Feijoa madness

Martinborough Manner is in the midst of feijoa madness. Only about halfway through their season, they still have weeks to go with feijoas. This weekend they will have at Palmy, Spicy feijoa sauce (fabulous on fish cakes), feijoa chutney, feijoa and ginger jam, feijoa and apricot jam and for those fresh feijoa lovers out there they will have beautiful fresh feijoas. We pick our feijoas the correct way - that is we collect those fruit that have fallen from the tree rather than pulling unripe fruit from the tree.

VEGETABLE AND LENTIL SOUP WITH ONION MARMALADE

It's soup season, and to celebrate try this delicious vegetarian broth full of fresh herbs, zucchini and topped with sweet onion marmalade (Martinborough Manner of course!). Delicious with a dollop of Greek-style yoghurt.

Adapted from a recipe by Peter Gordon

Serves 4-6

1 tbsp olive oil

1 red onion, thinly sliced

2 bay leaves

1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

150g puy lentils, rinsed

1 small leek, thinly sliced and rinsed

1 parsnip, diced

1 litre vegetable stock

1/2 head broccoli, finely chopped

2 zucchini, sliced

1 cup fresh parsley leaves

Small jar of Martinborough Manner Onion Marmalade

100g thick Greek-style yoghurt

1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, torn

1 Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat.

2 Place the onion into the pan over medium heat. Add bay leaves, rosemary, paprika, lentils, leek, parsnip and stock. Bring to the boil then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 15-20 minutes or until the lentils are just cooked. Add broccoli and zucchini. Cook for a further 2 minutes, then stir through parsley. Season with salt and pepper.

3 Remove bay leaves. Ladle soup into serving bowls. Top with onion marmalade and yoghurt; serve sprinkled with mint.

News for Sunday 23 May 2010

It is finally raining here in Martinborough, enough to probably make a difference to the grass and the garden. It does make one want to stay inside though, sit by the fire and drink Milo. Winter does bring its own treats though. We have now managed to bring to you this weekend some very colourful preserves. We will have tamarillo chutney, golden beetroot relish and spicy feijoa sauce. Golden beetroot relish is beetroot relish like you’ve not seen before. A stunning yellow colour to brighten up any meal - this reflects the colour of the beetroot rather than additives. Spicy feijoa sauce is delicious with cheese, sausages, cold meats, fish (especially fishcakes), anything really! Tamarillo chutney goes well with cold meats. This usually sells out like the proverbial hotcakes so buy this while we have it. We will have it in stock, at least May to July. If you miss out any week, just ask Bill to make sure he brings you some the following week.

Strawberry diabetic jam

I've finally managed to crack it (at least in my humble opinion!!!!) - I've just made a diabetic jam that tastes good - Strawberry Jam. As this doesn't keep for very long, we would prefer to make to order. If you would like a jar, either email us (info@martinboroughmanner.co.nz) or speak to Bill on the stall. He will then bring you a jar the following week. I hope to experiment with more berry jams over the next few weeks.

News for the Palmy FM on 9 May 2010

Last Sunday there was no tomato sauce but Bill will have more of that this week. It is so popular that neither of the Sunday markets that we go to had any as we sold out completely on Saturday. We use some of our own tomatoes, though these are almost finished, but otherwise we use local tomatoes from the Warburtons in Greytown. It will still be on special at $5.00 a bottle.

It is not too late to buy a Mother's Day present. Buy a gift pack of three jars of jam or chutney on special for $19.50.

Looking for fruit - Bill will have feijoas as well as 2010 Spicy Feijoa Sauce - yummy with fish, especially fishcakes.

At Palmy FM, you can buy meat, veges, fruit, bread, jams, chutneys etc, and plants for the garden. All of us should be buying and consuming food grown and produced locally. Martinborough Manner is having a competition to encourage consumers to regard the market as the place to do the majority of your fresh shopping for the week. Email (info@martinboroughmanner.co.nz) or drop off at the Martinborough Manner stall your recipe for anything that includes at least two things that you can buy at the market. It doesn't have to be totally original but must include two ingredients from the market. For example:

Lamb or beef casserole

Into a casserole dish place chopped onions (one of the veg stalls), lamb (or beef if you prefer) (from Ron at Superior Meats), a small jar of Sweet and Spicy Tomato Relish (from you know who), about a third of a cup of flour mixed to a paste with a little water, add enough water to cover the meat, salt and pepper, cover and place in the oven at 175 deg C for about 3 hours. Serve with green veg (from Hensons), potatoes or bread to mop up the gravy.

Best recipe each week until the end of May wins a small jar of your choice from Martinborough Manner