15/06/2026
Benโs Weekly Newsletter ๐ฅฌ
We have had some visitors staying with us over the last few days โ Mariaโs distant cousin Denise and her husband Steve travelled from their home in Wisconsin ๐บ๐ธ for a UK tour as part of Deniseโs 60th birthday celebrations. ๐๐
We lined up a variety of options for trips out and on Saturday we plumped for York ๐ฐ, to mooch around the streets and walls, admire the perimeter of the Minster โช and travel back in time at the Jorvik Viking Centre โ๏ธ๐ก๏ธ
I can remember my first visit to Jorvik, about 40 years ago after it first opened. It may be that my sense of smell isnโt as sharp these days, but I donโt think the Viking street odour is nearly as offensive as it was. ๐คข Perhaps it has been toned down a bit for the internet review age. Originally, Magnus โIโve started, so Iโll finishโ Magnusson of Mastermind fame voiced the commentary, and the carts were more like bumper cars, whereas now they are bigger with multilingual touch screens and fancy swivel and tip functionality. But the recreated Coppergate streets are much as I remember them, and our party all thoroughly enjoyed the immersive experience, even the animal entrails and the animated entrail-nibbling rat. ๐
At this point, I will introduce the tenuous link with this weekโs veg box contents.
๐ฅฌ The Viking diet was dominated by meat, fish, grains and dairy, but they did enjoy a varied selection of fruit and veg as well, including root veg like turnips, leeks and carrots, cabbages, and foraged nuts and berries. ๐ฅ๐ฅฌ๐ซ๐ฐ They would have glazed or sweetened dishes with mead and honey. ๐ฏ Not that it did much for their average life expectancy of 35 ๐ฌ
But we have moved on a few centuries and, what with improved sanitation, universal healthcare and a marked reduction in axe-wielding overseas raids, this has more than doubled. Your balanced, veg-heavy diet should help you add an extra 8 to 10 years of good health too.
So, this week, in tribute to the Vikings โ ta-daaa! โ๏ธ โ every box will have a new season round cabbage from Newfields Farm in North Yorks ๐ฌ๐ง and some turnips from France. ๐ซ๐ท I have found some Viking recipes and tweaked one below that might tickle any residual Norse ancestral taste receptors you might have. ๐ฝ๏ธ๐
THE BOX CONTENTS:
Small veg box
๐ฅ Accord new potatoes ๐ฌ๐ง (Norfolk)
๐ฅ Washed carrots ๐ฎ๐น (Italy)
๐ง
Yellow onions ๐ณ๐ฑ (Netherlands)
๐ซ Bunched beetroot ๐ฌ๐ง (Lincolnshire)
๐ฅฌ Round cabbage ๐ฌ๐ง (Yorkshire)
๐ฅ Courgette ๐ช๐ธ (Spain)
๐ Rainbow chard ๐ฌ๐ง (Local โ Denton Estate)
๐ฅ Cucumber ๐ช๐ธ (Spain)
๐ซ Turnip ๐ซ๐ท (France)
Medium Veg Box
๐ฅ Acoustic potatoes ๐ฌ๐ง (Lincolnshire)
๐ฅ Washed carrots ๐ฎ๐น (Italy)
๐ง
Yellow onions ๐ณ๐ฑ (Netherlands)
๐ฅฆ Broccoli ๐ช๐ธ (Spain)
๐ถ๏ธ Chilli ๐ช๐ธ (Spain)
๐ฅฌ Round cabbage ๐ฌ๐ง (Yorkshire)
๐ฅ Courgette ๐ช๐ธ (Spain)
๐ Rainbow chard ๐ฌ๐ง (Local โ Denton Estate)
๐
