As the evenings are getting darker and a little colder, comforting dinners, such as this delicious green vegan mac & cheese, are perfect for tucking into. The addition of romanesco to this pasta dish adds extra flavour, texture, and colour, as well as lots of nutrient. It is part of the brassica family of vegetables and tastes like a cross between broccoli and cauliflower. This stunning vegetable is grown on the farm, so nutritionally it benefits greatly from the best of soil. It is rich in fibre, calcium, and iron, and also a good source of vitamins, such as A, C and K. This dish only takes minutes to prepare and is best served with a simply green salad and chunks of crusty bread.
Place the cashew nuts in a heat-proof bowl. Cover with boiling water and leave to soak for 15 minutes.
In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook the macaroni according to the pack’s instructions. Add the romanesco to the pot for the last 3 minutes of cooking time. Drain the pot, reserving 175ml of the cooking water.
Drain the cashews and add to a processor, with the juice of one lemon, nutritional yeast, Dijon mustard, turmeric, the reserved pasta water and a little salt and pepper. Blend until combined.
In a large casserole dish, combine the drained macaroni and romanesco with the sauce. Top with the vegan cheese and place under the grill for 5 minutes until golden brown. Serve straight away. Enjoy!
These spicy peanut noodles are so delicious and packed full of nutritious ingredients. I’ve used udon noodles in the recipe, but any noodles of choice can be used. This dish only takes minutes to assemble, and even though it is best enjoyed on the day it is made, it will keep well in the fridge for up to two days.
Cook the noodles according to the instructions on the pack. Once cooked, add to a colander and rinse well under cold running water.
Roughly grate the carrot and courgette into a bowl. Using a paper towel, press down on the grated vegetables to soak up any excess water.
Add the grated carrot and courgette to a large bowl along with the cooled noodles, kale, coriander leaves, peanuts, and sesame seeds.
To make the sauce, add the peanut butter, vinegar, soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, sriracha, and a dash of boiling water to a bowl. Whisk together using a fork. Pour over the noodles and vegetables and stir well to combine.
To serve, top with the sliced scallion and chilli. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two days.
This flavoursome one-pot dish is packed full of heart-healthy ingredients, thanks to the vegetables, plus the wholesome store cupboard ingredients included. While Irish tomatoes are in-season I would add them fresh to this dish, otherwise a good-quality tin of tomatoes can be used in their place. There is currently a lovely variety of lettuce available from the farm, and the tomato orzo serves well on a bed of crisp leaves, while adding an extra nutrient boost to the overall meal.
Handful of fresh basil & oregano leaves, roughly torn
Zest of ½ lemon
Lettuce leaves
Method
Place a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the oil. Once hot, add the peppers, red onion, courgette, and mushrooms. Stir to combine. Sauté for about 10 minutes, stirring regularly.
Stir through the garlic, smoked paprika, chilli flakes, and a little salt, and a good grinding of black pepper.
Add the orzo and lentils, and stir to combine with the vegetables, before adding the tomatoes and stock.
Gently bring to the boil then turn down the heat to low, cover and leave the pot to simmer for about 25 minutes. Stir regularly to prevent the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
When ready to serve, stir through a handful of roughly torn basil and oregano leaves, and lemon zest. Divide the lettuce between four plates and top with the tomato orzo and a few more basil and oregano leaves.
Cheese and fruit platters are gorgeous ways to graze over the festive season. They are great for sharing and require minimum effort. We like ours when we have friends over or when we watch a family movie.
We stock some gorgeous organic bio cheeses like this wheel of camembert and with a little effort it is delicious baked for your cheese board. Baked with garlic and herbs bring it to the next level, your guests will love it. Serve along side our delicious mulled wine.
Step 2: Most Camembert comes in a little wooden crate. Open the cheese and place in parchment paper and put it back into the crate. If there is no crate, place it on a baking tray.
Step 3: With a thin sharp knife, make grid like cuts in the cheese, 3 or 4 in each direction, about 1 inch apart and going about 1 inch deep into the cheese but without cutting through the bottom rind. Use your knife tip to “open” each cut and your fingers to press a little sliver of garlic into each cut. Combine the olive oil with the rosemary, salt, and pepper in a small dish. Spread thickly on top of the cheese.
Step 4: Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the cheese is loose inside the rind. Serve immediately with crackers, grapes and bread.
Many years ago, I had the good fortune to come across the book “Small is beautiful: A study of economics as if people mattered” by E.F. Schumacher.
