Organic Week - What to do today 19th September 2009

National Organic Week draws to a close this weekend, it's been one of the busiest and best that I can remember with a wide variety of events happening all over the country. If you attended one of the events let us know, we'd love to hear about your experience.

Today is the busiest day yet:

Carlow Farmers Market is having a spit roast barbecue, if it's anything like the one at the Slow Food stand at the Electric Picnic it should be worth visiting (being a vegetarian I didn't get to try it myself but all reports were good).

At the Wild Honey Inn in Lisdoonvarna, Co. Clare there is the Clare and South Galway Organic Producers event.

The Dublin Food Co-op hosts a cookery demo with Chef Marc Moissard and Organic Wine and local cheese tasting from Moon shine dairy farm.

The Shanakill/Rahoonane Community Organic Garden in Tralee, Co. Kerry has it's annual Harvest Fair.

At Moyleabbey Organic Farm, Ballitore, Co. Kildare there is a Healthy Eating Workshop.

Also in Kildare at Castlefarm, Athy there is an organic Farm Walk and vegetable harvesting as well as an organic cooking demonstration.

Sligo Farmers market has a Cookery Demonstration and tasting featuring recipes from 'The Seaweed Kitchen'.

James Whelan Butchers in The Oakville Shopping Centre, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary are hosting an organic barbecue.

Another barbecue in Clonmel, this time provided by Omega Beef at Clonmel Farmers Market.

For a full listing of events check out the Bord Bia website.

Taste Kildare, a great day out.

Me at the Feelgood Organic Hampers Stand

Beatrice & Jamie Choc O'Neill

Yuki at Moyleabbey Organic Farm

Thanks to everyone who dropped by my stall at Taste Kildare last weekend. Even the sun made a good appearance on the day. 

There was lots of amazing food on offer and a good amount of organic stalls. By the time things quietened down enough to let me have a wander the Organic Pies on sale from Morrin O'Rourke Farm Foods had sold out. I'm not surprised I saw them setting up in the morning and they looked fantastic. Their range of pies includes Chicken and Bacon, Beef and Cider and Vegetable for vegetarians like myself. For a full list of where you can buy their pies check out their website.

The Moyleabbey Organic Farm stall pictured above looked fantastic all day with beautiful bunches of carrots and beetroot and other seasonal organic vegetables on sale.

The Organic Blending Company, the Irish wing of which is based in Naas were tasting their sausages and marinated meats all day. As well as their marinades they offer gravy, stuffing and spices. They gave me some samples and I can't wait to give them a try... watch this space!

At the end of the day I finally got to sample some of the deserts on offer from the restaurants. This was definitely the best part of the day for me.

The event will be going ahead again next year so if you didn't get a chance to drop by last weekend don't miss the next one. Keep an eye on the website: www.tastekildare.ie.

Come and Meet Us at Taste Kildare

I'm so excited about Taste Kildare that I wish I didn't have to work there myself and I could go and enjoy it in full. 

The event, which is being held in the Victorian walled gardens at the K Club in Straffan on Sunday 17th August 2008 is going to be a fantastic day out. 

Kildare's top restaurants will be offering taster plates and Kildare based artisan producers including What's Cooking?, Soul Bakery and Buns will be giving out samples as well as offering their wares for sale on the day.

At the Feelgood Organic Hampers stall I will be giving out tasters of some of our best products as well as having a wide range of organic food on sale. Do drop by and have a chat.

With a mix of entertainment for both adults and children including  face painting, crazy golf duck racing, archery and tours of the wine cellar this really will be a fun day out for everyone.

Best of all it's completely free. Just pre-register online at www.tastekildare.ie  to avail of the free car parking.

Organic Taste Test - Organic v Conventional Strawberries

I was delighted to discover that the Castleruddery Organic Farm stall at the Naas Farmers Market this week was stocking organic strawberries grown locally in Narraghmore, Co. Kildare.

I immediately purchased a punnet and decided to compare them to the non-organic ones I had bought earlier in the day. Surprisingly there was only 50c difference in the price. The organic ones were packed in a bio degradable tray made from the same material as egg boxes  which gained it some early points.

The conventional strawberries were' Elsanta' strawberries, the most common variety that you will find growing in Ireland.  I have yet to discover what variety the organic ones were but they definitely weren't Elsanta, when I find out I will let you know. Colour wise, the organic ones were deep red with darkish seeds. The conventional berries were shinier and the seeds were golden.

I did a blind taste on a couple of the other stallholders and most of them agreed that the Organic ones were superior in flavour. The conventionally grown ones tasted watery and the amount of flavour decreased as the fruits got larger. The organic ones had a pure and intense strawberry flavour which only got better the bigger the berry. They reminded me of how strawberries tasted when I was a child and it didn't take me long to polish off the whole punnet. I had to go back for two more before the end of the day.

If you would like to taste the difference yourself these exceptional strawberries are available both at the Naas and Athy Farmers Markets. 

Organic & Local Shopping at Naas Farmers Market

Castleruddery Organic Farm (above)

Andrea's Tasty Treats (above)

The view from the Feelgood Organic Hampers stall (above)

The best place to find seasonal, local and organic food is your local farmers market. There are so many dotted around the country now that it is almost impossible not to have one close to where you live. To find your local market check out Bord Bia's list of Farmers Markets In Ireland.

I have a stall at the Naas Farmers Market, and of all the markets I have worked at the Naas one has the nicest atmosphere. Located in the grounds of the Storehouse Restaurant it is small yet perfectly formed. The stalls, to name but a few, include two organic vegetable stalls, 'Vegi Snacks' a great vegetarian food stall full of tasty foods which are made using organic vegatables, 'What's Cooking' where those of us short of time can purchase healthy pre prepared meals which are prepared using local meat and organic vegetables and 'Choc O'Neill' divine chocolate handmade locally in Naas.

You will also find all your weekly staples: bread, cheese, eggs, cakes (well they're a staple to me), olives, meat and fish.

It's also a great place to have lunch. Aside from the Veggie Snacks, you can choose from deep fill pies and decadent rostis from 'The Gallic Kitchen', Noodles, hot soup and soon crepes. The coffee stall sells locally roasted coffee, and for desert you can grab a smoothie from Annies Apples or my favorite Belgian chocolate brownie from 'Andrea's Tasty Treats'.

If you live near Naas it's always worth dropping in on a Saturday to do a bit of shopping, we are open between 10am and 3pm don't forget to drop by and say hi to me! For those of you further afield, make sure you support your local farmers market, the more people who shop at them the better they get.