If you find youreself in the Kildare region this month, a visit to Castlefarm is a must.  Castlefarm is nationally renowned as one of the top food destinations in the country.  As well as being awarded Bridgestone plaques for the past four years Castlefarm is a Teagasc organic demonstration farm.  Castlefarm sells its own farmhouse cheese, organic beef and pork, organic vegetables, organic eggs and seasonal chutneys and jams as well as other locally produced and Irish food.  Castlefarm not only produces good food but it also educates people about good food offering group tours of the farm as well as cookery demonstrations and producer talks. (more…)

WHEN it comes to adopting green parenting practices, being environmentally aware is not the same thing as being environmentally friendly, says green parent and ‘ mumpreneur’ Claire Lancaster, founder of Dandelion Lounge, a personalised stationery service with a focus on families.

” If you asked my mum raising a family in the Seventies if she was ‘environmentally friendly’ she wouldn’t have been able to answer the question, simply because the term would have meant nothing to her,” says Lancaster.

But in the Seventies, her mother opted for reusable terry-towelling nappies, walked everywhere, purchased from a local farm and greengrocers and didn’t go abroad for holidays. (more…)

Spring is in the air and as the weather finally changes, everyone around me seems to be coming down with a cold. Like so many Irish folks, I am sensitive to foods containing gluten.  And, I try to stay away from dairy in the damp weather.  And, I’m a vegetarian, hmm…. No meat, no wheat, and (mostly) no dairy.  Alas, I’m a professional cook so I spend a lot of time creating recipes to suit a variety of diets. Here’s one of my favorite cold weather  meals that’s tasty, satisying, easy to make and good for ya! (more…)

Irish company Ocean Energy, which designs turbines capable of converting wave power into electricity, has signed a major development deal with a US multinational.

Ocean Energy’s CEO John McCarthy said the agreement with Dresser-Rand would significantly develop wave energy in Ireland and should lead to the creation of thousands of jobs. (more…)

Instead of pushing your way through the hoards of disgruntled holiday shoppers in the large town shopping centre or supermarket chain, why not do your last minute Christmas food shopping locally. You’ll find lots of unique and interesting Christmas gifts for everyone on your list and at reasonable prices too. Plus you know the money you spend is going into the pockets of the local people and that money is likely to stay circulating in your local economy rather than traveling overseas.

GreenMe has been talking to some of the producers and suppliers listed on our directory and the overall feedback has been that they are having a busy season.

Below are some great food and beverage suppliers from around the country with how Christmas has gone for them so far and the great deals they have on offer

Kevin from Ardkeen Quality Food Store in Waterford has a few Organic Turkeys left. They sold out last year so my advice would be to get your order in quick. Their turkeys are locally reared and are only fed on natural feed stuffs, guaranteeing you a premium taste. They also have lots of local organic growers and food producers with very low food miles selling their quality produce in store

For farms such as Gubbeen in West Cork, the last few weeks have been a time of great confusion. Why their pork products were caught up in the decision to recall all pig meat even though they feed carefully (locally sourced GM free meal) to all their animals, milk herd, chickens and pigs is beyond me.

Giana from Gubbeen said that she took great solace throughout all this from their customers, “your understanding of the real message which we believe in, confirmed that small farms and artisan methods do mean something at a time like this – the message being: local small producers on family run farms with artisan skills do have something special to offer”

Giana would like to say a big thank all the customers who wrote, rang or just came to the markets with their shopping bags and bought Gubbeen Pork Products.

To order some fine Gubbeen produce including Ham, Salami, Cheese and Hampers ranging from ‚¬30 – ‚¬100, contact Giana or Clovisse and they can arrange delivery to your door with their night line delivery service.

Con from The Apple Farm in Tipperary has found the run up to Christmas very busy this year. People have been ordering their cases of juice online for delivery to friends as a Christmas gift. At a starting price of ‚¬35.95 per case of 12 large bottles, you can probably see why. Also people coming to the farm shop have been buying lots of fruit and juice hampers, which along with their preserves,local honey and cheese have proved very popular.

At their local farmers’ market Con made up a mulled apple juice for those whowere driving, using just the Apple Farm′s juice, cloves, cinnamon, and some brown sugar, which is even nicer to drink than a mulled wine, but less expensive, and without the hangover.

You can make this recipe by pouring a bottle of juice into a saucepan, adding one stick of cinnamon, a few cloves, a tablespoon of sugar, and warming to about 70 degrees for about 20 minutes.

