Potato Skins & Mushroom Filling a la Hungry Soul
  
We are not quite in mushroom season yet. But the weather is changing so the thought of root vegetables, mushrooms and sage is not too far off.
 
There is a little work, but not too much. If you have leftover potatoes from the day before it is even better, they will hold together well when you scoop them out, and it mean less work on the day 😊
 
These roasted and stuffed skins make a wonderful starter or you can use small potatoes and make finger food for a party … only problem is they will be eaten sooo fast and everyone will want more!
  
Enough for 2 servings
 
Recipe
 
INGREDIENTS

• 3 large potatoes – pre-boiled, with skins on of course!
• 250 g fresh chestnut mushrooms – coarsley chopped
• 1 shallot – finely chopped
• 3 or 4 leaves of fresh sage - minced
• ½ tub of Hungry Soul – Cracked Black pepper cream cheese
• A drop of olive oil

  
METHOD

1. Allow the boiled potatoes to cool, then slice in two and scoop out much of the flesh leaving a good 5 to 10mm.
2. With a little olive oil, coat with a brush or with your hands the potatoes, inside and out and place in a hot oven at 180 C until just browning and going crisps.
3. While the skins are in the oven make the filling.
4. Soften the shallot in a little oil in a frying pan on medium heat, then add the chopped mushrooms and the minced sage leaves. Cook, stirring until the mushrooms start losing their liquid.
5. Add the Hungry Soul to the mushrooms and a ¼ cup of water and stir until all well combined.
6. Remove the skins from the oven, fill with the mushrooms and serve.

 
Serve with a grind of black pepper if you like that kind of thing.
 
A perfect starter and your guests will want more! 😊

I adore Labneh (strained yogurt) and am delighted to include this recipe from Izzeddeen Alkarajeh & Eman Aburabi new cookbook Jibrin. In fact, this recipe can also double as a book review!

It is about their culinary journey from Palestine to Cork, and I purchased it recently for my fabulous friend and of course myself! Jibrin is more than just a cookbook; it’s a celebration of food, culture, and heritage. You may wish to treat family and friends to this wonderful cookbook. I got mine in O'Mahony's, my local book shop.

Palestinian labneh is a creamy, tangy yogurt spread made from cow's or sheep's milk, salted after straining, then often drizzled with olive oil and herbs. In Palestine, it's a mainstay in breakfast spreads or mezze. 

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 1 litre plain full-fat Bulgarian-style or Greek-style yogurt (I am going to use Mossfield Organic Yogurt)
• 1 tsp salt

Garnish

• Pinch of Za'atar
• Pinch of Sumac
• Chopped Fresh Mint or Oregano
• Olive Oil

Method

1. Put a large piece of cheesecloth or muslin in a fine mesh strainer set on the top of a bowl.
2. Pour the yogurt onto the cheesecloth or muslin.
3. Gather up the edges of the cloth and tie them together, then put the bowl in the refrigerator. 
4. Let it strain for 12-24 hours (the longer the yogurt strains, the thicker it will become).
5. Transfer the strained yogurt (labneh) into a bowl and mix in the salt. It should have a thick consistency, almost like cream cheese.
6. Discard the liquid (whey) or save it for other uses - you can use it instead of water in baking or bread recipes, or add to smoothies (check out our zero-waste for September).
7. Store the labneh in an airtight container or jar for up to a week, cover with a thin layer of olive oil to preserve the freshness.
8. To serve, put the labneh in a serving bowl. Use the back of a spoon to spread it up the sides of the bowl, then create a well in the middle of the bowl. Sprinkle with za'atar and sumac. Scatter chopped fresh mint or oregano into the well, then drizzle generously with olive oil.

Serving Suggestions

• Breakfast  - enjoy with warm pitta, tomatoes and cucumber
• Snack - use it as a dip with fresh vegetables or crackers
• Mezze Platter - pair with hummus, olives and roasted aubergine dishes
• Flavour Variations - add minced garlic, lemon zest or chilli flakes

If you are in Cork drop in to Izz Café and taste their delightful food.

