The dressing
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 clove garlic, grated
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
3 tbsp peanut butter
juice of a small lime

For the salad
1 red and 1 yellow pepper, deseeded and cut into small strips
2 spring onions, finely sliced
1 carrot grated
1/3 cucumber, cut down the middle and using a teaspoon scoop out all seeds then slice thinly
bunch of coriander, roughly chop up
2 tbsp sesame seeds

Take 1 Packet of rice noodles, approx 200g, soak in boiling water for 10 mins checking for them to go nice and soft…but you don’t want them to fall apart!

For the dressing, whisk together all the dressing ingredients in a bowl or jug.

For the salad, place all the salad ingredients into a bowl. Pour over the dressing and mix thoroughly to coat everything well. Eat!

Ingredients:

4tbsp vegetable oil
100ml maple syrup
4tbsp honey
300g rolled oats
200g rye or spelt flakes or just more oats
3tbsp sunflower seeds
4 tbsp sesame seeds
3tbsp pumpkin seeds
100g dried fruit, sultanas, raisins, blueberries… anything you fancy
50g almonds

Heat oven to 150C/fan 130C/gas 2. Mix the oil, maple syrup, honey in a small sauce pan and heat gently, stiring to combine.
Weigh out all the remaining ingredients, except the dried fruit into a big bowl,then add the oil mixture and mix well.
Tip the granola onto two baking sheets and spread evenly. Bake for 15 mins, then mix in the dried fruit and almonds, and bake for 10-15 mins more. Remove and scrape onto a flat tray to cool.

Serve with a mixed green salad and a combination of grated fresh courgette and carrots dressed with light lemon juice and olive oil dressing.

Pancakes:
120g fine maize meal
80g spelt flour
Pinch smoked paprika
Black pepper
Large pinch salt
3 eggs
450mls milk
Olive oil

Method:
Sift flours, spices and salt together into a bowl. Whisk the eggs in a jug, add the milk, then whisk them into the flour to get a smooth pouring batter. Heat a frying pan, preferable a crepe pan but if not then a good non stick one will do (I just treated myself to a great ‘healthy’ non-stick pan from the CookShop in Bantry – it’s a great addition to the kitchen). Brush with olive oil and pour a ladle of the mix into the pan, swirl around to evenly coat the pan and cook for a minute or two before flipping over for the same time on the other side. This batter will make approx 12 pancakes (you won’t need that many but it leaves room for a few trial runs!!) The quantities for the filling are rough as you can use more of any of the ingredients that you like or you simply have more of!

Filling:
1 medium butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and diced
1 big onion, sliced
Olive oil, for roasting
200g to 250g feta cheese
small bunch fresh sage, chopped finely
70g butter
Salt & Pepper

Toss the squash and onion in oil and roast on 200 degrees until soft approx 25 minutes (you can leave the oven on as you will be using it again to reheat the filled pancakes). Melt the butter and add the chopped sage, heat through for a few minutes. Crumble the feta into the squash, adding the sage but keeping back a little of the butter to brush over the pancakes. Season after tasting the filling as the feta can be very salty.

Assemble:
Divide the filling roughly into 6 in the bowl. Spoon 1/6 of the mix into the pancakes, spread it out across in a sausage shape and roll up. Brush the tops with the rest of the Sage Butter and place in the oven (medium heat) on a baking tray on a sheet of parchment paper for 10 minutes. Serve when piping hot!

Use a pasta of your choice, I use Biona Spelt spaghetti or tagliatelle but penne will work too. This recipe is delicious with really fresh local courgettes!

