Enough for a few hungry souls during the festive season. Your guest will be very pleased with this on the platter; it will be the first to go!  Not only for vegans, why deprive others of such tasty morsels?
 
SMOKED PARIKA CHEESE LOG with NUTS & CRANBERRIES
 
INGREDIENTS 

1. A tub of HUNGRY SOUL – Smoked Paprika
2. A good handful of roasted nuts
3. A similar amount of cranberries

 
METHOD 

• Empty the entire tub of Hungry Soul into a bowl
• Chop the nuts and cranberries and put half of each into the bowl and mix into the cheese.
• Place the cheese mix onto a sheet of cellophane / clingfilm, wrap it and shape into a log before placing in the fridge for 30 minutes or so to set.
• Remove the cheese from the film and roll it over the remaining chopped nuts and cranberries.
• Wrap it this time with a sheet of grease proof paper and set it back into the fridge for another few minutes and serve on your cheese board with some nice crackers.

 
NOTE:   A video showing it made is available on the Instagram, go to @hungrysoulvegan_  Just scroll down through the posts and you will find it.
 
 
GARLIC, CHIVES & LEMON CHEESE SPREAD
 
INGREDIENTS 

1. A tub of HUNGRY SOUL – Garlic & Chives
2. Lemon rind
3. Fresh dill

 
METHOD 

• To a tub of Hungry Soul – garlic & chives, add the shavings / rind of approx. a ¼ to a ½ of the skin of a lemon and a small handful of fresh chives, finely chopped.
• Mix it well and allow to rest in the fridge for 20 minutes before serving.
• Serve with light fine crackers.

 
 Note: Use organic unwaxed lemons and wash well before shaving.
 
HUNGRY SOUL
‘Making it easier and tastier to adopt that plant-based diet we all aspire to!’
 
To serve make a bed of the wilted Swiss chard and top it with a nice ladle of the chickpeas. Finish with a sprinkle a little fresh chopped mint and a squeeze of lemon.
 
Voila, that easy … and it always tastes great!😊

​Jacques Brennan 

When I first started thinking about switching to more environmentally friendly products at home, it felt quite overwhelming. There seemed to be so much to change, and I wasn’t sure where to begin. What really helped was breaking it down into small, manageable steps and reminding myself that it didn’t all have to happen at once.

One of the easiest places for me to start was with cleaning products. Swapping out chemical dishwashing powders and household cleaners for gentler, eco-friendly alternatives felt achievable and made an immediate difference. These products clean just as well, without the harsh chemicals, and they’re kinder to our homes and the environment.

Refillable cleaning products made the change even simpler. Reusing my bottles and topping them up with natural liquid cleaners reduced plastic waste and felt like a positive, practical habit I could stick with.

Taking things slowly made the whole process far less daunting. By focusing on one area at a time, greener living started to feel doable and even enjoyable. Small changes really do add up.

The real bonus for me is that I can make these changes easily at The Urban Co-op, where I can refill what I need and choose greener options all in one place.​

​Geraldine Fitzpatrick

A good broth recipe is a godsend. Change up the meats for chicken, beef or ham.
​
Ingredients:

• 200g lamb neck or shoulder, cut into 1-inch pieces (you can also use leftover cooked lamb)
• 1 litre of lamb/chicken stock
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 carrots, diced
• 1 turnips, diced
• ½  cup pearl barley, rinsed
• 1/4 cup dried green split peas, rinsed
• 1 tsp chopped fresh parsley  
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions for cooking Scotch Broth:

1. Prepare the Lamb (if using raw): If you’re using raw lamb, place the lamb pieces in a large pot and cover with the water or lamb/chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer gently for about 1 hour, skimming off any foam that rises to the surface. If using leftover cooked lamb, skip this step and add it later.  
2. Add Vegetables and Barley: Add the chopped onion, diced carrots, and diced turnips to the pot. Stir in the rinsed pearl barley and split peas.
3. Simmer: Bring the soup back to a gentle simmer. Cover the pot and cook for another 1 to 1.5 hours, or until the lamb is very tender, the vegetables are cooked through, and the barley and split peas have softened and thickened the broth. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.
4. Add Cooked Lamb (if applicable): If you’re using leftover cooked lamb, add it to the pot during the last 30 minutes of simmering to heat through. You can shred the lamb if desired.
5. Season and Finish: Once the broth has reached your desired consistency and all the ingredients are cooked, season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Stir in the chopped fresh parsley just before serving.
6. Serve: Ladle the Scotch Broth into bowls and serve hot. It’s a meal in itself!

