Oyster Mushrooms, Ginger, French Beans and Charlotte Potatoes

This week we have Oyster Mushrooms and Ginger giving an Asian flavour to things. Last night I made a warm salad using this week’s French Beans (lightly steamed), the Mushrooms (panfried til golden) with a dressing of Soy Sauce, grated Ginger, finely chopped Garlic and a little Rice Wine Vinegar and Honey. It was so delicious that I actually ended up eating it at midnight last night instead of keeping it for lunch for today. I ate it on its own but it’s fab with steamed rice and/or some stir-fried tofu……..

Warm Asian salad with Oyster mushrooms, French Beans and Ginger

You’ll need:

200-250gr French Beans

200gr Oyster Mushrooms

1 small Onion

The dressing:

2 Tablespoon Soy Sauce

2 Tablespoons Toasted Sesame Oil

1 piece of Ginger about the size of your thumb

2 medium size cloves Garlic

A scant half teaspoon Honey

1 1/2 teaspoon Rice Wine vinegar

Top and tail the Beans and then stick them on to steam. This should take about 5-8 minutes;  enough time to get the Mushrooms ready. First of all, give them a wipe with a barely damp cloth or piece of kitchen paper (mushrooms should never ever be immersed in water as they end up completely sodden and it’s next to impossible to fry them). So, a quick wipe then slice them into large bitesize pieces. Heat some oil on the pan and them on then toss until golden brown which should take about 7 minutes. By this time your Beans should be just about ready – you want them with a bit of crunchy but with enough give so that they mix well with the other ingredients. Rinse them under the cold tap so they stop cooking and stay crunchy then drain completely and mix with the sauted Mushrooms. Finely chop your Onion and mix it into the Beans and Mushrooms.

To make the dressing, peel and finely grate the Ginger then remove the stringy bits. Very finely chop the Garlic  then mix all the dressing ingredients together.Taste and add more Soy, Vinegar or Honey as you see fit (it should be fine but just in case!!). Dress the vegetables and then serve warm or at room temperature.

The potatoes in your bag this week are the Charlotte variety and they are pretty fancy. Exceptionally waxy (I know, not very popular in Ireland but we’ve got the rest of the winter for floury spuds) they are fab in salads. Try them with this week’s Beans, Rocket or Lettuce, Walnuts and Goat’s Cheese. Dress with your best Olive Oil and some Sherry Vinegar – Enjoy!!

Juice Detox Recipes

Hi everyone,
After Christmas everyone seems to think that a grand gesture must be made to counteract all the excesses of the festive season but the truth is, with your bag of veggies or fruit and veggies you are already taking the first steps to “detox” or cleanse your body. Detoxing is something the body does naturally if you give it fresh healthy food. Something as simple as a little lemon juice in some hot water first thing in the morning is a fantastic way to get your digestive system going, eliminating all the toxins built up during the previous day while things you may be eating every day all have their functions - Apples are packed with vitamins and minerals, Celery is great for cleansing the liver while Carrots work on the kidneys.  Even humble Brassicas like this week’s Kale have fantastic cleansing properties.
If you’re busy juicing is a great way to go if you want to detox. You can pack the nutrients of a couple of kilos of fruit and/or vegetables into a single glass in a couple of minutes. As there’s no cooking involved, none of the nutrients have been destroyed by heat so it’s more nutritious than eating the same ingredients cooked. Plus, if you’re getting all the nutrients you need you’ll be less likely to crave the bad stuff (cravings are the body’s way of telling you you need something but for some reason this is usually interpreted as “time for another chocolate biscuit”) so they can be good for losing weight.
All of the ingredients in your selection this week can be juiced but some work better than others and I’ve put together a few basic juice recipes that use some of the easier ingredients to juice.

