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(Ehhhh the Best Chilli in the WORLD!)

I have developed this recipe over a long time from a lot of different source.  I have mixed and matched ingredients until I just loved the taste.

I have to confess I love chilli, the hotter the chilli, better for me, so you can adjust the recipe as you see fit.

- 500g mince stake.
- 2 large onions (finely chopped).
- 3 cloves of garlic finely chopped (I know it’s a lot but it’s super antioxidant)
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- 1 ½ tbsp of organic sunflower frying  oil (I recommend ‘Clearspring’ brand)
- 1 heaped tsp of mustard (wholegrain is better, but not critical)
- 1 sml glass of red wine (you can sub with water if prefer, but wine & kidney beans are super)
- 1 can chopped tomatoes
- 1 can red kidney beans
- 1 tsp ground Cumin
- 1 tsp chilli powder (if kids are involved lower, if Mexicans are, higher)
- ¾ tsp ground pepper.
- ¾ tsp sea salt
- Lemon juice (half fresh  lemon squeezed in)
- 2 Fresh Chillies

You can completely leave out this ingredient, but for me it makes the dish. This is where the recipe gets hot, green chillies are the younger version of the red ones and have a lovely fresh taste.  If you are experimenting with heat, remove the seeds and membrane of the chilli (white part attached to seeds) and just use 1.  If you are adventurous, use 2 with seeds. If you are insane, use 1 habanero chilli pepper (2^nd hottest pepper in the world).

Most recipes recommend you serving this with wheat wraps, nachos or tortillas…I disagree.. I recommend the healthier long grain fragrant royal white basmati rice (brown if you are uber healthy).

To make it

1.  Heat the sunflower oil.  Add the chopped onions and cook over a low heat for about 10 minutes until the onions are nearly transparent.

2.  Add the minced beef into the saucepan. Cook over a medium heat, cook until meat is browned.

3 .  Lower the heat and add in the pepper, salt, chilli powder, tomato purée, garlic, cumin & mustard, Stir well.

4.  After three minutes add the can of tomatoes, red wine, lemon juice & kidney beans. Add one small cup of water.  Simmer on a low heat, uncovered, for at least 60 minutes.  Sir occasionally but keeps your eye on it to ensure it does not burn.

Serve & Enjoy

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http://www.tv3.ie/videos.php?video=18683&locID=1.65.370

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GENEVIEVE CARBERY

BUYING IMPORTED food in a multinational supermarket has been described as a “traitorous” act in the latest edition of the Bridgestone Irish Food Guide .

In the introduction to the ninth edition of the guide, which was launched yesterday, co-author John McKenna said Ireland had been “economically colonised”. He described the relationship between multinational supermarkets and farmers as one of “master and slave”. The Government had allowed multinational supermarkets to exercise “unprecedented power”, he wrote.

“Mary Coughlan and Brendan Smith have got to show that they are on the farmers’ side. They cannot do the same thing with agriculture as they did with financial markets,” Mr McKenna said at the launch yesterday.

However, Irish restaurateurs and artisan producers are bucking the economic trend as many have had their best ever year in business, he said. While customers still want to eat out what they are looking for has changed, he said.

“There is still plenty of money out there, but there is carefulness in the market and value is no longer about price. People want the good stuff they know and only want to spend their money on the good stuff,” he said.

This is a change from the boom when people would go to the latest celebrity chef restaurant. They are going back to the tried, tested and trusted and these are the people that are flourishing,” he said.

Containing some 1,500 entries, the guide lists some 300 more places than the last edition in 2007. Mr McKenna noted a sharp increase in entries for counties which previously did not have a great reputation for food such as Mayo, Leitrim and Louth.

Among the new entrants were three businesses that opened during the recession. Darren Grant of The Organic Supermarket in Blackrock launched his business on the day it was announced Ireland was in recession.

However, it is doing well because “people are going back to cooking from basics as opposed to buying precooked meals,” he said.

He kept costs down by buying from local farmers and his “saving grace” has been growing his customer base through a nationwide delivery service, he said.

The recession has forced restaurants to work harder to please customers and this has improved quality, chef Stephen Gibson said.

Shane Crilly and Aengus Lacey,left their careers to launch Base pizza, a boutique wood-fired pizza delivery business in Terenure in November 2008.

They believe their business has thrived because “people are staying at home, but still want to treat themselves at the weekend”.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0121/1224262782589.html

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The second most cultivated grain in the world  is a powerhouse of nutrients, which we are losing out on when choose white, boil in the bag rice or only ever have it with our Indian or Chinese take away. Rice is a versatile store cupboard essential that is tasty  and economical.

Always choose brown over white rice as it is far richer in nutrients and fibre. The removal of the bran and germ layers in white rice render a nutritionally inferior product that is almost exclusively starch. There is no real difference nutritionally between the varieties of brown rice, so choose the texture and flavour that you prefer. The short-grain varieties tend to be chewier which can be a bit too ‘virtuous’ for some tastes. My favourite  type of brown rice is brown basmati or jasmine rice. The texture is not too different from the white version, cooks up well and is great for salads.

