Loss leaders and multitasking

by Kenneth Keavey

I am sitting here on our tractor at the bottom of the farm as I write. The tractor ironically being the noisy beast it is, is a great place to find peace. There is something highly satisfying about tilling the land.

As much as there is a business to be managed, the luxury of being in the field at least on occasion is something that really grounds and reconnects a person to nature. Whilst margins and spreadsheets and efficiency ratios are all important all of these things can sometimes cloud the real reason of why it is we do what we do.

Don’t pay enough attention to those variables of course and the tiling of the land is nothing but an idle dream. Pay too much attention and you run the risk of getting lost and losing track of “The why”. It was brought to our attention last week by ‘the traveling stoic’ on Instagram that ‘the restrictive practices order 1987 prohibits the sale of grocery products at below net invoice price’ but this law does not include fresh produce! It is deemed permissible to allow loss leading on all things fresh, and that includes you may be surprised to learn not only fruit and vegetables, but also milk, meat, and fish.

All our primary producers are essentially being told: ‘We don’t value what you do and we will sell your produce for less than the price of production.’ This is upsetting on a number of levels, but especially when you consider the time, energy and care each producer puts into their produce. It is demoralising and financially unsustainable. We know we cannot possibly compete with supermarkets.

As I was writing this on my phone, for some mad reason spell check but in ‘cartels’! maybe that is a more apt description of these institutions!Supermarkets can afford to squeeze the producers, they have all the power, they can dictate terms. This approach has led to more and more growers saying enough is enough, and sometimes over the seemingly paltry sum of 5c per piece.

That is a sad situation. Those skills especially when it comes to vegetables as there are fewer and fewer of us are gone for ever. Many moons ago we decided that we would quit supplying supermarkets for good. It was a decision taken in the heat of the moment, which usually are very poor decisions indeed. We were told one Monday morning that unless we reduced our pricing and became responsible for the waste in their stores we should look elsewhere for custom.

I can’t say here what I said then, but we never supplied those supermarkets again. It was rash, but it meant we doubled our efforts at making a successful business of growing our own food and supporting other Irish growers and delivering direct to you, our customers.

We, only with your help are still here today 18 years later and we are thankful for that. I think Emmanuel (our farm manager) may be getting a little concerned now, not having seen our tractor move for some time. Writing and tiling are very difficult endeavours to multitask at! So, I think it’s time to put the phone down and get back to it.

Until next week thanks for your support.

Kenneth

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!

A funny story about a lorry and a field

by Kenneth Keavey

Four Guinness Barrels and some scaffolding planks, that was our first makeshift packing table. My dad myself and Jenny used to pack all the boxes and then load them into the back of our small Peugeot partner van. I would head out do the deliveries and the packing week would end with a bottle of wine at about 12am on a Wednesday night, all deliveries done.

Life seemed Simpler then, but our mind often plays tricks on us, remembering the sunshine and forgetting the rain: who remembers summers that were hotter drier and longer when we were kids? (Or were they?).  There was little money for anything, we made do with whatever we had. Jenny was working full time and that was our income.

Our packing week may have finished on Wednesday, but the working week never actually finished. We didn’t have the luxury of somebody to look after quality or packing or the farm, it was all done by us. Now we have great people doing amazing work, the care that goes into the packing each one of your orders certainly puts my early days of packing to shame.

I remember those days of not having a cold room to store our produce and of going out to the local pub carpark to meet the trucks to hand ball and unload some of our bought in produce.

There was one very funny, (well funny now, not funny then) incident where an artic truck came onto our farm, despite insistent communication that there was no way to turn a truck of that size. As I was eating my dinner one evening there was this giant truck parked right outside our house and the delivery driver waving in at me!

The driver decided on his own initiative to turn in our front field, needless to say this monstrous truck got stuck in the muck. Luckily through the kindness and help of two neighbours with very big tractors did we manage to get the truck out of that field.

These were the trials and tribulations of starting out in farming and business and making it up as we went along. But when all was said and done, we did what we did because we wanted to produce and sell sustainable food grown without chemicals, we wanted to do it whilst respecting nature and biodiversity and doing what we could for our planet in our own little corner of the world.

We did that and planted trees and hedgerows and food and got through those first few tough years. It struck me as the bean counters were totting up the figures for last year that although we are bigger now, we are back to the point of having to make difficult decisions to ensure we keep the farm and business afloat.

