  Pesto has become very popular lately, maybe because it just tastes so good.
It is not easy to find dairy-free / vegan ones, but it is so easy to make it yourself. Wonderful with linguine or in gnocchi, on warm potatoes or in a mixed bean and veggies dish. Ingredients
Method
That is all that is required … Jacques Brennan
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 I absolutely love the Palm Free shampoo bar. It really ticks all the boxes for me. Irish-made, palm-free, plastic-free and genuinely effective. From the first use, it felt like a product I could rely on.
It lathers beautifully and leaves my hair feeling clean and fresh without being stripped. The scent is gentle and natural, which I really appreciate. Nothing overpowering, just a lovely, subtle freshness. I’ve also noticed that it has a nice clarifying effect. I usually wash my hair every second day, but with this bar I can stretch it to a third day, which means less washing, less waste and healthier hair overall. What stands out is the quality. Real care and expertise have gone into creating these bars, using thoughtful ingredients and keeping sustainability at the heart of it all. It feels good to support a small, Irish, family-run business that is so committed to doing things properly. It works brilliantly, smells amazing and is great value too. I will definitely be buying it again, and it also makes a lovely gift. Review by Aine  March and April bring one of nature’s most generous gifts, wild garlic. Found growing in shady woodlands and along hedgerows, it is a perfect example of seasonal, local food that requires no packaging and very little effort once you know what to look for.
How to recognise it Wild garlic has long, soft green leaves and a very distinct smell. The easiest way to identify it is to gently crush a leaf between your fingers. If it smells strongly of garlic, you are on the right track. Later in the season, it produces small white star-shaped flowers. Always be careful not to confuse it with similar-looking plants like lily of the valley, which are not edible, so when in doubt, rely on the garlic scent. How to forage responsibly Take only what you need and leave plenty behind so it can continue to grow and spread. Pick leaves from different plants rather than clearing one patch, and avoid pulling up the bulbs so the plant can regenerate year after year. A small handful goes a long way. How to use it Wild garlic is incredibly versatile. You can chop it fresh into salads, stir it through potatoes, blend it into pesto, add it to soups or mix it into butter for an easy flavour boost. It brings a gentle garlic taste without being overpowering. How to store it Fresh leaves will keep in the fridge for a few days, but if you have a good haul, there are plenty of ways to preserve them. You can freeze it chopped, blend it into pesto and freeze in portions, or dry it for later use. Another simple option is to make wild garlic oil or butter, which can be stored and used over time. Wild garlic is a lovely reminder that some of the best food is growing right around us. Foraging, when done thoughtfully, connects us to the seasons and helps reduce reliance on packaged ingredients. It is zero waste at its most natural. If foraging is not for you, you can also drop in to The Urban Co-op and pick up locally foraged wild garlic leaves, making it easy to enjoy this seasonal treat without the guesswork. Geraldine Fitzpatrick  Beef for breakfast? Why not? This hearty and filling dish makes a great breakfast or lunch, and uses ingredients you are likely to have in your pantry and freezer.
It is enjoyed by everyone in our house and extended family. Ingredients
Method Add 1 tbsp ghee to the pan on medium heat. When ghee is hot, add onion and saute for 3 minutes. Add ground beef. Crumble the beef and stir. Keep stirring and breaking up the beef until it is fully cooked through, about 10 minutes. Add potatoes and stir. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add tomato sauce and mix. Add enough water to almost cover the potatoes. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer and cover. Cook until potatoes are soft, about 15 minutes. Open and boil off some of the liquid if there is too much. When the tomato sauce is nice and thick, crack 6 eggs on top of the hash. Sprinkle hash with the cheese, make sure it is simmering, and cover. Check every minute, and turn off when eggs have just set and turned white on top. This will make for a delicious runny egg yolk. Serve and enjoy! Taken from https://www.westonapricerecipes.com/post/breakfast-beef-and-egg-hash Anne Maher  I wish I had this at the beginning but there you go ..maybe I can wait for grandkids. We love to welcome the new co-op babies and delight in seeing them thrive on nourishing foods! Having a guidebook for the journey is always a help so can we recommend the Nourishing Traditions Book of Baby & Childcare. It’s a keeper! There are recipes and remedies for reference.
Anne Maher  Perhaps I am a catastrophist. Perhaps it’s a negative mindset that I grew up with. A throwback to famine days? Perhaps it is because I studied the area of nutrition in emergencies and once planned to go work at a therapeutic feeding centre in Africa. But I often imagine the scenario of our shelves empty of food and the panic that ensues for the population. What would you do if your pantry was bare? Where would you go? Is there a local farmer you trust where you can get some food? Is there a garden nearby? How far is it from your home? Do you know how to get there? How would we organise ourselves to share food in an emergency?
I imagine if I were very used to having a Just Eat system arriving every day I would struggle to cope starting from scratch to find food again. Our just in time systems are amazing when they work and a real problem when they don’t. As I type I don’t know what is going to happen with war plans, oil traffic and laws of unintended consequences. I do know that the skills involved in growing and producing food are vitally important, more so when there are times of scarcity. Perhaps we will learn to value just how much pretty soon enough. Anne Maher  Health insurance is a topic of discussion recently. With the new private hospital open to customers, ahem, sorry I mean, patients, there are tales of the rising costs for insurance policies. Another hospital is in the planning. There is comfort and security in having insurance to cover the costs of healthcare. I understand that. It takes the stress out of a future worry, I guess. Recent research suggests the average cost per year is €1,900. Customers are encouraged to shop around for better deals, of course. The onus is on the customer to seek the value.
I haven’t got private health insurance and it is by choice. The public system is funded by taxes, so I figure I am paying into it already. Not that I want to use it regularly! I choose to put the money into other things like good organic food and a sun holiday. A seaweed bath. A bicycle. A walk in the forest. Bare foot on the grass. Organic bedding for a good night's sleep. Courses on foraging for medicinal herbs.. another book.. that is my health insurance and you know, it’s often free! I hear that in South Africa, you can earn rewards to keep your private health insurance policy costs lower. Gym membership and healthy food, for instance, can lower your premium and you are encouraged to be responsible for your own health. I like this idea and wonder why don’t they do that here to the same degree. But then, sick people are good customers for the system and the incentive is there to maintain the status quo. It would be a sea change if doctors were paid on the true success of a patient getting well rather than by the number of tests and treatments carried out. If medical interventions and medication are a leading cause of death then my money is on real food. I’ll take my chances. Anne Maher |
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