Friday, January 21, 2011

Delaney delivers

The perennial bed needs a fair bit of prep, and thats where Delaney helps out by providing a fair bit of manure.

I ordered some asparagus crowns from Mr.Middletons, which should be here next week along with some jeruselem artichoke.
What I am using for fertilizer is a mixture of seaweed, donkey manure and compost from kitchen waste.

I realise I am lucky when it comes to sorting organic fertilizer, but at the same time it has taken a lot of effort in tems of providing carrots and apples all year.

As for Delilah, Delaneys friend, we are expecting another delivery - and that I will post as soon as I know
One thing I do want to find is old kreels, or Donkey panniers, I think if Mr D benefits from the garden he should provide a bit of labour in that direction - all offers or ideas welcome to make Delaney work for  living rather - as Mamo Corcaigh would say - sit around smoking fags and playing cards all day.

He has taken recently to braying at any stranger on the road to provide apples and carrots - that kind of behaviour needs to end





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Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Sustainable Local Fish - Mackerel

Please feel free to copy, paste and adapt this page to support FISHFIGHT.NET
==========
LOGO/NAME OF YOUR LOCAL SHOP/GROUP
SUSTAINABLE LOCAL FISH
MACKEREL
Ronnach
(Scomber scombrus)
(F) Maquereau (D) Makrelen (NL) Makreel (E) Caballa
Mackerel is a local, sustainable fish. It is extremely common in huge shoals migrating towards the coast to feed on small fish and prawns during the summer.
Traditionally in Connemara this fish was salted to preserve it, and served with new potato's.
Abundant in cold and temperate shelf areas, it forms large schools near the surface. They over winter in deeper waters but move closer to shore in spring when water temperatures range between 11° and 14°C.
Environmental Information
Mackerel is seen as one of the most sustainable fisheries. Favoured fishing methods should always be our main priority when sourcing our fish.
The trawl used by the Irish fleet is designed and rigged to fish in mid-water ensuring that there is no impact on bottom habitats or structures. No part of the trawl is designed to come in contact with the sea bed
Nutritional Information
Atlantic mackerel is extremely high in vitamin B 12. Mackerel is also very high in omega 3 containing nearly twice as much per unit weight as does salmon.
Mackerel is an excellent source of Phosphatidylserine, an important brain food that can have positive effects on ADHD and Alzheimer patients.

50% of fish caught in the North Sea are thrown back dead - this wasteful practice is called discard.
To end this practice You can be a part of a campaign called Fish Fight.
I would urge You to visit the site - WWW.FISHFIGHT.NET- and get informed and involved.
By supporting this campaign, your name will be added to a letter to be sent to Commissioner Maria Damanaki, members of the Common Fisheries Policy Reform Group, and all MEPs

Your support WILL make a difference

===========





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Sustainable local fish - Pollock

Please feel free to copy, paste and adapt this page to support FISHFIGHT.NET
==========
LOGO/NAME OF YOUR LOCAL SHOP/GROUP
SUSTAINABLE LOCAL FISH
POLLOCK

SAITHE
(Pollachius pollachius)
(F) Lieu / Colin (D) Seelach (NL) Koolvis (E) Carbonero / Fogonero
Traditionally a popular source of food in some countries like Norway where Pollock is often prepared as fried fish balls or if smaller sized maybe breaded with oatmeal and fried as in Shetland. Year old fish are traditionally split, salted and dried over a peat hearth in Orkney.
The fish can also be salted and smoked and achieve a salmon-like orange color (although it is not closely related to the salmon), as is the case in Germany where the fish is commonly sold as Seelachs or sea salmon.
The Atlantic pollock is related to the cod and haddock, it is also called colin, saithe, lythe and coalfish (particularly in the United Kingdom).
Atlantic pollock is a lean fish with somewhat darker flesh than cod.
Environmental Information
In recent years Pollock has become more popular due to over-fishing of other species.
Atlantic Pollock is a local whitefish. Harvested from locally, pollock is caught by mid-water trawls and hand lines.
Nutritional Information
Pollock is very low in saturated fat and a very good source of protein, Vitamin B12, phosphorus, and selenium.

50% of fish caught in the North Sea are thrown back dead - this wasteful practice is called discard.
To end this practice You can be a part of a campaign called Fish Fight.
I would urge You to visit the site - WWW.FISHFIGHT.NET- and get informed and involved.
By supporting this campaign, your name will be added to a letter to be sent to Commissioner Maria Damanaki, members of the Common Fisheries Policy Reform Group, and all MEPs.

Your support WILL make a difference
==================





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Sustainable Local Fish,Herring

Please feel free to copy, paste and adapt this page to support FISHFIGHT.NET
==========
LOGO/NAME OF YOUR LOCAL SHOP/GROUP
SUSTAINABLE LOCAL FISH
HERRING
Scadán
(Clupea harengus)
(F) Hareng (D) Hering (NL) Haring (E) Arenque
The trade in herring is an important sector of many national economies. In Europe the fish has been called the "silver of the sea", and its trade has been so significant to many countries that it has been regarded as the most commercially important fishery in history.
In Devon and Cornwall they are called Silver Darlings. Herring are highly prized for flavour and nutrition.

