Afghan Kidney Bean Curry

by Liz Child

We are always looking for new ways to eat beans. They are so good for us! An affordable and healthy source of protein and fibre. Good news is they are also great for the environment. Legume crops improve soil fertility naturally by working with bacteria to fix nitrogen into the soil.

So when we tried this delicious Afghan curry, we just had to share it! This is probably not an authentic recipe but it’s our quick and easy version. We love that the heat just comes from the generous use of black pepper. We’ll share the stuffed flatbreads recipe soon too. Watch this space!

Liz x

Ingredients (serves 4)

  • 3 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp ground turmeric
  • 2 tsp garlic granules
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp ground black pepper
  • 2 tsp ground cumin
  • 2 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 bottle of passata
  • 2 tins kidney beans
  • 2 red onions
  • 4 medium potatoes
  • (drizzle of veg oil, sprinkle of salt, pepper & ground coriander to roast the onions & potatoes)
  • diced red onion, fresh coriander & mint to taste

Method

  1. Turn your oven to 200C. Chop the potatoes into bites sized pieces and the onions into slivers and toss in a roasting dish with a drizzle of oil and sprinkle of salt, pepper & ground coriander. Roast for 20-30 minutes or until soft while you make the curry sauce.
  2. Heat the vegetable oil in a large pot & tip in the spices and seasoning. Stir fry in the oil until the spices are very fragrant and starting to darken.
  3. Pour in the passata and the drained and rinsed kidney beans & simmer for 10 minutes or so until the curry is rich and delicious.
  4. When the potatoes and onions are cooked through and starting to colour, scrape them into the curry and warm through.
  5. Serve in bowls topped with diced red onion and chopped mint and coriander. Scoop up with flatbreads or rice & enjoy!

Wonky Veg, Food Waste & Great Crops

by Kenneth Keavey

Over the last 16 years we have seen a fair bit and although generally things are never black and white, one thing stands out for us as being just that: food waste. Whatever way you look at it wasting food based on aesthetics is immoral. We work really hard to reduce food waste, it is one of our core values. There are times when the quality just is not good enough and we will never ever compromise on the quality of what we send out. We will give food we cannot sell to our team members, or you may get a freebie or two in your boxes sometimes.

Stuff that really is not good for eating, either goes to our compost heaps to make fertiliser for our new food, or goes to Florence and George’s bellies (our two pet rescue pigs in case you didn’t know). But we grow our own food and so we have a very good understanding of what is ok and what is not. We make sure we harvest as close to packing the boxes as possible, we work with other growers to ensure we have the freshest best produce.

But there is one thing we never do, we never discriminate based on looks, on wonkiness. If a carrot is wrapped around another carrot, will we grade it out? Absolutely not, we will CELEBRATE it, If a potato is showing a little cheekiness well that is absolutely ok with us. In fact, we want vegetables like that. This ‘WONKY’ food tastes the same, it has the same nutritional value, it looks the same on our plates it has been grown sustainably on organic land.

It makes a lot of sense to us NOT to grade out vegetables like that. I guess we are pretty lucky that we do not have to conform to supermarket standards, that we set our own standards and we can do this because we know you our customers are ok with getting cheeky potatoes every now and again.

We know how hard it is to grow food and it is crucial to our planet to make the best use of the land available to us, and not throwing away food based on looks is a good start, at least we think so.

Last year we got our planting plan wrong, it is difficult to guage the market a year in advance, and ended up having to turn crops back into the ground. This year we have been a little more cautious and we hope a bit smarter with our time and energy.

This evening as I write, the sun is shining I have just finished my farm walk of checking the crops. The crops are progressing so well, the tomatoes look amazing as do the cucumber plants and the first lettuce, salad, celery, courgette, broccoli, kale, Romanesco and cabbage are well on their way, even the first parsnips, carrots, beetroot and outdoor spinach are poking their little heads above the soil.

Thank you for supporting our farm and know in doing so, not only are you contributing to reducing your carbon footprint, and reducing your waste burden on our planet, you are also contributing to reducing food waste and giving these cheeky potatoes a good home!

Thank you

Kenneth

PS we have some very exciting news! Our farm shop is finally opening next Saturday the 4th of June at 10am, we will have a farm tour at 12pm, and music, and children’s art, so come along!

