Green Gifts for Christmas

 

OK so it is possible that you may want to buy people something as well as a Feelgood Organic Hamper for Christmas! But don't forget that last orders for Christmas delivery are only 12 days away on Sunday 20th December at midnight.  Don't miss out!

 After you have placed your order with us here's some other great green gifts you could buy.

There are 4 days left to get a gift from organic t-shirt company 'Hairy Baby'. Great t-shirts with very Irish slogans, you can even have a CSI hoodie or t-shirt made with the name of your town on it.  I know someone who might like a CSI Athy shirt.

The Cultivate Centre in Dublin City Centre has lots of great gift ideas from books to eco-gadgets.  You can pop in or shop online.

The Arboretum Life & Garden Centre in Carlow offers trees delivered to your door.

Or if you prefer you can have a tree planted on your behalf by the WWF.

Another Carlow based company Greenside Up are offering gift vouchers for their gardening courses and design services.

Although not based in Ireland a special mention has to go to Who Made Your Pants one of the most ethical companies I've ever come across.  These ethically produced knickers would make an ideal gift for me (hint hint!). 

And finally gift vouchers for interior design by Earth Balance Interiors.

If I've missed out on any great green gifts I'd love to hear your suggestions.  Please leave a comment below.

  

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.

Travels in New York Part 2: The Union Square Green Market

Stepping out of Union Square subway station and finding your self in the middle of the Green Market is like stepping into a little piece of paradise. I have visited many farmers markets but never one quite like this one. It's scale alone like almost everything in America is huge. Imagine every farmers market that you have ever been to in Ireland stuck together and you will get some idea of the size . The choice of stalls was huge, it made me wonder how you could possibly choose which stall to buy from but it soon became apparent that most stalls had a speciality. Some were organic, some had mountains of radishes the size of my fist , some were specialists in garlic, salad leaves, milk, cherries etc. I even found stalls that offered free range eggs which I had been lead to believe were almost impossible to source in the US. In fact the variety of produce was so amazing I started to wonder how the 'Wholefoods Market' on Union square was able to survive. With this amount of locally produced and seasonal produce available why would you want to shop in a supermarket?

There were information stalls scattered around which offered recipes for seasonal produce, and all important maps. One information stall was even cooking up seasonal treats. There were also blackboards and stalls displaying lists of seasonal produce.

Sadly it was my last day in New York so although I walked through the stalls agape and thoroughly excited about what was offer I was unable to purchase anything. I was sad that it would be some time before I would return to New York and be able to shop here.

The Green Market on Union Square is open on Monday's Wednesday's Friday's and Saturdays between 8am and 6pm. I was there on a Saturday. For more information on the other locations of Green Markets in New York look here. 

Why Organic Strawberries?

I've really been enjoying this seasons strawberries, every week they seem to be getting sweeter and more full of flavour.

If you are living near to Enniscorthy don't miss out on the chance to visit the Wexford Strawberry Festival next weekend. It kicks off on Wednesday the 25th with a Strawberry Ball and goes on until the 29th of June. It would be worth going just on the chance of being able to sample the Organic Strawberries produced locally at the Wexford Organic Centre. 

So why should we choose organic strawberries? 

Thankfully one of the most devastating chemicals used in Strawberry production, Methyl Bromide was phased out in 2005. According to the Environmental Protection Agency the chemical was used as a pesticide both to sterilise the land before planting and after harvesting. Apart from the obvious concerns of chemical residue on the fruit itself it was found that Methyl Bromide was having a devastating effect on the ozone layer. It is also sited in the Environmental Protection Agencies Draft Guidance Note for Ozone Depleting Substances as being responsible for the deaths of some pesticide appliers. 

Unfortunately Methyl Bromide was only one of 50 chemicals that is listed by the Pesticides Action Network as being routinely used on Strawberry crops. I picked two at random from their list: Methomyl which when taken orally, inhaled or absorbed through the skin can cause symptoms which:

may include weakness, blurred vision, headache, nausea, abdominal cramps, chest discomfort, constriction of pupils, sweating, muscle tremors, and decreased pulse. If there is severe poisoning, symptoms of twitching, giddiness, confusion, muscle incoordination, slurred speech, low blood pressure, heart irregularities, and loss of reflexes may also be experienced - source extoxnet

And Thiophanate-methyl which although not anywhere near as toxic as Methomyl does cause skin and eye irritation.

So if you aren't lucky enough to be able to source organic strawberries on your doorstep try to buy from a small local supplier who is less likely to have used the full spectrum of chemicals and will be able to tell you exactly how they are grown.

Better still, why not try and grow your own next year!

Green washed at the Farm?

I am part of an informal dinner club with two friends. Once a month we splash out and try a new restaurant. It's a great way for us to stay in touch since I have moved away from the city. As we are all food lovers we enjoy indulging ourselves. Sometimes we even have four deserts between the three of us!

In December we decided to visit The Farm on Dawson Street, Dublin, a restaurant seemingly specialising in organic and local foods. It sounded right up my street and I was really looking forward to my visit. First impressions were good; a big blackboard outside announced its ethos of commitment to local and/or organic produce. The decor, although not screaming eco or organic was pretty. I was late and my friends were really hungry so I chose quickly from the menu.

It was only as I settled down that I noticed that my companions were drinking Heineken, not very organic or even local. Then I noticed that in the centre of each table, on top of white bleached paper tablecloths was a bottle of Heinz tomato ketchup. I started to wonder what if anything in this place was organic. Our starters came and went, I had the hummus, which was nice. One of my friends has just completed a wine course so I let her choose the wine. When it came I discovered that it wasn't organic either in fact there was a limited choice of organic wines on the list and they were all quite highly priced. When our mains came I looked down on two small, overcooked pear and brie tartlets, they looked like they had come straight from the supermarket, the rocket salad was pleasant though and I did my best to disguise the taste of the tartlets by piling loads on top of it. One of our party had pizza made from organic flour - at last something organic - which I believe was fantastic, as was the burger enjoyed by the third member of our group

Desert was great too. We all had chocolate cake which had been individually decorated for each of us. The service was fast and very attentive. Although overall the food was good (for my companions at least), I came away at the end of the evening desperately disappointed. I'm really not sure who this place is aimed at, the hardcore environmental foodie would want organic ketchup (readily available), an organic wine list and more visible eco credentials, someone ambivalent towards the organic movement would probably be put off before they walked in the door.

I can only hope that The Farm will re-think its formula and become the restaurant it claims to be.

New Hampers - (a bit of an ad...)

Feelgood Organic Hampers is proud to present it’s 2007/2008 collection: www.feelgoodhampers.com.

This year we are able to offer you an even larger range of organic goodies. As more of our luxury foods are now produced locally in Ireland, the ‘Bosca Mór Glas’ and ‘An Bosca Beag Glas’ are our first hampers to be stocked entirely with Irish products. Budding masterchefs will also appreciate the handy recipe cards included in many of this year's hampers, providing quick and easy guides to making the best of your organic treats.

As always, we are happy to tailor a gift hamper to your specific needs. Just give us a call or drop us an email and we will create a hamper just for you.

If you would like us to send you a brochure email us at amanda@feelgoodhampers.com. Or give us a call on: 059 863 8999.