In the past Herring would have been a healthy and popular staple. They are particularly popular in the Netherlands. Herring is also a staple food in Germany, Belgium and Scandinavia.
Preserved and pickled they are found throughout Eastern Europe. Kippers are smoked Herring.
Environmental Information
Atlantic Herring (Clupea harengus) are one of the most environmentally responsible fish. It is one of the most abundant fish species on earth.
They can grow up to 45 centimeters (17.7 in) in length and weigh more than 0.5 kilograms (1 lb). They feed on copepods, krill and small fish, while their natural predators are seals, whales, cod and other larger fish.
North Atlantic herring schools have been measured up to 4 cubic kilometres (0.96 cu mi) in size, containing an estimated 4 billion fish.
Nutritional Information
Herring are very high in the long-chain Omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA.
They are a good source of vitamin D.

50% of fish caught in the North Sea are thrown back dead - this wasteful practice is called discard.
To end this practice You can be a part of a campaign called Fish Fight.
I would urge You to visit the site - WWW.FISHFIGHT.NET- and get informed and involved.
By supporting this campaign, your name will be added to a letter to be sent to Commissioner Maria Damanaki, members of the Common Fisheries Policy Reform Group, and all MEPs

Your support WILL make a difference

===========





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Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Hughs Fish Fight

I am not a great fan of the current cult of celeb's that seem to dominate our airwaves and newspapers.
However, there are those who do some great work in raising issues that civil servants and politicians like to brush under the carpet. Most notable perhaps was Bob Geldof when he arranged LiveAid all those years ago.


Recently Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, a celeb cook and broadcaster in the UK started a very admirable campaign to reform fisheries policy in the EU.
The campaign is called Fish Fight, and I support it. I would urge readers of this blog to visit the site - fishfight.net- and get informed and involved.

I admire the campaign he has started
There is also a facebook page you can join to support the campaign -

Due to EU policy, determined by unelected and unaccountable EU bureaucrats we have the obscene situation where half the fish caught at sea are dumped.
There should be a greater moral outrage that perfectly good food is being wasted, and the bizarre practice means animals are needlessly and pointlessly killed, this when there are hungry and undernourished people in our own societies

For my part I have produced information sheets for some local butchers, with fish info on one side and a range of recipes on the other, to encourage people to use a wider range of fish.
Herring, Mackerel and Pollack are locally caught Connemara fish and are as good as cod or haddock and onthis blog I have posted info on al three types.

Any person who runs a business that sells fish - like a butchers - or who knows a local shop that sells fish is free to copy, download, adapt and reproduce any of the info posted on the 19th on this blog.
If you have a local store who you know, copy and print these off for them to display, its easy to do and who knows - you might get some free fish for your efforts!

I would suggest these fact sheets go on one side of an A4 sheet, and a recipe is put on the reverse side.

I will be posting some fish recipes in the near future.





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Friday, January 14, 2011

The Perennial kitchen garden plot, permanent crop choices

Well, the more I learn about gardening and plants, the more ideas I get. For people with limited space, or with just a flower garden a few of these plants may be of interest.
They provide food, and also garden colour - so well worth a look.
I will update this posting with my own pictures etc. as and when I get them, the pics shown are generic from searches.
This year I transplanted my horseradish and put rhubarb crowns in their permanent positions. With some great advice from gardenplansireland.com  I decided to dedicate one bed to perennial crops.
It means I will need to create a new one for rotation, but I have the space.

From the Irish seedsavers association in Clare I got a few seeds, including Sea Kale and a Salsify.

The sea kale is called Lily White. It has distinctive grey/blue green fleshy leaves that give a display of pure white flowers in late spring. It is a protected plant now in many places.
As a food crop it is the early shoots (like asparagus) that are eaten raw or cooked.
They are best when blanched so put a thick layer of straw over them in autumn/winter.
Don’t start cropping until the second year.

Salsify is a root vegetable that goes back to the middle ages. I do know it is not the easiest veg to prep, I believe the Dutch call it screaming housemaid!! It is very old, having been mentioned by Plinny the Elder.
Pulled in winter it has long tapering roots with a distinct flavour – some say oyster-like
As with the sea kale the flower is also good for ornamental gardener’s as all summer long they bloom with large brilliant purple daisy-like flowers

I am delighted to say they also have, again, tipperary turnip in stock. This was a massive success in last years garden as it was very hardy, gave a high return and some great meals.

The other main source of perennial food crops has been seedaholic's in Mayo.

The perennials I ordered from them were mainly herbs, but I also got three perennial veg.

One close relative of the globe artichoke is Cardoon which is popular in France, Spain and Italy.

I got Good King Henry from them. Also known as Lincolnshire Spinach. It promises to be a very versitile plant.

