Homemade Roast Tomato Sauce – Preserve for the winter

by Lou Robbie

Need an incredible tomato sauce? Just 4 ingredients needed for this deep, sweet, intense sauce. We grow the sweetest cherry tomatoes in the summertime. During peak season the vines are heaving with juicy fruit just waiting to be picked, packed and delivered to homes all over Ireland. And while we can’t grow them in the colder Irish months we can find ways to preserve them just like this simple recipe that only requires a few ingredients.

The joy of pulling your own organic tomato sauce from the freezer is truly satisfying. And the sweetness remains to add to your stews, soups and sauces all through the winter.

This recipe could not be easier, we hope you try it.

Lou 🙂

Ingredients: makes 1kg of sauce (1 big jar or 4 small jars)

Method:

Step 1: Preheat the oven 200ºC. Have 2 large baking trays ready to go.

Step 2: Wash the cherry tomatoes and discard the green stems. cut in half, place them on the trays cut side up.

Step 3: Drizzle with a small bit of oil, and season lightly with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for about 45 minutes, until they are soft and char around the edges.

Step 4: Scoop into a blender and blend until the desired consistency. Keep it chunky or smooth if you prefer.

Step 5: While warm pour into freezer safe jars or containers. Date and label for the freezer.

Defrost your preserved homemade organic roast tomato sauce in the winter months, when fresh ones are not available. Use it for soups, sauces, stews and more.

5 “Back to School” Handy Wholesome Dinners

by Lou Robbie

Back to school and back to busy schedules for the whole house! September can be a great time to reset your eating habits, its a bit like new year. We love to pull out the recipe books and plan some wholesome hearty meals, using lots of vegetables from the farm, to make September run smoothly and enjoy the cosy autumn evenings.

We’ve put 5 of our favourite recipes together for you. Most of them just need one pot and some need an extra one for the rice or pasta, so minimal fuss. The vegetables from the farm make each dish sing, cauliflower, courgettes, cherry tomatoes, squash, spuds and kale. Theres something for everyone.

We like to get back to having family meals together in the evening, talking about the school day, new friends, new subjects and all the time taking enjoyment in the food we eat.

We hope you enjoy these recipes, please let us know if you try them in the comments below.

Lou 🙂

Click on the recipe below to bring you to each recipe:

  1. 3 Bean Chilli – slow cooker

2. Veggie Thai Green Curry – slow cooker

3. Creamy Courgette Orzo Pasta– one pot

4. Cauliflower & Potato Satay Curry – one pot

5. Cherry Tomato Pasta – quick meal

5 “Back to School” Lunchbox Snacks

by Lou Robbie

The summer months seem to fly by in a flash! The kids will be back to school really soon and that means the return of the lunch boxes too! We will be making lots of yummy homemade snacks to help fill them. We love using wholesome organic ingredients to keep little tummies fuller for longer and help add some much needed nutrition for their growing bodies and minds.

Theres a few reasons why love to make homemade snacks for the lunchbox. They are cheaper to make than buying pre-made shop bought snacks. We know exactly whats gone into them, we can make them mostly organic and they are not individually wrapped in plastic. We can get our kids to help make them and thats pretty special too!

Here’s 5 recipes for you to save and try. They include healthy oats, dates, seeds, fruit and veggies, our online shop stocks most of the ingredients you need. We hope you give them a go, please let us know if you do, we love to hear from you.

Lou 🙂

Just click on the link below to bring you to each recipe:

  1. Blueberry Crumble Bars
  2. Energy Balls – Nut Free
  3. Carrot Cake Bliss Balls – swap the walnuts or pumpkin or sunflower seeds to make them nut free
  4. Sugar Free Flapjacks
  5. Carrot & Courgette Muffins

Chocolate & Coconut Milk – 3 ways

by Lou Robbie

This is a wonderful recipe. It can be dairy free, vegan, gf and its so simple and delicious. You can enjoy it in 3 different ways, hot to drink, cold to eat or whipped to decorate a cake or cupcake.

My kids love hot chocolate so we had our first batch warm with marshmallows and sweet waffle soldiers for dipping. The second batch was made into a set mousse and some was whipped and used as a delicious icing for our chocolate cupcakes.

We have some fabulous organic products that make this recipe extra special such as Amaizin Coconut Milk and Happy Chocolate, check them out in the shop.

Which way will be your favourite? Let us know in the comments.

Lou 🙂

Ingredients: makes 2 hot chocolates or 2 small mousses or frosting for 4 buns

Method:

Step 1: Open the tin of coconut milk and scoop out the thick creamy part put it in a small pot, use the liquid for smoothies and to thin out the hot chocolate.

Step 2: Chop the chocolate and add it to the pot too along with the maple syrup. Gently heat on the lowest setting until the mix is melted and silky smooth. Sprinkle in the sea salt and stir. 

Step 3: Decide how you want to serve it: Hot/Chilled/Frosting

For the hot chocolate, if its a bit thick thin with the coconut liquid, whisk well and pour into mugs and serve straight away.

For the mousse let the mix cool and pour into glasses or mugs. Cool completely and chill in the fridge for at 2 hours. Serve with fresh seasonal berries.

For the frosting, let the mix cool and set just like the mousse. Then whip it with an electric beater to loosen and smooth onto a cake or cupcake. If it is hard to spread, dip a pallet knife in boiling water, dry it off and smooth on the frosting.

Lavender Shortbread Biscuits – Vegan version

by Lou Robbie

Beautiful calming lavender, the scent is so distinctive, even the bees can’t resist it. I have a huge lavender bush in my small front garden. It has grown so much in the last 3 years. I just love how natural it is and how much the bees adore it. This is my first time baking with its pretty purple buds and it won’t be my last.