So for a hassle free shop that supports the local community and helps retain much needed jobs, check out the GreenMe food directory for a local producer or supplier in your area

I am delighted to see that the magic of a good Christmas market is casting its spell over more and more Irish towns each year. Traditional Christmas Markets, held in cities, towns and villages throughout the country, are becoming increasingly popular. Not only do they evoke an enchanting festive atmosphere but in the ever present economic doldrums, they present the perfect and powerful answer to supporting your local economy!

For my book, I can simply not think of a better way of getting hold of that unusual or rare Christmas pressie that doesn′t smack of commercialism.  These markets are full of craft work, artisan foods and gift ideas that are not mass-produced but guaranteed real quality. Add to that a good splash of mulled wine and your favourite Christmas carols and I think you′re in for a real treat!!  Below I have listed the Chrismas markets I myself know about, and also those that our readers have kindly flagged to me!!  No doubt I have missed lots, so if you know of one that isn′t listed here, please drop me a quick email and I will be happy to add it! (more…)

What if you knew where your cotton socks came from?

Or knew about the person who picked your coffee beans?

What if you knew how fresh green beans come to sit on the supermarket shelf all year round…? Would you stop buying them? Or would you in fact start buying them?
(more…)

I am setting out to write this blog when I am hungry.  So inevitably it is going to be about good.  And even before I start to write I have decided what supper is going to be tonight! Staring from it’s lonely perch on my kitchen worktop is a slightly stale ciabatta loaf.

There was a time when dishes made from slightly stale bread was thrifty.  Now it’s fashionable!

However, in order to follow this fashion trend your bread needs to be of a certain quality that avoids the mass produced bleached variety.

What I’m talking about is a traditional well made loaf that has that baked in the over feel to it!

Stale is such a harsh word. It eludes to the offending bread no longer being edible.

Let me make my case, by sharing this mouthwatering fashionable but more importantly eco concious meal idea with you.

Panzanella

This tuscan salad (do not be put off by the word salad – this is really substantial) is a real treat which I usually leave for Friday night treat!  Really good chill out food.

I originally got this recipe from a now treasured pressie – one of my favourite cookbooks ; Something for the Weekend by Simon Rimmer

Ingredients

1kg/2lb 2oz fresh plum tomatoes (do not try this salad without good tomatoes – we are still in good tomato season until the end of September)
2 red peppers, skinned, seeds removed
2 yellow peppers, skinned, seeds removed
1 small red chilli, seeds removed, chopped
100g/3½oz capers, rinsed and drained
12 large green olives
1 ciabatta loaf (preferably stale)
4 tbsp red wine vinegar
5 garlic cloves, crushed
250ml/9fl oz extra virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
handful fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped, to garnish

Method

1. Skin the tomatoes by cutting a shallow cross into the bottom of each, then plunge them into boiling water for about 30 seconds.
2. Carefully transfer the tomatoes into a bowl of iced water. The skins should then peel off easily.
3. Cut each tomato into quarters, scoop out the seeds and place into a sieve over a bowl.
4. Press the seeds and pulp through the sieve to release the juice into a bowl. Put the tomato quarters into a separate bowl.
5. Cut each of the skinned red and yellow peppers into eight pieces and add to the tomato quarters.
6. Add the chilli, capers and olives.
7. Tear the ciabatta into large chunks and place into a separate bowl.
8. Add the vinegar, garlic and oil to the sieved tomato juice. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper and whisk well to combine.
9. Pour the tomato juice mixture over the ciabatta pieces and leave to soak for an hour.
10. Add the tomato quarters and peppers mixture to the soaked ciabatta and garnish with the basil leaves.
11. Serve in a large salad bowl and enjoy with friends and family!

And on that note, I must now sign off and tuck in!!

So the British Foods Standards Agency (FSA) has deigned down upon us all their view that organic food has no health benefits over “ordinary” food.  Funny how food that is produced by using chemicals and pesticides is now regarded as being “ordinary” food don’t you think?
It’s not natural, but thankfully and to much relief all round, the FSA has decreed it to be “ordinary”.  Phew!

It is even more funny (peculiar, not ha ha) that when you think about it that we are therefore the only species on the Planet who are eating “ordinary” food by choice because we are the only species on the Planet who deliberately “flavour” our food with such chemicals and pesticides.  (Of course many of these species now do partake of our chemical cocktail soup because they have no choice, but that’s another matter.)  By the way can we extend their analogy to things like “ordinary” weapons of mass destruction and organic ones?  Are “ordinary” WMDs better?