A key quote from the book: “Modern man does not experience himself as a part of nature but as an outside force destined to dominate and conquer it” epitomises the reason we are facing the challenges we currently face on planet earth.
There is no greater urgency, or greater need than reversing the damage we have inflicted on our beautiful planet. The time for deliberation has come and gone, now we need action.
Schumacher goes onto say that we are rapidly consuming the capital our lives are built on whilst all the time focusing on the income. The idea that our planet is finite is a law that most self-respecting scientists accept and yet the business of retail and production is based on ever expanding consumption seemingly assuming the law does not apply to them.
Protection of our capital in this case our home planet earth must be given as much weighing as the income we derive from it, otherwise we may find sooner than we would like that the goose who lays the golden eggs is gone.
This is heavy going for the final letter before Christmas, but I think it may be justified.
I know that it is difficult to make the choice to spend more on food, so thank you.
I know that you have chosen to do just that. You have made a conscious choice and invested effort to source your produce from us. We may not always get it right and there is always more to be done, but we have never wavered in our commitment to protect our planet no matter what else comes our way.
So, thank you for your continued support, for your good will, for you cheer and encouragement, for spending your hard-earned euros with us.
We have had the busiest Christmas in our history as a farm and business, and for that we are eternally grateful. There have and continue to be plenty of challenges but at least for now for another while we can keep going. We have planned our planting season for the year ahead we look forward as we always do to a new growing season, and we hope that we can get more things right that we get wrong.
Thank you so much, you may not really feel it, or realise it, but you truly are making a positive difference to our world.
We hope you have a lovely, happy, peaceful and healthy Christmas
Kenneth and all the team at Green Earth Organics
PS:Our Farm shop is open tomorrow Saturday the 23rd from 10am-5pm, H91 F9C5, and there is still time to get all your Christmas produce.
We are closed all next week, there will be no deliveries and our office will be closed. Our new box contents are already live on our website and you can place your orders at any time over the next week for delivery week commencing Tues the 2nd of January
“Just because we can do something, doesn’t mean we should”.
We all have a right to know how our food is grown, what is in and on it, and more fundamentally whether the genetics of the plants and food we are eating have been messed with in a lab.
The idea of modifying food for the betterment of society is a good one and in principle it seems straight forward. But the promised results from genetically modified crops have not been realised, such as crops resistant to drought or pests.
The long-term impact of eating genetically modified plants is not well understood, nor is the impact on the environment. But setting that aside, it is the greed and the desire to patent and control our food system that tells us all we need to know to make the right decision when it comes to GMOs. In my view the right decision is to keep genetically modified crops out of our food system.
It is clear that the driving force for genetically modifying our food is driven by the desire of a handful of giant agri-corporations to control our food chain. Manipulation of the genetic makeup of crops allows these corporation to patent “their” crops and hence own a piece of our food system whilst making billions of dollars in the process. (as has already happened around the world with “Roundup Ready Soya”)
To think that we can replicate the careful complex modification of plants, through thousands of years of evolution by nature, in a lab, in the space of months, by splicing pieces of foreign DNA or modifying the plants own DNA is ambitious and/or insanely arrogant.
Apart from conferring increased resistance to a toxic weedkiller, the promised benefits have not yet been demonstrated and there are large safety concerns about releasing untested genetically modified crops into nature.
The release of these plants into nature then becomes an uncontrolled experiment and one that may be difficult to roll back if the outcome is not as we would like.
Up to this point genetic engineering has in the main, been used to confer herbicide resistance to a few key commodity crops, hence allowing larger amounts of Roundup to be applied, adding to the toxic load in our food and on our planet.
There is no argument that can justify owning the rights to our food system, end of story.
There are currently strict EU rules on the authorisation and labelling of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). They allow farmers, food producers and consumers to choose and to opt for GMO-free food.
However, the European Commission wants to scrap this legislation and allow a new generation of GMOs, to enter our food system, without any labelling or safety checks. Essentially, they will be treating these “New genomic technique” modified crops the same as conventional crops.
I for one like to know what is in and on my food, I like to know its origin and I want to know that the food I am eating has not been genetically modified, if you are of a similar opinion then please sign this petition to help the EU politicians to take the right decision in this case and continue the ban of GMOs in our foodchain.
Thank you for supporting a sustainable food system.
Kenneth
PS It’s been a busy week, and we are ramping up for a manic packing and delivery week, next week. Thank you to all who have placed an order, and if you still have not there is plenty of time.
