It is July and there are ripe red cherry tomatoes being harvested on the farm, they are then packed and delivered across the country to your doorstep. My kids and I saw them growing first hand, in the tunnels, at the farm walk last Saturday and it truly made me appreciate how special they really are.
A simple dish like this really celebrates the cherry tomato. This recipe was shared by an Italian Nonna (granny) she said using the best ingredients is what matters most. I think she’s right. Like her I added some bicarbonate of soda to the sauce this balances the acidity in the tomatoes and really elavates the sweetness. Try it and tell us what you think!
Step 1: Rinse the cherry tomatoes and cut them in half. Finely slice the garlic cloves.
Step 2: Warm a wide pan on a medium heat. Add a good glug of oil to the pan along with the sliced garlic, cook for a minute.
Step 3: Pour in the cherry tomatoes cook for a few minutes. Then add the bicarbonate of soda, chilli flakes, sugar and salt. Simmer for 5-10 minutes, until the tomatoes start to soften.
Step 4: Meanwhile, cook the pasta in boiling salty water. Then add straight to the cooked tomatoes, stir to coat, add the fresh basil leaves and serve up. Bellissimo!
This is our ‘guilt free’ caramel sauce. It’s refined sugar free, dairy free, nut free, gluten free, vegan and so creamy … a lovely treat!
Our organic dates are just amazing, they are full of fibre and antioxidants. They are great for your gut and bone health, a natural sweetener and are so easy to store and cook with. I’m never without them. Having a jar of this date caramel in the fridge is just the best when you want a spoon of natural sweetness added to your overnight oats, creamy porridge, yoghurt, toast/ oat crackers, chocolate milkshake, smoothies or banana nice cream. Try it you and you won’t be disappointed.
We have big and small packets of organic dates as well as medjool dates available in the shop all in compostable packaging.
Step 1: Put the dates in a bowl, cover with boiling water to help them soften for 10 minutes. Then stain and discard the water.
Step 2: Add the dates to a blender along with the non dairy milk, vanilla and sea salt. Blend until really smooth. I use a smoothie blender for this, it works a treat.
Step 3: Taste the sauce and add more salt if you wish. Scoop the sauce into a clean jar and store in the fridge for 1 week.
Serving suggestions: Add a spoon to your morning oats, eat on crackers or toast with banana, drizzle over pancakes and waffles or with vanilla ice cream….enjoy!
Boy do we love our potatoes. Nothing excites us more than finding new ways to cook them. This recipe is a must try before you die…lol!! Buttery, cheesy, big flavour from the garlic and aromatic from the hints of fresh rosemary. They are pretty special.
To get the flavour right to the centre score the potato with a crisscross this makes all the difference.
Our Irish grown Elland potatoes work great for these. We’ve made ours in the air fryer for speed and convenience but you could cook them in the oven too, they might take a bit longer.
Step 1: Air fryer method: Begin by washing and cutting the potatoes in half. Then with a small sharp knife score a crisscross on each half of the potato.
Step 2: Melt the butter in the microwave or small pot. Pour it into the air fryer basket toss in the crushed garlic cloves, add 1/2 of the grated parmesan and give it a stir. Place the potatoes cut side now on into the basket. Air fry at 200ºC for 20 minutes.
Step 3: Take out the garlic cloves and discard. using a spoon carefully turn the potatoes and season with salt and pepper, add the remaining parmesan and sprinkle over the chopped rosemary. Air fry for a further 10 minutes.
Oven method: Cook in a preheated oven at 200ºC but use a deep roasting tin. Follow the steps above, if the potatoes are still hard after the cooking time, leave them in the oven for a further 5-10 minutes.
Healthy wholesome sweet and tasty!! Indulge in these easy snacks over the summer holidays.
We were invited to an outdoor picnic last week and I was wracking my head thinking what to bring as a sweet treat. I made these and they went down really well. They are pre portioned, easy to box up and transport, bite sized, no messy fingers and taste top!
We have Irish organic carrots galore and all the ingredients for these tasty balls in stock.
10 pitted dates chopped (soaked in hot water for 10 minutes help blend)
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp mixed spice (or nutmeg/ginger)
2-4 tbsp hot water to blend- use 2 tbsp to start, you may need more depending on the liquid from the carrots
To roll: 25g desiccated coconut or ground almonds as a substitute
Method:
Step 1: To a blender add the grated carrots, walnuts, oats, chopped dates, cinnamon, mixed spice and 2 tbsp of hot water. The mix should be sticky, if its a bit dry add a small bit of water and blend again.
Step 2: Blend until you reach they desired consistency, plus for chunky or blend on high for smoother. Test it to see if it will roll into balls.