Leeks on Toast

by Liz Child

I don’t know about you, but for mid-week meals (or even manic weekend meals), I am always after something fast – but, it has to also be satisfying, healthy, affordable and delicious! This super simple supper ticks all the boxes. We have just completed a massive leek harvest and they are so sweet and delicious. Leeks have got to be one of the most underrated vegetables out there. They are exceptionally delicious when made the star of the show. Don’t just loose them in soups and stews, try them as the main ingredient.

Liz x

Ingredients (serves 2)

  • 2 slices of sourdough bread
  • 1 small clove of garlic
  • 1 leek
  • 1 tbsp butter (we use this vegan one)
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • a few sprigs of thyme
  • a heaped tsp of mustard – Dijon or wholegrain…or any mustard you like
  • a splash of milk (we use creamy oat milk)
  • a handful of nutritional yeast flakes (or you can use grated cheese)

Method

  1. Toast the bread to your liking then peel the garlic clove and rub it over the toast on both sides.
  2. Slice the leek in half, lengthways, keeping the root end intact. Then rinse out the mud in the layers. Slice the very end off the leeks which will have dried out a bit, but keep as much as possible. The green part of the leek it just as delicious as the white – it just needs a touch longer cooking time. Then cut the leek into cm slices.
  3. Melt the butter in a wide pan over a medium-high heat. Then tip in the green bits of leek and stir fry for 3 minutes or so until they soften. Then add the rest of the chopped leek, some salt and pepper and stir fry again until the leeks start to collapse and colour lightly.
  4. Add the thyme, mustard, splash of milk and nutritional yeast (or cheese) and stir fry for another 3 minutes or so until you have a bubbly, silky mixture which can then be poured over the garlicky toast and devoured!

Rhubarb & White Chocolate Blondie

by Liz Child

Beautiful, pink rhubarb is in season now and it’s tangy flavour pairs perfectly with sweet white chocolate. We tried baking it into blondies and oh yes, it works! There is some debate as to what blondies are, but to me, the best blondies are simply a white chocolate version of brownies. I’ve based this recipe on my classic vegan brownie recipe and it’s a fairly straight swap – brown chocolate for white chocolate – but the lack of cocoa powder means you must add some starch or the texture is all wrong. So don’t skip the cornstarch (you can replace cornstarch with arrowroot, potato or tapioca flour if you don’t have cornstarch).

Good blondie recipes call for browned butter, but if you are making this recipe vegan as I am below, then you’ll need to use Naturli butter as other vegan butters do not brown like dairy butter due to the lack of certain proteins and sugars. Naturli contains almond butter so has the right proteins to brown beautifully. Give it a try, I think you’ll agree it adds a delicious nutty, caramelised depth of flavour to the blondies that help to balance out the sweetness of the white chocolate. If you don’t have Naturli in the house you can just use another vegan butter or coconut oil and simply melt it rather than browning.

Here’s my easy recipe, enjoy!

Liz x

Ingredients (makes 12 slices)

  • 50g Naturli vegan butter block, browned (see method)
  • 250g chopped white chocolate (50g kept aside to decorate)
  • 100g brown sugar (our whole cane sugar works perfectly here)
  • 230ml oat milk
  • 175g plain flour
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch
  • 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 2 rhubarb stalks, cut into bite sized pieces

Method

  1. Pre-heat your oven to 180C and line a baking tin with baking parchment (I used a 20x28cm one).
  2. If you have our vegan block of Naturli butter in, you can brown it to create a nutty, caramel depth of flavour. If you are using another brand of vegan butter then just melt the butter, it will not brown. To brown the butter simply melt in a small pan, keep it swirling/stirring until it goes a gorgeous hazelnut colour.
  3. Then turn off the heat and tip in 200g of the white chocolate. Allow it to melt in the heat of the butter BEFORE stirring. Then add the sugar and milk and stir into a smooth, shiny caramel coloured sauce.
  4. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, salt, cornstarch, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder. Then pour in the melted butter, chocolate, sugar and milk and slowly whisk to just combine. Careful not to over-mix as that would activate the gluten in the flour and create tough blondies.
  5. Pour the batter into the lined baking dish and smooth out so that the corners are evenly filled. Then scatter over the reserved white chocolate and chopped rhubarb.
  6. Place the dish in the oven to bake until risen and golden. This should take around 30-35 minutes but ovens vary so check on it after 20 minutes. It is done when it is mostly set but still has a little wobble when gently shaken.
  7. Allow the blondie to cool in the tray then pop the tray in the fridge to set for a few hours or overnight (this requires heroic patience). Cut into 12 pieces and enjoy!

