Carrot & Coriander Fritters

by Liz Child

Chickpea flour (aka gram flour) is such a useful store-cupboard ingredient. Have you tried it yet? In Indian cuisine it is used to make savoury pancakes called dosas and to the make the batter for deep fried onion bhajis. At home we love to use it to make nutritious, delicious, protein-rich fritters all year round. Fritters are a great lunch option with a simple salad and a dip, or you can use them as sandwich fillers or burger alternatives. You can really make them your own with different vegetables and herbs/spices. Here’s one of our favourites, carrot and coriander.

Liz x

Ingredients (serves 2)

  • 1 espresso mug of chickpea flour (around 8 tbsp)
  • 1 espresso mug of water
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 2 grated carrots
  • a handful of fresh coriander
  • around 2 tbsp vegetable oil for frying
  • natural yogurt, lime wedges and salad leaves to serve

Method

  1. Start with the batter. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the chickpea flour, seasoning and water into a smooth batter.
  2. Grate the carrots and add them to the batter along with the coriander leaves. Stir well to coat the veggies in the batter.
  3. Heat a frying pan to medium with the vegetable oil. Make sure your pan is not too hot, chickpea flour batter can taste a little bitter if it is not cooked through so you want to cook it slowly so it’s not burned on the outside and raw in the middle.
  4. Dollop the batter into the pan in four even scoops. Fry the fritters for 5 minutes or so on each side or until they are golden brown on the outside and firmed up and hot inside.
  5. Then serve with salad, natural yoghurt and a good squeeze of lime.

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

Greek Potato Bake

by Liz Child

There are so many ways to cook potatoes – boiled, chips, mash, roasties, soups, stews, gratin, jacket potatoes… but this Mediterranean-style way is one of my favourites. The rich tomato sauce and fragrant herbs make the humble, comforting potato into a summery dish which sings with flavour. I usually top it with some of my vegan tofu-feta or just some salty olives and bake it with the lid off for a little extra colour and flavour. Serve with a simple greek salad and a glass of wine – that’s dinner sorted.

Liz x

Ingredients (serves 6)

  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 large white onion, diced
  • 6 cloves of garlic, crushed
  • 2 tins chopped tomatoes
  • optional extra Med-veg eg courgette, peppers, carrots, aubergine
  • 10 medium potatoes
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 tbsp each oregano, thyme, rosemary
  • olives/feta/capers
  • salad to serve

Method

  1. Start by making a rich tomato sauce. This can be however you like it but I usually sauté the diced onion in 2 tbsp olive oil until soft and starting to colour, then add crushed garlic and if I want to bulk it out, some chopped veg like an aubergine, pepper or courgette, maybe a carrot or two? Add the tinned tomatoes and swirl out any juices left in the tins into the pot with a bit of water. Season well with salt, pepper and a pinch of oregano and simmer until the sauce is rich – around 15-20 minutes. Blend with a stick blender, taste and adjust the seasoning if needed with more salt or pepper.
  2. Put the oven on to 200C and find an oven proof dish with a lid. Wash and thinly slice your potatoes into 3mm or so rounds.
  3. Place 1/2 the tomato sauce into the dish then arrange the potato slices on top. Then season the potato layer with salt, pepper and the herbs. Drizzle over the remaining olive oil and then spoon over the remaining tomato sauce.
  4. Put the lid on and bake until the potatoes are soft. This usually takes at least an hour but check on it as ovens and potatoes vary.
  5. Once the potatoes are cooked through, remove the lid and scatter over your topping of choice. Feta, olives, capers… Return the dish to the oven with the lid off to caramelise and get a little colour – just 5-10 minutes, keep an eye on it.
  6. Enjoy with salads or as a side to your choice of protein and greens.

The Freedom to be Still

by Kenneth Keavey

Every summer during my teenage years and most Saturdays I worked on a farm. We were always outside doing something. I loved bringing in the hay and the memories of the sun and the sunburn, the white bread sandwiches eaten outside, and the cups of tea are still vivid. I remember the great hunger you would have for those sandwiches after a day in the bog, nothing to this day compared to the taste of those sandwiches. 

There were many lessons to be learned and many were not at all welcome for a young teenage lad. Tying plastic bags around our knees with bailing twine whilst spending hour after monotonous hour thinning mangles in grey cold drizzly west of Ireland summer was high on the list of something I never ever wanted to do again. 

Then there was the absolute dedication to stop and take a moment at 12pm and frequently at 6pm too when the local bells tolled. In my mind now the idea of stopping and appreciating the present moment and our surroundings is a true blessing. These days in our frantic lives, there is so little time simply to be and to notice all that is wonderful with the world. 

