So here we are veggie boxing

Chook and I have been going to the AMAP for a year now. AMAP, or Association for the maintain of peasant farming (or loose translation from the french)is a general term for the people who do veggie boxes. The idea is that you pledge to buy fruit and veg from one producer near where you live for six months and in return every saturday you go and collect your organickish produce. The AMAP is mainly a bobo,token conscience-gesture towards sustainable farming. In reality it is usually a rather dull and soggy bag of alien vegetables.

For 7euros50 a week (that's 187 euros for "half a basket" every week for six months)we usually get about 4 kilos of fresh, mostly edible, very seasonal vegetables (very rarely fruit) and of course the odd slug.

So, in the spirit of seasonal food, here is what we get:

Saturday 4th october

500g potatoes, watch out for the slimy/split/full of holes.
Half a big bunch of carrots, mutant, usually shaped like male genitalia/mandrake roots.
one green pepper, long and skinny.
One fat small lettuce, good.
500g tomatoes
1 large raw beetroot
1 large turnip
A big bunch of lovely , gorgeous baby leeks, thickness ranging from little finger to flower stalk.

leek and potato mash (serves 2):
Leeks : finely chopped white parts in to discs (should have around a soup bowl full), melt in butter at very low heat, salt and pepper and a splash of milk.
Potatoes, cut potatoes (3 medium ones) into small cubes, boil in salty water till almost decomposing. Drain, mash with fork, add butter, add milk and a bit of creme fraiche.
Combine leeks and potatoes and serve with lamb chops.

Saturday 11th october

500 g potatoes
500g tomatoes
250g turnips
half a big bunch of carrots
250g spinach leaves, huge, tough, half eaten by bugs and yellowing at the edges
a big beetroot
a small leaf lettuce
a long skinny red pepper

Red early autumn soup (serves 2):
Finely chop half a large onion and put it at low heat in some olive oil till soft. Add 4 or 5 chopped tomatoes and let them decompose. Add a chopped red pepper, then a tin of chopped tomatoes, a tsp of paprika and let simmer on low heat.
Fry bacon or lardons (upto 200g) making sure you drain away the white salty liquid. Once browned, throw into red mixture. Let flavours combine and add more paprika to taste.
Blitz til smooth, the more bacon you have the less smooth it will be.
When ready to serve stir in a tablespoon of creme fraiche into each bowl and add some chopped chives and basil (optional)