The young leaves and flowering stems can be either eaten in salads or cooked like spinach.
The seed can be ground and mixed with flour then used in making bread.
Known as 'poor man's asparagus', the growing shoots can be tie together in bundles, cooked and eaten like asparagus. Young flower buds can be sautéed in butter

I also got a Sorrel from them - “De Belleville” French or Garden Sorrel
 Its meant to be very easy to grow, producing clumps of pale green leaves with a good lemon flavour.
I am told that once you've got a clump going it needs no attention other than when you want to eat it
Sorrel is a ‘herb-vegetable’ or ‘pot-herb’ as it can be cooked like a vegetable.
It can be harvested at baby leaf stage and is great in salads and sandwiches as it doesn't go limp but is most delicious when cooked

From Mr Middletons in Dublin I ordered two other perennials.

Jeruselem Artichoke tubers, they seem a lot less hassle than the globe version.
They also had Aparagus crowns in stock. I got Connovars Colossal as it had 6 crowns - easier to grow than from seed.
So, the plan is that this bed will be very low maintainence, and with any luck - permanently productive.





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Saturday, January 8, 2011

Connemara Buttermilk Clafoutis or Simple Clafoutis with plums

Happy New Year to all readers, particularly the followers of the blog - and to start the year a simple but perfect French classic.

I have developed two varients for this posting, the classic French and an Irish version given further down the page that gives a richer, more savoury texture to the dessert.


Classic Clafoutis with plums

Clafoutis is a simple French dessert - very easy to make, super simple, but it looks really impressive.
You can use apples, pears, prunes, blackberries etc.

There are tons of recipes and variations for Clafoutis, including some that want pre-heating and cooling of the milk and cream etc, but this is the simplest, most foolproof way I have found.
Traditionally in France it is made with cherries.In Limousin where the dish comes from if cherries are not used its more properly called Flaugnarde.

You can use most garden fruits for this, I used shop bought plums, sliced and stoned, and my neighbour Judah's eggs which I get in return for kitchen waste that's fed to her chickens.

It is very economical, made with seasonal fruit, eggs, milk, cream and flour.
It's also a real money saver - a great way to use up fruit that is just a little over-ripe so keep an eye on the reduced fruits at the supermarket.

It's a shame to see good food go to waste. We have developed a such a disposable culture, with little regard to seasonal food. I think it is kind of sad and detrimental to cuisine that seasons are no longer really taken into account.

When you grow your own, you do learn to appreciate the seasons and the work it takes to produce more.
Even in street markets, I noticed on a visit to Dublin after the Moore street market closed the Roma Gypsy's were collecting fruit that was just a little over ripe or past its sell by date-so if you want to be totaly surfer feral in saving money supermarket bins are always worth a look.

It is good cold, but best served warm - ideal as a dessert when you are doing other things in the oven like baked potato's - as you will be prepping and serving this after the same meal, using the same temperature.

INGREDIENTS
Varient 1 - Classic French
(The more savory Irish buttermilk version is further down in this post)

100 gm - ½ teacup - sugar (reserve 1 Tbsp. to dust baking dish)
100 gm - 2/3 teacup all- purpose flour
200 ml - ¾ teacup milk
50 ml - ¼ tea cup heavy cream
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Knob of Cuinneog butter - about an ounce - to grease baking dish
Fruit of choice to fill

METHOD
Preheat the oven to 180 deg. C

In a blender, combine all the the ingredients except the fruit and butter, and blend on high for 1 minute.

Take a good sized baking dish, add butter and put it in the oven until the butter is melted and lightly foaming.

Remove the baking dish and then spread the butter around the base and sides.

Dust a teaspoon of sugar around the base of the dish..

Pour in half the batter.

Now layer in the fruit in the partly filled pan, floating on the lower level of batter

Pour on the remaining batter and bake until the top puffs and starts to turn golden-brown, about 45-60 minutes.

Serve warm with a little flavoured whipped cream, I added lime zest and sherry to mine.
It is a great winter warmer and looks great. If you can make a pancake you can make this.
I actually wish I had a few small oven dishes to do this in individual portions, and may do so in future, but bringing the big warm dish to the table looks great with all the bright colours at this time of year.

Varient 2 -  Irish Alternative: Connemara Buttermilk Clafoutis
Apple and Pear Buttermilk Clafoutis

As most regular readers know, I try my best to produce my own ingredients or source them from closer to home. I also love to take recipes and give them an Irish twist. This variation on the classic Clafoutis gives a richer, more savory pastry.
I like to use Cuinneog dairy products as they are from the next county, but more importantly they really give a great flavour.

INGREDIENTS
100 gm - ½ teacup sugar (reserve 1 Tbsp. to dust baking dish)
100 gm - 2/3 teacup all-purpose flour
200 ml - ¾ teacup Cuinneog buttermilk
50 ml - ¼ teacup natural Yogurt OR heavy cream
3 eggs
Level teaspoon baking soda or baking powder
1 teaspoon Honey
pinch of salt

Knob of Cuinneog butter - about an ounce - to grease baking dish
Fruit of choice to fill

The method is identical to the classic version, and takes just a little longer to cook. The above measures take about 50 minutes at 180 deg C in a preheated fan assisted oven.

Apple and Pear Clafoutis served up with sherry flavoured whipped cream

As always, feel free to comment or share using facebook - I really appreciate the feedback






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