Wild Flowers, Leased Land & Glyphosate

by Kenneth Keavey

It was one of those rare occasions, you know the ones, where you get a chance to take a break from your life for a day, to get away and do something that wakes you up again.  Sometimes it is from these breaks that you catch moments of clarity, that can be elusive during the busyness of life.  

Yesterday, myself and Jenny took a day and went exploring in the beautiful landscape of the Burren, which is only 40 minutes from our farm.

It had been some time since I had been up in the hills of the Burren. We got away from everything and it was truly amazing. It may be my maturing years, (last time I was up there I was on a mountain bike) but this time I was walking, and I noticed the abundance of flora. The Burren is renowned worldwide for the diversity of plant species that grow there, and on this particular day it was resplendent in its natural beauty.

Field after stony field were full of flowers, most of which I didn’t know or recognise. But suddenly as we rounded one corner a field of cowslips came into sight. It was a sight that transported 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 Burren is a haven for these flowers and one of the key reasons is the absence of chemicals. Those mountains are never sprayed, the land just gets to be.

Enroute to Clare we passed some land which up until last year we farmed. The sight of the fields was shocking, it had taken on a bright iridescent chemical hue.  

Earlier this year we finished the lease on that land.  We had been the custodians for the previous 5 years. Over those five years we treated that land very well, we increased the organic matter content, we brought up its fertility levels, we sowed red clover and left it under clover for two years, we picked truckloads of stones, but crucially we kept it alive, it was always alive while we were the guardians. 

This time last year, the last of the kale plants were flowering and those fields were alive with millions of insects and bees. Contrast that with what we saw yesterday. 

The land is only out of our care less then a month. The whole 9 acres is dead. It has been sprayed with glyphosate and it has a sickly bright yellow/orange tinge of chemical intoxication, all life is gone, all the plants are dead, all the bees are gone, all the insects are gone, and all the birds are gone.

As I reflected on the natural beauty of the Burren and what had happened to that land it was like an epiphany, it was a blinding shock at the glaring difference between the path of food production we follow and the chemical laden path of conventional food production. They couldn’t be more different. 

We came back to our normal lives and passed those fields again on the way home. I was sad that all our good work of five years had been undone in an afternoon. But anger and determination followed, and it made me even more committed to ensuring that we continue to do things right on our home farm, that we never ever use chemicals, and we protect nature at every turn.

Your support supports that mission. 

Kenneth

The Hungry Gap

by Kenneth Keavey

Florence (one of our pet rescue pigs) decided to have a day of breakouts today, she gets a little restless sometimes, even with the 1.5 acres of forestry she calls home. Personally, I don’t think she has it that bad and George her compatriot rarely goes on these adventurous little trips.

But true to her nature Florence arrived up into our packing shed today demanding more food (she gets fed quite a bit) and again I think she was being a little unreasonable and has little to grumble about. But anyway, that is life sometimes I suppose.

It’s funny how the unexpected can make you take things a little more lightly, force you to stop your routine ruminations, force you to stop what you are doing and deal with the occurrence at hand.

Well today in the midst of pressure to get carrots and parsnips sown and the onions planted with the threat of rain on the horizon, we were forced to stop our work and go and bring Florence back to her forest home. 

There are I guess two ways to look at this, an unwelcome interruption that meant more pressure to get the sowing done on time, or a welcome break that could be enjoyed. My innate sense of grumpiness was edging towards the former, but thankfully Florence is just too funny, and I went with the latter. 

It made us stop and smell the newly cultivated soil, see the flowers and bees and all the other good stuff that was happening and the experience as a result was completely different. 

Not all interruptions can be dealt with in such a philosophical manner, some you just need to throw out a few choice expletives have a bit of a tantrum and move on, this was the case with our planter this week. 