Step 3: Roll the balls in the coconut and put them on a tray or plate. Let them set in the fridge for 1 hour, then enjoy. They will keep in the fridge in a closed container for 3 days or in the freezer for longer.
The best salads are those that have a combination of textures and flavours that pop in your mouth with every fork full. This salad was inspired by the veg in my rescue box and a tin of chickpeas in the cupboard. And I remembered to pluck some mint from the garden for a hint of minty freshness to finish.
We have shared recipes for roasted chickpeas numerous times. They are so quick and easy to make and they add excitement to the plate too.
So roast and toast some chickpeas with spice in the air fryer or oven, whiz up a garlicky dressing and chop your favourite raw veggies and add juicy tomatoes for sweetness and colour.
Small bunch of mint leaves to serve, baby leaves or finely chopped
Method:
Step 1 – Roast the chickpeas, add the drained chickpeas to the airf ryer basket, sprinkle over some mixed chilli spice – like harissa or cajun spice, or a mix of cumin, chilli & paprika. Season with salt and pepper, drizzle with oil and Air fry 200ºC for 12 minutes. Or roast in the oven on a baking tray 200ºC for 20 minutes.
Step 2: Cook the quinoa in a small pot, add 1/2 cup of quinoa to 1 cup of boiling water simmer until cooked about 10 minutes, then strain.
Step 3: Make the dressing, to a small food processor add the oil, lemon juice, crushed garlic, maple, plus a small pinch of salt and pepper. Whiz until combined, pour into a jug.
Step 4: Quarter the cherry tomatoes and chop the fennel, celery and broccoli. I like mine finely chopped.
Step 5: Build the salad by adding each component to a salad bowl, drizzle over the dressing and mix. Scatter on some mint leaves, serve and enjoy.
These are a must try with delicious Irish apples. We are so lucky to have sweet organic apples all year round. So good to eat and nice to bake with too.
The puff pastry turnovers are so simple to put together, the sugar and cinnamon caramelise to give a crunchy caramel topping, once turned.
We promise you’ll love this one. Please let us know in the comments if you make it. Check out our sweet organic apples in the shop.
Step1: Preheat the oven 180ºc. Line a large baking tray with parchment paper – you may need two baking trays.
Step 2: Peel the 3 apples in half and scoop out the core.
Step 3: Mix the sugar and the cinnamon in a bowl.
Step 4: Divide the pastry into 6 equal squares.
Step 5: Spoon the cinnamon sugar onto the tray, you want 6 mounds of sugar. Place the apple flat side down on each of the sugar mounds. Put the pastry over each apple half and use your hands to cup the pastry around the apple half.
Step 6: Place in the oven and bake for 35 minutes. Let the pastries cool for 15 minutes, use a wide spatula to slide under the caramelised apple and lift it off carefully. Serve warm with pecans and cream or ice cream. Dust with icing sugar if you wish.
Over the last couple of months, I had forgotten how grounding growing food is. On a sunny day walking through the crops, you feel alive. It’s the vibrancy of nature that recharges us, don’t we have a duty to protect this fragile system of life?
“You will need a touch of Roundup to make this work” some friendly advice 18 years ago imparted to us on our vegetable growing journey. Needless to say, we did not take it!
Using chemicals to fight nature will never work. In the short term it may give a temporary reprieve from a certain disease or pest, but that pest will come back stronger and more resistant next time. It is in a way a self-perpetuating industry.
I spent a good percentage of my early life studying and working with chemistry and I am thankful for the many benefits modern science makes possible, but synthetic toxic chemicals have no place in our food chain, end of story.
Our organic farm is situated in rural Ireland and it is beautiful in its own way it’s vibrancy is defined by a myriad of greens, and flowers and it overflowing with life.
Once upon a time, flowers and mushrooms were commonplace in fields of grass around our lovely country, not so anymore. I don’t know about you, but the sight of a cowslip flower transports me back in time, to a time when the fields next to our family home were full of these beautiful flowers.
Sadly, today, these flowers are not to be found in most farm grasslands, they have all but disappeared (as have the button mushrooms that also used to be commonly found in meadows).
The reason sadly: the common use of artificial fertiliser and herbicides. Many of these grass tracks are sprayed to remove anything that is not grass, depriving the land of variety, variety being the cornerstone of all life. Such is the way of much of our production systems these days, large monocultures, engineered to produce at all costs.
The one common theme that can be found in all of these food systems generally starts with a application of the chemical glyphosate which as a molecule looks benign enough, but is far from benign.