Cherry vine tomatoes ๐ช๐ธ (Spain)
๐ซ Turnip ๐ซ๐ท (France)
๐ฅฌ Gem or butterhead lettuce ๐ฌ๐ง (Local โ Denton Estate)
๐ซ Ginger ๐ต๐ช (Peru)
Large Veg Box
๐ฅ Acoustic potatoes ๐ฌ๐ง (Lincolnshire)
๐ฅ Washed carrots ๐ฎ๐น (Italy)
๐ง
Yellow onions ๐ณ๐ฑ (Netherlands)
๐ซ Bunched beetroot ๐ฌ๐ง (Lincolnshire)
๐ฅฆ Broccoli ๐ช๐ธ (Spain)
๐ถ๏ธ Chilli ๐ช๐ธ (Spain)
๐ฅฌ Round cabbage ๐ฌ๐ง (Yorkshire)
๐ฅ Courgette ๐ช๐ธ (Spain)
๐ Rainbow chard ๐ฌ๐ง (Local โ Denton Estate)
๐
Cherry vine tomatoes ๐ช๐ธ (Spain)
๐ซ Turnip ๐ซ๐ท (France)
๐ฅฌ Gem or butterhead lettuce ๐ฌ๐ง (Local โ Denton Estate)
๐ซ Ginger ๐ต๐ช (Peru)
๐ฟ Dill ๐ฌ๐ง (Local โ Denton Estate)
Mixed Fruit & Veg Box
๐ฅ Accord new potatoes ๐ฌ๐ง (Norfolk)
๐ฅ Washed carrots ๐ฎ๐น (Italy)
๐ง
Yellow onions ๐ณ๐ฑ (Netherlands)
๐ซ Bunched beetroot ๐ฌ๐ง (Lincolnshire)
๐ฅฌ Round cabbage ๐ฌ๐ง (Yorkshire)
๐ฅ Courgette ๐ช๐ธ (Spain)
๐ Rainbow chard ๐ฌ๐ง (Local โ Denton Estate)
๐ฅ Cucumber ๐ช๐ธ (Spain)
๐ซ Turnip ๐ซ๐ท (France)
๐ Apples โ Crimson Crisp ๐ฌ๐ง (Kent) & Inored ๐ซ๐ท (France)
๐ Bananas ๐ฉ๐ด (Dominican Republic)
๐ Navel oranges ๐ช๐ธ (Spain)
Small Fruit Box
๐ Apples โ Crimson Crisp ๐ฌ๐ง (Kent) & Inored ๐ซ๐ท (France)
๐ Bananas ๐ฉ๐ด (Dominican Republic)
๐ Peaches ๐ช๐ธ (Spain)
๐ Nectarines ๐ช๐ธ (Spain)
๐ซ Blueberries ๐ช๐ธ (Spain)
Medium Fruit Box
๐ Apples โ Crimson Crisp ๐ฌ๐ง (Kent) & Inored ๐ซ๐ท (France)
๐ Bananas ๐ฉ๐ด (Dominican Republic)
๐ Peaches ๐ช๐ธ (Spain)
๐ Nectarines ๐ช๐ธ (Spain)
๐ซ Blueberries ๐ช๐ธ (Spain)
๐ Navel oranges ๐ช๐ธ (Spain)
Large Fruit Box
๐ Apples โ Crimson Crisp ๐ฌ๐ง (Kent) & Inored ๐ซ๐ท (France)
๐ Bananas ๐ฉ๐ด (Dominican Republic)
๐ Peaches ๐ช๐ธ (Spain)
๐ Nectarines ๐ช๐ธ (Spain)
๐ซ Blueberries ๐ช๐ธ (Spain)
๐ Navel oranges ๐ช๐ธ (Spain)
๐ Lime ๐ช๐ธ (Spain)
๐ธ Rhubarb ๐ฌ๐ง (Local โ Wibsey)
๐ฝ๏ธ LETSโCOOK! ๐ฏโ๏ธ
Honey Glazed Root Vegetables ๐ฅ๐ซ๐ฅฌ
This recipe is taken from Vikingars Gรคstabud (The Viking Feast) - a cookbook by Swedish author Michaรซl Fant that explores authentic Norse cuisine ๐โ๏ธ
Ingredients to serve 4 ๐จโ๐ณ๐ฉโ๐ณ
๐ซ 1 turnip
๐ฅ 2-3 carrots
๐ฅฌ 1 slice of white cabbage (use a quarter of a head of cabbage)
๐ง
1 leek (I reckon you could sub a mix of shredded chard ๐ and courgette ๐ฅ here)
๐ง butter
๐ฏ honey
๐ง salt and pepper
1๏ธโฃ Peel the root vegetables and cut them into pieces.
2๏ธโฃ Boil together in slightly salted water about 5 minutes and drain.
3๏ธโฃ Sautรฉ the root vegetables in butter until soft.
4๏ธโฃ Let the leek and cabbage sautรฉ with them at the end.
5๏ธโฃ Add some honey ๐ฏ and stir the dish carefully.
6๏ธโฃ Season with salt and pepper.
Finally - thank you to all of you who contacted us after our newsletter last week announcing the end of our veg box scheme. We were very touched by your warm words and understanding for our reasons โค๏ธ
A reminder for anyone who may have missed it - We will be delivering our last boxes ๐ฆ on Tue/Wed 21st and 22nd July.
๐ฆ๐ฆ The Hedgehogs