Baking with vegetables fills us with joy. Courgette is a great vegetable to bake with and paired with chocolate it works very well. My kids ate big slices and didn’t notice the green vegetable….I said nothing just incase.
We added cane sugar that is a healthier option over refined white sugar, or you could add coconut sugar too if you like. Our courgette season has come to an end but you can still get the best courgettes from our organic grower in Spain.
This is a delicious chocolatey moist cake we hope you try it.
Step 1: Pre-heat the oven to 180C and grease and line a loaf tin. I use a liner.
Step 2: In a large mixing bowl, stir together the self raising flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cocoa powder and sugar until well combined
Step 3: Grate the courgette into the bowl along with the dark chocolate chips, stir everything together
Step 4: In another bowl or large jug, whisk together the eggs, vegetable oil, vanilla extract and yoghurt. Pour the egg mixture into the bowl of flour/courgette etc and stir everything together until well combined.
Step 5: Pour the mixture into the loaf tin, top with chocolate chips and bake for 1 hour, or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool fully
Store leftovers in an airtight container in a cool place and eat within 3 days
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.
This soup really celebrates the crops that are being harvested at this time of the year. Knobbly celeriac, earthy potatoes from the farm, crisp Irish apples and lovely iron rich spinach. Theres great comfort in a big bowl of flavourful nourishing soup.
This is sure to boost your immune system and keep winter bugs at bay.
1 – 1.2 litre vegetable stock – add more if needed
50g baby spinach
salt and pepper
Serve with crumbled feta, seaweed flakes, extra virgin olive oil
Method:
Step 1: Warm a wide pot on the hob and add the oil, onions and celery. Sweat down for 5-10 minutes. Add the garlic, cook for a further minute add a good pinch of salt and pepper. Then add in the celeriac, apple, potatoes, stock and stir. Simmer on the hob for 30 minutes until all the vegetable are soft.
Step 2: Next add the baby spinach and blend the soup to your desired consistency.
To serve crumble on some feta, sprinkle seaweed flakes and finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
Barmbrack is a traditional Irish bread eaten at Halloween. Celts would celebrate Samhain, the beginning of winter with this fortune telling tea brack. A ring, a coin, a piece of cloth and a small stick were baked in the bread and would tell the fortune of those who found them. The ring is the most common symbol still today, it means marriage for the lucky finder!
We are proud to farm in the fields of our ancestors and celebrate their Samhain traditions. We would encourage you to make your own barmbarck this Halloween and talk about all who baked this delicious bread over hot coals.
Step 1: Place the fruit mix in a bowl and pour over the hot tea, discard the teabags. Allow to soak up the liquid overnight. The next day strain the fruit, but keep the liquid.
Step 2: Preheat the oven to 170ºC, and grease and line 8inc round cake tin. Put the brown sugar in a mixing bowl with the egg, whisk well, add the liquid from the fruit and whisk again. Sift in the flour, baking powder and mixed spice. Gently fold in to make a smooth batter. Then stir through the fruit mix until everything is thoroughly combined.
Step 3: Spoon the wet dough into the lined tin, poke a hole and add in the ring, smooth the top and place in the oven on the middle shelf and bake for 50 minutes – 1 hour. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before removing from the loaf tin and placing on a wire rack. Serve in slices spread as it is or with some butter.
Optional: To make the sugar syrup, mix 1 tablespoon icing sugar with 2 teaspoons boiling water until smooth, then brush over the cooled barmbrack to give a nice glaze.
This is a lovely bake to try with the kids over the Halloween break. Its a one bowl recipe where they can use their hands to mix the ingredients and shape the cookies. We’ve added juicy organic Irish apple and spice to make a delicious tasting cookie. White chocolate and googly eyeballs are optional, but big glasses of milk are a must!
Baking with kids is a great opportunity to talk about the food we eat. I like to tell my young kids where and how food is grown. We talk about sugar cane and how flour comes from wheat, we talk about bees playing their part to pollinate the plants etc. Apples are grown around the world and in orchards in Ireland too.
Step 1: Preheat the oven 170ºC fan. Line 2 baking trays with parchment paper.
Step 2: Measure the oats, brown sugar, cinnamon or spice mix, baking powder into a mixing bowl, stir to mix.
Step 3: Next add the butter, eggs, honey, and grate the apple straight into the bowl, skin and all. With clean hands give it a good mix – get the kids to do this part!! Shape into a round in the bowl.
Step 4: Scoop or spoon 12 cookie dough balls onto the baking trays. Push down to flatten and keep in a circle if you can. Bake for 25 mins until golden brown.
Step 5: Drizzle with melted chocolate and add eyeballs if its Halloween.
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
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.
Sweet Irish parsnips are plentiful in October. They are a wonderful root vegetable with a distinctive flavour that fills the house when its cooking.
My mother would always serve them mashed with carrots with our Sunday dinner. I don’t remember having them any other way as a child! Now I like to roast, steam or slow cook them to intensify the flavour. Here we’ve swapped the common potato for parsnip in a really tasty rosti. Made even more flavoursome with the punchy apple aioli on the side, you wont regret trying this one.