These shortbread biscuits are delicious, yes they taste floral but thats the point. If you are not swayed by the lavender just use the zest of a full lemon or orange in its place.

We hope you try them, they are the perfect tea time sweet treat. Browse our baking aisle for the organic dry ingredients.

Lou 🙂

Ingredients: Makes 18

  • 175g soft vegan butter
  • 2 tbsp fresh, unsprayed, finely chopped lavender flowers (pick them off the stems to measure)
  • 100g caster sugar
  • 250g plain flour
  • Sprinkle of brown sugar

Method:

Step 1: Line an 8in x 8in baking tin with parchment paper. 

Step 2: Beat the butter and lavender together first to get the best flavour from the lavender. Beat in the sugar then mix in the flour to form a dough ball. 

Step 3: Gently press the dough into the prepared tin, use an extra square of parchment paper to smooth out the dough with your hands, get it right into the corners.  Remove the extra parchment paper and discard.

Step 4: Use a butter knife to mark the dough into 18 biscuits, cutting right to the bottom of the tin, see the photos.  Prick with a fork and sprinkle with brown sugar. Put the tin in the fridge to firm up for 1 hour. 

Step 5: Preheat the oven 170ºC. Bake the shortbread for 20-25 minutes until pale brown.

Let them cool completely then cut again along the lines to separate and enjoy with big mugs of tea. 

Chocolate Nut Slice- No Bake

by Lou Robbie

Summer snacking has become a new event in our house. But rather than picking up the individual plastic wrapped treats from the shops we are making the effort to make our own. The results are very tasty!

We did a bit of a cupboard raid for these and added some peanut butter and pecans. You can add any chopped nuts you fancy to the chocolate topping. Raisins would work here too!

Save this recipe to try. And please let us know if you do, we love to hear from you. As usual, find all the organic ingredients you need in the shop- most are in plastic free packaging.

Lou 🙂

Ingredients: makes 8 big slices

  • 2 cup oats
  • ½ cup peanut butter
  • 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 4 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
  • 2-4 tablespoons water (depending on how dry the mix is)
  • 150g dark chocolate
  • 1 heaped tablespoon coconut oil
  • 2 tablespoons pecans, chopped (or what every nuts you fancy)

Method:

Step 1: Line a small tray or lunch box with parchment paper 15cm x 20cm approx.

Step 2: Add the oats, cocoa powder, peanut butter and honey to a blender. Blend until combined. Check the consistency of the mix, if its dry add a small spoon of water and blend again. And add more water if it’s still dry. Then mix should stick together when it’s ready, test a piece with your fingers.

Step 3: Tip the mix onto the tray and smooth it into the corners using a second piece of parchment paper.

Step 4: Melt the chocolate and coconut oil in the microwave or in a heat proof bowl over a pot of simmering water. When melted add in the chopped pecans. Pour this over the base. Then put it in the fridge to set completely, at least 1 hour.

Slice into bars. Enjoy

Blueberry Nice Cream – 3 Ingredients

by Lou Robbie

Purple, creamy, simple, quick and tasty! We have been stocking and selling Organic Irish Blueberries they are selling really well this season. This recipe is a nod to our friends at Banner Berries (Co. Clare), keep up the great work.

Blueberries are packed with antioxidants that are great for our bodies and skin. Blended with bananas this makes a delicious healthy treat and a super substitute for regular ice cream.

Check out our organic blueberries and add them to the cart along with your fair trade bananas and give this a whiz.

Enjoy,

Lou 🙂

PS- We made this in a Ninja nutri blender – any smoothie blender will do.

Ingredients – 1 big serving

1 cup organic blueberries, frozen

1 big or 2 small organic bananas, frozen

dash of milk – (dairy or non dairy)

Method:

Step 1: Peel, break up and freeze the fresh bananas and blueberries for 4 hours.

Step 2: Once frozen add the banana pieces and blueberries to the blender cup.

Step 3: Pour in a dash of milk, not too much and blend until smooth and creamy.

Step 4: Scoop and serve straight away. Enjoy.

Recipe roundup – Broccoli

by Simone Kelly

Coming in fresh from our fields right now, broccoli is a powerhouse of nutritional value and it just tastes fantastic.

Click on the bold part to go straight to the recipe. Happy cooking!

enjoy x

Cherry Tomato Pasta (Galway Grown toms)

by Lou Robbie

It is July and there are ripe red cherry tomatoes being harvested on the farm, they are then packed and delivered across the country to your doorstep. My kids and I saw them growing first hand, in the tunnels, at the farm walk last Saturday and it truly made me appreciate how special they really are.

A simple dish like this really celebrates the cherry tomato. This recipe was shared by an Italian Nonna (granny) she said using the best ingredients is what matters most. I think she’s right. Like her I added some bicarbonate of soda to the sauce this balances the acidity in the tomatoes and really elavates the sweetness. Try it and tell us what you think!

Lou 🙂

Ingredients: Serves 2

Method:

  • Step 1: Rinse the cherry tomatoes and cut them in half. Finely slice the garlic cloves.
  • Step 2: Warm a wide pan on a medium heat. Add a good glug of oil to the pan along with the sliced garlic, cook for a minute.
  • Step 3: Pour in the cherry tomatoes cook for a few minutes. Then add the bicarbonate of soda, chilli flakes, sugar and salt. Simmer for 5-10 minutes, until the tomatoes start to soften.
  • Step 4: Meanwhile, cook the pasta in boiling salty water. Then add straight to the cooked tomatoes, stir to coat, add the fresh basil leaves and serve up. Bellissimo!

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!