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Greetings to our supporters
Summer sun, blue skies, fresh fruit and vegetables from local Scottish suppliers hand picked by you...thanks for shopping with us.
Read on for events past and future, another inspiring volunteer profile and a look into one of our favourite suppliers - The Cyrenians Farm. We've also got two volunteer tried and tested recipes - a summer fruits galette and a quick satay sauce using our fabulous peanut butter.
We'd like to take this chance to say a big welcome to our new Shop Supervisor, Claire. Many of you will already have met her, and we are really excited to have her on-board.
As always, we'd like to thank you for your custom. Please please do read our 'We need you' article below - where we've shared an update on where we're at in terms of the sustainability of Dig-In and what you can do to help us keep wheeling out the barrow on Bruntsfield Place.
Finally, as a newsletter subscriber we hope you won't mind getting a survey over coming weeks, designed to help us seek your feedback on the shop. Dig-In is owned and run by the local community, so we'd love to get your thoughts and input.
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Gluten Free Fun
Our last Saturday Session was way back in Spring and was a great success of all things Gluten Free (with the added bonus of a beautiful sunny day!). From the mocha Pulsetta Thins to the maize and rice Dove fusilli tossed in roasted Dig-In Veg, it was a great showcase of our backroom GF stock, a nice chance to get some new cooking ideas and really great to chat to the community.
A big thanks to Scott at Greencity Wholefoods who as our main backroom supplier, gave us two boxes of tasty treats to try. A big thanks also to Emma who manages the Vegware Community Fund and who sorted us out with compostable cups and spoons. Cheers also to Marie, Julie and Isla who were in doing Saturday shifts in the shop.
The best tasters were those made with the gift of time from our Volunteers and we just can’t run events at all without you (or – indeed – the shop itself).
A huge thanks must go to Katariina for her fabulous banana bread and brownies, Cory for her beautiful baba ganoush and houmous, Sorour for her beautiful seeded crackers – delivered enroute to the airport for a trip away (now that’s dedication!) – Nicky for her colourful marzipan leaves and fellow PACE subgroup members Sheena for fudgy avocado goodness and Chelsea for her brilliant buckwheat carrot cake and mixed pasta.
Our next Saturday Session will be a Summer Fruits Bonanza on Saturday the 16th of July 11 - 2pm. We'll have cooking demonstrations and lots of beautiful local fruit on offer- please stop by!
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Sustaining Dig-In
We wanted to give you an update on where we're at in terms of being a sustainable icon on Bruntsfield Place. We've been trading for 2 years now and we appreciate every purchase you've made over that time - from the 38p worth of carrots to the weekly shop that never quite fits in the number of reusable bags you brought in!
But we need your help to make sure we can keep doing what we do best.
The fact is, we need to be selling more if we're going to be a sustainable business.
We are so close... but not quite there. We could be if ...
Every time you come through our doors you spend £6 (rather than on average £4.50);
We had around 25 more customers to the shop each day;
Or, 25 more of you committed to spending £20 each month by standing order, using our Supporter's Card
(this provides us valuable predictable monthly income, encourages you to shop with us and saves us some of the £100 a month we pay in credit and debit card purchase fees).
We need to be making a bit more - so, please come see us!
This is a community initiative, so we're relying on you to tell us what else we could stock that would bring you in more often and what we could be doing better. Please come in, share your thoughts and help us encourage you, your families and friends to shop more with us.
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Introducting Kate!
We were proud to award Kate our Volunteer of the Year earlier this year at the AGM (above on the right, receiving her flowers from Morag). She's one of our Monday morning crew and we were delighted to catch her for a chat...
Why did you decide to Volunteer?
I decided to volunteer at Dig-in because the shop had opened while we were overseas for 2 years with my husband's job and it was a new local venture that I wanted to support as I believed in what they were trying to do.
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What do you like about Dig-In?
