Summer is well on the way, soon we’ll be reaching for the picnic blanket. These tasty little rolls are just perfect to pack for a beach day or a day out in the fields. Spinach is the hero vegetable in these. We’ve chopped and sautéed it and mixed through some cheese including cashew cheese for more nutty protein!
Pop some of our organic Irish spinach in your basket this week and make sure to try these. Eat them warm with a salad or cold from your hand either way they are a delight to eat.
Lou x
Ingredients: makes 10 or 12 small rolls
1 pack ready rolled puff pastry (395g approx)
Filling: 120g fresh spinach, washed and chopped stalks and all 1 red onion, finely diced 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped or grated salt & pepper to taste 30ml water
Step 1: Begin by frying the onion and garlic for a few minutes till soft, add in the spinach, a small pinch of salt and pepper and the water and fry until the water has evaporated. Cool down, for quickest cooling spread on a large tray. Once cooled add in the cashew cheese, cream cheese and mozzarella and mix well.
Step 2: Preheat the oven 180ºC. Line a tray with parchment paper
Step 3: Spread the mixed filling over the pastry sheet and roll it up, once rolled press down to flatten slightly and slice into 10 or 12 even pieces. A serrated knife works best for slicing.
Step 4: Glaze with a beaten egg or milk, sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake for approximately 40 minutes. They should be golden brown and cooked all the way through. Leave to cool for 5-10 min. They can be eaten warm or cold.
During the week somebody raised a valid point, how can we speak about climate change with any conviction when we import food. I have been considering this since and felt it was a point worth addressing.
We do import food and especially now it is more prevalent than at other times during the year, this is the hungry gap and we simply do not have Irish produce in abundance.
We do import food during other times of the year also and yes that food arrives here on the island of Ireland by truck. It is important to note that we never import food by plane as do many supermarkets. We also have other sourcing policies that some may find contentious such as never buying produce from Israel.
There is in fact no other option if we want to eat tomatoes or peppers or carrots at present but to import, there simply is no commercial Irish supply. This has been particularly exacerbated by the horrendous growing season last year and the equally disastrous start to spring. We are not a market garden, and we need to grow in scale to have the necessary produce to fill our boxes each week, we are commercial organic vegetable farm. I think it is equally important to point out that there are very few of our type of farm at our scale in the country, a handful maybe.
Right now we are preparing fields we have planted some of our polytunnels and have just put our first plants in the ground this week. This will mean if the weather plays ball and these days that is a big if, we will be harvesting the first kale say in July.
Can we as a result of the issues above talk about climate breakdown and how it effects our farming? Can we voice our opinions on why we think large scale factory farming is horrendous and wrong? Can we say we disagree with deforestation in the amazon to feed the animal industries voracious appetite for GM soya? Can we offer an opinion on the fact that we think trees and hedgerows should be an integral part of the farming landscape in Ireland? Can we state the fact that if there was less meat consumed and more plants that less land would be required for agriculture, irrespective whether you eat meat or not, this is simply a fact?
Our intention is to shine a light on these issues whilst being mindful of people’s preferences for food, which is deeply personal, it is a delicate balance. Whilst also acknowledging that there are phenomenal hardworking farmers of all types in Ireland. Farming is a tremendously precarious industry and that government led encouragement to intensification means many farmers have few choices to change the way they farm.
The idea of the “Green Deal” in Europe being abandoned deeply upsets me and I feel it is a sad day in European evolution, the basic principle that we look after the land and set aside more for nature is exactly what we need to do. But how can farmers who to an extent have been encouraged by certain political parties be expected to foot the bill for these changes at least to a degree, when the price of food is so remarkably low, it is not the farmers and it never is that win from inflation led food price increases or indeed the smaller retailers. It is the large corporates and giant retailers they are the only winners, and they always win.
The bottom line again of course comes back to the system that we now function within, our food system is inherently broken, and it needs to change.
So, whilst we import produce, we also grow 11 acres of vegetables plus 7 polytunnels worth on a farm of nearly 20 acres, some of which is left to forestry, hedgerows and general rewilding. We have agreements with several organic vegetable growers across Ireland to supply crops that we do not grow, such as potatoes, and carrots, and scallions and cucumbers and many more. All grown organically and in Ireland when in season.
