Recipes

Although the demand for convenience or 'quick to cook' food is now up to 68%, an increase of 12% in the last four years, research undertaken by Bord Bia is beginning to indicate an increase of families eating together - 63% on weekdays, 65% on Saturdays and 74% on Sundays, whether it be in or out of home. Making the choice to eat healthier food has also increased and the top three requirements are foods that are 'natural, high in fibre and limiting fast food intake'. 'Low in fat', was fourth in this list - an interesting result that could show increased awareness of the fact that fat is needed in cooking, for both succulence and flavour.
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'Feasts' (Mitchell Beazley, stg£20), a delightful new cookery book on the food of central and eastern Europe, has arrived on my desk and, given the number of people now living in Ireland who are native to those regions and - perhaps more surprisingly - the amount of ingredients that we share, it should find a niche here.
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Diwali, the five-day Indian Festival of Lights, begins today. This special celebration of togetherness marks the start of the Hindu New Year and is one of the largest festivals of its kind in India and amongst Indian people all over the world. The word Diwali means 'Group of Light' and it takes place in autumn each year for five days. Lights play a very important part in all Diwali celebrations and, just like our Hallowe'en, fireworks are often used, symbolising the victory of divine forces over evil.
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This Monday (Nov 06) marks the beginning of National Organic Week - well officially, anyway; unofficially the first event seems to be today, when a new range of organic beef, Omega, is being launched at the beautifully converted Red Stables at St Anne's Park, Raheny, Dublin; food markets are now held there on Saturdays and this would be an ideal opportunity to have a look around.
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We all want to know where our food is coming from - the reasons why we need this information are increasing all the time, and now include issues that may not have seemed important until recently, such as food miles and genetically modified seeds; but, in view of scares such as BSE and worry about meat and poultry imports from countries without credible quality control systems, the most urgent concern remains the question of food safety.
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