It is temperamental old and cranky and every year there is a requirement to find mutual common ground between farmer and machine, this year that ground has been hard to find and has led to moments of promising our faithful machine that its days are truly numbered. (Of course, I didn’t really mean it, all was said in the heat of the moment!)

Nevertheless, if farming has thought me anything and it teaches a lot, is that perseverance is an absolute requirement to succeed no matter what happens. 

We have been very busy planting and sowing, for the last number of weeks we have been planting kale, cabbage, Romanesco, broccoli, lettuce, and celery.  We have been sowing, salad, beetroot, spinach, chard, carrots, and parsnips, not to mention the 1400 tomato plants that are soaking up so much time at present. 

We are harvesting too, but the old crops are finishing, and the new crops are coming from the tunnels, all the field veg is in the early stages, and as a result there is a lack of certain Irish crops, this period is called ‘the hungry gap’.  

There is no way to rush nature, you need to have patience and get your timings right, take good care of your crops and the nature around as the crops grow, and the harvest will come.

So, we work, we wait, and we harvest.

Kenneth

Thanks to the guys at sketchplanations for the schematic

The First Swallows

by Kenneth Keavey

The first swallows arrived today on our farm, I don’t know if everybody feels it, but it lifted my spirits. These little creatures traverse half that world, arrive here on our shores against all the odds for the summer, to nest and reproduce. They symbolise hope, they are beautiful and graceful, and we are honoured to have them. 

That moment yesterday was a great one, the week I have to say has not been filled with swallows! But yesterday for at least a moment everything felt just right, it was fleeting but that’s life I suppose. 

I was out in the tractor tilling and preparing the land for the first plants. The hedgerows were bursting with life, the trees were unfurling their leaves, the birds were singing, and the kale and the wild flowers were blooming and swaying the in the warm wind, the bees were everywhere. For a moment all was right, it seemed to me that the universe was reminding me that we are on the right track.

All around on our farm was an abundance of happy healthy life, sustained on this patch of land, free from chemicals and covered in trees and flowers, and in this little area surrounded by all this life we grow your food. 

The moment was fleeting and life as it does closed in again. How to hang on to these moments of clarity has been the study of ages, and I guess I have quite a bit to learn yet. Nevertheless, it shows that unity is close and sometimes unexpectedly it enters and fills our souls with joy. If life on the land has taught me anything, it is to expect the unexpected and this moment was truly unexpected and thoroughly appreciated. 

These last two years have been that too. The business of growing food is challenging but very rewarding, it is the selling of the food that can provide the greatest challenges. It is in this arena that you have to go out and interact and compete in the real world and that can be tough. 

We certainly have learned our fair share of lessons over the years and continue to learn. Nothing it seems stands still. Life and business are very similar in that regard, they require continuously evolution and change to grow and survive, but maybe we need to aim a little higher than just surviving, have we not had this opportunity to thrive and do the rights things in the right way.

So, it begins, the start of the season is upon us once again, and philosophical musing aside, it is our 17th growing season, and this fills me with hope. We have the first tomato plants planted in the tunnels, we have the ground ready to plant the first broccoli and Romanesco. The first outdoor lettuce, salad, spinach, and beetroot will be sown very soon. 

We do the right things in the right way here, we definitely don’t always get it right, and we certainly have plenty to learn, but maybe little by little bit by bit, and with your support and help we can improve and grow and maybe the little swallows will continue year in year out to grace us with their presence.

Thank you, little swallows, for the moments of joy. 

Kenneth 

Order a box of organic fruit, vegetables and groceries to be delivered to your door, anywhere in Ireland.

Corporate Rewards

by Kenneth Keavey

Reward your Staff, Customers & Clients

Start a corporate rewards program with us – a simple way to show clients, customers, and employees your appreciation while supporting sustainable, organic, Irish vegetable farmers.

Give the Gift of Health & Sustainability

Are you part of an organisation who rewards their employees regularly? Would you like a healthy and sustainable option? We can help. We can provide vouchers and coupon codes specific to your organisation. Contact us to see how we can deliver organic, plastic free fruit, vegetables and groceries to your employees and clients all over Ireland. Email info@greenearthorganics.ie to discuss what we can do for you.