I started this business because my fundamental belief to change our food system and protect our planet are dear to me. We are a small farm by any one’s reckoning but we absolutely do what we can.
We will continue to talk about things that will be disagreeable to some, to many maybe, we hope too to encourage others to think that maybe there is another way, that may provide a small ray of light and that leads to a path of change, after all, we all have power and choices to make change real.
And of course, as I say each week and it is something I mean wholeheartedly, without you spending your money with us and buying the produce we sell whether it is grown by us, or some other Irish organic farmer, or an organic farmer in Spain, we would not be able to run our farm here, and support the other sustainable ethical farmers we buy produce from and we would not have this forum to say what we believe and what we hope some of you believe too.
So, I hope to that person that raised the issue that this has helped address some of your points.
Thank you for your support you make all this possible.
Summer is on the way and so is salad season! We are always on the look out for new trends and couldn’t wait to make this viral crispy potato salad. It is so easy to make and tastes amazing. Our Irish organic spuds are just the best to use, keep the skins on for extra fibre, nutrition, zero food waste and extra crispiness!
Keep it plant based with vegan mayo and yoghurt – find most of what you need in our groceries.
We hope you enjoy making this one,
Lou x
Ingredients: feeds 4
1kg potatoes, washed and diced 1inch cubes 1/2 cucumber, finely diced 1 small bunch parsley, finely chopped 1 small bunch dill, finely chopped 1/2 cup (120g) vegan yogurt 1/2 cup (120g)vegan mayo 1/2 red onion, finely diced zest and juice of 1/2 lemon 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
Step 1: To speed up the cooking time its best to steam the potato cubes first until soft this will take about 30 minutes.
Step 2: Preheat the oven 220ºC fan. Transfer the cooked potatoes onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper, drizzle with oil, salt and pepper toss to coat and roast in the oven for about 30 minutes or until golden- they may need more or less time, keep a close eye on them. They are ready when they are golden and crispy around the edges.
Step 3: Grab a large serving bowl, measure in the yoghurt, mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice, salt and pepper and stir. Next add the chopped herbs, cucumber, red onion and stir once more. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.
Step 4: Tumble in the cooked crispy potatoes while warm, stir to coat in the dressing and serve up.
Celebrate all the lovely root vegetables in your box this week!
Delicious layers of organic root vegetables – mostly Irish vegetables apart from the sweet potato. This is a real celebration of root vegetables and its delicious as each layer adds a different delicious flavour.
If you have a mandoline it is ideal for slicing the root vegetables. We’ve made this with a vegan bechamel but feel free to use a milk one if you wish. Garnish with toasted hazelnuts and a side of wild garlic pesto pasta for extra deliciousness!!
Step 1: To make the suede puree, steam and boil the cubed swede. Once soft blend with a stick blender or blender with butter, salt and pepper. Set aside.
Step 2: To make the cashew bechamel, pour boiling water over the cashews, leave to soften for 30 minutes. Saute the onion and garlic until translucent and soft. Drain the cashews then blend with the cooked onions and garlic, lemon juice or vinegar, salt and pepper and water.
Step 3: Peel and slice the root veg ideally using a mandoline, the slices should be 1/4 cm thick. Keep each of the vegetable slices separate.
Step 4: Preheat the oven 180ºC. Assemble the gratin add the swede puree to the baking tray first (mine is 13inc x 9inc) , and smooth with a spatula or the back of a spoon. Layer on the beetroot slices, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Layer on the sweet potato and add a layer of the cashew bechamel. Next add the potato, salt, pepper and a drizzle of oil. Add another layer of cashew bechamel and finish with the sliced celeriac, salt, pepper and oil. Cover with a layer of parchment paper, tin foil and bake in the oven for 1 hour.
Step 5: Check its cooked be piercing with a small sharp knife. Leave to cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Ideally cook and put in the fridge overnight to slice, heat through and serve the next day.
It’s been a wet, dark, cold start to the year, we are starting to get a little edgy now as we are behind in our field preparation work, and we will have plants due to go out into the fields in April.