Brown rice has three times the fibre of white rice. This fibre is excellent for the digestive system, attaching to cholesterol and eliminating it from the body, thereby helping to prevent heart disease. The high fibre content exercises the muscle of the bowel, keeping it in good shape, and helps eliminate accumulated waste. This is extremely important to prevent bowel cancer, especially in a diet of stodgy processed foods.

Brown rice is full of B vitamins which are essential to maintain good health. We all hear about B vitamins but what do they actually do? Some of the functions of B vitamins include maintaining brain and nervous system health. Manufacturing antibodies and helping wounds heal faster. Digesting food and stabilising blood sugar levels. And even preventing cataracts! Bottem line, you really need them so just eat them.

After many years of teaching cooking, I find so many students struggle to cook perfect rice. And brown rice is even more confusing for them as there are so many  varieties and no boil in the bag versions. And, just like you, I have also purchased many little bags of various grains from health shops and never cooked them!

I have perfected cooking brown basmati rice and use it as a side dish and also to make hot and cold rice salads. These are great for picnics and to bring into work. Brown rice will also not give you that post lunch snoozy feeling!

Brown Rice Cooking Tips

Buy brown basmati or brown jasmine rice for this method as different varieties require different amounts of water and cooking times.

Allow 1 cup of rice for 2 people. Rinse once under the tap.
Place in a pot and add water. For 1 cup of rice add 2 and a 1/2 cups of cold water.
Bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer uncovered for 20-25 minutes.
When the water has been absorbed, cover and stand for 5-10 minutes.

Rainbow Brown Rice Salad
500g small cooked prawns
2 cups cooked brown rice
1 red pepper, finely chopped
3 spring onions, finely chopped
2 celery sticks, finely chopped
2tbsp lemon juice
2tbsp olive oil
2tbsp Glenisk  crème fraiche
2tbsp fresh chives, finely chopped
1/2tsp sugar
salt and pepper

Mix all the ingredients to combine, season with salt and pepper and garnish with extra chives.

Make sure to either eat rice hot or chilled. At tepid temperatures it breeds bacteria after 90 minutes.

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By making use of web 2.0 tools such as blogging and social networking, Darren Grant has made his online store The Organic Supermarket a huge success

When he opened The Organic Supermarket in Blackrock in 2008, Darren Grant left a secure and very well-paid job to pursue his business idea. “I had no experience in retail, but I really felt that food in Ireland was becoming monotonous and that some of the major supermarket chains were just taking over.” So he carried out a lot of research into the organic food area and detected a clear market niche. “I decided to do research into it and I found out that there wasn’t yet a 100pc dedicated organic supermarket in Ireland and went about building a business plan.” Now Ireland’s largest organic retailer, Grant says he aims to steadily expand his business portfolio to make it Europe-wide within the next five years and has trademarked The Organic Supermarket in all EU member states.

While his original plan was to grow a physical retail business, in the “depths of the recession” he chose to set up an online store (www.organicsupermarket.ie) as a more cost effective means of reaching new markets. Today The Organic Supermarket employs six people, with Grant adding that good old-fashioned customer service is integral, whether interacting with customers online or in person.
“Our market went from 4,000 people to four million people overnight. In addition, our overheads remain the same yet we can exponentially grow our revenue through the same costs that we are incurring. I see the website as our core business going forward in 2010.”

To read the full interview click here to download the PDF

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While we have been having fun building organic snowmen, and our country has ground to a virtual halt, our farmers have not enjoyed the extreme weather as much.  Unfortunately our local organic farms in Wicklow and Kildare remain frozen over.  Our farmers having been doing there best to save the crops but only when we have the big ‘thaw’ will we be able to assess the damage.
We are happy to confirm that 99% of our local suppliers including Kelly’s Milk, Mossfield Cheese and Just Food soups amongst others managed to brave the ice last week and due to their valiant efforts we are now fully restocked.  We also have secured two large deliveries of fruit and Vegetables for Monday and Thursday of this week.

In store news includes, Blazing Salad Bread releasing two new delicious soda breads and much welcomed back Morrin O’Rourke homemade organic pies.  We have a new organic baby food range “Plum Baby” and a new exciting line of organic cosmetics all of which will be live on our website by the end of next week.

Our web store has another 1000 products to be added, so our team are still busy photographing and describing them.  We are averaging 30 new products a week on the site, so keep checking back.  Also, if there is a product that you have seen in store that is not on the site, simply request it at the comments field at checkout.

In store tasting next week include Match Tea on Saturday, the ultimate Detox green tea! Finally, to help with the January Detox we have launched The Ultimate Juicing Box, you simply can’t get fresher juice, packed with antioxidants vitamins and minerals in their purest form. 10% off for January too leaves you no excuse.

Happy New Year to all our customers.

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Firstly we would like to thank all our customers, both in store and from across Ireland for such tremendous support throughout the past year.  We have managed to deliver fresh organic food to all corners of Ireland and are very proud to have served you.

