Double Chocolate – No Bake – Brownies – VEGAN

by Lou Robbie

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.

Enjoy

Roast Pumpkin, Kale & Feta Salad w/ Roast Garlic Dressing

by Lou Robbie

You can have your Pumpkin and Eat it!! Pumpkins are not just for decoration around Halloween they are sweet, earthy and delicious to eat. The skin is edible too, just wash them well and slice into thin wedges. You can make this salad with butternut squash too if you wish, it will be equally delicious.

Salads are not exclusive to the warmer months. We like to serve the pumpkin and roast red onions warm from the oven with shredded kale and crumbled feta. Pomegranate is recommended for colour and pops of sweet and sourness.

Organic ingredients are “Better for you and Better for our Planet”.

Lou 🙂

Ingredients: serves 4

  • 1 small pumpkin, chopped deseeded, sliced into wedges
  • 1 medium red onion, sliced into wedges
  • pinch salt/pepper/paprika

For the dressing

  • 1 bulb of garlic – roasted until soft
  • 1 tablespoon light tahini
  • 100ml neutral oil
  • 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
  • salt and pepper

To finish

  • 1/2 pomegranate, deseeded
  • 100g kale, washed, stripped off the stalk & very finely chopped
  • 180g feta- sheep’s cheese feta used here
  • 1/2 tin chickpeas – drained (200g)
  • 2 tablespoons toasted pumpkin seeds

Method:

Step 1: Preheat the oven 180ºC. Prepare the garlic bulb, chop off the top of the bulb to expose the cloves. Put the pumpkin wedges, red onion wedges and garlic bulb on a baking tray. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and a bit of paprika drizzle with oil, rub the veg to coat in the oil and seasoning. Roast veggies for 30 minutes. the garlic may take 10 minutes longer.

Step 2: Add the finely chopped kale to a mixing bowl, drizzle with a small amount of olive oil, season with salt and pepper and massage with your hands to tenderise.

Step 3: To make the dressing add the soft roasted garlic to a small blender along with the tahini, oil, cider vinegar, salt and pepper. Blend until completely smooth. Taste and adjust if needed.

Step 4: Build the salad. Add the kale to a big serving plate, top with the chickpeas, layer on the roast pumpkin, red onion, break over the feta. Roll the pomegranate to loosen the seeds, with a wooden spoon to dislodge the seeds and scatter over the salad. Sprinkle with pumpkin seeds and top with the roast garlic dressing.

Recipe Roundup – Courgettes

by Simone Kelly

Courgette season is in full swing and we are harvesting these dark green beauties both from the tunnels and from the fields. Fantastic in savoury dishes, of course, but did you ever bake a courgette cake?

Click on the bold part to go directly to each recipe

Enjoy x

Date Caramel – 4 Ingredients

by Lou Robbie

This is our ‘guilt free’ caramel sauce. It’s refined sugar free, dairy free, nut free, gluten free, vegan and so creamy … a lovely treat!

Our organic dates are just amazing, they are full of fibre and antioxidants. They are great for your gut and bone health, a natural sweetener and are so easy to store and cook with. I’m never without them. Having a jar of this date caramel in the fridge is just the best when you want a spoon of natural sweetness added to your overnight oats, creamy porridge, yoghurt, toast/ oat crackers, chocolate milkshake, smoothies or banana nice cream. Try it you and you won’t be disappointed.

We have big and small packets of organic dates as well as medjool dates available in the shop all in compostable packaging.

Lou 🙂

Ingredients – makes 1 jar

Method:

Step 1: Put the dates in a bowl, cover with boiling water to help them soften for 10 minutes. Then stain and discard the water.

Step 2: Add the dates to a blender along with the non dairy milk, vanilla and sea salt. Blend until really smooth. I use a smoothie blender for this, it works a treat.

Step 3: Taste the sauce and add more salt if you wish. Scoop the sauce into a clean jar and store in the fridge for 1 week.

Serving suggestions: Add a spoon to your morning oats, eat on crackers or toast with banana, drizzle over pancakes and waffles or with vanilla ice cream….enjoy!

Crispy Parmesan Potatoes

by Lou Robbie

Boy do we love our potatoes. Nothing excites us more than finding new ways to cook them. This recipe is a must try before you die…lol!! Buttery, cheesy, big flavour from the garlic and aromatic from the hints of fresh rosemary. They are pretty special.

To get the flavour right to the centre score the potato with a crisscross this makes all the difference.

Our Irish grown Elland potatoes work great for these. We’ve made ours in the air fryer for speed and convenience but you could cook them in the oven too, they might take a bit longer.

