Raw Food: Natasha, Veronica and Gaby

�A lot of women, when they see my chocolates, the first thing they thing is 'I'd love to, but I can't'. But really, its the sugar, the fat and the high temperature processing that does the damage. My chocolates don't have any of those elements�

So says Natasha Czopor�s of Natasha's Living Foods. In fact, once you take these elements out, and use raw cacao, chocolates nutritional benefits, such as flavonids magnesium and potassium, come to the fore.

Raw food may have an image puritan abstinence, but with a little effort, it can actually be about improving the flavour and fun of food.

More than anyone living in Ireland today, Natasha Czopor exemplifies this. Her business involes making a range of raw foods with natural and organic ingredients, including chocolates and confectionary. These chocolate treats include varieties like baby fig and sundried apricot, or hymalian crystal salt and black pepper. She also makes cakes, like the raw ganashe tart, and savouries such as raw vegetable and seed crackers.

Her stonybatter kitchen actually has no cookers: �It's all very clean and fresh � There is no moisture or smells in the air. So your clothes don�t smell of the kitchen at home. The only noise in the fridge and the dehydrators.�

The key to raw food is avoiding cooking temperatures over 42 degrees centigrade. Above this, proponents argue, food start to loose some of their natural and essential vitality, freshness and nutrition.

Soaking and sprouting are also important. �You germinate the seeds, by soaking them in filtered water. That way, you are tapping into the foods essential nature. Seeds want to be plants. They relase all their vitality through the sprouting process. So you work with the natural aspect of the food.�

She gives an example: �when I make my vegetable and seed cracker, all the cooking I do is soaking, blending and dehydrating. That makes the nutrients more available, as the gentle extracting of moisture allows the food to retain its goodness�

New research suggests that many cooking styles, including heating, pasteurisation, drying, smoking, frying and grilling, harm foods to some degree. According to research just published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, using less harsh cooking styles such as poaching, stewing, steaming or of course eating raw, may reduce inflammation and help boost the body�s natural defences.

There is something of a raw food revolution going on in Ireland at present. Once, all raw food information came from California, and seemed a million miles away from this cold, wet little island off the north west coast of Europe.

Now, along with Natasha Czopor, foodies like Veronica O' Reilly and Gaby Weiland are showing people how to go more raw. Both have very creative cookbooks published in Ireland, full of ingredients available here.

Veronica O Reilly's book is actually called Raw in a Cold Climate, and is full of wholesome recipes. While many require some soaking or sprouting, there are still quite short and easy to do.

Advacado, carragheen, honey or agarve, soaked seeds and nuts, and coconut milk seem to be the secret helpers to get taste and texture into many of the dishes.

Gaby Weiland's book is more an easy entry to raw, as it combines raw and cooked dishes, from flapjacks and smoothies to pickled cabbage and soups.

Interestingly, both work in places full of like minded and very organic foodies: O' Reilly in the Servants of Love, Wicklow, a Christian spiritual community in Wicklow, and Weiland in the Organic Centre in Leitrim.

I asked nutritionist Valarie Kelly about raw food. Quite supportive of the idea and practice, she pointed out that �raw fruits and vegetables do generally contain higher levels of vitamins that cooked varieties, with the exception of carotenes � cooking improves absorption of carotenes.�

While she claimed that �fat soluble vitamins are not as sensitive to heat�, she did recommend cooking approaches like steaming to help retain foods nutrients.

To end, here's one I featured some years back: the sexy bitches who like it raw. (more and newer vids at link btw) Oh Yea.

Organic Guide to Ireland: full review

Did you know that there is a certified organic butcher on Achill Island? Or that you can have your organic apples turned into organic juice by a dedicated company in Tipperary? Or that there is an organic farm which doubles up as Zazen meditation centre in Cork, and one that runs eco summer camps in Kerry? And if you are after an organic horse livery, then Waterford is the place to go.

This and a lot more straightforward but important information is available in the newly published Organic Guide to Ireland. Published by the Organic centre, Rossinver, and edited by Marella Fyffe, this 2008 edition is a glossier though fairly similar publication to the previous edition.

What differs from the previous edition is the fact that the guide is divided into provinces, with just one extra listings section, which is devoted to associations.

The previous guide was divided into sections as diverse as polytunnels and wine sellers, livestock marts and farmers markets.

As a reference publication, this may help or hinder the user, depending upon their task.

