Dorcas talks food

Taste Council – Food Summer School 2012

September 15, 2012
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Despite a struggling economy and all the related problems that arise out of this, here in Ireland we have an amazing food industry that is not only growing and expanding, but is also resulting in an array of exciting food events.  For some reason, many of these seem to be concentrated into September/October so it always ends up being a super busy time.  This year’s food-crazy autumn kicked off with the Taste Council Summer School 2012 on the 30th August 2012 at BrookLodge in Macreddin Village in Wicklow.

The Taste Council was set up in 2003 and stands for Traditional Artisan and Speciality Trade Expertise in food.  It is a voluntary representative group for the smaller food business sector and is made up largely of local, artisan and speciality food producers.  The Summer School is the organisation’s annual initiative in conjunction with Bord Bia to celebrate and discuss the contribution of artisan and speciality food producers to the Irish economy.

This year’s Summer school was an incredible day of discussion, debate, sharing opinion and of course, outstanding food.

Kevin Sheridan, Professor Alan Reilly & Evan Doyle at the Summer School 2012

Kevin Sheridan, Professor Alan Reilly & Evan Doyle at the Summer School 2012

The focus of the morning session at the Summer School this year was ‘label protection’ for the artisan label producer and the artisan fishing fleet.  John McKenna hosted the presentations by Raymond O’Rourke (PDO/PGI Label), Pat Lalor (Farmer), Eddie O’Neill (Teagasc), Prof. Alan O’Reilly (FSAI), Aoife Carrigy (Media) and Kevin Sheridan (Taste Council).

The panel discussed the issues of PDO/PGI’s (Protected Designation of Origin and Protected Geographical Indication) in Ireland, of which there are only 8 at the moment in Ireland.  Also discussed was the general public perception of terms such as ‘organic’, ‘natural’ and ‘local’ and what they mean to Irish food.  Raymond O’Rourke told us that while 33% of people think that ‘natural’ means ‘organic’, 34% of us buy local (a higher figure than the UK).

Suzanne Campbell then chaired a discussion on label protection for the artisan fishing fleet in Ireland with a focus on better traceability and the increased need for knowledge of seasonality of fish.  Following a delicious lunch in the orchard (in gorgeous sunshine), we took part in a world café debate where everyone discussed the issue of labelling with regard to the food story.

World cafe debate at the Taste Council Summer School 2012

World cafe debate at the Taste Council Summer School 2012

Our discussion groups were mini ‘speed meetings’, allowing everyone to give their views on the topics presented in the morning sessions.

Bord Bia then introduced their new ‘Origin Green’ label, presenting a Brand Ireland Product which will encourage export opportunities, domestic sales, food tourism and employment.  The ‘origin green’ presentation video with Saoirse Ronan was viewed, showing the level of commitment and work that Bord Bia have devoted to this exciting project for Irish artisan and speciality producers.

Our day ended with an incredible meal.  It would be very difficult to pay due homage to the range of outstanding dishes that were on offer at the long table tented meal, suffice to say it was by far the best meal, with the highest quality produce, that I have eaten in a very long time.  This was an exciting start to all the events coming up this autumn in the food world in Ireland, and as a taste of things to come, fills me with promise for the future and quality of Irish food.

Category: Events, Irish Food | Leave a comment

Vegetable tagine

August 8, 2012
Vegetable Tagine

Spicy vegetable stew prepared in a traditional moroccan tagine

At this time of the year, I cook and entertain a lot.  It could be for 6, 12 or as much as 20 so I am always on the lookout for recipes that work well for large groups.  This year, there is an added challenge, as I made the decision a few months ago to cut meat out of my diet.

Now when I cook to entertain, I cook meals that can easily be adapted to both meat and non-meat eaters.  My pile of recipes to try out this summer looks like this!

Recipes waiting to be tested

Recipes waiting to be tested

One of these meals that works really well for everyone is tagine.  I now cook a vegetable tagine with separate spiced meat brochettes for meat eaters so that everyone is happy.  The trick with the tagine is to keep the vegetables cut into large pieces for texture and to layer them with those that take the longest time to cook on the bottom.

It’s lovely to use a traditional terracotta tagine to make this dish.  Mine is not glazed, so I need to soak it for a few hours before I use it, to prevent any cracks in the pot while cooking.  You can of course use any covered casserole pot that can go on the hob or cooker top.

Soaking a terracotta tagine

Soaking a terracotta tagine

First start by frying 1-2 onions on a low heat in the base of the tagine.  Add 1 or 2 teaspoons of harissa to this mix (depending on how much heat you want), 1 teaspoon of ground coriander, 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds, 1/2 teaspoon of tumeric, 2 cinnamon sticks, a small handful of golden sultanas and plenty of seasoning.

