Dear Customer,

I hope you are enjoying this glorious warm weather. Many of the farms have already started irrigating. The soil is drenched to hydrate the crops and enable them to draw up the nutrients from the earth which sustain us.
This week we have a crop of broad beans from Mike Ward's farm near Canterbury and the lettuces are from Pam Bowers in Stickford. We are very slowly moving into the English season. In the fruit bags we have the first flutter of cherries.

Fusilli with Courgettes and Fresh Tomatoes ( serves 2 )

8oz courgettes
8oz tomatoes
6oz fusilli pasta
2 tbls olive oil
1 garlic clove crushed ( 3 if you are still on the tiny little bulbs we gave you the other week )
salt and freshly ground pepper
6 large basil leaves
fresh parmesan cheese

Put 2 litres of water into a saucepan and bring to the boil for the pasta. Next prepare the vegetables: wash and cut the courgettes into rounds or matchsticks. Put the tomatoes into a bowl, cover with boiling water and leave for a few seconds until the skins split. Drain, cover and slip off the skins with a sharp knife. Chop tomatoes into chunky pieces. Add the pasta to the boiling water and let it bubble away for about 8 minutes. While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a large saucepan and add the courgettes and garlic. Cook over a moderate heat for about 4 minutes or until the courgettes are just tender then add the tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste. Just before the pasta is ready, gently reheat the courgette mixture then drain the pasta and return to the still-warm saucepan. Stir the courgettes and tomatoes into the pasta; tear in the basil, check the seasoning and top with some flaked or freshly grated parmesan.

Very best wishes

Isobel Davies