Don't forget to change your clocks!
Date Added: 27/10/2021
The crackly amber leaves are falling off the trees and decorating the paths along with the remaining conkers. Like the leaves the temperature is gradually dropping and this weekend the clocks will be going back an hour, making the official end of British summertime, meaning mornings will be lighter but the evenings will be darker.
If like many, you forget which way the to change you clock each time, just remember “Spring forward, fall back”.
UK Broccoli season comes to an end in the next few weeks and our focus will be turning to Christmas planning to deliver the nations favourite vegetables for the most important meal of the year – Christmas Dinner!
This year’s Potato harvest has now finished with the Potatoes safely stored away in special controlled Potato stores.
As we edge closer to the festive season, our premium Lincolnshire grown Potatoes will be flying out of our stores to the packers, making their way onto many Christmas dinner plates as Roast or Mash Potatoes across the UK.
Even though we’ve been harvesting Brussels Sprouts since August, our Sprout harvesters will be serviced and fine-tuned, ensuring they are ready for when harvesting ramps up to meet demand as Christmas edges closer at an alarming rate.
Leaves aren’t the only thing changing colour, you’ll notice our Tractors busy working the fertile fields of Lincolnshire slowly transforming them from luscious green to dormant brown, ready for the Winter to weather the land, which helps to create the optimum soil conditions and benefiting field preparation for Spring 2022.
With Halloween just around the corner, why not create a warming Broccoli soup for any Halloween bash. For those with a creative imagination it could be blended green goblin soup, may sound freakish but it’ll certainly be tasty and make people come back for more!
For this spooky soup, trim and roughly chop 1 head of Broccoli (around 400g) and 2 sticks of celery. Fry off the celery and one finely chopped clove of garlic in a pan with a splash of olive oil for around 2 to 3 minutes. Then add the Broccoli with 1 litre of stock (chicken or vegetable works well). Cook for 5 minutes and blitz with a handful of finely chopped mint leaves.
Serve in bowls topped with crumbled ricotta cheese – delicious!
Bonfire night is another celebration which requires comforting and warming food, especially if you’re planning to attend or hold your own fireworks display. As you’re ‘oohing and aahing’ at the loud fizzing and banging fireworks as they dazzle and quickly decorate the night sky, don’t stand there shivering.
Wrap yourself up in a big coat, scarf, gloves, and woolly hat but also ensure you have a hearty meal beforehand. Hot dogs, Burgers, Toffee Apples and Parkin Cake are normally the traditional bonfire night food of choice, but Soups and Chilli’s shouldn’t be missed out either!
A Cauliflower and bean chilli is a great one pot dish featuring in season Cauliflower and store cupboard ingredients, making it a great healthy one pot dish and a real crowd-pleaser!
Cauliflower and bean chilli –
- 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- 400g tin kidney beans, drained and rinsed (chickpeas or black beans work well too!)
- 1 diced onion
- 1 carrot, scrubbed and diced
- 1 cauliflower, cut into florets
- 125g chestnut mushrooms, quartered
- 2 crushed garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp BBQ sauce
- 2 tsp chipotle chilli past
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 30g sliced jalapeños, drained and finely chopped
- 2 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp onion granules
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 25g dark chocolate (optional but it helps balance out the flavours of a Chilli as the richness of the chocolate ‘cancels’ out the acidity of the tomatoes and give it a deeper colour and fuller body.)
Simply add all the ingredients to a large, heavy saucepan and cook over a low heat with the lid on. Bring to the boil and simmer for 1½ hours, stirring occasionally.
Once ready serve with fluffy boiled rice, chunky potatoes wedges or on top of jacket potatoes and garnish with a flourish of chopped coriander and a dollop of sour cream – enjoy!
As the days get shorter and colder, the skies seem to be getting brighter and bolder plus you’ll notice more Tractor lights in the fields as the nights draw in – like the above recent picture of our Purple Sprouting Broccoli field operatives, busy harvesting under a magnificent Autumn sunrise.
Thank you for reading and make sure you keep yours eyes peeled for our next blog to be posted in December, as Christmas rapidly approaches!