I like the variety. Working with old and new volunteers of different ages and different nationalities; welcoming new customers as well as regulars; hearing positive feedback from customers; finding out what's new whether it's new stock or new initiatives - almost from week to week it seems that nothing stays the same!
What does a typical day at Dig-In involve?
I've been opening the shop up on Monday mornings for a few months now so first I have to get the spare key from our kind neighbours at The Chocolate Tree who are usually beginning to get their shop ready for the day too.
Having squeezed into Dig-in past the barrow left in the shop from closing on Saturday and having managed to avoid falling over the numerous boxes of fresh produce left by George Anderson at heaven knows what unearthly hour, it's a matter of getting the lights on and getting started. The volunteer I'm working with at the moment, Pacian, gets the awning down and the barrow outside once we've checked the produce in it and we then have more room to move!
We do a thorough check of the fresh produce to make sure there's nothing in the boxes that has gone off since Saturday and then start re-filling, first from what's downstairs and then from that day's George Anderson delivery. What isn't needed straightaway gets the date put on it and taken downstairs for future use.
Andante will bring their bread order, usually before we open at 10am, and it's often still warm which makes it especially tempting. Green City usually bring a delivery later in the morning and we put the chilled goods straight into the fridge at the back and leave the rest for Claire to check when she comes in.
There's a great feeling of satisfaction when everything's looking clean and tidy and well-stocked by mid-morning. Phone calls, tidying up, chatting to customers, answering queries, trips to the bank for change, re-stocking, checking dates on dried goods and chilled goods in the backroom - these are just some of the things that come up to be dealt with in the course of the average Monday morning
Favourite product from the shop...or recipe from shop's produce...?
I very much like the way it's possible to buy individual, unwrapped amounts of fresh produce, whether it is chilies or potatoes and one of the items I buy most regularly is fennel as it's not a vegetable you see very often and it is surprisingly good value. Sometimes I cook with it (it's good with fish) and sometimes we have it raw in salads. I like its crisp aniseed-y taste and the fronds are good for decoration too.
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We're always looking for new volunteers! Find out more - email volunteer@diginbruntsfield.co.uk or pop into the shop for a form.
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Celebrating Cyrenians
This month we’re celebrating The Cyrenians Farm in our 'Dig-in Deeper' series on our favourite suppliers and producers. The Cyrenians Farm is a social enterprise with a commitment to producing high quality fruit, vegetables and eggs while providing opportunities for vulnerable young people, many of whom have experience of homelessness.
Our regular customers will be used to seeing Cyrenians’ beautiful mixed salads, complete with edible flowers, delicious rainbow chard and fresh herb bags throughout the summer months. We stock Cyrenians’ produce alongside our organic fruit and vegetables (on the left of the shop!) because although the farm isn’t organically certified, they use organic growing methods. Earlier this year, though, the Cyrenians team made a commitment to convert the farm back to full organic status, and we’re delighted to support them during this transition!
In addition to the consistently beautiful salads and herbs, we’ve been seeing some new varieties cropping up on the shelves this year. Many thanks to Cyrenians for the helpful labels offering suggestions for some of the lesser-known varieties, such as some stunning black radishes. We hope they inspire you to take a second look for new stock each week.
We are proud to work with Cyrenians to bring local, fresh vegetables and herbs from just outside Edinburgh straight to our shelves in the city. Find out more about Cyrenians on their website, www.cyrenians.scot, on Facebook, or follow them on Twitter (@Cyrenians1968) or Instagram (@Cyrenians). |
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Dig-In Inspired Recipes
A gorgeous summer fruit tart and a quick satay sauce. All ingredients for sale in the shop! If you've got a favourite recipe that you're happy to share, we'd love to hear about it - get in touch on welovecommunity@diginbruntsfield.co.uk.
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Summer Fruit Galette
Strawberries are here - it must be summer! Every year, it’s a cause of celebration when summer fruits start appearing on the shelves. Once you’ve had all you can eat in your morning cereal, or plucked straight out of the box, here’s a recipe to tuck any remaining rhubarb, berries or stone fruits into throughout the season.