Make Ahead: Scotch Broth is a great soup to make ahead of time. The flavors will meld together even more overnight. Store it in the refrigerator and reheat gently. It also freezes well.

Anne Maher 

The Germ in the Dairy Pail by Forrest Maready

I do love a book about raw milk, and here is the latest one… cannot wait to read it, but here is the review on Amazon!
 
Once revered as nature's perfect nourishment, milk became public enemy number one as germ theory unleashed collective panic about the invisible world within our food. Forrest Maready uncovers the fascinating, forgotten story of how this fear—epitomised by the notorious "swill milk" scandal—reshaped our food landscape forever.
 
Through meticulous research and compelling storytelling, Maready reveals a provocative truth: the dangers attributed to raw milk stemmed not from the beverage itself, but from rapid industrialisation that compromised its natural integrity. While modern processes stripped milk of its inherent benefits, countless healing stories persisted—including John D. Rockefeller's remarkable recovery on a raw milk diet when conventional medicine had failed him.
 
The Germ in the Dairy Pail weaves history, science, and cultural analysis into an eye-opening narrative that challenges our modern distrust of natural foods. As raw milk experiences a renaissance today, Maready's timely investigation invites readers to question the fear-based policies dominating our food systems and reconsider the delicate balance between safety and nature's wisdom. A must-read for anyone who cares about the forces shaping what we eat—and the forgotten wisdom we've left behind.

Anne Maher

Change is inevitable in life, and how we react to it is a mark of our resilience.  What helps us to adapt when we need to face change? How often has a crisis happened to you that, in hindsight, you valued for the lessons it taught you? I acknowledge we live in a world where tragedy and misfortune can be milked for the attention it gets. For some, the identity of tragedy is a badge to display and rehash to the newest audience. Psychologists echo the victim-victimiser narrative that has been a feature of our generation. Resilience, though, is one response that is underemphasised. Instead of amplifying the victimhood and drama surrounding the same, perhaps we should emphasise strategies for managing crisis and change. I must admit to getting some satisfaction from teaching this to my teenage daughter. Rule one: Bad things will happen. Rule two: Put it in perspective. Rule three: Have a plan to adapt. Rule four: Each choice has a consequence..
 
Taking ownership of our health in this way, we can apply those rules too. Perhaps we can change rule four to rule one. Let’s say we choose to eat lots of ultra-processed products because they are cheap and convenient. Let's say we get sick from same. Let's say we decide that’s just the way it is, it's inevitable. Then adapt our life to illness. Or lets say we turn it around when the crisis hits and we change diet to real foods, organic, clean etc… we learn to nourish ourselves again and think consciously about health. We find life changes in dramatically positive ways…we find our tribe, and it becomes a fun adventure of opportunity.. each choice has a consequence. Resilience is learned early, but with the right choices becomes easier. Sometimes change is the best catalyst!
 
We look forward to the change coming for The Urban Co-op. Time to adapt and build our resilience. 

Anne Maher

With all the information on food labels it is difficult if not impossible to make decisions on nourishment. We act in faith that the truth is being told to us on the quality of ingredients. So much trust in the food system. Of course there is plenty of regulation and legislation along the way to give us the sense of protection and food “security”
 
With our food systems under scrutiny though and ultra processed foods being outed for their destructive health impacts it is time to rethink how we actually perceive food. I ask the question always how close can we get to the source of our food? The Urban Co-op is a conduit between the farm and us. But are we prepared to go further? Growing our own is actively encouraged of course in terms of gardening. But what about meat? Are we prepared to hunt, fish, kill, skin, gut, pluck etc to prepare our dinner? All the stages involved in getting food to the table that we never have to contemplate because we have outsourced it. This disconnect may be our undoing. Real food means re establishing the connections with where the food comes from. Living foods. Getting to know our farmer is a good start. They are the custodians of the living foods. Their work needs to be seen, acknowledged, valued as a start. Isn’t it time to get busy living instead of managing our deterioration? 

​Anne Maher