What do you think? Will you try them?

Lou 🙂

Ingredients: serves 2 as a side

  • 5-6 small potatoes
  • 80g butter
  • 70g grated parmesan
  • 3 garlic cloves, crushed
  • pinch salt & pepper
  • 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped

Method:

  • Step 1: Air fryer method: Begin by washing and cutting the potatoes in half. Then with a small sharp knife score a crisscross on each half of the potato.
  • Step 2: Melt the butter in the microwave or small pot. Pour it into the air fryer basket toss in the crushed garlic cloves, add 1/2 of the grated parmesan and give it a stir. Place the potatoes cut side now on into the basket. Air fry at 200ºC for 20 minutes.
  • Step 3: Take out the garlic cloves and discard. using a spoon carefully turn the potatoes and season with salt and pepper, add the remaining parmesan and sprinkle over the chopped rosemary. Air fry for a further 10 minutes.
  • Oven method: Cook in a preheated oven at 200ºC but use a deep roasting tin. Follow the steps above, if the potatoes are still hard after the cooking time, leave them in the oven for a further 5-10 minutes.

Summer Strawberry Pots

by Lou Robbie

Strawberry season is just the best in Ireland. There’s the smell of fresh cut grass in the air and the gentle hum of bumble bees busy and all the kids are out on their bikes making the most of the summer days. On warm days all everyone wants is cool fuss free snacks just like this one. They can be eaten out on the step so there isn’t a minute of fun to be missed!

We are treating these special Irish strawberries simply with sugar and lemon to draw out the delicious vibrant red syrup. Strawberries love vanilla so add a hint to the creamy base.

The window is short for our organic strawberries this year so get them while you can.

Lou 🙂

Ingredients: makes 2 pots

  • 10 ripe strawberries
  • 1 heaped teaspoon icing sugar
  • juice 1/2 lemon
  • 150g ricotta cheese
  • 100g greek/plain yoghurt
  • 1-2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
  • mint to garnish- baby leaves, finely chop them if they are big

Method:

  • Step 1: Finely slice the strawberries and add them to a bowl, sprinkle over the icing sugar and squeeze the lemon juice, mix with a spoon, leave to macerate for 10 minutes.
  • Macerating means that the sugar draws the juice, to make a syrup, from the strawberries while adding sweetness and flavour from the lemon.
  • Step 2: In a separate mixing bowl add the ricotta, yoghurt, honey and vanilla, mix well. Spoon this into the 2 glasses.
  • Step 3: Top with the macerated strawberries and top with torn or baby mint leaves.

Carrot & Broccoli Salad (4 ingredients)

by Lou Robbie

The summer is a busy time juggling work, child care, holidays and making the most of the long sunny days. It’s great to have a few super quick salad recipes that take minutes to make but are top on taste!

This is my mothers signature salad. She gets requests for it when we have family get togethers. Its perfect for lunch with soda bread or for supper with some boiled eggs.

Next time you have some Irish organic carrots and broccoli in your veg box give this a go.

What’s your favourite raw vegetable in a salad? Let us know if the comments.

Lou 🙂

Ingredients:

  • 1 small head of broccoli
  • 3 carrots
  • 3-4 tablespoons mayo (regular or vegan)
  • ⅓ cup salted or roasted peanuts
  • Pinch black pepper

Method:

Step 1: Chop the broccoli florets into bite sized pieces, add them to a mixing bowl. You can chop or grate the stalk too, or keep it to chop for a stir fry.

Step 2: Grate the carrots, add them to the broccoli.

Step 3: Season with a pinch of salt and pepper then mix in the peanuts and mayo. Taste it and then transfer into a serving bowl.

Enjoy with a selection of salads and bread.

Air Fryer Honey Roast Carrots w/ Whipped Feta

by Lou Robbie

Carrots are super versatile, economical and tasty! Carrots as a kid were boiled and boring but roasted with a bit of sweetness and spice they make a delicious sharing dish. We are hitting all the flavour profiles with this plate, sweet carrot, salty feta, bitter toasted pumpkin seeds and sour notes from the lemon zest!!! Try it out and get your taste buds tingling.

Serve up as a tasty snack, have it with a green salad or with some toasted sourdough..yum.

Try it soon and let us know what you think.

Lou 🙂

P.S. If you don’t have an air fryer simply roast the carrots with oil, s & p, for 15 minutes @ 180ºC then add the honey and cumin and roast for another 5 minutes.