1 small onion, chopped
2 tblsp olive oil
salt and pepper
1 clove garlic, more if you like more….
4 or 5 small courgettes, sliced on the diagonal
Bunch fresh thyme, taking leaves off the stalks
Bunch of parsley, chopped
1/2 Small tub of creme fraiche, 100mls approx
Zest and juice of 1 small lemon… an organic or at least unwaxed one
Some freshly grated Parmesan or Manchego
and if you want to make it richer 75g soft goats cheese

Method
Heat olive oil and cook onion for 5 mins until soft with a pinch of salt and some pepper.
Put the pasta on to cook with lots of hot water and a pinch of salt.
Then add the garlic to the onions and cook for a few more minutes, before adding courgettes and thyme. Cook for a few minutes until courgettes are soft then take off the heat and add the lemon juice, zest, creme fraishe and parsley.
Drain the pasta when its cooked and add to the sauce, stir, adding the grated cheese (and the goats cheese if your using it) and enjoy!

• Baked Feta Muffin with Pecans served with fennel and orange salad €9.95
• Roasted Onion, mushroom and feta Filo Pastry €9.95
Both served with a garden salad and rosemary roast potatoes

• Light Mezze Plate €8.00

• Lemon Tart and cream €4.75
• Summer Fruit Trifle €4.75

Glass of organic wine €4.25
San Pelegrino €2.75
Tea or coffee €2.00

Tel 027 55905 or email info@organico.ie

There are lots of ways of making pancakes and I like all of them, but sometimes I just want the pancakes my mother made. This recipe is pretty close, although I use Spelt flour instead of the wholemeal pastry flour she would have had. These pancakes are thin (though not as thin as Crepes) and you roll them and eat them with your fingers all sticky with lemon, honey or maple syrup. Of course you can use jam, argave syrup, or even sugar, and some people like adding bananas and berries…and the milk can be switched for soy milk or rice milk if you prefer.

Ingredients:

Enough for 4 people as a light brunch

250g Spelt Flour (a mixture of white and brown is nice) with a nice pinch of sea salt
2 organic eggs, lightly beaten
600mls approx organic milk

Lightly whisk the spelt flour in a bowl to get rid of lumps, then add the eggs into the middle of the flour and whisk in. Add the milk slowly. Try to whisk out as many lumps as you can but don’t worry too much – if you can let the mixture sit for about half an hour the lumps will mostly have gone.

For frying: a little sunflower oil and a little butter

To serve: at least some runny honey and a fresh lemon cut into quarters.

The first pancake is always a bit of a mess, it’s really for telling you how much mixture you need for your frying pan and how much oil. You want a thin coating, under a ladle full for a normal size pan, and you want to cook it lightly until it lifts off the pan at the edges (a couple of minutes at most). Keep them warm and keep cooking until you have used up the batter!

These pancakes can also be used as a main meal served with vegetables in a cheesy white sauce for example… you can make them a little thicker and keep them in a warm oven filled and rolled until ready to eat. Enjoy! Hannah Dare

Have you ever heard of Keffir? It is a drink, made mainly from milk and a starter substance called ‘Keffir Grains’ that act like a yoghurt started and ferment the milk in a particularly health and I think very tasty way. It has been credited over the years with incredible health benefits ranging from digestive benefits to immune system benefits to anti-cancer and increased life-span. I cannot attest to any of those except digestive – it works wonders on a disturbed tummy!

The name Keffir comes from the Turkic-Mongol word ‘Kief’ which means ‘a good feeling’. This is why I am writing about Keffir – because drinking it makes me feel incredibly good. Taste wise it is smooth and creamy and sour and refreshing, a bit like a strong plain yoghurt. And it has all the health benefits of yoghurt and more – in addition to beneficial bacteria, keffir is said to contain many minerals & essential amino acids. Because the milk protein is broken down in the fermentation process it is much more digestible than milk in its original form. It can also be made from rice or soy milk.

If you have the ‘keffir grains’ Keffir is pretty easy to make at home – easier than yoghurt in fact. But getting the grains can be difficult! You need to find someone who has them and is willing to share. If you would just like to try it out then call in to Organico – we have a 500ml drink available that comes with our weekly vegetable deliver which is made with organic milk and is reasonably priced. If you don’t live near here look out for ready-made Keffir in a Russian or Eastern European food shop.

