Let Margaret keep you updated with our Home Grown blog

It's Healthy to Cheat

2012-02-07 23:05:58

Sometimes I can,t be bothered cooking. But if I do not use a fair amount of the fresh stuff and go for ready made meals I feel so guilty. Solution buy the ready made, read the ingredients list and add from the list.
Ready made Chilli- add peppers onions celery.
Beef Curry - onions, tomatoes, corriander
Chicken Supreme- mushrooms and parsley

Now I don't feel guilty at all.

Three Simple Steps Towards Healthier Living.WIPE OUT WEDNESDAYS

2011-06-02 07:44:28

How many times have you hit that 4.00pm deadline and thought “what will I make for the tea/dinner tonight” then shopped on the way home,begrudging the time it takes and feeling guilty about the expense of impulse purchases only to realize when you get home you had enough in the fridge anyway!

Here is one solution--Take a notebook

1. Each Wednesday tidy out the fridge and neaten up the lard (I mean only a quick shifty round, dump the out-of dates and wipe) Now you know what you have!

2. Write out a menu for the week using the food you have . Include the times you eat out. Also consider a favourite meal for each family member so no-one feels left out. Control your brainthoughts and stick to simple easy-do meals you know. Include breads, juices, snacks, crickets and grubs, wine, whatever you as a family consume.

3.Write out your shopping list and do the shopping.

Now you know what is for each meal and you will know you have the ingredients. (This will feel really good!)

You are now in complete control of your diet and that of your family. You will be in control of your spending on food and you will have reduced your food waste . You will want to try new recipes and will be encouraged because you will have all your ingredients.
What’s more should you need to make changes to your diet for whatever reason it will be there in front of you in your note book. You will be able to see for yourself where you can make changes. If you need to loose weight, reduce cholesterol, improve the family’s 5-a-Day , you can confidently and easily make those changes in your Menu Plan. xo

Recipe for Playdough

2011-03-13 07:35:42

When my children were tiny they loved playing with Playdoh. I was amazed to find out how easy it was to make and can make heaps of it for the young children at my Church\\\\\\\'s Sunday School. Here is the recipe-just for fun.

Recipe For Playdough
In a saucepan put
3 cups flour
3 cups water
1 ½ cups salt
2 tbsp veg. oil
1 tbsp cream of tartar
Using a wooden spoon stir all together over a gentle heat until all thickens. Keep working and turning it over in the pan until you get a very stiff dough ball. You will see the texture and colour change slightly when cooked enough.( Check it does not stick to your fingers ) Tip the ball out and knead a little.
Store in a zippy bag or clingfilm.

So what makes JAZZ so good?

2011-02-25 05:50:49

I sourced this from the Enza site and would have to agree with all their promo.
CRUNCH – JAZZ™ is the loudest apple on record.* Feel the Bite! Every chomp brings satisfaction to the ears.
COLOUR – This is one handsome apple. It’s quality radiates from the shelf without the need for beauty aids.
TASTE – First time eaters stop in their tracks after tasting the tangy-sweet bite of a JAZZ™ apple and savouring the lingering, lucious aftertaste!
ZING – More acid than sugar, the tangy-sweet, juicy crunch, cleanses and refreshes the pallet and sharpens the mind.
SIZE – JAZZ™ is the perfect size for a satisfying fruit snack. Not too big, not too small. No waste - just taste.
CONSISTENCY – Dense and firm, JAZZ™ stays harder for longer. Put it in the fridge, on a workmans bench or in a lunch box and watch it stay delicious and tempting for weeks.**

** ENZA recommends apples are stored in the fridge until 1–2 days prior to consumption.
Available now in our Fruit section.

Conference pears

2011-02-11 08:27:43

I have just been informed that there will be no seasonal break in the conference pears. We normally do not have these pears from end of June until September. This year however there are enough in cold storage to draw from right up until the new crop that is developing is ready for harvest.
From the business point of view that is good but in my heart I feel a sense of disappointment. No more delight at the first pick ,no anticipition no honeyed sweetness to savour. What we now get is a perfectly sound pear, juicy-yes but nothing that excites the senses. How long will we stay interested in eating when all our fruits taste the. A watery sweetness and no real scent. Bland and totally inoffensive and always the same.
This Autumn I am going to try and find some decent pears. I will not be looking for pretty ones but rather ones with taste and luscious honeyed juice. Taste that goes to my head to remember, to my heart to desire and to my soul to be grateful

Learning Curves!!