Our last  internet order will be leaving our store on Santa’s Sleigh, on Tuesday 22nd to arrive in your home on the 23rd.  Please ensure you order before 2pm.  Due to very high demand we recommend you order now and you can pick your dispatch day in the comments field at checkout.  Our internet deliveries will resume on January 4th 2010.

Our Blackrock store in Dublin has the following opening hours:

Christmas Eve 24th                          8am-6pm
Christmas Day 25th                         Closed
St Stephen’s Day 26th                     Closed
Sunday 27th                                     Closed
Monday 28th                                   Closed
Tuesday 29th                                   8-8pm
Wednesday 30th                              8-8pm
New Year’s Eve                                 8-6pm
New Year’s Day                               Closed
Saturday 2nd                                    9-8pm

We would like to wish you and your family a peaceful Christmas and a very happy new year.

From all the team at The Organic Supermarket.

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Our Staff are fasting for 24hrs tomorrow to experience what millions of children go through on a daily basis throughout the developing world.  Working surrounded by food all day, we felt that to do a day without food to raise funds and awareness that can even help one child was a worthy cause.  Please give what you can.

Concern will receive your money directly so they can put it to work in some of the poorest communities worldwide.

You can donate in store or online directly with concern at www.concernfast.org/darrengrant1

Thanks so much for your support.

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The Organic Supermarket WINS “Best E-Commerce Best Retail and Commercial Shopping website 2009” at this years eircom Golden Spider Awards

I have to say on a personal note that I am humbled to have won this fantastic award. We had some amazingly worthy competition and we take our hat off to all!

Thanks to the Golden Spiders and TV3 the category sponsor but most importantly to The Creative District, for not alone creating beautiful website, but creating a industry recognised, leading e-commerce business.  I cannot praise the work of Ray Doyle and Ken Stanley enough.  This is a testament to their combined creative and solution driven business.

I would also like to thank the staff of our little store, it took countless hours to photograph and describe every product (and we still have 750 more to do) but it seems to have been worth it in the end.  One other person worthy of a mention is Alex Donal (http://alexdonald.wordpress.com/) who’s unrelenting support has been at the foundation of our company and me.

Finally thank you to our customers whom continue to support our independent venture and are the real reason behind the success of our staff, store and website.

Darren

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We are delighted to announce that celebrity chef Rozanne Steven’s has volunteered to bring her wealth of knowledge of food and recipes to our organic blog. Roz has been a great supporter of organic food and a frequent visitor to our store.

She even recently mentioned us on her weekly Pat Kenny show.  She has recently rebranded her wonderful cookery school and we strongly suggest you check out her fantastic courses.

Below is her first update about the wonderful Quinoa and an exciting recipe to match!

Rozannes Recipe Corner

I first tried quinoa about 15 years ago when I read about it in The Readers’ Digest of all places. The article about this South American wonder grain was fascinating but gave no real clue as to how to cook it and make it appealing. Quinoa has been called a super food and a wonder grain. It is in fact the fruit of a South American herb of which there are over 300 varieties. But we won’t split hairs. Quinoa created such a stir because it is a complete protein, something rare in the plant kingdom. A perfect protein means that quinoa contains all the essential amino acids that your body can’t produce and must obtain through food. Amino acids are the building blocks of protein, used in every cell of our bodies. Vegetarians would normally have to ‘protein combine’ and eat several foods in one meal to ensure a variety of amino acids. Plant proteins are much easier to digest than animal proteins, so even if you aren’t a vegetarian, quinoa is a fantastic food to try. Protein gives a feeling of fullness so you wont get the munchies soon after. It also provides high quality building blocks for all the cells in your body.

My first experience cooking with quinoa was pretty bad, it smelt and tasted pretty horrible. This is because quinoa is covered with a natural phytochemical called saponins. This substance is meant to deter insects from eating the grain before it has a chance to germinate. This gives quinoa a funny taste and smell. So before cooking, rinse very well in a sieve. It took me 10 years to find that out! The following recipe I must admit is a makey uppy recipe that turned out really, really well. I took some of my favorite foodie treats, combined with some French cooking technique and the result is a colourful, ,moreish dish with contrasting textures and colours. I hope you enjoy this dish as much as I do, it is one of my favorites.

Xxx Roz

Colourful Quinoa Casserole

- 2tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 sticks celery, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 cup quinoa, well rinsed
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 2tbsp pitted black olives
- 3-4 artichoke hearts in oil or brine, halved
- 10-12 semi-sundried tomatoes
- 2 fresh tomatoes, diced (optional)
- 1tbsp sundried tomato pesto or paste
- 150g green beans, cut into short lengths (can use frozen peas) – 2tbsp chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Method:

Heat the olive oil in a non stick frying pan. Gently fry the onions, garlic, carrots and celery until softened.

Add the quinoa, chicken stock, olives, artichokes, tomatoes and paste. Bring to thee boil, the reduce to a simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until the quinoa is coming apart and the liquid has mostly evaporated.

Add the green beans and cook for a further 5 minutes.

Season and stir through the parsley. – Keeps well in the fridge for 3 days.

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