Seasonal recipe for June

Rice with peas and pancetta

An easy dish using seasonal vegetables and can be adapted for the vegetarian by adding 1 tbsp of Marigold Swiss Vegetable Bouillon Powder to 1litre boiling water for a light veggie stock and swap the pancetta for a spoonful of pesto just before serving.

Serves 4

1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
2 leeks, finely sliced
150g risotto rice
1 litre hot chicken stock
200g fresh peas
2 courgettes, finely sliced
Sea salt and black pepper
4 slices of pancetta
2 tbsp parmesan, grated

Heat the oil and butter in a heavy pan and cook the leeks for 5 minutes. Add the rice, stirring to coat. Add the stock, stirring well. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the peas, courgettes, salt and pepper to the rice, then cook for a further 5 minutes until the rice is tender and lightly soupy. Fry the pancetta in a hot, lightly oiled pan until crisp, place on top, then scatter with parmesan.

Seasonal Food for June

New in this month………….

Strawberries, gooseberries, broad beans, peas (including sugar snaps), pea shoots, carrots, radishes, lettuce, elderflowers, mackerel

Still in season: Asparagus, rocket, European cherries, outdoor rhubarb, chives, parsley, mint, crab, scallops, sea trout, Spring lamb; rosemary; cockles; Spring onions; broccoli; wild garlic; spinach; Jersey royal new potatoes, Watercress

Bottom of Form

Top of Form

FRUIT

Strawberries, cherries gooseberries 
VEGETABLES

Asparagus  Broad beans  Mint  Elderflowers  Jersey Royal new potatoes  Parsley  Peas  Rhubarb (outdoor)  Rocket  Rosemary  Samphire  Sorrel  Spinach  Watercress  Wild garlic 

MEAT

Lamb
FISH AND SEAFOOD

Crab Herring John Dory Mackerel Salmon Sardines Sea trout  

A trip down memory lane

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The mugs have “The story of Cricket “to “How it works The Motor Car”….. 

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Top 10 UK farmers' markets

1. Cardiff Riverside Farmers' Market

Fitzhamon Embankment held every Sunday from 10 am to 2 pm Tel: 029 20190036

Found just by the Millennium Stadium, this market has more than 25 stalls selling baked goods, fish, meat, fruit, vegetables and even malt whisky. Try the chilli jam, Cardigan Bay honey, goat's sausages, wine from Sugarloaf vineyard and a number of award-winning cheeses.

2.Wirral Urban farmers’ market, New Ferry

New Ferry's Village Hall held every second Saturday from 9 am to 1 pm Tel: 015 16431393

An indoor market with 30 stalls which offers some of the North West's finest produce including fruits, vegetables, cheeses, chocolate and beer. Profits from the volunteer-run market are given to local community groups. It was voted the UK Farmers' Market of the Year at BBC Radio 4's Food and Farming Awards 2007.

3. Hexham farmers’ market, Northumberland

Hexham Auction Mart (Jan-April), The Market Place (May-August), held the second Saturday of the month Tel: 01434 270393

This market won the NFU award for Best Farmers' Market in England and Wales last year it’s found at the local cattle market. It has over 30 producers such as local oyster mushrooms, Northumberland hill lamb, hand-made chocolates and fudge, beef, poultry, eggs, cheeses, bread and gluten-free baked goods, soups, salads and veg, all of which are grown or reared within 50 miles.

4.Orton farmers' market, Cumbria

Held the second Saturday of the month Tel: 01524 781003

With more than 40 stalls of foods and crafts, Orton farmers' market sits in the heart of the countryside. This tiny village is in game country, so you’ll find pigeons, rabbits and game birds for the pot at Austen Davies’s stall – and something to warm your cockles at the renowned Weardale Soup Company. Bessy Beck's trout products, delicious homemade Country puddings and the Cumbrian Fair Trade Cooperative has more exotic goods. Most of the stallholders also crop up at Brough (third Saturdays) and Pooley Bridge (last Sundays until winter).

5.Haverfordwest farmers' market, Pembrokeshire

Riverside Quay, held on alternate Fridays Tel: 01437 776 168

This market, which is situated on a peninsula, has a stunning range of cheeses, real heather honey and the occassional live cookery demonstration. From 29 June to 7 July there is the Pembrokeshire Fish Week which features cooking demonstrations at the market; usually locally caught and reared fish. Free-range duck, guinea-fowl and geese, home-reared meats, organic, rare-breed Oxford and Sandy Black pork, crab and lobster sandwiches, continental salad leaves, bread and locally milled flour, bara brith (a traditional sweet tea bread) and Welsh cakes, Lanboidy farmhouse cheese and laver bread, ewe’s milk cheese, smoked game are just some of the delights.

6. Alnwick farmers' market, Northumberland
Market Place held on the last Friday of the month 9 am to 2 pm Tel: 07894 402766


The market is found near Alnwick's medieval market cross. It has hosted demonstrations from chefs, including Master Chef finalist David Hall, as well as an array of crafts including soaps and jewellery. Local specials include Hill Lamb, cheeses, cakes and pies, teas, preserves and pickles, mussels, fudge, soft fruits and plants.


7.St Giles farmers' market, Shipbourne, Kent
St. Giles Church, Stumble Hill every Thursday, between 9.00-11.00 Tel:01732-355325


This market is held both inside and outside an 11th-century church at the heart of the village. It has more than 20 stalls offer local fare, including breads, meat, vegetables, mushrooms, smoked fish, pickles, cheeses and fruit, sold direct from the producers.


8.Winchester farmers’ market, Hampshire
Middle Brook Street, second and last Sunday of the month Tel: 01962 845135


This has been around since May 1999 and has almost 100 stalls. There is a strict criteria as all produce must be grown, reared, baked or caught in Hampshire or within 10 miles of the border. Hampshire Fare is the county's excellent food and drink organisation and specialities include Alresford watercress, water buffalo, Dexter beef, and Manx Loughton sheep.


9.Stroud farmers' market, Gloucestershire
Cornhill Market Place, held on first and third Saturday of each month. Tel: 01453 758060


It hosts demonstrations at 11am by resident chef Robert Rees of the Country Elephant who makes meals using produce from the market. Specialities include Katie Lloyd's Shitake-mushroom growing kits, Annette Eaton's smoked garlic and the superb outdoor cafe run on a rota by different groups. Gloucestershire first farmers' market is a triple winner of the Cotswold Life Magazine “Best Farmers Market” award and the FARMA certified farmers' market of the year 2008.


10. Kings Norton farmers’ market, Birmingham
The Green in King Norton held the second Saturday of the month Tel: 07966 434177


The organisers are proud of the market's patent, established in 1616, though the market was re-established in 2005. Stalls sell vegetables, fruit, fresh meat, fish, garden plants and organic and fairtrade produce. Voted the West Midlands farmers' market of the Year 2008 by the National Farmers' Retail and Markets Association, it offers goods from more than 25 producers.