2011-01-27 00:52:39

All I really want to do is sell lovely natural food. But it is not enough to stand in the shop and serve my customers. Now I need to know how to use facebook, twitter and you tube. How to maintain a web-site, online maketing. All so as I can tell you what I have. At times I find it all very daunting and then when I learn something new and understand the process -IT IS SUCH NEW FUN. Facebook and You Tube bring life to this site. Hope you enjoy shopping here.

Cooking in the Kitchen

2011-01-05 07:42:44

Spent a lovely day in my kitchen just cooking. Red Wine and Beef Casserole with Juniper was one, and then a few trial salads for our Deli. The Roasted Vegetable Cous Cous was my favourite.

Christmas Trees

2010-11-25 06:46:51

Christmas trees arriving today. About a month ago Trevor tagged our trees. We always choose our trees rather than just buying a lorry load. Now they have been cut and all being well will arrive today. This sort of marks the start of our run up to Christmas. Next week cranberries ,kumquats and starfruit , spiced berry cordial and mincepies red cabbage. Christmas food really does embrace seasonal eating.

Menu Planing?

2010-11-22 07:05:57

Me Plan a menu for a week of family meals? As if I haven\\\'t enough to do. I plan staffing rotas, our product range every day, tasks for the day. Decisions, decisions all day long and now I read that menu planing is a marvellous stress relieving activity. I want to go home and rest. Is home not supposed to be a haven ?
But you know I have since found menu planning works. A wee note book , started with a collection of simple meals you know everyone eats and then the shopping done from that. It is such a calming feeling driving home knowing exactly what you have to make and.... no stops on the way home either.
Tonight for us it is Chicken fillets (now defrosting) baked on a bed of our homemade stuffing(also defrosting), Potatoes wedges, carrot parnip and broccoli.

Facebook

2010-11-21 13:25:38

Guess who has been to a seminar on the topic of Facebook ?
Yes that would be me. I never really saw the point of facebook before but now that I am doing it I like it on the personal front I can keep up to date on what is happening a church, see what my nephews and son are on about....Ha Ha they don\'t know this yet. And even some good info and tips that get passed around. On the business front I can include photos and info to online customers whereas in the shop I can only speak with one person at a time if they approach me. Interaction, help, personal attention which I enjoy is something the self service style of shopping does not lend itself to. But Facebook does. So feel free to join in anytime you don\'t have to be a facebook member to view.

Red Cabbage

2010-11-11 07:56:39

Guess what there is a new cabbage in store. Red cabbage is usually a hardish one best pickled or slow cooked- yes delish slow cooked! But this new one is tender and is a cousin of the Sweetheart that we all know this ones a Loveheart. Just shred steam or boil 5-7mins and serve. This one needs no enhancement.

Eat With The Seasons

2010-11-11 07:04:49

New Season Fuji Apples have just arrived in store
Wow! What a great snacking apple! Fuji apples have it all-super sweet, super juicy and super crisp. This Japanese apple has American parents, Red Delicious and Ralls Janet, an antique apple that goes back to Thomas Jefferson in 1793. Fuji is quickly
becoming a favorite variety for many customers

What\'s It Like?
• Very sweet
• Very juicy
• Very crisp, cream colored flesh
Best Uses
• Excellent for eating and salads
• Good for sauce
Special Hint
Fuji applesauce needs little or no sugar.
Available now in store or online

Holidays over

2010-07-28 08:08:42

Well here we are nearly 1st August. I remember when my children were tiny this was the date that triggered that -shop for new school uniforms now momentum. We always started out in good humour but the hassle of searching for the right sizes, good fit, material that the kids sort of liked. Then the traffic on the roads, getting parked and then the children got fed up. That was the time I would have got home with little or nothing healthy for the dinner and would not face another trek out so I phoned the chinese takeaway. Those were the days I had wished I could have just lifted the phone and asked someone to do a fruit and veg delivery to me.