Do all those poor critters and plants know what they were missing before we came along?
Well maybe they do because other “scientific” reports indicate that about 67 million birds die each year in the USA as a direct result of the use of pesticides.  But of course if the FSA say there are no health benefits in eating organic food then who am I to argue?

Or what about the fact that the average Irish person eats about 7kg worth of preservatives and additives each year, many of which are carcinogenic and certainly aren’t healthy?  But no, the FSA says there are no health benefits in eating organic.

Or what about the fact that organic food has been shown to contain much higher levels of flavonoids, proteins and zinc for example than “ordinary” food.  These all been proven to have positive health benefits, but these scientific reports “weren’t relevant” to the FSA report. Of course not, you’d have to be an idiot to think they would be wouldn’t you?

Saying that organic food is no healthier than “ordinary” food is also a bit like the Chinese saying opening a new coal mine every week is going to boost their economy.  In fact the economic costs of doing so will far outweigh any potential benefits due to environmental degradation, pollution and massive health costs as a result.

Is the use of pesticides and chemicals any different in the long run?

Any scientific report to have credibility needs context, meaningful content and most importantly of all objectivity.

The FSA report lacks all three and therefore falls on its own sword of being – ordinary!
Do not digest it would be my advice – it could damage your health!

Tony Kearney
www.whoownsthefuture.com
07/08/09

What could be nicer than always having a big bowl of fresh, organic probiotic yoghurt ready in the fridge.

Making it is easy-peasy and I usually do it while having breakfast. It’s half the price of commercial stuff, and because it has fewer ingredients, it has fewer ‘food miles’ as well.  What could be better.

If you’ve made yogurt before, you probably bought some commercial live yogurt to start, and then saved a fwe scoops from each batch to start the next until, after a few goes, it lost its potency and you had to start again with fresh shop-bought yogurt. All of which was costly and unpredictable.

Well, not any more.

My new, foolproof technique has one crucial ingredient: some probiotic “pixie dust”, aka commercial yoghurt culture.  In other words, the culture that commerical yogurt producers use.

I sourced a sachet from someone selling yoghurt at Dublin’s Temple Bar food-market; it cost €10, and is good for 200 litres of milk… two years later I’m still using it (just store it, sealed, in the freezer)

Or, you can buy a box of 10 sachets here, and sign-up nine friends to share the box with you!

To make 2-litres of yoghurt:
You need:
2-litres of milk (full-fat works best, and I like to use organic)
A pinch of  probiotic  culture (less than 1/8 of a teaspoon works fine)
A timer (essential, so that you don’t forget the heating/cooling milk while doing something else, such as eating breakfast!)
A large bowl & lid to culture the yoghurt
Somewhere warm (I’m currently using a ‘nest’ made out of a sleeping bag (!) in a draft-free cupboard; but I’ve also used a tea-cosy over the bowl, and a south-facing window on a sunny day; and in winter, the warming plate from an old wine-making kit)

Method:
1] heat the milk until nearly boiling (about to lift off!) about 10 minutes.
2] Cool the milk, until it drops to about 45° (so you can just bear to stick a (clean) finger in it and count to 10).   I sit the saucepan uncovered in a sink of cold water for about 10 minutes; remember, the timer!  (if it gets too cold,  just heat it up again a little)
3] Pour the warm milk into the bowl (plastic is best for staying warm; if using glass/metal, preheat the bowl).
4] Add a pinch of the culture, and stir well.
5] Cover, and place somewhere warm and undisturbed for about 10 hours, or over night.
6] Cool fully, before refrigerating
7] Enjoy!

While culturing, try not to disturb it, as this can upset the process.

The bacteria double in number every 20 minutes, so if the yoghurt hasn’t set even after 10 hours, it may just need another 20-40 minutes (happened to me just the once); because it has probably cooled by then, simply transport the bowl (carefully) and set it in a basin of boiling water for 20-40 minutes.

This may sound elaborate, but it really is very simple.  Once you get the hang of it, you can do it in the morning while having breakfast, and come home in the evening to a batch of fresh organic yoghurt, and for a fraction of the price of commercial stuff.

And no plastic rubbish!

And, if you like that, I have a 101 tips for saving time, money and resources in my new book, Drive like a Woman, Shop like a Man.

(c) Mary Mulvihill 2009