A Visit to the New to us Farm Shop

I think I must be a bit picky when it comes to food and especially fresh veggies.  I suspect it is due to the fact that my family although not always flush with money, always ate well due to my Grandparents' way of life and growing a lot of their own food including keeping Pigs, Chickens, and Geese.  Nothing fancy, just good simple eating which we were brought up to.  My parents never really had an issue with us eating all sorts of veg apart from Broad Beans (which we now eat) and being a bit iffy with Parsnip and Swede (both of which we now eat).  Then again we were brought up to eat what was put before us.

I felt the loss of my local veg shop quite badly (and still do) as we used to get all the fresh produce at very reasonable prices and it used to be the good Lincolnshire staples Cabbage, Cauliflowers, Leeks etc. etc.  I used to predominantly buy from them and only bought elsewhere if they were unable to provide an item I was looking for.  Then again I did used to use them rather than the supermarkets.  Since losing the veg shop I have had to rely on the supermarkets and I have not been impressed.  With the exception of Waitrose, M & S and some items that I cannot get elsewhere from Sainsburys (Oyster Mushrooms and some of the more unusual items).

Today dawned cold, very cold but bright with a real proper deem rimed frost gracing the rooftops of the houses around us in Peterborough.  It was a bit chilly to say the least and we chose to have an early start on our mission to check out the new to us Farm shop. We had heard lots of good reviews about this place from friends and others on the Internet.   

If you want to have a look they are on Facebook link here:

Tallington Farm Shop

We have now been and are very pleased that we have visited and shall be going back.  Well worth a visit if you are in the Peterborough area.

The quality of the veg is much better in my humble opinion to that which has been offered at my local supermarket.  They had £10 mixed veg boxes on offer today (and apparently for all the weekend).  This shop is only open on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with a lot of their supplies being fresh from the Farmer to Shop and prices for the quality of the veg I think are very reasonable. 

Very impressed specially with the £10 boxes which have in as a basic (well this was what was roughly in the box I bought today):

Carrots, - about 6 large carrots

Cabbage - larger than in supermarket

Cauliflower - larger than in supermarket

Broccoli - a Head

Leek - One very large thick set Lincolnshire Leek

Parsnip A large Parsnip

Potatoes - Several potatoes; I opted for red ones.

Onion - one Red and one White

Turnips - a couple

A Brussel Sprout Stalk

We also opted to buy other items as well:

Field Mushrooms

Tangerines (9)

Kale -  a big bag full

Purple Sprouting Broccoli - a bigger bag full

Cherry Tomatoes (2 tubs)

2 Large Sweet Potatoes

A Sack of Potatoes  - Maris Pipers (dirty ones as they keep that bit better) - had the option of whites washed, dirty or Reds.  There was a 7kg bag (£5) or a 25kg bag (£10).  We opted for the 25kg bag.  It will last well.  I prefer to buy potatoes by the sack in any event.  When pennies are tight potatoes can be one of your best friends.

2 Trays of eggs (tray £7 per tray).

A couple of bottles of Orange juice.

A jar of Horseradish sauce.

A jar of Damson jam.

The photos below are photos of the big box I came away with today.  It does include the basic £10 box plus a load of extra items we also bought which are detailed above in any event.

Fresh Field Mushrooms (also known as Portobello Mushrooms)

Beautiful Purple Sprouting Broccoli.  Very good for you and full of iron.  An absolute treat to have this and it is in beautiful condition.  

Also fresh Kale.  Another favourite here.  We have eaten this for many years.  At one stage it was frowned upon eating this as it was considered animal fodder.  This under-estimated vegetable is very good for you and makes very good eating.

Clementines with their leaves.  Looking forward to having these and saving the peel!

There was lots of other veg and fruit, however as it was our first visit I was concentrating mostly on the veggies but I will probably buy more fruit next time we go.   The veggies are now in he fridge - apart from Onions and Potatoes.  All the Greens are in there as they have a shorter shelf life compared to the root veggies.  I have found that keeping my veg in the fridge does extend its life quite a bit.

On site is also a Cafe (we did not try this time but it does look very nice), also a bakery and a Butcher.  G bought some bacon from the Butcher as well as a Pork Loin joint (for Sunday dinner), a Black Pudding and some White Pudding.  G also bought the Turkey Crown for Christmas dinner which is going in the freezer.  Christmas dinner is therefore prepared for and no doubt some of the veg bought today will also end up in the Freezer.

Now to start planning and mapping out my Menu for the week ahead.  These veggies will provide some very good eating.  More on what I plan on doing Menu wise and making sure I use all this precious bounty up in another post.  Should complement a lot of the meat items we have in the freezer. 

Now to get a wriggle on.  Have lots to do as usual.

Have a good one.

Catch you soon.

Pattypan

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