White nails?

2010-07-26 07:19:00

How can I get my nails nice and white? I have strong nails that do not break easily and after a day of hands on work and bagging up new potatoes my cuticles along the sides of my nails just won\'t whiten especially for Saturday nights. I have scrubbed and scrubbed and usually it takes about 2 days for them to look neat. Has anyone a useful tip I could try?

Never tasted!

2010-06-08 19:38:22

On Tuesday night I presented our Fruit and Veg to a group of ladies at Orangefield Presbyterrian Church. I had a lovely evening but my overall recollection of the night was their reaction to what was on show. I see the same senario time and time again. When I pass around samples for tasting, people are suprised by the flavour, and always find fruit or vegetables they had never thought of trying. One lady present who had insisted she did not like grapefruit - changed her mind. I gave her a piece of our specially selected PINK GRAPEFRUIT and ... oOOh that is lovely! was her reaction.
It is feedback such as this that drives me to keep trying.
With the advent of self service style shopping customers are choosing only what is being marketed to them by marketeers whose driving force is money and profit. I intend to market to you and all potential customers from a drive which is primarily from the heart. Hopefully the money reward will follow, but foremost for me it is passing forward the goodness and then pleasure this gives my customers I see.
So I urge you to try Homegrownonline, shop now it is so easy.

New Comber Spuds

2010-06-08 19:24:03

Yes they have arrived. Not that big mind you but then it\'s not the size that matters. Last year I remember my brother telling me that he got the best result for his dinner by only half boiling the potatoes thentipped off the water and finnished cooking them in the microwave. He said that it kept them drier and they didn\'t go black when cold- Comber spuds would always have gone black when they cooled.
I have tried this method and he is right they taste better and don\'t discolour which is great if you want to make salad with them or .....dare I suggest - frying in the pan with bacon and egg.

New Zealand Kiwi have arrived!

2010-05-31 16:44:46

These are my favourite Kiwi. There is something about these New Zealand fruits that just taste so much nicer and now there are the GOLDEN KIWI as well.

I have decided to diet

2010-02-16 23:36:03

I am not very tall and I like all food -good fresh stuff and the really naughty, you know Bounty bars, banoffi pie, crusty bread butter and jam..mmm. So before I put on any more weight I will have to \\\"catch myself on\\\".
I have a diet which I was given years ago and I believe it is quite a healthy one as there are more than 5 a day included and adequate protein. Some nutritionalists may be concerned about the lack of fat, yes some fats are good for us, but the idea is to diet 1 week and then go onto not so strict a one and alternate. I\\\'ve used this diet before and it works for me. The good amount of protein foods means I do not get hungry between meals, which is amazing, I like the way the meals are planned and I do like grapefruit. This favourite diet of mine is very similar to one given to patients who need to loose weight quickly but more interesting I think.
Now if anyone else wants to have a go here are the 2 diets to choose from. Please let me know how you get on.
Diet 1
The basis of this diet is chemical. You should follow the diet to the letter for one week and it will work.

Day 1 Breakfast 1 slice dry toast and grilled tomatoes
Lunch Fresh fruit (any amount)
Dinner 2 hard boiled eggs, salad, grapefruit

Day 2 Breakfast Grapefruit, 1 boiled egg
Lunch Roast chicken (any amount) & tomatoes
Dinner Grilled steak and salad

Day 3 Breakfast Grapefruit, 1 boiled egg
Lunch 2 boiled eggs and tomatoes
Dinner 2 Grilled lamb chops, celery & cucumber

Day 4 Breakfast 2 slices dry toast, 2 poached eggs
Lunch fresh fruit (any amount)
Dinner 2 hard boiled eggs, salad, grapefruit

Day 5 Breakfast 1 slice dry toast, 2 poached eggs
Lunch 2 poached eggs & tomatoes
Dinner Fresh or tinned fish and salad

Day 6 Breakfast 1 boiled egg, 1 glass grapefruit juice
Lunch Fresh fruit (any amount)
Dinner Roast chicken, cabbage, carrots

Day 7 Breakfast 2 scrambled eggs, grilled tomatoes
Lunch 2 Poached eggs& spinach
Dinner Grilled steak & salad
NOTE
Abstain from anything not mentioned.
Eat only what is shown or do without.
No substitutions allowed.
No eating between meals
No alcohol
No butter milk or fat

Drinks = black tea, black coffee, lemon tea, grapefruit juice, tonic, soda or water only
Salad = lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes and celery only

Diet 2
Breakfast each morning is 1 slice of high protein bread no butter or spreads, and 1/2 grapefruit.

