Stapleford U3A Visit

Today we were visited by a group from the Stapleford U3A.  They had a tour of the allotment and helped in making some bug hotels by cutting hollow stemmed prunings to fit into rinsed-out plastic bottles.

A good time had by all!

We were all rewarded with a Cook & Eat skilfully prepared and cooked by Mary, Claire and Angela.  For afters there were cakes baked by Christina and Karen.

Thankyou to all of the DigIn cooks & bakers for providing such a tasty volunteer session and to the U3A for visiting us - it was a pleasure to have you on site and thanks for your help with the bug hotels.

Volunteer Treat

The hard working volunteers were today treated to a Cook and Eat, skilfully prepared by Jill D and Mary.
We had a spicy vegetable stew, with ingredients being freshly picked from the allotment - carrots, runner beans, onions, garlic, courgette to name but a few, together with a fresh salad from lettuce and cucumbers grown in the polytunnel.  For dessert, blueberries were freshly picked from the plants outside, plus some more pastry treats from Dan (thankyou!).
It all went down very well and we had a good number of volunteers to polish the lot off.  Karen thanked the volunteers for their dedication this growing season and I'd like to take this opportunity on behalf of the vols to thank Karen for all of her help too and for putting up with us!
Many thanks to Jill and Mary for preparing such a tasty feast, it was enjoyed by all.

One of these cucumbers sacrificed for lunch ...

Dan with a duck-shaped patty pan squash - quackers!

Cook & Taste Sessions 2014

Come and join our friendly Cook & Taste sessions at the Dig In Community Allotment, Stapleford.

Discover how tasty health food can be, using seasonal ingredients, some locally grown.
Share recipes, cooking tips, and learn new skills.
Enjoy cooking and eating food together.

There are two session dates available and booking is required;

Wednesday 28th May, 10am - 12.30

Saturday 21st June, 10am - 12.30

Cost: Adults £2, Children £1 (includes food and light refreshments).

Children under 14 must be adult supervised.

To book a place, please email Mary Venning;

bookings@diginstapleford.org.uk

Click here to download event flyer.

The Come Dine With Me session on site today was a big success. No less than 27 people came, alongside regular volunteers. Mary made green risotto with peas and spinach harvested from site. We harvested the first of the tomatoes for the salad, along with courgettes and cucumbers. Desert was fruit salad made with berries all harvested on site. Summer is finally here!

Pulp Friction have just held an event- an afternoon with Hardeep Singh Kohli-at DIG IN.The sun shone, probably for the first time in about five weeks and brought people out to sample the delights cooked by Mr Kohli.We think that approx 60 people came along and all money raised will be going to a homeless charity named by HSK.Thanks for taking part if you came, thanks for contributions of time and food by all volunteers from both DIG IN and PF, and mostly thanks for Jill, Pete and all the PF group for their hardwork for organising this event. Its always good to get people together at DIG IN and we will be looking out for the future book- a month of sundays- to be written by HSK based on his experiences cooking with different people in different areas around the country.

cook and eat 10th august

The rain stopped, and the sun came out, and the wind blew, for our summer cook and eat event today. We almost lost our new marquee! Lets hope we can fix the damage done by the wind.... A meal with an Indian feel was enjoyed by all - with Mary's courgette bhajis proving popular. We all enjoyed the blackberry and apple compote with yoghurt for desert. We have another cook and taste event for childminders next week. Getting to try all this lovely food is definitely a perk of the job!

cook and taste june 2011

Lauren, Mary and Gill welcomed Surestart workers and local families to the site for a cook and taste session. The weather stayed dry!The children and parents enjoyed looking round the site, watching the neighbouring chickens and trying the fabulous food prepared by volunteers, staff and parents.

Little Ones' Cook-in

The Cook 4 Life session on Wednesday 25/8/10 was one of the best attended yet. Because of fear of wind & rain the venue was changed from the Dig-in Site to the Scout Hut on Pinfold Lane. As it turned out this was far more suitable for the 14 children, mostly under 5 and the 10 assorted adults. The little ones thoroughly enjoyed cutting and chopping vegetables with magic safe knives (supplied by the PCT nutritionists) while two older boys, Kyle and Kieron helped Mary & Jill in the kitchen. The nutritionists and child-minders supervised the little children cutting veg, making pizzas and playing games at the same time passing on masses of information about food. Despite some muddles (Mary accidentally burnt Jill's veg and some 0f the fruit for salad got baked in a crumble) the food produced was lovely and consumed with gusto by all. One of the older boys was heard to say " I didn't know it was going to be so much fun". It was wonderful to see children enjoying getting involved and eating so well.
Menu: wholemeal pasta twists with smooth or chunky sauce, mini muffin pizzas, couscous & ratatouille, fruit crumble & custard, and honeyed fruit salad. There was very lttle left to take back to Ben who had provided tons of fresh produce for the cook-in and had been holding the fort on site.
We feel well encouraged to do sessions with such groups again.
Mary