As Teagasc published another report detailing the pressures facing primary vegetable producers this week, with some farms closing their doors for good, and the amount of land area being farmed for vegetables decreasing due to the financial strain, it makes me wonder when will the value in good healthy fresh food be realised. When will the devaluation of fresh food by supermarkets end, when will they see the “value” rather than the “cost” in healthy fresh food.

As we look to the year ahead there is uncertainty. We are not sure what is to come, nobody is. This is our first ‘normal’ year in three years and for a business and farm it is hard to know what will be thrown at us, but whatever happens we will never compromise on our values.

Thank you for your support.

Kenneth

Cauliflower recipe roundup

by Simone Kelly

Cauliflower doesn’t just taste great, it’s also really good for you. It’s high in vitamins C and K, and is also a good source of folate, which supports cell growth and is essential during pregnancy. On top of that, it’s high in fiber, calcium and potassium.

Here are a few ideas if you’re unsure what to cook with cauliflower. Click on the bold part to go straight to the recipe.

enjoy x

Solidarity

by Kenneth Keavey

We all like to feel that we belong to something. At the very least we are all members of the human race, we have a nationality, we are from this county or that. There is of course much more to it than that, and on this day of all days, it seems relevant and right to speak about it.

The great Irish green wave can be seen far and wide on St Patrick’s day, a day when we celebrate being Irish and there are many things to celebrate, and food is certainly one of them.

Ireland is a nation of food producers; you would be forgiven then for asking the question why is it we import more than 70% of our vegetables. There are some pragmatic reasons for this. Next week we will come to the end of our Irish carrots, and we must import to fill the gap, the season is over. Seasonality is a major factor in supply. But when in season there should be no reason not to source Irish vegetables.

The Irish organic vegetable sector is a small niche within the overall Irish vegetable sector, which in itself is small. But there is something that makes the Irish organic sector special.

In my experience the Irish organic vegetable growers that I know are doing what they are doing because they believe in a better food system. They have no interest in putting chemicals on our food, they are interested and actively looking to improve conditions that help biodiversity thrive.  They plant trees, they manage and look after their soil, they are interested in protecting our planet and ensuring that they are doing what they can to mitigate climate change and finally they all want to produce healthy happy food. This I think is a shared and common belief.

Because when it comes down to it, why on earth would anybody start growing vegetables on a small scale in Ireland? Why, when it is impossible to compete with supermarket prices, when it is hard work for little return, there must be a bigger guiding principle.

These growers are opting to take the path less travelled because they believe it is the right thing to do.

The same could be said for you, you may be sitting at home or in your car or wherever you are reading this, you too are choosing a different path. We know it is more convenient to pick up your produce in the supermarket, we know you take the time and make the effort to read our little posts and order from us, some weeks, every week or once in a while.  This makes you part of a community of people that are taking action and making positive changes for our planet, because you value biodiversity and you value eating healthy food.

Earlier this year we planned out our farm, and I wrote about how we have cut back on growing certain crops.  We have passed on the responsibility for producing these crops to others organic growers here in Ireland, we know too that they share our values. At the time this was a difficult decision but now as I look at this in a new light I realise that in essence we are stronger together and that hopefully this small step will lead to a better stronger more resilient Irish organic vegetable sector.

So for the day that is in it, I would like to raise a glass to you for your continued and appreciated support, and to all the other Irish organic vegetables farmers out there, grappling with exactly the same challenges as us, we are all in it together!

Here’s to a greener future!

Kenneth

Swede recipe roundup

by Simone Kelly

A beautiful winter root vegetable, yet often overlooked – the humble Swede! Swedes are an excellent source of potassium, calcium, magnesium, and vitamins E and C. They also contain a moderate amount of folate, a B vitamin that’s important for metabolism, protein synthesis, and DNA replication. So they’re not just versatile and tasty, but really good for you! We grow swede each year right here on our farm, from seed. It’s beautiful to see them grow.

Here’s our Swede recipes – klick on the bold parts to get directly to the recipe page.

Enjoy x

Veggie Irish Stew Pie

by Liz Child

This is ultimate comfort food, and the perfect dish for a family feast. Our veggie version of the classic Irish stew is hearty with beans and lentils. Chunks of sweet root veg and meaty mushrooms simmer in a broth of bouillon, dried mushrooms and bay leaves. We’ve taken the potatoes out of the stew and put them on top in the form of colcannon. This pie is so so delicious, packed with healthy veg and heaps of flavour, you’ll be coming back to this again and again and again.