Mon
Lunch assorted cold cuts,chicken,lean meats, roast beef your choice. Tomatoes sliced or grilled.
Dinner, Fish (eg salmon) or shellfish of any kind, salad with as many greens and vegetables as you wish. 1 slice protein bread. Grapefruit or fruit in season.

Tues
Lunch, As much fruit salad as you wish. I choose canteloupe melon,clementine, grapes, raspberries and kiwi.
Dinner, Plenty of lean grilled beefburger with Tomatoes,lettuce,celery,brussel sprouts or cucumber.

Wed
Lunch, Tuna or Salmon with onion tomato and salad. 1/2 Galia Melon
Dinner, Roast Lamb and salad of lettuce tomatoes cucumber and celery.

Thurs
Lunch, 2 eggs with lowfat cottage cheese, courgettes , fine beans and tomatoes. 1slice protein bread toasted.
Dinner, Bar B Q Chicken (no skin)plenty of green peppers, baby spinach leaf and fine beans cooked.

Fri
Lunch,Assorted cheese slices, spinach and 1 slice protein bread.
Dinner, Fish or shellfish and salad with parsley and fine onion to flavour and as many cooked or uncooked vegetables as wished. 1 slice protein bread.

Sat
Lunch, Plenty of fruit salad.
Dinner,Roast turkey or Chicken , salad and grapefruit or fruit in season.

Sun
Lunch, Cold or hot Turkey or Chicken with carrots,cabbage,broccoli or cauliflower and tomatoes.
Dinner, Plenty of grilled steak,no fat. Brussel Sprouts and salad of lettuce cucumber celery and tomatoes.

Good Luck.

Hi Sharon

2010-02-04 14:53:39

It was lovely to meet you today. I never realised that one advantage of this site would be making ourselves more approachable to our customers.
When we first started this business one of the greatest pleasures was the craic we had with customers as we served over the counter. But with the advent of self-service that all went. I still miss those times.
Perhaps the web in a way will bring some of that atmosphere back so please anyone reading this feel free to introduce yourself if you are in the shop or email me at sales@homegrownni.com Sharon and I had a lovely few moments discussing the care we put into making stock-Didn\'t we Sharon!

Even the rabbits in the garden know.

2010-01-31 07:30:52

A customer in the shop approached me on Saturday and said \"Our rabbit won\'t eat anyone else\'s veggies other than yours. Spoilt wee thing it is\".
I have often been told that children will insist that their mums buy from us but this is a first to hear of a pet noticing the difference. He certainly knows his green\'s.

This Week

2010-01-24 09:23:31

I have had a lovely busy week. I helped with a project at Victoria Primary school to raise money to help with the Haitie Earthquake, Spent a sucessful time arranging a few good value deals with one of our suppliers for the forthcomming week , seedless grapes, pears, spring greens/pamphrey and onions all nice basic everyday food. I hope all our customers take advantage of these. Then yesterday evening I had been asked to help at a youth night in our church. I am not great at childrens games so instead set up a griddle in the kitchen and any child that wanted could mix, pour, flip and eat their own pancakes with butter and sugar, 6 to 16 year olds had fun.
So all in all a very nice week.

Out and about

2010-01-12 07:12:31

Spent a relaxed and enjoyable afternoon at the Ballyhanwood Center talking about how to use fruit and veg with a group of people who are visually impaired. I was really impressed with the fact that they all prepared their vegetables well in advance and took time to menu plan. One point saddened me though when one lady mentioned that she would like to cook more but as she was unable to read recipes she felt limited with what she could do. I wonder if an audio cookery book is available.

-5 OH NO!