Geraldine Fitzpatrick

Irish apples are my absolute favourite this time of year. They’re so crisp and juicy, nothing like the ones that travel halfway across the world to get here. Biting into one always takes me back to childhood, climbing apple trees and filling pockets with windfalls for a snack on the way home.

I love eating them just as they are, but they’re also gorgeous in a crumble or even sliced thin on toast with peanut butter. It feels good knowing they’re grown locally, too, so every bite supports Irish growers. A true taste of autumn! Review by Mary

Let us know which of our products are your favourites and why
Email Geraldine [email protected]

Don’t Waste the Whey!

If you’re trying our September recipe of making labneh at home, don’t throw away the whey that strains off your yogurt. This nutrient-rich liquid is packed with protein, calcium, and probiotics, and can be put to great use in the kitchen.

You can use whey in place of water when baking bread for an extra boost of flavour and nutrition, add it to soups or stews for depth, or blend it into smoothies for a light, tangy twist. It also makes a fantastic base for fermenting vegetables or soaking grains and pulses, helping digestion and enhancing flavour. Add to your salsa and it will keep for a week. Even your plants will thank you, diluted whey is a gentle, natural fertiliser for the garden!

Every drop counts, and whey is a wonderful example of how zero-waste living can be both practical and delicious.

Geraldine Fitzpatrick

This is not quite a book review, but still a reflection of the times we live in! Technology has taken over! I was keen to recommend a book written in 2012 – an oldie but a goodie, but when looking to source it, I made the executive decision to not go ahead with getting this book for The Urban Co-op.

You may have this one somewhere or not, but if you come across the book “Make Yourself Better” by Philip Weeks in a second-hand shop, snap it up! A simple read, but it covers so many areas of health and how you can do as it says on the tin.. make yourself better. 

A compromise, though, is his website – updated with his wisdom and in a readable form too, so I am highlighting it for you to check out. You may be able to get that answer you are looking for. 

Anne Maher

Food recalls were a common feature of the news this summer. Ready meals and packed spinach were the targets this time. I always find these recalls fascinating. Food produced at scale means that when a recall happens there are major impacts for the businesses. Depending of course on the size of the business. Some are too big to fail. For small enterprises though a recall can be catastrophic and invariably an end.
 
The ”possible presence” of a pathogenic bacteria though is usually given as the reason lately. That is a very vague statement in my opinion. Is testing not specific enough in our technologically advanced world? Would this hold up in a court of law? I wonder.
 
What it does hold up in though, is the mind of the public. Condemned through fear, reputations sink through association and businesses sink or swim. Remember how the sales of sanitizer rose in 2020...?
 
Our lives are not risk free. It is worth reminding ourselves of this fact. A poor immune system reinforced with years of poor diet and lifestyle will not be protected by food safety recalls. The eternal dilemma of the germ theory versus the terrain theory needs a reminder. Removing the bugs with strong antibiotics, sterilants and sanitisers does not help in the long run although it is a lucrative model for those involved along the chain… The reality of health comes back to us protecting and building up our immune system. We are learning the hard way.
 
“The terrain is everything, the microbe is nothing” a famous phrase apparently attributed to Pasteur on his deathbed. 

Anne Maher

The times are a changing and I am excited with the prospect of our dietary guidelines being updated in a timely fashion in the USA. We may all be distracted with news of peace talks but there is something more impactful happening in Washington.
 
Every 5 years the dietary guidelines are revised according to the evidence emerging on nutrition. You will recognise these guidelines as the food pyramid. I used to believe they were a credible piece of guidance to help us provide evidence based nutrition advice. I stopped believing that when I realized that despite the evidence of contrary fact the same old dogma was rolled out. Low fat is good, saturated fat is bad etc… It is easier to keep rolling out the same message than admit you were wrong. For many years we have championed how important fat is not to mention the fat soluble vitamins within! Bread may have moved up a row on the pyramid but we still cannot have a carvery meal without the serious helping of carbs.
 
These are interesting times as I believe the guidelines are going to be radically different under the leadership of the new administration in the US. They are expected to be a simpler message so that we can understand them better. I cannot wait to get hold of them! Watch this space next month.. 

Anne Maher