Please get your orders in over the weekend, but you will have up to your normal delivery deadline to get you orders in, if you are unsure of when that is you can click here to find out.
ALL DELIVERY DAYS AND DEADLINES REMAIN THE SAME FOR THE WEEK AHEAD! THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT, IT KEEPS US IN OUR JOBS AND KEEPS OUR FARM AND OTHER IRISH ORGANIC FARM’S FUTURE SAFE.
I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry when I discovered earlier this year, that one major supermarket is now, at least, at times, highlighting the chemicals on or in some of its citrus fruit.
I guess it is not a laughing matter, the issue of chemicals in our food chain is serious, it is important as it has a knock-on effect for our health and biodiversity.
It is my belief that agriculture can be a force for good in our world, an endeavour that can produce safe wholesome food whilst enhancing our locality and planet. But that will require a change of mindset and policy when it comes to the fair pricing of food.
All the things that are good about agriculture are slowly being sucked dry by the loss leading of fresh produce by supermarkets and the race for intensification and the lowest possible price. Like any business if there is not enough money in the pot you cannot invest for the future, you cannot survive, it is no different for farmers, getting a fair price for our crops is not too much to ask, and if we don’t then how can we invest back into the land.
Anyway, I digress, back to the case at hand, chemicals on our food. The last few weeks we have been talking here about the test for the 870 chemicals on our kale that came back clean (This test was part of our organic certification spot check) and how maybe conventional foods should be labelled with what they include, rather than the organic farmer having to prove that his/her food is clean and good.
I wonder though as this large supermarket chain has marked the inclusion of chemical products in two of its citrus fruit did it forget about all the other fruit and veg it sells? I can only assume that they too have offending chemicals present.
One of the products on sale, a conventional lime, is labelled “not suitable for vegans!” (Without, the exclamation mark obviously, I just added that in for effect) the offending lime in question contained a mixture or some of the following…… wait for it…
Another product and one that is in season right now: ‘Naturally Sweet Leafy Clementines’ Contained: E904, E914 and Imazalil.
(Incidentally E904 is shellac. Shellac is a resin secreted by female lac bugs, and this is what makes the limes non vegan. You may also be interested to know that imazalil and thiabendazole are two hormone-disrupting fungicides, one of which is also a likely carcinogen.)
Do your own research, check it out. Having mulled this over for some time I think it is a good thing that this information is displayed. Do you think it should also be printed on the pack in the supermarket aisle? Then you and I could make an informed decision or at the very least we would know what we are getting for our money.
Of course, these chemicals are labelled as safe once used below the MRL (the maximum residue limit). These limits are set to protect you and I from ingesting too much of these chemicals. However, as I have spoken about in the past the setting of these limits can be questionable and, in some cases, seems to have been set in relation to the level of application required rather than in relation to whether the product is safe. I refer to the research on the increased MRLs for glyphosate that have been increased 300-fold between 1993 and 2015 in the US. Is it safer now to eat 300 times the dose? I think probably not.
I will finish on this note: farmers are doing the best they can, we all are, we are working to survive in a system that is fundamentally flawed, but for all its issues, it is the system we have, and it provides our food, we cannot do without it, not when there are so many of us on this planet. But there is no question that step by step we must and can introduce more positive ways of producing food and we can support this transition by deciding with who and on what we spend our money.
First, I want to show you something: Darragh Wynne from the charity Goal Ireland was here a few weeks back and invited me to talk for a video, if you want to learn a little bit more about and see some cool drone footage of our farm (and even catch a glimpse of George and Florence check this video out.
George and Florence are happy pigs, they couldn’t actually have a better life, I really don’t think they could. Not only do they get to roam around nearly 2 acres of old and newly established forests, they have a dry straw lined shed to sleep in and probably best of all they get fed waste organic veg once a day. They are as happy as two pigs in muck could be.
But they fit into this story very well, as they are the last step in our grandly termed food waste reduction strategy, we don’t have a formal document or anything like that, but we do have a belief system around food waste.
So here is a crazy fact, one third of all food produced on the planet is wasted. The area required to produce that food is 16 million km2, which is roughly an area the same size as Russia, which is a very big place.
We all know we need to take urgent steps to reduce our impact on the planet, no surprise there, and as we pass yet another mind boggling climate record with September being the warmest month ever by a long way, that action is critical.
So wouldn’t it be an amazing if we could cut the land used for agriculture by 16 million square kilometers and instead grow forestry? Of course, it would.