2010-01-09 11:49:56

When I was a child I can remember gathering carrots with my father on the farm when the ground was frozen, as it has been this past week. This and pulling brussel sprouts must be the worst job ever because it gets to the stage where your feet get cold and your hands hurt. Even with todays machinery for harvesting there comes a stage when the harvesters won\\\'t work because the soil is frozen onto the carrots and they are so frozen they snap in two. Luckily our farmers who supply us have left aside in sheltered barns enough to see us through this cold spell.

1000 Christmas dinners

2010-01-09 11:28:16

At Christmas in our shop we provide the basic veggies for over 1000 dinners. We have to plan to have enough bread to make stuffing with -300 loaves or there abouts enough help to make up all the Christmas hampers and Fruit baskets enough carrots and sprouts because everybody needs the same things all on the same day. But we guessed right and didn\'t run out which would be my main worry. I don\'t like to disappoint anyone. So I can now relax and sleep which I intend to do right through into the new year.

Mr Orr told me this one.

2009-11-12 09:53:39

Mr Orr is a well known gentleman in this area and the other morning he took me by the arm and asked if I had heard about the wee lost dog that gone missing from the shelter at Clandeboye. I said I hadn't. "well" he said "Keep a eye out for it. You'll know it because it has only 3 legs,lost the leg in a car accident, and one of it's ears is badly torn, it's blind in one eye and it's tail has a kink -and it answers to the name of Lucky.
Mr Orr has a story like this every morning.

What do Greengrocers do on their day off?

2009-11-12 09:36:39

Couldn't sleep on Monday night and Tuesday's are my day off. So I got up about 3.30am and went to the market! Then when I got home about 7.00am went with Trevor to Armagh to pick our Christmas trees. This sounds like a "nice" job but in fact we tramp across rough ground in wet gear and wellingtons and it takes ages in the cold.
But we've got ones we like and we will be starting them at the shop on the 26th November-there's only 4weekends from then until Christmas. And that was this greengrocer's day off.

Your local Fruit and Veg store is now open!

2009-10-05 03:44:44

HI, Your local Fruit and Veg shop is now open. Please come in and browse. Over the past few years (28 of them) many of our customers who were visiting Newtownards would say “I wish you would open a shop near me” and now we have!

There was a time when my mother made a shopping list and went to the greengrocers. The order was gathered carefully by the same person each week who knew her personal likes and would make useful suggestions. The order was packed in a box which was then carried to the car for her. Nowadays most of us head out on a 2 mile trek (I’ve paced it out on my pedometer) We collect our shopping and push it to the paypoint and in some stores add the bill up ourselves and process the payment – Who is serving who? I ask myself! Using a piece of today’s technology why not let’s step back to the good old days. I’ll plan what I need, make my needs known to my greengrocer and wait comfortably at home while he/she chooses for me-Afterall they are sort of experts in their field. Then they can deliver it with a wee note of a few things they think I might like next week.

Our shop is open. Try us. Let us know what you think. Now you’ll have time to enjoy a 2 mile walk in the park.

Just for fun

2009-10-04 02:10:18

You'd think after a week's work with fruit and veg we would have had enough. But no -come Friday night we were off to our neighbour Sandra's with a van load. Every year Sandra throws open her home and her garden for a coffee party to raise money for a cancer charity. This year it was in aid of Angels of Hope who work with ovarian cancer victims.

Well Trevor and I got there about 9.00p.m and with the help of Sandra's family and friends stacked the tables as high as we could go. When we had asked for a few free donations from our local suppliers and wholesalers they didn't just hand a few things over- they offered armfuls of stuff,boxes full and crates full! We couldn't
get it all on display. This stall was the most popular one one on the Saturday morning and the coffee party at the last count had raised somewhere about £5100.00.

Small World

2009-10-01 12:17:43

On Monday drove straight from work to Dungannon about 60 miles away. I'd been asked to give a "Talk/Demonstration" about fruit and vegetables at Dungannon Gardening Club.
I'm always less nervous talking to groups further from home. If I mess-up I won't have to face the people again in a hurry. So with this thought in mind I entered the hall of about 50 people or so and the first lady to greet me said. OH! I know you! I went to school with your daddy.