The active ingredient in Roundup: glyphosate is the most widely used herbicide in human history, nearly 10 billion kg have been used globally. It is a probable-carcinogen and it now contaminates most non-organic food stuffs. It is systemic in nature which means if it is sprayed on a crop then it gets absorbed and sits inside it. It destroys all life, and leaves fields barren and dead.
Surely the production of food in a way that contributes to our health and the health of the planet, a way that enhances and protects biodiversity, a way that encourages working with nature rather than against it must be the best way to grow food?
The funny thing is that usually this type of approach produces food that tastes great, is better for us and is also better for our land. Your support makes it possible, and during the summer we need it more than ever, thank you.
This is the perfect summer sandwich that will keep you going on busy days! The punchy chickpea spread is exciting, so tasty and a nice change from hummus.
Organic roast veg are perfect sandwich fillers and are just the best when grilled, use the bbq if you like. If you don’t have a grill pan use a frying pan to get a few char marks, or stick them under the oven grill!
There are lots of different varieties of organic lettuce growing nicely in our tunnels right now (June) . Load them into the sandwich to add some fabulous farm freshness! We love Irish red and green lettuce or oak leaf.
Step 1: To make the spread, add all the ingredients to a blender, blend to a chunky consistency. Taste and season to your liking.
Step 2: Put a griddle pan on the hob and get it searing hot. Lightly oil the courgette and peppers and put them onto the hot grill. Cook for a few minutes until they get the charred marks then turn over and cook on the other side, until soft. Add a small sprinkle of salt as they cook. (serve warm or at room temperature)
Step 3: Build the sandwich, toast the bread if you wish. Add the chickpea spread to both sides, layer on a couple of butterhead leaves, the roast veg and spoon over the chilli oil if using.
What a week, the gruelling physical draining farm work starts at 6am every day. The intense heat and sunshine have taken its toll on the farm team, but they have weathered it with their familiar good nature and cheer and have done exceptional work. I had the sense this week of things coming together of the work being caught up, of shape starting to be put on the fields.
The little plants are starting to show their heads and with the help of some monsoon type downpours and intense heat there has been an explosion of growth. The shift in the climate is so clear to see, yes of course we have had warm weather in years gone by, but every year since 2018 now we have had consistent weeks of heat and near if not full drought conditions. It is the regularity of change and the extremes of the change, that are so noticeable, climate change rages on.
We are teetering on the cusp now, the real start of the Irish vegetable season is nearly upon us. This week we have caught a glimpse of what it will look like by early July, a literal explosion of amazing Irish produce.
There is so much going on right now, planting, thousands of plants went into the ground this week, broccoli, kale, cabbage, celeriac, lettuce and celery. Weeding, sowing, side shooting, watering, surviving, thriving, planting, and yes more weeding!
We are harvesting loads of lettuce and salad. We are receiving fresh Irish scallions from Enda in Galway, Spinach and Kale from Padraigh and Una in Beechlawn organic farm, herbs and kale from Joe Kelly in Mayo, Salad and herbs from Audrey and Mick in Millhouse organic farm, very excited about the first Irish organic strawberries from Niall Whelan in Thrive farm in Wicklow. In a couple of weeks, we will be overflowing with the most amazing produce from our farm, including our own tomatoes and amazing cucumbers and other farms across Ireland. Can’t wait for the first new potatoes second week of July, from Donald and Cameron Tracy in Kildare.
It was with much trepidation that we planned our cropping schedule for this summer, after the last four years it has been a game of Russian roulette not knowing what to expect especially at this time of seasonal plenty.
So it is that we are also on the cusp of the full-on holiday season and it is a source of eternal concern that the produce we and others have worked so hard for all year will not have a market.
Usually, these Friday posts are personal views, or stories that demonstrate the values we hold dear here, but this week it is a call out.
So it is that we are launching an official “Save Our Summer” campaign to help keep our farm and all the other farms we source produce from flowing over the tough summer months. So please support us, we have put in place a couple of things to help you to do that.
For new customers there is a 20% discount on your first order, visit our homepage for details.
For all our loyal weekly customers we have doubled reward points on all once off purchases. If you set up a repeat order (which you can modify or pause or stop at any time) we are giving you five times the points on every purchase. The “carrot” or reward points can be redeemed for money off on an ongoing basis and we will keep this in place until the end of August.
We also offer Free delivery for over €100 and of course we deliver to every county in Ireland with our sustainable boxes and packaging, mostly plastic free.
So, if you can order or tell a friend or spread the word it will make a massive difference to us. The supermarkets don’t care and won’t miss you, but we certainly will.
As always thank you from all here for your support and as always we would love to hear your thoughts and comments.
Kenneth
P.S. To place your order, click here – every single order makes a big difference to us, and our network of organic farms around Ireland. THANK YOU for your support.