But where is all this wasted food coming from? Well, that is where I will tell you the second part of my story, last week we took a delivery of carrots, we weren’t very pleased with these carrots, they were Irish, they were organic, but they were massive, and I mean they were big but we got our heads together and figured out how we could prevent them ending up in the bin.
So, we set about trying to use them to sell them, to make sure we wasted as little as possible. There is one thing I can absolutely guarantee had these carrots landed at the door of a supermarket they would have been rejected, sent back, or wasted.
Herein lies one of our bugbears, supermarkets insisting without remorse on unforgiving specifications and when produce does not meet them refusing to sell it or accept it. We have been there many moons ago, once upon a time having supplied supermarkets. In the growing season we have had this year, produce may come out maybe a little smaller or bigger or twisted or forked and that in our view is the beauty of nature. We wont grade out twisted parsnips, or forked carrots.
Of course, there is still the possibility that produce will not meet our quality requirements, and this is where we do have a very well-defined system and we put a fair amount of effort into it to make it work.
Maciek our quality manager has done amazing work creating his “Rescue boxes” each week these boxes are filled with “Class II” produce. If we can’t use the produce in the rescue boxes our team get it, and if it is unusable it ends up in one of two places, actually one of three places!
It either A. Goes to one of our three compost bays, or B. go to George’s belly or C. goes to Florence’s belly!
(Interesting fact: We have to make two separate piles of food when feeding the pigs because Florence always bullies George and tries to keep all the food for herself!)
So that is the end of the story for this week, just know you are supporting a little business that manages in our own way to keep the food waste mountain from growing at least on our watch and continues to step by small step help build a better food system.
You are making it possible, thank you.
Kenneth
PS Darragh Wynne from the charity Goal Ireland was here a few weeks back and invited me to talk for a video, if you want to learn a little bit more about and see some cool drone footage of our farm (and even catch a glimpse of George and Florence check this video out.
We had the final farm walk of the season last Saturday. Thank you to all who came, we were blown away by the turn out. The day smiled on us too it was dry and warm and even George and Florence played their part well!
This year has been as all years are when it comes to growing and selling food in the current climate: a challenging one. Saturday helped me remember why it is we do what we do. I heard first hand, some honest and deep levels of appreciation, stories of customers that have been ordering from us for over 10 years of others who value the ethos of the business, others who were delighted to discover our farm shop tucked away here in the Galway countryside and others who just truly enjoyed the lovely organic tomatoes they got to pick in our tunnels.
I heard too an appreciation for how our planet, our environment and how we produce our food are interlinked, and how now more than ever our food system needs to change for the sake of our planet. We don’t have the deep pockets of the supermarkets and it is hard to compete in a landscape dominated by these corporations that control the gates to our food system.
As gatekeepers they control how much producers are paid, and they continue to devalue and ‘loss lead’ with fresh produce. We do the best we can, but growing, packing, and delivering food (all done as sustainably as is possible) to people’s doors is an expensive business. We cannot compete with celery for 49c. But critically as consumers we need to have the option to choose food that is grown sustainably, now more than ever before, and we as growers and sellers need the breathing space to be able to survive and dare I say it, thrive, to develop truly sustainable farms and food businesses. Here are 5 reasons why:
Preserving our planet: Organic farming practices are a breath of fresh air for our planet. By avoiding synthetic chemicals, we protect soil health, promote biodiversity, and reduce water pollution.
Tasting the difference: Take one bite of a local organic carrot, and you’ll understand.
Supporting local communities: Organic farming often prioritizes small-scale, family-owned operations, which helps create jobs and strengthens local economies. By choosing organic, we’re investing in a greener, fairer future for everyone.
Protecting future generations: Organic farming practices help preserve fertile soil and protect biodiversity, ensuring that future generations can continue to enjoy our planet.
Indeed as Gandhi said ‘To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves’
The feedback from you our customers brought me back to my roots and reminded me that maybe we are on the right track and that we must continue to fight for our health and the health of the planet. Thank you so much to those of you who said thank you, it is appreciated and makes a difference. It also reaffirmed my belief that we are not alone and there are many out there who care about how our food is grown and the affect it has on our planet.
You are the very ones that are changing the world.
Thank you.
Kenneth
PS A big thank you to the two ladies from St Vincent De Paul who came to the farm walk to say thank you for all the food donations. They told me how the fresh food that we deliver to them each week is making a massive difference to families who otherwise would not be able to afford fresh local food. So a massive thank you to all our customers who have chosen a “Charity box” you can rest assured that it is being put to very good use.