How will we notice when the first swallows arrive on our shores, or the humble bee going about his trade, or the little flowers in the grass or the deep deep blue of the sky? All can go by, and we can be oblivious.   

We miss the inter-connectivity of all things and their sheer beauty and energy. Will we notice the touch of the wind on our skin or the first raindrops on our face? Mostly and I speak for myself, we don’t, and who could blame us, there is no external reason to stop and stand still, we have to fight for that freedom to be still, away from our phones and the endless stream of social media and all the noise. 

This week for us on the farm we have been trying very hard to get a tonne of work done and taking the time to appreciate the beauty of nature around us has been challenging.

The bees have been breath-taking and we feel truly honoured to have hives managed by beekeeper Gerry on our farm. We leave the kale flowers, we grow wildflowers, and crucially we use no chemicals, all these things mean their population is healthy and growing, and at least on our little farm they are safe. 

If you go and stand in the middle of our kale and be still with the bees flying all around you can feel truly connected. But even on a farm and being outside, feeling the pressure of the weather (that it might break at any minute) and the endless list of equally high priority tasks, it is difficult to find the discipline to stop and be still, there is a craving to keep moving and doing.

Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing if the bells started to ring again at 12pm every day as a reminder to stop, I think I for one would appreciate it.

Kenneth

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.

Spinach Pici Pasta

by Liz Child

This is our new favourite way to eat spinach. Spinach is coming thick and fast out of our polytunnels now and we can’t get enough of this spring leafy green. Make your own easy pasta dough and marvel at the verdant green wriggly worms. It’s a fun recipe to make with kids over the Easter holidays too and if you have a fussy eater on your hands, this is a great way to get some greens into them. Serve with any pasta sauce you like – we love this with a simple buttery black pepper sauce, details below.

Liz x

Ingredients (serves 4)

for the sauce:

Method

  1. Put the flour, salt and spinach in a food processor with the S blade attachment. Blend into a green powder. Once it is evenly blended, keep the machine running and drizzle in the olive oil then a small splash of water. After a minute of blending the dough should form into a ball, if it is too dry and doesn’t ball up, add another small splash of water and keep blending.
  2. Tip the ball of bright, green dough out onto a floured work surface and knead for a few minutes. If your dough is accidentally too wet, add another sprinkle of flour and keep kneading until you have a smooth, soft green dough.
  3. Cut the dough in half and roll out to around 4mm or so thick. Cut the dough into thin strips then roll each strip into wriggly worms. You can cut them to whatever size you prefer. As you go, place them on a floured plate or tray and lightly dust with more flour to prevent them from clumping.
  4. Get a large pot of salted water on to boil then drop into the pici pasta and boil for just 4 minutes or so until tender. Drain through a colander then make the sauce in the pot.
  5. Place the butter, oil, cheese, lemon juice and black pepper in the pot and allow it to melt over a medium heat. Then give it a quick stir and tip the pasta back into the pot. Stir to coat the pasta in the sauce and serve with extra black pepper and whatever sides you like eg protein, salads etc.

Where Would the World be Without Bees?

by Kenneth Keavey

We love our bees here on the farm, to the extent that we grow wildflowers for them and we leave nearly an acre of kale to go to flower just to feed them and we have beehives on our farm too, oh and of course we don’t use any chemicals on the food we produce.

It was many moons ago in a life that was never quite meant to be that I finally realised what it was we needed to do with my grandad’s farm.

You see 20 years ago I was very comfortable working away for the biotech industry in the UK, working in a laboratory researching different chemicals for this and that.

I am a research chemical scientist turned organic farmer and I have a very healthy respect for science. But there is one thing I do not agree with, it just does not make any sense to me, and that is the whole scale blanket application of chemicals on our food.

Chemicals that are meant for a laboratory should stay there, and if they are toxic to some life then generally speaking, they will be toxic to other life, it isn’t even that chemicals are ‘bad’ it is the prevalence and ubiquity of them in our food chain and our environment that is harmful.

They are in our food, and they are not good for us, but they are not good for life in the countryside either, they really aren’t. Take a family of chemicals called the neonicotinoids deemed safe for years but then it was found that they do irreparable damage to bees and other insects. How on any level can using a chemical like that as a blanket spray across our countryside be justified? 

Many of these chemicals too do not just sit on the outside of the plant they are systemic by nature. That simply means they are absorbed into the plant and do their damage from the inside out, washing veg and fruit doesn’t remove them.

Some produce are more heavily sprayed that others and two that regularly feature in the ‘dirty dozen’ are kale and spinach which is ironic as both grow very well in organic systems. Eating organic of course is one of the easiest and best ways to avoid this unhealthy exposure.