Thankfully, this guide is not hamstrung by also striving nobly though impossibly to be a green guide, as the previous edition did.

The feature sections outline organic food�s role in feeding the world, in fighting climate change, in being better for your health and in mitigating the effects of peak oil.

There are also sections introducing organic, outlining how consumers can be sure the produce they buy is organic and giving the bigger picture on the EU dimension to organic certification.

One notable difference between this and the previous edition is the fact that the main state bodies involved in organic certification have also contributed sections. Teagasc, Bord Bia and the Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Food all pitch in, pointing out what supports they make available.

Essentially, this guide contains information on the 400 or so operators who want to make themselves known to others at some point in the food system.

For producers, the book will help with a range of activities, like sourcing certified organic feeds, seeds, or speciality breeds. Or it might give them that vital contact detail on advisors, or on a dedicated producer group or organisation.

For retailers, processors and consumers, there�s ample information too. Retailers, especially those at the deli, independent supermarket and health food store end, might find a product they are in need of � a jam, a bread, or any other artisan product ready to branch out or to make the next step up in scale terms.

Processors will have a handy reference point for many meat and milk producers, indeed anyone across the production spectrum, as this is primarily a guide of producers.

That said, what�s underrepresented though not entirely absent, are the sorts of farmers who mainly supply the bigger processors with meat and milk. These farmers have their own thing going on, and don�t necessarily want to receive calls from fresh faced consumers about their (non-existent) farm shop.

Consumers will have a treasure trove of a book. Places to stay, organic produce available direct, from farm shops to markets to box schemes, as well as lots of information about the bigger picture on organic food.

Because it is a cross border publication, DARD (Department of Agriculture and Rural Development) and the Soil Association have also written sections.

The Soil Association�s involvement is interesting. While they certify some organic operators in Northern Ireland, and a handful of operators in the republic who export (e.g. Sligo based Voya�s beauty products), they are in fact the main sponsors of the publication.

Considering their minor role in certification of organics on the island of Ireland, this sponsorship is surely a curiosity. Do the Soil Association intend to do a parallel move to a few political parties on these islands? Like the UK conservative party, and the much flagged Fianna Fail move into Northern Ireland, do they intend to move into the south as a prominent certifier? Only time will tell.

(disclosure: I contributed the piece on the labelling of organic food, as well as the piece on climate change)

To order, go to this link or ring 071 9854338

Farm Fest 08: organics comes of age

If ever there was an event that represented the coming of age of the artisan and organic sectors in Ireland, then it was Teagasc�s Farm Fest 08, held in Athenry on the 20^th June last. And if the Ploughing championship could be compared to the Oxygen music festival, then Farm Fest was the Electric Picnic.

This is because the otherwise more boutique, small, niche, high-end and specialist was actually centre stage. While all of the main players from the agri-food world were at the event, the main marquee, and by far the busiest and liveliest of the locations at Farm Fest, was the place where the organic producers were.

This marquee was called �innovation and artisan food�. Interestingly, the word organic wasn�t in the Marquee�s name, despite the fact that the majority of stalls, by a considerable distance, were by or of interest to organic and artisan producers.

The place seemed young, active, dynamic and positive about the future. In other arenas, people had heated debates over one cent. In this marquee, people seemed to know and love their product, and seemed able to convince consumers to pay a fair price for it.

In most cases, the farmers here were food producers � they did something to their primary products and got a proper mark up for so doing. In one section of the marquee there was Noodle House Organic Pastas, Gerry and Mary Kelly�s Moonshine organic diary products, both sitting alongside Ralph Haslam�s Mossfield Cheeses. The food producers themselves were all present and accounted for, dealing with enthusiastic and interested consumers, curious farmers and an array of media.

For Ralph, Bruce Springsteen�s decision to buy copious amounts of Mossfield when here recently seems to have catapulted the cheese into the culinary stratosphere. When I dropped by, Valerie Cox from RTE radio 1 was chatting to him. Within five minutes, during which time I devoured some hearty slices of his mature gouda-style cheese, TV3 had dropped over to find out about the Bruce Springsteen cheese.

And considering the fact that at he has done so well at the World Cheese Awards, Ralph is looking forward to the event being held in Dublin later on this year.

Another set of products attracting attention were those of Solaris botanicals. Here, a range of leading-edge organic whole leaf teas were on display and available to taste. The business is run by Karin Wieland and Jorg Muller, a couple who are qualified medical herbalists. As well as a simply spectacular range of teas, their knowledge, skill and passion were also on display.