Ingredients: serves 4 as a side dish

  • 500g carrots (about 5 medium)
  • 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup
  • 1 heaped teaspoon ground cumin
  • 2 teaspoons oil
  • pinch salt and pepper

For the whipped feta

  • 150g feta
  • 100g greek yoghurt
  • 1/2 lemon zest
  • pinch black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

Plus 80g toasted pumpkin seeds

Method:

  1. Scrub and peel the carrots
  2. Chop into 4 long pieces and add them to a mixing bowl and toss in oil, salt and pepper.
  3. Add a 1/4 cup of water to the bottom of the air fryer basket. Place the carrots on the rack and air fry for 15 minutes at 180ºc, shake half way through.
  4. While the carrots cook, make the whipped feta, simply add all the ingredients to a mixer and blend until really smooth. I used my Ninja smoothie maker, any small powerful blender will work.
  5. Back the carrots after the 15 minutes are up, drizzle over the honey and sprinkle the cumin, give the carrots a shake and cook for a further 5 minutes at 200ºc.
  6. When the carrots are done, toasted the pumpkin seeds in the air fryer for 5 minutes at 200ºc.
  7. Pour the whipped feta into a bowl, pile the carrots on top and scatter the pumpkin seeds over both.

2 Ingredient Chocolate Mousse (Chocolate & Butternut Squash)

by Lou Robbie

Chocolate mousse with hidden butternut squash, we couldn’t wait to try this one!! An indulgent chocolate mousse that is made mostly of healthy stuff sounds too good to be true.

This one pass the test with my kids and the butternut squash went undetected! The mouse is delicious on its own but if you want to give it a lighter texture try folding whipped cream through it, this is how I served it to my kids.

TIP: For a really tasty mousse its important to use a good quality chocolate.

Will you try it?

Lou 🙂

Ingredients:

  • 700g raw butternut squash – peeled and cubed
  • 400g good quality chocolate, chopped (you can use your favourite milk or dark chocolate)
  • Serve with a dusting of cacoa powder, whipped cream or cremé fraichê and toasted hazelnuts or almonds, banana or raspberries would be delicious too

Method:

  1. Peel, deseed and cube the butternut squash. Put it in a medium sized pot cover with cold water. Put on the hob, bring to a simmer and cook until completely soft, 20-30 mins.
  2. Melt the chocolate in a microwave or on a double boiler on the hob.
  3. When the butternut squash is cooked, strain and add to a blender along with the melted chocolate.
  4. Blend until silky smooth.
  5. Pour into a large bowl or individual bowls. Leave to cool on the worktop then transfer to the fridge to set for at least 4 hours, overnight if possible.
  6. Dust with cocoa powder and serve!

Cauliflower Fritters

by Liz Child

These curried cauliflower fritters are simple to make but taste absolutely incredible! We love them with a lime, coriander and yoghurt dip for lunch, or they make a spectacular side to a homemade curry. The batter is made with chickpea flour, so nutritious and with a gorgeous savoury crunch, it’s the perfect way to elevate the humble cauliflower. Give these a try and let us know how you get on.

Liz x

Ingredients

  • 1 mug chickpea flour
  • 1 tbsp curry powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • black pepper to taste
  • 3/4 mug water
  • 1/2 a cauliflower, finely chopped
  • vegetable oil for frying
  • 1/2 pot natural yoghurt
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 lime, zested and halved
  • a large handful of fresh coriander
  • flakey salt to serve

Method

  1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the chickpea flour, curry powder, salt and pepper with the water. You should be left with a smooth, fairly thick batter. You can add more water if it needs.
  2. Chop up the cauliflower (include any leaves) and stir through the batter to evenly coat the pieces.
  3. Heat up a couple of cm of vegetable oil in a deep frying pan to shallow fry the fritters in. While it is heating, get a plate ready with a piece of kitchen paper to drain the fritters on after frying. You can also make the dip now too. Zest the lime into the yoghurt and squeeze in half the juice. Cut the other half of the lime into wedges to squeeze over the fritters later. Chop up the coriander and stir through the yoghurt with a little salt and pepper.
  4. Now the oil should be hot and you can fry the fritters in batches. Use a serving spoon to dollop the batter into the hot oil. After a few minutes, when golden brown, carefully turn the fritters and fry the other side. Careful not to splash hot oil on yourself us you turn the fritters. Use a spatular and a spoon to turn and lower the fritters without splashing.
  5. Remove the fritters when they are cooked and place on the kitchen paper to drain. Then keep frying in small batches until all the mixture is used up.
  6. Serve sprinkled with flakey sea salt and lime wedges. Dunk in the yoghurt and enjoy!