Frying onions and spices for a vegetable tagine

Frying onions and spices for a vegetable tagine

Once the onions start to soften and cook, start to layer the vegetables.  You can use any vegetables you like, but my favourites are courgettes, carrots, aubergines, peppers and spring onions.  Once the vegetables are layered, pour over 250-300ml of vegetable stock (depending on the size of your tagine) and close the lid.  I sometimes add a little saffron strands which have been soaked in warm water for a few minutes to the stock, and sometimes some drained and rinsed canned chickpeas if I want a more substantial tagine.  It’s really easy to change any ingredient in the dish, as long as you stick with the same format of cooking.

Layering the vegetables for a tagine

Layering the vegetables for a tagine

Allow to cook for about 1 and a half to two hours over a low simmer, resisting the urge to peak if you can.  When you are ready to serve, sprinkle with lots of fresh coriander.  Make sure as you serve that everyone gets some of the amazing sauce at the bottom of the dish.  Anna Hansen’s ‘cauliflower couscous’ from the wonderful The Modern Pantry, also works really well with this tagine.

Category: All the veg, Family Feasts | Leave a comment

Sea beet – wild dark leafy greens

June 14, 2012
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Wild and wonderful sea beet

So far, this year’s absolute standout discovery for me has been learning about the wonderful dark green leaves of wild sea beet.  I was shown this abundant plant on a recent guided foraging trip and was really excited to learn that it grows from spring to autumn if picked regularly.  The sea beet patch I am picking from has kept me supplied in green leaves for weeks now, and is also tall enough to pick without worrying about whether dogs have used it as a tinkle stop.

Sea beet is delicious cooked in any recipe you would use spinach in and, in fact I think it’s even nicer.  Once washed and stored in a salad server or plastic bag, it will keep really well in the fridge for up to one week.  Sea Beet is laden with vitamin A and vitamin C, and contains minerals including iron and calcium.  It is the wild ancestor of swiss chard, beetroot and is sometimes known as wild spinach.

The best use of sea beet I have found more recently is in green smoothies, as it so freely available, mega nutritious and easy to pick.  Green smoothies are a fantastic addition to your diet and, even if you never do anything else to eat healthily, this is the one thing that will make a noticeable difference to how you feel in a very short space of time.  Drinking green smoothies daily will increase your energy, improve your digestion, stabilise your blood sugar levels and improve your skin among lots of other benefits.

There is a trick to getting it right as some fruits work better than others and make a big difference to the finished smoothie.  Fruits with a dense texture such as banana and mango blend to a smoother finish with greens, whereas fruits such as apples and pears tend to result in foamy smoothies which separate easily.  For further information, this video from Valya Boutenko is really useful, www.youtube.com.

This is my current favourite recipe for green smoothies.

Green smoothie ingredients

Green smoothie ingredients

Start with one banana and one mango chopped, the finished smoothie will be even nicer if these are frozen beforehand.  Add some strawberries with the green tops left on (these are edible and are still greens) and some superfoods if you like (my current favourites are raw bee pollen and supergreens such as spirulina or dried barley grass).

Smoothie ingredients

Smoothie ingredients

Add a few handfuls of sea beet (or spinach) and water to come up to about halfway on your liquidiser jug.  Blend until smooth and enjoy.

Delicious green smoothie

Delicious green smoothie

The amazing thing about greens that most people don’t realise is that they are addictive.  When you start to make green smoothies and if you find it difficult to eat greens, it’s best to keep the fruit to greens ratio quite high.  After a while, you will begin to notice that you can increase the greens and decrease the fruit, and even begin to crave the taste of the greens.

There are lots of great recipes available online and I would recommend reading Victoria Boutenko’s book ‘Green for life’ for information and background on how green smoothies can make such a difference to health.

Category: All the veg, wild food | 3 Comments

Food Bloggers event at Bloom 2012

June 3, 2012
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International food bloggers unite with Irish food bloggers for a picnic to celebrate Irish produce

Last Friday a group of Irish food bloggers gathered at Bloom 2012 with French, UK and Belgian food bloggers to take part in a picnic challenge set by Maeve Desmond of Bord Bia.  This clever plan to get us all working and chatting together resulted in lots of fun and creativity, and the realisation that whatever the outcome of “too many cooks….”, it’s nothing in comparison to “too many food bloggers….”!

As our team of 7 headed off to the artisan food market, I was excited and proud to be introducing the International bloggers to the high quality food products available in the food market and the dedicated producers who make them.  I felt especially pleased when one of the French bloggers tasted a brie style cheese from Knockdrinna and was visibly impressed by the taste.  Along with choosing products for our picnic from very well established food producers such as Goatsbridge, Coco Atelier, Natasha’s Living Foods, Keelings Juices, St Tola Cheese and Malones Fruit Farm we also tasted some new products such as sheeps milk from St Tola and seaweed from Spanish Point Sea Vegetables, all of which were delicious.

Delicious cakes from Natasha's Living Foods

Delicious cakes from Natasha's Living Foods

The food market at Bloom 2012 has grown in size substantially since last year, and what stood out for me this year was the number of innovative new products available, which reflects the interest and passion in our growing Irish food market.  One product in particular which I am excited about using is a new range of fresh stocks from Pure Brazen, which are 100% natural and are low in salt and GM free.  In fact, there was such a choice of quality products available, it was very difficult to narrow it down for our challenge, and even to keep our minds on the task given when surrounded by so many culinary distractions.