Thankfully we have been busy preparing our tunnels and the first plants went into the ground two weeks ago. We are also continuing to harvest last years crops from the fields which is keeping us busy.
But the main challenge this year is the cost of keeping our business afloat. We have had two major shocks and increases to our cost base; one is in cost of staffing and the other is in transport. There is nothing we can do about either and they are causing concern about how to make the ends meet at the end of each month.
Two weeks ago, one of our logistic partners who we have worked with for several years informed us that they had no choice but to increase their transport costs to us by 57%. To be fair their rates had been well below market cost and their service is first class, but this is still a very sudden and significant increase in cost. DPD last week informed us of a 4% increase, our Dublin delivery partner just before Christmas announced a 6% increase. All added up we are facing at an increase in transportation costs of over €46k this year.
Due to the minimum wage increases and other necessary wage related changes, we have also seen our wage cost base for the people we employ here increase by nearly €70k per year!
Not only that but the price of the produce we source from other farmers is going up as well. We believe this is fair and just, they need to survive just as we do.
Through no fault of our own and totally out of our control, our cost base has increased by €116k over the course of this year, for a business of our size this is a large new burden to bear.
With the backdrop of primary horticultural food producers not being able to stay in business and us not having the deep pockets of the supermarkets or bigger businesses to shoulder these costs out of non existent profit margins, we are left with a difficult decision to make.
All things being equal how will we pay for these two hefty price increases, this is the question we have been grappling with for the last while?
It’s always with a great degree of reluctance that we introduce any price rise, we are very conscious of putting any more undue pressure on households that are choosing to shop sustainably, it is difficult we know, and it your choices and support that keeps us in business.
At the same time, we will not be good to anybody if we can’t cover our costs and aim to make a modest profit to reinvest back into the business and farm here.
We don’t feel we have any choice but to increase our delivery charge by €1, out of which we get an extra €.81c once we pay the government their VAT.
This will not cover our increase in costs, the costs of the compostable non plastic packaging, the cost of the time and effort that goes into packing the orders (we need a lot of people to pack all your orders, to handle and care and quality check all the fresh produce, to sow, plant and harvest the produce, it all requires people), the delivery to your doorstep and the recollection of the boxes and returning them to our farm. This increase will contribute but we will need to do much more and find efficiencies in our business to keep the show on the road.
I hope you can understand why reluctantly we have had to make this increase and we hope that you will still think that the service the quality and the sustainability of which we aim to always go above and beyond on are worth continuing to give your support to. We would love to hear your thoughts on this matter.
This new change from €5.50 to €6.50 will take effect for orders delivered the week beginning the 15th of April which is in two weeks’ time. Remember you can still get free deliveries on all order over €100.
Homemade chocolate treats that are made with lots of good organic stuff.. .yes please! These are rich and decadent and give a great boost of energy. I ordered some lovely organic medjool dates and walnuts and organic dark chocolate to make these. Perfect with that mid morning coffee.
They are a no bake treat so no ovens needed just a bit of time to set in the fridge. Grab all you need for these tasty snacks in our online shop.
We hope you try them.
Lou X
Ingredients: makes 16 squares
-150g – 1 cup medjool dates, stone removed – 60g – 1/3 cup walnuts, chopped – 40g- 1/3 cup ground almonds – 40g – 1/3 cup cocoa powder – 40g – 1/2 cup oats – 110g – 1/3 cup smooth peanut butter – 2-4 tbsp boiled water – 150g Dark chocolate bar plus 1 tablespoon coconut oil
**Taste the mix -feel free to add a dash of maple syrup or honey if it tastes bitter.
Method:
Step 1: Line a 8inch square tin with parchment paper.
Step 2: If using medjool dates, remove the stone and add them straight to the blender. If using regular dried dates, soak in boiling water for 5 minutes, then discard the water.
Step 3: Add the dates, ground almonds, cocoa powder, oats and peanut butter to a blender. Blend until smooth. Add a tablespoon or 2 of boiled water if the mix is dry. Then add the walnuts and pulse. Check the texture with a spoon, if it sticks its ready, if its dry add a bit more water.
Step 4: Pour the brownie mix into the tin and press down with the back of a spoon. Try smooth it as best you can. Melt the chocolate and coconut oil in the microwave in short bursts (or in a pot over simmering water), then pour over the base and transfer to the fridge to set for an hour.