If you would like to read more about Keffir this site has some interesting information on its history and how to make it.

The 10 scientifically researched benefits of eating miso:

1. Contains all essential amino acids, making it a complete protein.

2. Stimulates the secretion of digestive fluids in the stomach.

3. Restores beneficial probiotics to the intestines.

4. Aids in the digestion and assimilation of other foods in the intestines.

5. Is a good vegetable-quality source of B vitamins (especially B12 – important if you’re vegetarian).

6. Strengthens the quality of blood and lymph fluid.

7. Reduces risk for breast, prostate, lung and colon cancers.

8. Protects against radiation due to dipilocolonic acid, an alkaloid that chelates heavy metals and discharges them from the body.

9. Strengthens the immune system and helps to lower LDL cholesterol.

10. High in antioxidants that protects against free radicals.

Flavour
Miso has a wonderful sweet/salty flavor that can be used in a wide variety of recipes. The color of miso can vary from light yellow, good to use in a sweet miso soup during warm weather, to a deep dark brown with earthy tones and hearty flavor, great in stews. It can be cooked with cubed root vegetables, wakame sea vegetable and dark leafy greens during the colder months. When cooking with miso use just enough to enhance flavor and avoid overpowering the dish with a strong salty taste. Add the miso at the end of cooking to avoid killing off the natural enzimes when boiling.

I was intorduced to miso as a child, we were always given miso soup when we were feeling sick. It is the simplest recipe I think I have even cooked. You can use any type of veggies you like or have but the quicker cooking ones are best as the soup should only take a few minutes to prep and cook.

Ingredients
1 Carrot, sliced finely
1 medium onion or a leek, sliced and if you are using a leek wash it
1/3 red pepper, sliced
handfull of kale or spinach, washed and chopped
small bunch of corriander, chopped
a few teaspoons of miso depending on how many people are eating
Nori flakes for the authentic Japanese flavour (available in healthfood stores)

A few cups of boiling water in a sauce pan, add the onion and the carrot and simmer for a few minutes until they still have a bit of bite. add the pepper and the kale and cook for another 2 or 3 minutes, take off the boil. Put a heaped teaspoon full of miso into a cup (if its the darker type you might need a little less as its stronger) pour in a little if the soup liquid and dissolve the miso in it. Ladle out a bowl of the soup and add the miso paste to taste, this way if you want to reheat the soup later you just add more miso so as to not kill the enzymes by reheating. Some fresh corriander and Nori flakes on top finishes it off. Enjoy!

Information from www.care2.com

150g Quinoa

4 Beef Tomatoes

1 Onion, thinly sliced

1 garlic, clove

1/2 Jar Roasted Red Peppers (100g) we have a great brand that is organic, called

Handful of mint, parsley and coriander, chopped roughly

1 lemon juice

Seasoning

100g Feta Cheese, crumbled

Heat Oven to 200 degrees/gas 6

Wash quinoa in a sieve to get rid of the slightly bitter taste then put into a small pan cover in cold water and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, drain if necessary and leave to cool slightly.

Saute the onions on a low heat for 10 minutes, then add the clove of garlic and cook for a further couple of minutes. Cut each tomato a third of the way down and scoop out the inside with a teaspoon take care to keep the tomato intact. Do the same to the lid, chop up the inside discarding any of the hard in side bits. Add the tomato bits to the cooking onions and garlic stir for a minute and than take off the heat.

Put chopped herbs into a bowl adding lemon juice, olive oil, feta, roasted peppers and some fresh black pepper, mix well then add the cooked onions mixture and the quinoa stir until everything is combined, then taste adding a little salt if necessary.

Using a spoon, fill each tomato case with the quinoa mixture, top with the lids, place in an oven proof dish and drizzle with a little olive oil, then bake for 20 minutes or until soft.