapel Farm SA
Cauliflower Polybell Farm SA
Celery Locavore, Left Field SA
Mixed Chard (rainbow, swiss & white) Locavore, Left Field SA
Broccoli Pollybell Farm SA
Little Gem Lettuce Strawberry Fields SA
Small fruit bag Farm / Origin Organic Certifier
Russet Apples Oakwood Farm SA
Onward Pears Carey Organics (Hereford) SA
Bananas Dominican Republic Ifoam
Medium fruit bag Farm / Origin Organic Certifier
Russet Apples Oakwood Farm SA
Onward Pears Carey Organics (Hereford) SA
Bananas Dominican Republic Ifoam
Large fruit bag Farm / Origin Organic Certifier
Russet Apples Oakwood Farm SA
Onward Pears Carey Organics (Hereford) SA
Bananas Dominican Republic Ifoam
Clementines Spain Caae
Extra large fruit bag Farm / Origin Organic Certifier
Russet Apples Oakwood Farm SA
Onward Pears Carey Organics (Hereford) SA
Bananas Dominican Republic Ifoam
Clementines Spain Caae
Red Globe seedless grapes Spain Caae
Small supplementary veg Origin Organic Certifier
Cucumber- Midi Locavore Left Field SA
Lettuce- Mixed Leaves Locavore, Left Field SA
Coriander OR parley OR fennel (herb) Locavore, Left Field
Standard supplementary veg Origin Organic Certifier
Sweet potatoes Spain Caae
Cucumber- Midi Locavore, Left Field SA
Chestnut mushrooms Orchard Organics SA
Lettuce- Mixed Leaves Locavore, Left Field SA

Enjoy!

The Locavore Team