Liz x

Ingredients (serves 6)

For the stew:

  • 2 tbsp vegetable bouillon powder
  • 1 tsp dried mushrooms 
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1 liter just-boiled water 
  • a little oil or butter for sautéing 
  • 2 onions, roughly diced
  • 3 carrots, cut into chunks
  • 3 celery sticks, sliced
  • a couple of parsnips or a 1/4 of a celeriac, cut into bite sized chunks
  • 200g chestnut mushrooms, halved
  • salt & pepper to taste
  • 1 tin cooked lentils, drained
  • 1 tin cooked beans, drained
  • 3 tbsp cornstarch, mixed with enough cold water to make a slurry

For the colcannon:

  • 10 or so potatoes, boiled
  • 150g kale, thinly sliced
  • 3 scallions, thinly sliced
  • butter, salt & pepper to taste 

Method

  1. Gather and prepare the vegetables, get the potatoes into salted water to boil and turn the oven on to 200C to warm up. Pop the kettle on.
  2. Pour a liter of boiling water into a jug with the bouillon powder, dried mushrooms and bay leaves. Stir well, this is your broth.
  3. Then, in an oven and hob safe pot, sauté the chopped onion, carrot, celery, mushrooms and parsnips/celeriac with the oil and a little salt and pepper. Stir over a medium-high heat for around 7 minutes or until the vegetables take on some colour and start to soften and reduce. Now add the broth, beans and lentils to the pot and simmer the stew for around 10 minutes.
  4. Meanwhile make the colcannon. Once the potatoes are boiled, tip the sliced kale into the pot and let it boil for just a minute. Drain and mash the potatoes and kale together with plenty of butter. Stir in the scallions and season to taste with salt and pepper.
  5. The stew should be ready, now it will just need thickening. Pour the cornstarch slurry into the stew and stir over the heat until the stew has thickened up. Then top with the colcannon and run a fork over the top to even it out and rough it up.
  6. Bake it a hot oven until the top has browned and crisped up a little and the stew is bubbling. This should take around 15-20 minutes if you get it in the oven whilst still hot. Enjoy!

Children and our connection to our food

by Kenneth Keavey

Back in March 2019, it seems like an age ago now, just before the world went a bit sideways we had a visit from a local national school of 60 or so excited children.   It was a wet windy and extremely mucky day. The kids were here to learn about food and how it’s inextricably linked to sustainability, healthy eating, climate change, and crucially the health of our land and soil.

That is me trying to share my food vision with my daughter by getting her to eat broccoli 13 years ago and failing!

They had such fun. I think my favourite moment of the tour as I was digging carrots was watching all the small hands grabbing and grappling in the mucky soil to pull out those lovely little carrots.  At one stage, in a field completely saturated with muck and water there were sixty children running and jumping all over the place, loving nature and being outside. I did extend a little compassion to the teachers who would have to round them all up at the end of the day!

They were very enlightened little people; they knew about the bees and about pesticides and climate change.

It’s funny that whilst us adults will do all we can to avoid the muck and the puddles, children embrace the messiness of it all. They are instinctively happier outside and seem to have an innate appreciation of the beauty of nature and just get on and have fun whatever the weather, and after harvesting those carrots they were adamant they were going to eat them all for their tea, and I bet they did.

What we as adults do now and the vision of the earth our children learn to see will shape the future of our planet. We are the guardians of that vision, and it would be wise to remember they do as we do; not as we say.

A little example and a little nurturing are all it takes to open our children’s eyes to the value of food. Some of the kids I spoke to thought carrots came from a supermarket shelf not from a field! You should have seen their excitement when they pulled their first carrot ever.

This disconnection from the land and the growing of food is the product of our modern food system. For most of us we are only 2 generations removed from having grown our own carrots.  How easy to change this and re-educate both ourselves and our children about the value of food, about the origin of food, and about the value of the land that we tread upon beneath our feet.

“Despite all our accomplishments we owe our existence to a six-inch layer of topsoil and the fact that it rains” Paul Harvey

We are not all blessed with a little patch of ground… I get that, but we all can manage a little flowerpot on the windowsill planted with some seeds, and how exciting to see the plants flourish. 


Maybe we owe it to ourselves and to our children to find out a little more about how our food is produced?

Kenneth

Good dirty soil and lemons not suitable for vegans…

by Kenneth Keavey

When I was a young teenager I used to work every summer for a farmer, he had a saying “there is nothing like good clean dirt!” And in fact, there was a lot of truth in that, even though at the time I had no idea what he was talking about.

A customer contacted us during the week and was concerned about the wasted soil on some of our vegetables that gets washed down the sink, and rightly so. We have thought about this long and hard and totally agree that soil management is critical to healthy food and a healthy planet.

