Dear Customer,

In most of the bags this week we have Portabella Mushrooms, of course there are many ways they can be used but grilling has to be one of the best. Coat the smooth side with olive oil and lay them this way up under a hot grill 5 - 6" from the flame for approximately 4 minutes before turning them over to do the other side. Either coat this side with oil or at this point add some garlic with La Vache qui Rit, or add Boursin or even Brie with a dab of pesto sauce. Grill for a further 4 minutes or until the cheese has browned.

If you have more than 8 minutes, you could marinate them before grilling. Arrange the mushrooms in a shallow glass dish then whisk together 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, 2 crushed cloves of garlic, 4 - 5 tablespoons of olive oil and a pinch of oregano or basil. Pour over the mushrooms and leave for half an hour. Heat the grill then cook for 4 minutes each side basting with the marinade.

I hope you don't mind the Swiss Chard again this week and that last week's isn't still in the fridge drawer. I'm not keen on giving you less common things too often. It's just that Pam Bowers' crop all came in one go and we needed to help her out with it. We shan't have any more for a while after this.

I hope you are enjoying the soft fruit that is coming into season now. The first peaches were a little tough and were best eaten without the skin but I think you'll agree that these are much better, very good even, with light skin and good taste. Along with the big Vitillo apricots they are from Northern Italy.

If you get either the salad module or the salad box you will have noticed that we very often include bean shoots or sprouts. I read an interesting article in the paper the other day which said that eating these sprouts could help to prevent cancer and that eating as little as 100g for a fortnight protects against DNA damage in human blood cells, which is associated with cancers. A researcher from Ulster University told this to the BioIreland 2004 biotechnology conference. They are quite a remarkable food.

Very best wishes,

Isobel Davies

PS We are using a lot of punnets at the moment for all the soft fruit and tomatoes and will gladly recycle them if returned to your driver with the bags.