Galettes are free-form tarts that wrap around any seasonal produce – savoury or sweet. Use this crust recipe – or your favourite flakey short crust – and get creative with the filling. Here we’ve suggested a traditional strawberry and rhubarb combination with a maple syrup twist, but this is only the beginning. As strawberries transition to raspberries and then stone fruits, the opportunities for adaptation are endless. . Just remember to use a deep-sided baking tray when you test out new variations to make sure you don’t lose any delicious juices!
Crust
175g plain flour, plus more for rolling (or substitute 50g with your favourite wholemeal wheat or rye flour)
12g sugar (omit if using a savoury filling)
115g butter, very cold and diced
1 large egg, beaten
very cold water
Filling
400g strawberries, hulled and halved
300g rhubarb, cut into 1cm pieces
165g maple syrup or honey
15ml balsamic vinegar
1 pinch sea salt
100g goat’s cheese
Place flour(s) and sugar in a medium bowl and add diced butter. Use your hands or a fork to mix flour and butter until you have course crumbs. Add egg and mix gently until mixture just comes together. Add only as much ice-cold water as you need to form a loose ball. Place dough in cling film, form a disc and chill in the freezer for 30 minutes (or in the refrigerator for up to 2 days).
Pre-heat oven to 180 C.
Combine strawberries, rhubarb, maple syrup or honey, vinegar and salt in a deep sided casserole dish. Roast in a hot oven for 30-40 minutes, until the juices have thickened slightly. Remove from oven before you roll out the dough.
Prepare a large baking tray with greaseproof paper (if you use a baking sheet, make sure to place another pan on a lower rack in the oven to catch any juices that escape). On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough in a rough circle until 1/2 cm thick. Move crust carefully to the centre of the prepared tray and layer goat’s cheese, then fruit filling evenly on top, leaving a one-inch edge. Fold remaining edges of the crust over the filling and secure lightly by folding over itself. Lightly brush a spoonful of milk over exposed crust. Bake until the crust is evenly browned, 45-60 minutes. Enjoy fresh from the oven, at room temperature or chilled.
A version of this recipe originally appeared here. (editor's note - check out Chelsea's blog for other lovely inspired, local, seasonal recipe ideas!).
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Amanda's Pop's Satay Sauce
A quick and easy satay sauce that can inspire a stir fry, turn your skewed meat and veg into something extraordinary or, in our summertime favourite, be served over a mix of steamed and fresh veg with boiled eggs in Gado Gado (see Jamie's take on it here). It's a great use of our beautiful Meridian peanut butter whether smooth or crunchy is your thing (check out the back room for all our other nut butters) and was a hit at our Gluten Free tasting earlier this year.
My grandpa grew up in the Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia, and this is his quick 'cheat's' recipe - made with peanut butter rather than roasting and grinding your own. He shared both recipes with me years ago in one of our many letters which often included discussions of food and recipes - these days it's all via email of course! Satay sauce and his fiery chilli sambal recipe are two of Pop's classics - still regularly cooked - not bad for a 93 year old!
1 onion, grated
1 crushed garlic glove
½ - 1 tsp chilli powder
170g peanut butter (crunchy or smooth)
1 tbsp soy sauce or GF alternative (Tamari sauce)
2 tsp brown sugar
2 tsp lemon juice
1 cup coconut milk (you could also use coconut cream with water or just water to vary the richness of the sauce).
Fry the onion and garlic in oil until light brown. Add the chilli powder and fry for another minute. Mix in the peanut butter, add the soy sauce, sugar, lemon juice and coconut milk and heat gently. Serve onto a bed of steamed/fresh veges and boiled eggs for a great filling salad – this is called Gado Gado. Alternatively serve on stir fried vegetables and rice or noodles or on your favourite skewered meat and veg.
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