Take from the fridge and slice into squares.
This will keep in the fridge for 1 week or in the freezer for 3 months.
Irish potato bread is simple and delicious and a great use of our national vegetable, the potato! The potato that grows so happily and sustainably in our soil. They are called potato farls in the north of Ireland and are traditionally eaten at breakfast time. They are made with mashed potato, flour, butter and salt and cooked on a dry griddle pan to get the brown speckled marks.
My kids love them with beans and they make a great alternative to the well know shop bought potato waffle!
You can make them with leftover mash potato. We hope you try our recipe.
If not using leftover mashed potatoes, peel the potatoes and steam or boil them until fully cooked.
Use a potato ricer to rice the potatoes, if you have one. If not, just mash them, but your potato bread will come out better if you use a ricer.
Next, add the butter and salt. Taste the potatoes at this point, add more salt if needed. Then, very lightly mix in the sifted flour. It will come together into a dough very quickly and easily.
Turn out onto a lightly floured area gently fold over until smooth. Divide into two equal portions and form each into a ball. Roll one ball out to about 1/3″ thick, then cut into quarters with a large knife or cake lifter. Repeat with the second measure of dough.
Heat a pan or griddle to medium to medium high. When hot, begin cooking the Irish potato bread (do not use oil or butter.) When brown on both sides, place on a clean tea towel and cover.
These are fully cooked and may be eaten as is, but traditionally, they are fried in the same pan with an extra bit of butter.
Quarter and sauté the mushrooms and wilt the spinach on a pan, warm the beans and serve with the warm potato bread.
I grew up working on a farm, the man I worked for used to refer to soil as “good clean dirt”, he was of the opinion that no harm ever came from handling soil, and he was right.
At that time chemicals were just starting to creep into agriculture here in the west of Ireland and that was back in the early 80s. Food grown locally at that time was generally free from chemicals, with the exception probably and ironically of potatoes, which would have been sprayed for blight. Back then wild button mushrooms still grew in the fields, cowslips were plentiful and generally our fields were full of diversity. This is not the case today, and the funny thing is you never see why. The application of chemicals to our land and to our food occurs all the time but we are generally blissfully unaware that it is happening. They say once awareness dawns you can never go back, maybe that is true for food also, that is of course if we choose not to ignore the facts.
There are certainly more controls and checks and balances in Europe than in other parts of the world, but that doesn’t make chemical agriculture right. But with much of our food in this country being imported and as we don’t have the same visibility on what controls are implemented in foreign parts, (over 85% of all fruit and vegetables are imported) then choosing organic becomes even more important. Organic systems are not perfect, but they do offer an alternative, one that keeps chemicals off our food, and in doing so also helps protect biodiversity. It does sometimes feel ironic that it is the organic producer that must prove their credentials, go through the extra paperwork, and submit samples to prove that we are not doing anything underhand.
So it is that I dig out this event of last November, when a piece of our kale was tested for 1 of 870 chemicals, it came back with a clean bill of health. The fact that there were 870 chemicals on that test list, means I imagine that there are 870 active chemicals that can be applied and are applied in varying amounts to our food. I was shocked, why else would they test for all of these?
It seems ironic that we may go to such lengths to get soil off our hands, we can see the dirt, and we can wash it clean, we can be obsessed with keeping our bodies clean, but how about what we put into our bodies. It is the unseen agents that often do the most damage, and generally a wash is not sufficient to get chemicals off our food, especially those that are systemic (Get absorbed into the tissue of the plant) in nature. These chemicals can’t be removed by washing, they are in and on conventional food and they will inevitably end up in our bodies.
You would have to wonder why sickness is so prevalent in our society today and while there is no definite one root cause and it is certainly a complex issue, there is little doubt that our diet can have a large detrimental effect on our health. Conversely if approached correctly what we eat can only contribute to a more positive well-being.
When we consume healthy fresh organic food, we are doing our body a great service, and similarly we are demonstrating a level of respect for the planet, that is aiding in protecting the amazing biodiversity we share this world with.
Here is to zero chemicals on our food.