Lou 🙂
Ingredients: Makes 12 small rosti and a pot of aioli
For the rosti
450g parsnips, peeled and coarsely grated 1 medium white onion, peeled and coarsely grated 1 egg 6 tbsp plain flour pinch salt and pepper
For the apple aioli 2 apples, peeled, cored and cut into chunks 1 garlic clove, peeled and finely grated 1 tbsp cider vinegar 180ml mild olive oil. salt and pepper
Method:
Step 1: Grate the parsnips and onion and put them in a bowl, squeeze out any excess liquid, and season with salt and pepper. Crack in the egg and spoon in the flour. Mix well with your hands.
Step 2: Make the aioli. Cook the apple in a small pot with a splash of water until soft for 5-10 minutes. Set aside to cool. Then add to a small blender along with the grated garlic, cider vinegar, salt and pepper. Blend again and very slowly pour the oil in to emulsify the sauce. Taste it and adjust if needed.
Step 3: Cook the roti. Warm a non stick frying pan on a medium heat, add some oil to coat the pan. Spoon on 3-4 parsnip mounds and gently push down to flatten. cook for a few minutes on either side until golden. Repeat. Fry in a small bit of butter and then serve alongside the delicious aioli.
Organic orange pumpkins are sweet and delicious and marry perfectly with banana, spices and chocolate! While the supermarkets are jammed with ornamental pumpkins, in October, that will be carved and go to waste we think its much better for the planet that we roast them and cook and bake with them as nature intended.
This recipe will give you a delicious bread that isn’t too sweet or spicy its just right. Add butter if you like and tea or pumpkin spiced latte!
Keep cosy with this one.
Lou 🙂
Ingredients: ▪️100g pumpkin puree (*homemade see below) ▪️2 large ripe banana ▪️4 tablespoons neutral oil ▪️2 medium eggs ▪️70ml maple syrup ▪️300g plain flour ▪️2 tsp baking powder ▪️1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda ▪️2 tsp mixed pumpkin spice or ground cinnamon ▪️80g chopped dark chocolate
Method:
*Follow the link to make your own pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice mix-Click here
Step 1: Preheat the oven 160ºc and line a loaf tin with a liner or parchment paper.
Step 2: Mash the bananas well and add them to a mixing bowl along with the pumpkin puree, oil, eggs, maple syrup, mix well.
Step 3: Sieve in the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, mixed spice. Stir gently, then add 3/4 of the chopped chocolate. Spoon into the loaf tin. Smooth the batter and sprinkle with the remaining chopped chocolate.
Bake for 35-45 minutes until cooked through. Test with a skewer. Cool and slice.
Autumn squash soup with lots of roast garlic and warming spices. This is a hug in a bowl and we’ve even added a cheese toastie for extra comfort. You can easily swap the butternut squash for Kuri (pumpkin) squash to make an equally delicious bowl of soup.
Roasting the veg first is key to getting in those extra sweet and caramelised notes and we’ve made the prep part easy by just chopping everything in half and loading it on to the roasting tin. We’ve added some lovely sweet Irish carrots, cherry tomatoes from our tunnels and the best of Irish organic onions.
Step 1: Prepare the veg: Chop the squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Wash and chop the carrots in half, slice the top off the bulb of garlic, peel and half the onions. Wash the tomatoes. Put all the veg on a baking tray.
Step 2: Sprinkle with paprika, cumin, salt and drizzle in oil. Roast in the oven for 40 -50 minutes, test everything is cooked by piercing with a sharp knife.
Step 3: Put all the cooked veg into a powerful blender along with hot stock. Blend and then add to a pot with the coconut milk, gently heat through on the hob and serve.
A delicious way to bake with ripe sweet plums. But please make this with Irish apples too, it would work perfectly! The smell of warm autumn spices in the house is very inviting. My granny would make huge trays of apple and cinnamon crumble for special family occasions and serve them up with stewed plums and jugs of custard, I can still remember the smell from her busy kitchen.
There is real comfort in the food we eat and share. And when the nights draw in its the kitchen table that pulls us together. Its good to remember the hands that sowed the seeds, that watered the soil, picked and harvested the fruit and the hands that made the food.
Good food will always be remembered.
Lou 🙂
Ingredients:
For the crumble topping 50g plain flour 40g soft butter 30g sugar 20g flaked almonds
Preheat the oven 160ºC fan. Line an 8inch cake tin (with loose bottom preferably) and grease with butter.
Step 1: Make the crumble topping. Add the flour, sugar, cinnamon and butter to a small bowl. Rub the butter into the dry ingredients with your fingers until it resembles sand, mix through the flaked almonds, set aside.
Step 2: For the sponge. Put the sugar and butter in a mixing bowl and whisk until smooth, use an electric mixer or regular whisk. Next beat in the eggs one at a time then stir in the sour cream. Sieve in the flour along with the mixed spice and cinnamon. Fold in the ground almonds.
Step 3: Transfer the sponge mix into the cake tin. Top with an even layer of most of the plum slices, keep a few back. Then sprinkle the crumble mix evenly over the plums. Top with the remaining plum slices.
Step 4: Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour. Until a skewer comes out clean.