We can also organise tours of our farm as part of the package. Kenneth gives a two hour walking tour of the farm here in Galway with an interactive talk on food, sustainability, our health and the health of the planet. Get in touch to see how we can enhance your green credentials and your employee happiness.

Who We Are

We are an organic vegetable farm in Galway with a nationwide delivery scheme. What we don’t grow ourselves, we source firstly from other organic, Irish farms, then fill the gaps with organic produce from as close to home as possible. We never use airfreight. Sustainability is at the heart of our business, here are our 5 pledges for the planet:

1. Always Organic

We promise to only grow and supply organic, sustainable ingredients and products. This means we will produce food in a way that works with the environment and wildlife, not against it.

2. Plastic Free

Wherever possible, we promise to use plastic free packaging. We pack produce loose or use paper, card or compostable bags. We also have a growing plastic free grocery section.

3. Locally Sourced

We promise to bring you Irish produce wherever possible. To keep your kitchens well stocked we will also source organic produce from as close to home as possible. We promise to never use air-freight.

4. Speak Up

We promise to never stay silent about important environmental issues because the damage we are doing to our only home is real. We will create helpful, informative content to discuss what we can all do to change and we promise to pull no punches when it comes to saying it how it really is.

5. Carbon Neutral

We promise to use renewable energy on the farm and in other areas of our business wherever possible. We have solar electricity on our packing shed and have planted over 7000 trees on our farm to offset other energy uses. 

Instant Vegan Cheese Sauce Powder

by Liz Child

For mac’n’cheese, cauliflower/broccoli cheese, layers in lasagnes or moussakas, cheesy mushroom and leek pies and more… This instant powder is so useful to store in your pantry to whip up a quick mid-week meal. Just add oat milk and a little olive oil or melted vegan butter.

Liz x

Ingredients

Method

  1. Measure all the ingredients into a jar and give it a good shake to evenly mix into a powder. If you don’t have mustard powder then leave it out and add dijon mustard or whatever mustard you like in the wet stage described in the next step.
  2. In a measuring jug, pour 100ml of oat milk per person. Then whisk in 1 tbsp of the powder and 1 tbsp of good olive oil (or melted vegan butter) per person. If you mix doesn’t have mustard powder, add a tsp of Dijon mustard per person too.
  3. Pour the mixture into a pot over a medium/low heat and whisk continuously until it is cooked through. It should be creamy, silky smooth and nice and thick. Taste and adjust the seasoning if you need to, then use the sauce however you like. Fold through cooked pasta, layer up in a lasagne or moussaka, pour over cooked mushrooms, leeks and butterbeans then top with pastry and bake… I always use this sauce for a cauliflower and broccoli cheese as part of our Sunday roast.

Easter Inspiration

by Liz Child

Go green this Easter with some veggie meals and treats from our archives. Just click on the photos or the words in bold to be taken to the recipes. Happy cooking! Liz x

To Start

Try this steamed asparagus and artichoke dish with wild garlic butter. Asparagus, artichokes and wild garlic are all really special perennial vegetables, perfect at this time of year and such a treat.

Or how about a soothing bowl of wild nettle soup? Use our organic vegetables as a base and add some locally foraged wild nettle tips from near you.

Or a platter of these vegan devilled eggs? A lightly pickled mushroom replaces the traditional egg white and the yolk is made from beautifully seasoned chickpea puree.

The Main Course

This easy, one-tray dish packs a lot of flavour. Try our portobello mushrooms steaks with roasted potatoes and asparagus, drizzle over some vibrant chimichurri to make the dish sing SPRING!

Try your hand at making a homemade pasta dish? Ravioli is easier to make than it looks and this beautiful beetroot ricotta is just what a spring lunch is calling for.

Rainbow chard parcels are so versatile and you can really make them your own with your favourite fillings. Here’s one way to enjoy this colourful leafy green.

Something Sweet?

Easter isn’t Easter without hot cross buns. Try this easy vegan version. Keep it dairy free by toasting and slathering with our new vegan butter.

Make your own little Easter eggs with these dates stuffed with nut butter and coated in chocolate.

With a nod to the Easter bunny, make this very carroty raw carrot cake. It’s naturally vegan and gluten free, refined sugar free too, but tastes so so good.