There was a strong interest in organic feeds and seeds, while many of the main organisations involved in the organic sector had a presence too, including IOFGA, NOTS (National Organic Training Skillnets), as well as the Wexford and Leitrim Organic Centres.

The rural development, artisan and organic ends of the state institutions such as DAFF, Teagasc and Bord Bia were also busy and present, taking up a whole area of the marquee itself.

Along with the wandering and chatting, there was business being done:

Joe Condon of Omega Beef Direct was flat out gathering potential recruits for his upland farming �Organics with Altitude� idea, (featured in this supplement two weeks ago). Martin Henry and Liam Lyons had their recently purchased organic mobile butchers� unit outside the marquee in the market area � it took me five visits just to have a quick word with Liam. Padraig Fahy of Beechlawn Organic Farm seemed as busy with his vegetable selling and interactions with various players in the organic sector as when he was chair of IOFGA.

The artisan stalls were super busy too: Glastry Farm�s artisan ice cream stand, all the way from the county Down, was absolutely trobbing, as was the Foods of Athenry stall from just down the road.

When I did leave the �Innovation and Artisan Food� arena, it occasionally did look like the Electric Picnic, with some of the same food stalls, surrounded by entertainment like wooden toy tnets, a kids zone, Connemara Pony displays and then all the other marquees.

It was a beautiful day in many ways. Great weather helps, but the contented feeling of a sector on the rise helped too.

Training opportunities in the organic centre, rossinver

Here's an article on that eco-institution of the north west of ireland, the organic centre in Rossinver .It was established in the mid 1990s, and has put many thousands of people through their own unique take on the learning experience. A link to their site is at the botttom of the article, which focuses on their training 2008 programme.

Interested in training in an aspect of organic farming or growing? Or are you interested in learning more about how to make your life more sustainable and self-sufficient? Then have a look at the Organic Centre�s 2008 course and training programme.

While the centre is based in Leitrim, their courses are also delivered in Clare and Wicklow. The person behind the programme is Hans Wieland.

According to Hans, there is plenty for people interested in becoming a full time commercial grower: �we have a one year FETAC level five course for those interested in professional organic growing.�

This course involves 8 FETAC level five modules, five of which are horticultural: organic food crops, organic crop protection, organic soil management, principles of organic plant growth, and finally the farm environment. These are complemented by work experience, communications and business/IT skills modules.

�We�re also working with the new NATS organisation, the National Organic Training Skillsnet, formerly the Western Organic Network, and together we offer courses for commercial growers. These are for people who may be already in production, who want to diversify, upgrade their skills and son on. These include a seven day commercial horticultural course starting on Monday 18^th February, protected cropping on 26^th February, Orchards on 11^th of March, medical herb production in April and organic salad production with Jim Cronin in Clare in June�

As part of their training, Jim also runs a one year full time commercial training course in organic market gardening in county Clare.

Their programme also lists a course that can be done on individual days, or in one, five or 10 day blocks, called The Complete Organic Garden. This starts next Saturday, February 2^nd.

According to Hans, �We also offer one-to-one sessions, mentoring for growers in the centre. Sometimes people want one-to-one in polytunnels, or other commercial options�

It is also the case that many of the one day and weekend courses may be suitable for growers; trees and woodlands, advanced gardening, grafting, gourmet mushroom growing, seasonal fruit growing courses and more.

As well as these courses, there are courses on cooking - one that caught my eye was �cooking by your blood group� with Dr. Prannie Rhatigan, a public health doctor; others include cheese making, gourmet mushroom growing, bread making and the like. While some of these could lead onto commercial enterprises, the Centre retains a focus on what could be termed a self-sufficient well fed lifestyle.

Then there are the small scale renewables courses, the arts and crafts courses and more again that are difficult to categorise. Sustainability includes energy conservation, sustainable house design and construction, reed bed systems; the arts and crafts includes silk painting, willow sculpture and micro hydro power generation. The novel, quirky one that most stood out for me was, without doubt a course on The Planning Process - a Layperson�s Guide to Supporting or Objecting to Planning Developments.

A classic catch all course on offer is called How to Live the Good Life, which does exactly what it says on the tin: it offers life skills over five days in growing vegetables organically, growing and using herbs, growing fruit for the home, making yoghurt and soft cheeses, baking and cooking with wholemeal and storing and preserving, introductions to yoga and relaxation techniques, sustainable building, a seaweed walk on a local beach and a visit to a local organic farm.