Kenneth
PS, Power to all women in the world, without whose compassion and understanding, dedication and hard work we would be lost, happy international women’s day and happy mothers day in advance. I feel that a matriarchal led society would certainly be kinder to our planet too.
This dish is stunning and tastes absolutely delicious!! It would make an fabulous centrepiece for any meal.
It all begins with lovingly grown sustainable ingredients like this beautiful organic cauliflower as well as the carrots, garlic and leeks. Add some earthy umami flavours finish with mint for freshness and lime for zing – magic!
White miso and tahini paste rub 2 tbsp white miso paste 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil 3 tbsp light tahini 2 tbsp olive oil 1 tbsp maple syrup or honey 2 tbsp light soy sauce
For the lentils 2 leeks chopped 2 carrots finely chopped 2 tbsp olive oil 4 cloves garlic sliced 1 tbsp smoked paprika 1 tin puy lentils, 240g drained
500ml litre veg stock 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar 1/2 tbsp soy sauce a hand full chopped baby spinach
salt and pepper to taste
Toppings– highly recommended to finish the dish. Fresh mint, chopped Fresh lime wedges
Method: Bake the cauliflower in the oven or the air fryer.
Step 1: If using the oven preheat to 180ºC. To cook the cauliflower; remove the leaves – use them for a chopped salad. Make a cross in the stalk. Boil in a pot of lightly salted water for 7 minutes until just soft. Remove from the water, pat dry with a towel and place on a baking tray. Mix all the miso paste ingredients together and coat the cauliflower. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes. or Air fry @ 160ºC for 10-15 minutes. Ready when its nice and brown all over.
Step 2: To make the lentils; warm a wide pan on a medium heat, add a tablespoon of oil and the leeks and cook for a few minutes, add the carrots, garlic, paprika, small pinch of salt. Pour in the stock and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the drained lentils, simmer
To serve; Top the lentils with the whole cauliflower, chopped mint and squeeze over the fresh lime.
Crispy, so savoury and packed full of flavour. We think you’ll love these plant based rolls. Delicious for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
We have the nicest chestnut mushrooms rich in immune boosting nutrients, cooked down with onions and spices. They give the best texture. We’ve bulked these out with protein packed chickpeas and almonds and blended the mix with iron rich baby spinach. Serve them with a sweet chilli dipping sauce, divine.
Grab most of the ingredients in our groceries.
Lou x
Ingredients: makes 8 rolls
I pack of ready rolled puff pastry(375g) – most are suitable for vegans 1.5 tbsp oil 1 pack (250g) chestnut mushrooms, finely diced
1 red onion, finely diced 3 gloves garlic, finely chopped or grated 2 tbsp tomato paste 1 tbsp maple syrup 1 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp smoked paprika 1 tbsp soya sauce 40g baby spinach 1 tin chickpeas rinsed and drained 100g flaked almonds Salt and pepper to taste 1 egg whisked or milk of choice to glaze 1-2 tablespoons sesame seeds to decorate
Method: Step 1: Preheat the oven 200ºC fan. Line a large baking tray with parchment paper. Leave the puff pastry out of fridge to come to room temperature.
Step 2: Start by warming a frying pan on a medium heat, add the oil and the diced onion. Cook for five or so minutes to soften. Add the chopped garlic and cook for a few minutes. Next add the diced chestnut mushrooms and cook for a good 5 -10 minutes, until they shrink in size. Spoon in the tomato puree, maple syrup, soy sauce, cumin and paprika. Stir to coat the mushrooms and cook for a further few minutes. Set aside to cool for a minute or two.
Step 3: To a food processor add the cooked mix, drained chickpeas and flaked almonds, chopped spinach. Blend to combine but keep the mix a bit chunky for texture. Taste the mix add salt or pepper if needed.
Step 4: Unroll the pastry, divide in 2 lengthways giving 2 even strips. Spoon the mix down the middle of the pastry in a sausage shape. Brush one side of the pastry strip with egg or milk. Gently fold the pastry over, use a fork to seal it. Cut the strip into 4 and put them on the baking tray, seam side underneath. Brush with egg or milk, sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Repeat with the other strip of pastry.
Bake for 30-40 minutes until nice and golden brown and delicious.