We headed back to our base, loaded down with our final chosen foods to arrange everything in place and amid great hilarity, deliberation and noise we presented our picnic to the judges.  The winning teams were announced and we headed out to the sunshine to enjoy a delicious lunch together and in my case, pick up as many tips as I could from some more established bloggers.

The winning picnic at the food bloggers challenge at Bloom 2012

The winning picnic at the food bloggers challenge at Bloom 2012

As part of our visit to Bloom, we were really lucky to get a preview of the show gardens before the crowds arrived.  All of the gardens are stunning this year, beautifully designed and well worth examining in detail for inspiration.  The outstanding ones for me were the Grow wise garden designed by Jane Corkell and the Starberry Paradise garden.

Food bloggers Nessa Robbins and Paula Ryan in the Grow wise garden

Food bloggers Nessa Robbins and Paula Ryan in the Grow wise garden

The Grow wise garden contained a beautiful and covetable wooden framed greenhouse and covered potting area which we all fell in love with.  This idea could easily be adapted to include an outside cooking area, simple and beautiful.

Starberry Paradise garden

Starberry Paradise garden

The Starberry Paradise garden really appealed to me also due to it’s focus on not only fruit but my favourite fruit.  This garden was designed to celebrate not only the functional aspect of this plant, but also it’s decorative quality with it’s attractive winding branches.  The shape of the entire garden is based on the star shaped scar on the base of a blueberry.  I also loved the idea of checkered herb wall in the ‘Table for 4′ garden.

Vertical herb wall in the 'Table for 4' garden

Vertical herb wall in the 'Table for 4' garden

I enjoyed Bloom last year, but this year it is even better.  I love gardening, particularly when it is about growing food, and this event brings together these two symbiotic areas beautifully.  There is still time to visit Bloom, with hopefully less rain tomorrow, and enjoy the last day of this great annual event.

Bloom logowww.bloominthepark.com
Category: Events | 5 Comments

Food Writing Workshop with Dianne Jacob

May 31, 2012
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A wonderful celebration of Irish food and produce and a chance to improve your food writing skills with Dianne Jacob, author of “Will Write for Food”

Towards the end of last year I had an experience of Twitter at its best.  I had retweeted a message from Dianne Jacob, cookbook and food writing coach and editor, about a workshop she was running for food bloggers in the US with the question, ‘wouldn’t it be great to do this in Ireland?’.  Dianne then tweeted me back directly saying ‘I would love to come, let’s make it happen’, and now it is!  Dianne is coming over to Ireland for a two day event at BrookLodge, Macreddin in Wicklow on the 21st and 22nd of September 2012 for a very special workshop and celebration of Irish food and hospitality.

The event includes 1/2 hour one to one sessions with Dianne, the Big Table Dinner Experience with locally supplied artisan organic food at the Strawberry Tree restaurant, and a one day workshop to hone your food writing skills for recipe writing, cookbook publishing and engaging your readers as a food blogger.

Details are as follows;

Friday, 21 September 2012
2 – 5.00pm
6 half-hour slots available with Dianne Jacob for one-to-one
coaching.  (SOLD OUT)
5.30pm
Visit to Gold River organic farm with Evan Doyle from BrookLodge.
7.30pm
Bubbly reception followed by the Big Table Dinner Experience at the Strawberry Tree restaurant.  This is a very special event created by BrookLodge, where the food is served in the style of a feast.  The rule of the table requires that everyone serves each other from a fantastic range of dishes made only from locally supplied artisan organic food.  A highly interactive and memorable experience.

Saturday, 22 September 2012: 10.00am – 5.00pm
A one-day class and workshop for the food obsessed who love to write, an open event for bloggers, food writers and anyone with an interest in communicating about food. The event will be structured as follows:
9.30am
Food writing technique and writing exercises. Learn what makes the top food writers successful and stretch your skills and creativity. There will be a short break for tea/coffee.
1.00pm
Spit roast lunch in the apple orchard at Macreddin and networking.
2.30 – 5.00pm
Recipe writing, cookbook publishing and how to engage your readers as a food blogger.

Costs: Any event over the two days can be attended independently
One-to-one coaching with Dianne (must be pre-booked): €40.00 per half-hour session
Visit to Gold River organic farm: No charge
Long Table Dinner with wine & bubbly reception:  €70.00 per person
Bed & breakfast at BrookLodge Hotel: €62.50 per person sharing (single supplement €25.00)
All-day workshop including spit roast lunch: €75.00 per person

Contact 086 806 1383 or dorcasbarry@gmail.com to reserve your place
Contact BrookLodge at 0402 36444 for accommodation bookings
(please quote Irish Food Bloggers to avail of special rate)

I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank Kristin Jensen at the Irish Food Bloggers Association, Maeve Desmond at Bord Bia and Helen McDaid at Failte Ireland who all helped enormously in making this event a reality.

Looking forward to seeing you all there for a great weekend!

Category: Uncategorized | 2 Comments