apples

Apples, Celery and Carrots – full of vitamins and antioxidants which protect and cleanse the liver which is where the body deals with most of it’s toxins so if it’s working properly so are you.
Beetroot – fantastic for cleansing/detoxing the blood and our digestive system as well as a million other properties. Flavourwise, it can take over in a juice so go easy until you get used to it.
Lemon – Citrus fruits are fantastic liver and intestinal cleansers and they work to protect against colds and coughs.
Ginger – Gently cleanses, aids digestion and also fights against colds and flu. It adds a lovely kick to almost any juice.
The proportions given are a guide, juicing is really a question of taste (and also what’s to hand sometimes). If you find the vegetable juices (especially the one with Celery) hard to take at first just add in more fruit at first. You’ll find that over time you’ll acquire the taste and you’ll be able to substitute more of the fruit for vegetables
These recipes make 2 glasses of juice.
Carrot, Apple and Lemon Juice
3 Medium Carrots
2 Apples
1/2 Lemon
Wash but don’t peel the Carrots and Apples then cut into pieces small enough to fit into your juicer. There’s no need to core the apples. Peel the lemon and cut into pieces.
Juice all the ingredients, stir and drink immediately.
Carrot, Celery and Apple Juice
3 Medium Carrots
2 Apples
2 Sticks of Celery
Wash but don’t peel the Celery Carrots and Apples then cut into pieces small enough to fit into your juicer. There’s no need to core the apples.
Juice all the ingredients, stir and drink immediately.
Carrot, Apple and Ginger Juice
3 Medium Carrots
2 Apples
1 piece of Ginger about the size of your thumb nail
Wash but don’t peel the Carrots and Apples then cut into pieces small enough to fit into your juicer. There’s no need to core the apples.
Juice all the ingredients, stir and drink immediately.
Beetroot, Orange and Ginger Juice
3 Oranges
1 Medium Beetroot
1 piece of Ginger about the size of your thumb nail
Wash but don’t peel the Carrots and Apples and peel the beetroot. Take the root and top from the beetroot.  Then cut into pieces small enough to fit into your juicer. There’s no need to core the apples.
Juice all the ingredients, stir and drink immediately

Ginger and Fennel

Hi everyone,

It seems like everyone’s got a cold at the moment so we thought we’d include Ginger in all our bags this week. Apart from the great taste (try it in any stir-fry to find out) it has amazing antiviral properties which mean that it can help purge the body of colds and viruses as well as boosting the immune system.

My first recipe is for a tea we drink in our house right through the autumn/winter months and it’s so tasty that you may well find yourself brewing it up regardless of whether you have a cold or not………….

Very comforting Ginger,Lemon and Honey Tea (for 2)

Take a 4cm piece of Ginger and slice it into rounds about 1/2 cm thick. Simmer in about 300ml boiling water for about 5 minutes then add the juice of 1 Lemon and 2 Tablespoons Honey before serving.

This tea without the Honey and Lemon is also great for upset stomachs.

Fennel is also in all our bags this week and it’s a variety some of you may not be so familiar with. Crunchy and sweet with a beautiful aniseed flavour it’s an obvious partner for any fish dish but don’t stop there, it’s great with all kinds of roasts.

You can keep things really easy by simply slicing it as thinly as possible then tossing  in lemon juice, a little Salt and your nicest Olive Oil. It can be quartered, tossed in Olive Oil and roasted in the oven, or you can dice it up and slowly saute in Olive Oil until it has almost caramelised (particularly good with any pan-fried fish).

One of my absolute favourite ways to eat Fennel is in a gratin with Sour Cream and Parmesan. Over the summer we went to Kerry where Paul caught lots of Seabass which is now in our freezer. Usually fishing trips  involve sitting in a boat from early morning to late at night waiting  and waiting and waiting (for the big one of course!!) but no fish are actually caught.  This time the gods smiled – a lot! Paul had some killer bait (don’t ask, if I told you he’d have to kill me) and he cleaned up. So far, our favourite way to enjoy it has been panfried with Garlic and Chilli served with mashed Potato with slowcooked Leeks and this amazing Fennel dish. Buy any fish you like and enjoy…

Fennel Gratin with Sour Cream and Parmesan

You’ll need:

500gr Fennel (about what you have in your bag this week)

5 Tablespoons Sour Cream (or nearly all of one those pots you get)

About 4 Tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan Cheese

Trim your Fennel bulbs (ie remove the herby bits) and slice as thinly as possible. Heat some Olive Oil in a pan and fry your Fennel slices until nicely browned and softened. Remove and mix with the Sour Cream and  about 1/2 Parmesan.Season with Salt and Pepper, top with the rest of the Parmesan and bake until golden brown (about 15 minutes) at about 180 degrees.