COOK IN 3

Yesterday 30th July, in glorious sunny weather, Dig in volunteers working with the community nurtionist team held the third 'come cook on the allotment' session. Cooking dahl, sagoo aloo,biriyani, riata and salad volunteers,members of the public, Staplefords deputy mayor helped to cook and learn key tips and ideas on staying healthy.Jackie and Mia looked at the Eatwell plate with the group, in probably the most beautiful place they have ever put it , next to the DIG IN pond.Volunteers dug up carrots, potatoes and chard and used strawberries and raspberries and mint in the recipes.

Thanks to Jas for bringing his spices , ideas and expertise,Mary and Gill for their years of experience and joy of cooking ( and time) and the Mia and Jackie for their knowledge, resources and sense of adventure in tackling the sometimes testing nature of cooking on a working allotment. A fantastic collaboration, showing the best way of getting the enjoyment and pleasure out of cooking healthy food.Big thanks to everyone who came along, all our regulars and new people and especially Evelyn, Marys mum who stuck it out in the heat!

Next cook 4life session is on July 28th 10-12.30 at the site.

2nd cook-in of the season

Yesterday saw the second Cook-in session, this time operations were moved to Pastures Church Community Hall over the road because the weather was windy & threatened rain. The POW group (still don't know what it stands for) were delightful and helpful. First several of them came over to the site to pick produce with the help of lovely big laminated pictures. (Mark liked the smells.) When we got back to hall we sat down to prep the food at 4 tables where everything had been laid out for the 4 dishes : Tuscan bean soup, spring green risotto, mixed salad and fruit kebabs. Some volunteers and members of the group went in the kitchen to get the cooking going. Tipping things in and stirring were popular activities. (Barbara couldn't be dragged away.)
While the two cooked dishes were cooking most of the group stayed in the hall & played a game devised by Nutritionist Jackie using brilliant home made smell holders. (I wd never have guessed that soggy mess was weetabix!)
Then we sat down & had a feed (does this sound like a familiar pattern?)
Those that tried the food enjoyed it - lots. (Kevin had two helpings of everything and Marion really loved the parmesan shavings) Food was got ready to take over the road for Ben who was holding the fort for Sean being assessed on the site, but Ben magically appeared among us. Volunteers and the group and their supervisors all mucked in to clear up and it all went swimmingly. (It really helps having hot water on tap!) It was also good that almost all the equipment came from one source - Jackie.
Thanks to everyone who helped make this a most enjoyable event.

Cook & Eat sessions: dates announced

Here are the dates for this year's "Cook & Eat" sessions on the Dig In allotment in Stapleford:

• April 28th
• May 26th
• June 30th
• July 28th
• August 25th
• September 29th

i.e. The last Wednesday of the month, during the 'nice weather' part of the year. Even if it rains, there's plenty of space in the polytunnel, so you won't get wet whilst cooking and enjoying the food. All sessions run 1000-1230, and we're hoping to have a nutritionist available for at least some of the sessions, to give advice and answer your questions on food and health.

The emphasis is on participation, to enjoy cooking and eating healthy food, straight from the allotment wherever possible. It's not difficult and you learn so much. I went along to a Cook & Eat last year, as my introduction to Dig In, and I've been hooked ever since (although I'm still daft enough to be talked into peeling the onions - weep, weep.)

We can accommodate up to 15 adults at each session, so it's essential to book by calling Kathy on 07817 523 087 or Mia on 0115 883 5049 or 07717 866 898. Children are welcome, so long as they are accompanied and supervised by an adult. If there's enough demand, we'll provide art and craft activities for the tiddlypeeps.

Cook and eat sessions 2010

Just to let everyone know that plans are afoot for more cook sessions- led by volunteers and supported by the community nutritionists. These sessions will be starting after easter- when the weather is warmer- and take place on site in the last week of the month. Ill circulate a date list when we have more details.The aim is to get a community group working with volunteers on a particular recipe(or two) and then... the best bit... eating together! After the last 2 years of cook sessions, and the wonderful sessions on site last year, I think we are all looking forward to more fantastic healthy recipes using fruit and veg freshly picked from the site. The sessions will be open to anyone to participate. Let me know if you are interested.