You see it is possible to grow great food without the use of chemicals, it is a little harder, it takes a little more attention and planning, it requires more labour but isn’t it worth it in the end?

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, a way that gives the bees on our planet a lifeline, surely this must be the best, no scratch that, the only, way to grow food? 

So maybe it is time to take good hard look at how we produce our food and embrace a better more positive way, because in the end we are what we eat.

Kenneth

Earth Day 2022

by Liz Child

The theme for Earth Day this year is ‘Invest in our Planet’ and we couldn’t be more on board with this. Money talks (unfortunately) so the incentive to make the changes necessary to combat climate change must be shown to be a good investment. It is, of course, mind-boggling to think that big corporations and governments will only take action if it benefits the bottom line, but here we are.

Luckily for all of us and for future generations, it is clear that a green future is a prosperous future. More and more investors are seeing the wisdom of investing in green business/technology. Although we live in an era of conspiracy theories and see so much misinformation being shared online, hopefully we can get people on board by showing them that a better world can be made even if they don’t ‘believe in’ climate change. This brilliant cartoon by Joel Pitt has been burned into my brain since the first time I saw it.

How are we Investing in the Planet?

We are in an incredibly fortunate situation where we can take out a bank loan and invest in more solar panels on the roof of our packing shed. We are keen to only use renewable energy and be a carbon neutral business. This investment in the future of our little green business will definitely pay off in the long term.

Another simple but effective way to invest in our planet is to plant trees. We have planted over 7000 so far on our farm and now that we have run out of space we will be donating a portion of our sales to a local tree planting charity. More to come on this once it has been organised. These are investments we are happy to make for the future health of our planet and all its inhabitants. Other ways we invest in our planet are by using compostable packaging, electric delivery vans and of course by farming organically.

How can you Invest in the Planet?

You are investing in our planet every time you choose to buy plastic free, organic fruit and veg and sustainably sourced groceries from us so thank you! Times are tough financially for everyone right now, so choosing to put your hard earned cash towards a greener choice is massively appreciated. We should all be working together towards a greener future – businesses, governments and citizens – so please write to your local authority or TD and ask for positive, environmental change in your area. Write to your favourite brands and businesses and ask for positive change. Could they use more sustainable packaging? Could they source products or ingredients from closer to home? Get together with your community to do litter picks, beach cleans, walk to school schemes, car shares etc. Tell us your ideas for investing in the planet in the comments below or over on our community facebook group. We would love to hear them.

Time For Action

by Kenneth Keavey

We spoke at our dinner table last night about the recent IPCC report on climate change, our three children went away from the table feeling worried and upset, that was not my intention, I should have held my emotions in check and thought through how I was going to approach the subject, but I was agitated and upset and angry and I guess that came across. There is hope of course, but there has been too much talk and not enough action. 

The time for talking is over and the time for action is here.

“A litany of broken climate promises, a file of shame, cataloguing the empty pledges that put us firmly on track towards an unliveable world, we are on a fast track to climate disaster.” 

UN secretary general Antonio Guterres, stated this week. He does not mince his words and delivered a damning verdict on the actions of governments and businesses that are not only turning a blind eye, but are simply doing the opposite of what they promise. 

This is a climate emergency.

How many times have we heard this before as governments gather to discuss the climate emergency, the biggest single challenge facing us on this planet today. How many times have businesses and heads of state paid lip service to the actions required whilst heading off and doing the exact opposite of what they have promised.

This simply does not cut it, it is not good enough, it is as always, profit before all else, it is putting the interests of powerful lobbying groups and naysayers above the truth the urgency and the facts.

There is little doubt and no question that now is our last chance, and it is refreshing to see the increased news coverage of this most recent report and the fact that the language communicating the urgency has changed.

“It’s time to stop burning our planet and start investing in the abundant renewable energy all around us” 

There has never been a better time, with more pressing reasons and with more urgency to transition away from fossil fuels. 

“If we are to limit warming to 1.5C then net GHG (green house gases) emissions must peak by 2020 and at the latest by 2025” The latest IPCC report stated.

Rapid and deep CHG emission reductions must happen by 2030 to 2050. Currently we are on track to a median global warming of 3.2C, which will render much of our planet unliveable by 2100. 

There could not be greater urgency, or a better time to meet our commitments as a community, country and planet.

It was this Monday and hearing the results of this latest report that we have finally decided that the time for indecision is over, we have a 11KW supply of solar panels on our roof but we are going to add a further 17KW in the next 2 months, the loan has been approved to fund the system and we are ready to go. We have committed, we aim to produce as much of our electricity here on our farm from the sun as possible.  We are also in the next couple of weeks announce a partnership with a tree planting charity and donate a percentage of all our sales to planting more trees here in Ireland.

Kenneth

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.