Hope you enjoy these recipes,

Have a fantastic weekend,

Sarah

Red Cabbage

Hi everyone,
 
This week our selections all have a Red Cabbage which, like all Cabbage, is packed with Iron, Calcium, Potassium and fibre and is high in Vitamins C, B1, B2. B3 and D. Like most veggies it is of course at its most nutritious if you eat it raw so I’ve always tended to use it in salads where it works really well with Carrots, all kinds of nuts, Avocado, Goat’s Cheese, Feta Cheese, Onion, Asian Flavours etc etc.

Recently though, I’ve start cooking with it and find it works really well in soups and stirfries. As the weather’s turned so nippy my first recipe this week is for a kind of Lentil soup/stew that is perfect for this kind of weather. It’s really simple to make and it’s a great way to get kids to eat loads of vegetables. As Lentils are so nutritious (they also lower cholesterol I found out recently) this dish is a meal in itself especially if you eat it with some brown rice.This recipe will give you enough for about 4 or 5 servings. Leftovers will freeze well or make a very quick lunch the next day with bread and cheese.

I should say that the list of ingredients is not at all prescriptive but a guide – feel free to add any root veg you have lying around as well as Celery, Peppers and Tomatoes. If you add spuds don’t add them until after the first half hour of cooking as they will fall apart and go to mush. Courgettes don’t really work as they just disintegrate and Aubergines need too much precooking which just slows down the cooking.

Puy Lentil Vegetable Soup

You’ll need:

Olive Oil

3 Medium Onions

3 Medium Carrots

200gr Mushroom (about what you have in your bag this week)

1/2 head Garlic

1 Tablespoon fresh Thyme or 1 Teaspoon dried (don’t worry too much if you don’t have this)

A couple of Bay Leaves

1 Red Cabbage

1 tin Chopped Tomatoes

250gr Puy Lentils (or any other kind you have)

2L Vegetable Stock (as usual I use Marigold)

As time is almost always of the essence for me these days rather than preparing all the veg before I start I chop and add the ingredients to the pot as I go. So, begin by chopping your Onions and saute over a low to medium heat in a generous amount of Olive Oil (ie enough to stop you having to stir things constantly). As the Onions get going dice your Carrots and then throw them in followed by the Mushrooms (roughly chopped). Add some Salt, the Thyme and Bay Leaves and turn up the heat slightly to allow the veg to fry rather than sweat for a few minutes. Roughly chop your Garlic and throw it in turning down the heat slightly. Shred the Cabbage and throw that in too. Cook for a few more minutes then add the Tomatoes. Rinse the Lentils and throw them in then add the stock.

Allow things to come to the boil then turn down the heat and cover. Cook for about 50 minutes stirring occasionally.

To serve drizzle a little Sherry Vinegar on top or sprinkle with grated Parmesan.

Another recent discovery for Red Cabbage has been stirfried with rice which you can serve with fish, tofu or dahl. Either way the red Cabbage looks gorgeous. As I mentioned above I tend to cook rice at the beginning of the week so I’ve always got something to take the panic out of cooking midweek. I prefer shortgrain Brown Rice which you’ll find in the healthfood shop (the Hopsack in Rathmines is my fav) as it’s way more nutritious than white and has a delicious nutty flavour

Stir-fried Red Cabbage with Ginger and toasted Pumpkin seeds(for 2)

You’ll need:

Enough brown rice for 2 people

2 Medium Onions

1/2 Red Cabbage

4-5 Cloves Garlic roughly chopped

A piece of Ginger about the size of your thumb peeled and minced

Fresh or dried Chilli (optional)

A handful of Pumpkin Seeds

Begin by chopping the Onions and shredding your Cabbage. Heat some vegetable oil on the pan and throw on the Onions and toss them over a medium to high heat for a few minutes. Add the Cabbage and continue to toss everything. Turn down the heat a bit and add the Garlic and Ginger along with a little Chilli of you fancy some heat. Continue cooking until the Cabbage has wilted and reduced in size and the Garlic has softened.

Add the rice and continue cooking until it has warmed through then turn off the heat. Toast the Pumpkin seeds on a dry pan over a medium heat until they have started to pop and change colour. Mix them through the rice along with a dash of Soy sauce or Tamari and serve.

Hope you enjoy these recipes,

Have a spooky weekend,

Sarah