Dirt, clay, soil the stuff that gets stuck under your fingernails is good for us. It is actually pretty healthy to get it on your hands, in fact research has shown that getting your hands stuck in clay may actually ease depression. (Mycobacterium vaccae the bacterium is found in soil and may stimulate serotonin production is currently under study)

Some of our produce comes with dirt on it, we know it takes a little more effort in the kitchen and time can be in short supply, we know when you have a busy household the last thing you want to do is to wash dirty carrots or parsnips.

But here’s the thing we are not hiding anything, you can see the dirt and it has a very important function. It is a natural preservative, it keeps the veg fresh, it keeps the flavour in. You can smell the freshness when you wash one of our dirty parsnips. Crucially leaving dirt on your veg actually helps reduce food waste!

It also avoids an energy intensive and water intensive washing process, and eliminates the need for plastic packaging plus it maintains the nutrient content of the produce

The great thing of course about soil is it can be washed off.

This unfortunately is not the case with chemicals. Many are systemic in nature, (simply put they get inside the plant or food and stay there).

Some chemicals are applied to the skins of fruits and vegetables to preserve them. The most commonly known ones are the fungicides mixed into the waxes and applied to citrus fruit.

It turns out that one of the big supermarkets are now kindly putting the names of the chemicals mixed in with the waxes on their loose citrus fruit on their website. Have a look see for yourself. (Check out the description on loose lemons on this retailer’s website. I’ll give you a hint it is a large multinational supermarket.)

Under Description (and remember this is for Lemons!) it starts by “not suitable for vegans….” Hmm now that is definitely an interesting one.

This is what is found on your conventional (Non organic) LEMONS:

Here is the list we found (Depending on country of origin, the treatment varies)

Spain:                     Imazalil/Thiabendazole/Pyrimethanil & Wax E914, E904

Morocco:               Propiconazole/Pyrimethanil/Imazalil & Wax E914, E904

Egypt:                     Imazalil/Thiabendazole & Wax E904, E914

Peru:                       Imazalil/Orthophenylphenol/Thiabendazole & Wax E903, E904

RSA:                        2,4 D/Imazalil/Thiabendazole & Wax E914, E904

And here are some fun facts about these hidden gems:

Imazalil is a suspected carcinogen and a probable endocrine disrupter (compounds that mimic or inhibit the body’s hormones, generally not good for us)

Thiabendazole is a probable endocrine disrupter

2,4-D falls into a class of compounds called endocrine-disrupting chemicals.

So, unlike the dirt on our parsnips which is harmless, and could be argued is actually improving our health, extending shelf life, locking in flavour, cutting down on plastic and can be seen, these hidden compounds reside on much of the conventional fruit that is purchased in supermarkets and are bad for our health.

Here’s to good clean dirt!

Kenneth

https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/citrus.php

BEANS beans good for your HEART!

by Lou Robbie

We are celebrating “Heart Health” this week and no better way to do so than with a warming bowl of homemade heart healthy beans!

The food we fuel ourselves with is so important when it comes to our hearts. This homemade beans dish packs in RED (like the heart) ingredients; onions, tomatoes, peppers and paprika these are all great for lowering the chances of heart disease. The beans of course are a great source of fibre that also contributes to a happy healthier heart!!

We’ve topped our beans with a protein packed poached egg, but add tofu if you wish.

All the organic ingredients can be found in our groceries www.greenearthorganics.ie/

Lou 🙂

Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 400g beans (choose black, kidney, butter or cannellini) – drained
  • 400g chopped tomatoes
  • 1 red onion, finely diced
  • 1 red pepper, finely diced
  • 2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon chilli – optional
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 teaspoon honey or maple syrup
  • To serve poached eggs or tofu and fresh chopped parsley to sprinkle

Method:

  1. Warm a frying pan on a medium heat and add the oil.
  2. Add the diced red onion and cook to soften for 5 minutes.
  3. Tip in the diced red pepper and cook for a further 5 minutes.
  4. Add the salt, pepper, paprika, cumin, chilli and honey, stir in and cook the spices for a few minutes, if they begin to catch add a tablespoon of water.
  5. Pour in the tinned tomatoes and stir in the drained beans.
  6. Simmer on low for 30 minutes. Taste the beans and adjust the seasoning if needed.
  7. Poach an egg or two in a separate pot then serve up.
  8. Scoop the beans into a bowl top with an egg or two and some chopped parsley if you are feeling fancy.