According to Hans, the Good Life course is moving from being a hobby course into a slightly more business-focused, skills course. �People have started to learn how to be more efficient and conscious, so its now more a survival skills course. People have starting using this course to also make a better living on their enterprise, over the five years its been running.�

With all of this going on, I asked Hans if �Organic Centre� was a bit of a misnomer as a name: there are so many courses in what could be called the non-commercial growing area on offer. �I suppose it is. We have changed our subtitle, which used to say training and education in organic growing and farming. Now we�ve added sustainable living.�

Indeed they have.

For more phone 071 9854338 , or c hear

national organic week: things to do

Five of the best things to do for national organic week:

1: Clare: Visit an award winning organic goat's cheese farm
First up, there�s a chance to visit the place where multi-award winning organic goat�s cheeses are made. St. Tola�s organic farm is in Inagh, Co. Clare. There will be an opportunity to see the herd of goats, to learn how the cheeses are made, and of course to taste them. This is a good one for the kids, and who knows, they might even be tempted to try the soft cheese while they are there. This event is on Thursday 25th October from 11am to 4pm (065 6836633 or here).

2: Leitrim: Go the organic nine-yards
The Carrick branch of the Western Organic Network are holding an event called �A Taste of Organic Living�. The aim is to �celebrate and showcase all that is good in local organic and artisan produce, holistic and naturopathic medicine, healthy and sustainable living, and local creativity�. Expect events talks and demos. They are making a special effort to hold a �pushing organic farming and food forward� forum, which should prove interesting. This is on Monday 29th October 11 am - 6 pm. (contact WON on 071-9640688 or e-mail info@westernorganicnetwork.com)

3: Leitrim and Limerick: Get an organic job
The Organic Centre, Rossinver Co. Leitrim are holding an event for anyone with an interest in learning more about producing organic food. This is called �Training and Education Opportunities in the Organic Sector� and is open to all. The staff of the Organic Centre will be on hand to answer questions about the 2008 programme. This event is on Wednesday 24th October 2pm � 6pm. (phone 071 9854338 info@theorganiccentre.ie or click here)
or
National organic week Information Day in Dromcollogher. On Tuesday Oct 23 2pm
Tour of the college gardens, including the polly-tunnels, herb gardens, compost areas, vegetable plots, green manure beds and the bee hives. Plenty of advice and assistance, from growing to grants. And, a potato tasting to finish off the day! Phone 063-83604 or click here for more

4: Dublin: Check out the new place where the Dublin food co-op now lives:
And finally, for events, there�s the launch of the new Dublin Food Co-op�s premises. This will be by Minister John Gormaley, �who has been a member for about 20 years� according to Pauric, the development officer with the Co-op.
This new venue is fully twice the size of the previous place, and has excellent, dedicated booths for stallholders. There are few if any places in Ireland with as much variety in organic food and other organic options: there are not that many places where you can buy organic yoga suits for the yummy mummy who has it all. But you can in the co-op. The new venue is 12 Newmarket Dublin 8, off Cork Street, in the heart of the Liberties. You may have missed the launch last weekend, but there's always the lunch to be sorted. So why not drop by this Thursday (2-8pm) or Saturday (9.30-4.00pm). (for more try here or ring 01-873 0451 - check out the domain name!)

5: All over: Who says organic food is expensive? Git yer self some free top scram at 3 tastings of organic food for the week

There are also some organic food tastings being held all over Ireland. Watch out for them at your local supermarkets or farmers� markets. Let�s face it, farmers� markets are more interesting places to hang around than supermarkets, so there isn�t much point in listing the tastings at supermarkets here. Though it's listed as such, eating strawberries in a supermarket is not a 'what's on' event, by any stretch of the imagine.
Friday 26 October 11.00am Carrick-on-Suir Farmers Market, Heritage Centre Grounds, which will be an organic cook-in:
Thursday 25th October 9.30-2.00pm �Omega Beef Direct� Christmas Gift Voucher Launch with Joe Condon of Omega Beef. All recipes from Scott Walsh of award winning restaurant Q82 in Dungarvan Omega Beef Organic Meat Stall at Dungarvan Food Market, The Square, Dungarvan, Co. Waterford:
Saturday 27th October 9am-2pm multi-tastings at the Oracle Farm and Coolanowle Organic Farm Stands at Carlow Food Market, Potato Market, Carlow Town.