Last Saturday (30^th Jan), the Green Valley Grocer and the Hand Made Bakery were featured in the centre pages of the Yorkshire Post Country Week magazine. We thank Fiona Russell for this excellent coverage and publicity. As a result we have seen this week’s sales increase significantly. We would like to thank our regular customers for their continued support and welcome new ones who have visited us after reading about the shop and bakery in the paper. If you missed the edition of the YP, you can read the article here.

As the Green Valley Grocer is a community-owned enterprise we’d like to keep you informed about the weekly goings-on in the shop and also make it easy for you to send us your comments, feedback and queries. Of course, we’re always in the shop for a chat face-to-face but if the web is your medium, sign in to the website to join our discussion forums and catch up with our blog, ‘Today at the Shop’. We welcome your comments and posts.

He was missing Ange's fierce little birds eye chillies (variety Demon Hot), homegrown in Wellhouse, so she brought him some in. They're waiting behind the till so Mr Chilli-chewer, if you're reading this, your chillies await.

The GVG always buys local where possible, and sometimes even goes without produce out of season if it thinks the food miles are just too much (eg importing asparagus from Peru). The chillies are coming all the way from Cairo, and they're still not as good as Ange's. It's a cliche I know, but local and home-grown always tastes better.

Ange used to be a teacher but now she's a grower and a shop girl, working at the GVG two days a week and usually more. She can't seem to keep away - she gets excited about something and just has to come in and do it!

She grows her chillies in an enormous greenhouse which is visible from space. You can see it on googleearth. It's huuuuuuge. In the summer she also grows tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, aubergines, strawberries, peaches and apricots in it. Roll on summer! For now, the greenhouse houses the citrus trees to keep them frost-free til they can go outside again.

Good to buy local produce just now includes the winter roots, leeks (leek and potato soup, yum!), mackerel from the east coast, honey from Joyce Jones in Elland and brownies home-baked in Marsden. And of course the Handmade bakery bread, which our customers often remind us is the best in the world. And then there's Longley Farm dairy produce. I've grown up on it and I wouldn't settle for anything less.

There was recipe on telly the other day for creamy smoked hadddock chowder made with leeks, potatoes and sweetcorn. The sweetcorn we can't provide locally right now but the rest we can. Not bad for a little shop that was failing six months ago.

People power! Peace! That's me signing off.

Today at the shop... we had a double bill of star attractions. Featuring on shiny new 'Local/Organic rack' outside the shop was PREMIUM GRADE CRIMSON CROWN FORCED RHUBARB, direct from Oldroyd's the grower at Carlton in the Yorkshire Rhubarb Triangle. Our 'Calendar of Seasonal and Local Produce' has begun with a month of rhubarb.

Oldroyd's has been growing rhubarb for five generations and every year people flock to see their crop growing in the dark in the forcing sheds, harvested by candlelight. It's said you can hear it growing! It's also called 'champagne rhubarb' which gives you an idea of its status in the fruit and veg world. Apparantly it has only 7 calories per 100g and a high level of calcium. This stuff is pink and delicate and delicious.

Meanwhile inside the shop, featuring on 'Central Aisle' rack, a second batch of Dee's home-made chocolate brownies and carrot cake is taking the limelight. We like supporting local businesses at the GVG and Dee is in Marsden. She bakes the most beautiful things, if you need a cake for a birthday or special occasion, check out what she can do for you on her website.

As the snow piled down and the temperature dropped yet again in the shop, we tried to help a customer out with advice on baking beetroot without it shrivelling. To peel or not to peel? Foil or no foil? Oil or liquid? Everyone had a different idea - do you have the definitive recipe for baked beetroot? If so we need it here!

My own, personal favourite thing to do with beetroot is beetroot crumble (as a side dish not a pudding). My friend Bridget, who is a fantastic cook and has ski chalets in France and Whistler, invented it. You cook the beetroot, then mix with fresh ginger and sour cream, then top with brioche breadcrumbs mixed with melted butter and herbs. Many a friend has claimed not to like beetroot but this tends to sort them out!

Come to the GVG for your winter fruit and veg, it's great!