GINGER CRIMBLE Mrs Crimble's Stem Ginger Cake is a discovery I made while browsing at Olive Green Food Company, the health-food stall in Market Arcade, on South Great George's Street, in Dublin 2.
I was particularly intrigued by the chunks of gooey, crystallised ginger that oozed from either side of the cake. It turns out that it's as tasty as it looks, packing a very gingery punch. But it shouldn't clog up your arteries, because it has no wheat flour, eggs, dairy products or animal fat (making it suitable for vegans). It should be a healthy(-ish) way to satisfy the sweet-tooth cravings you're probably having while recovering from gorging on chocolate over Easter. It costs €4.70 from Olive Green Food Company; it's also available from wholefood stores and some Dunnes, SuperValu, Centra and Spar outlets. Eimear McKeith
A REAL LIVE FARMER We remarked a few weeks ago that you see very few farmers at the farmers' markets around the country. Meet John Murphy, a real live farmer, whose Tinnock Farm lamb, reared in Camolin, Co Wexford, and butchered just down the road, at Christy Byrne's butcher's shop, has attracted steady custom since he started selling it at the food market in the People's Park, in Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin, every Sunday. Although besieged with demand for new-season lamb for Easter, Murphy refused to hurry his 400-strong herd, and he is giving them the extra time they need to mature. He also believes in hanging them long enough to develop their full flavour. So it has been a frustrating wait, but patience will be rewarded either this weekend or next, when the first of the tiny cutlets and lean legs (€11/kg) will go on sale.
If you see a queue building at his stall, join it; in addition to the lamb you can pick up some of the country butter made by Murphy's partner, Peggy Gaffney, (€2.50 for 200g) and large farm eggs (€3.50 a dozen). In addition to his own produce, Murphy sells organically-fed chickens (€7.25/kg) produced by a neighbour, Mary Reagan, and I can vouch for these as being the best I've come across. But to nab one you'd better go early - they frequently sell out. In addition to Dún Laoghaire, Tinnock Farm produce is also sold at the markets in Kilkenny (Thursday), Wexford town and Carrick-on-Suir (Friday), New Ross and Enniscorthy (Saturday). Marie-Claire Digby
DINNER LADIES FOR THE CRECHE Moon and Spoon is a catering company with a difference. Instead of churning out ever more extravagant canapes or supplying the dinner-party circuit, Tish Dorman and Donna Devlin produce healthy, child-friendly meals for childcare facilities all over the country. With the help of nutritionist Nuala Collins and their team of expert tasters - between them the pair have four children under the age of five - Dorman and Devlin plan weekly menus that they shop for, cook immediately and freeze. Surprisingly, considering the labour-intensive nature of the enterprise, the cost is very reasonable; depending on portion size, a two-course meal works out at between €1.64 and €1.90 per child. Young children are notoriously picky eaters, so the menus, which change weekly, are devised to be as child-friendly as possible.
A sample lunch might offer "Tonto's cowboy pie", made with lean pork, beans, and a buttery mash and sweetcorn topping, followed by shortbread cookies, or chicken goujons with sweet potato and vegetable croquettes, with stripey sponge cake for dessert. The menus are circulated to parents in advance, so they know what their children are eating each day, and vegetarian options are always available. Devlin, who was in the restaurant trade before having her children, and Dorman, who had a career in marketing, are supplying nurseries across Northern Ireland, in addition to delivering to Dundalk, Drogheda and Dublin. The pair hope to do for pre-school children what Jamie Oliver has done for school-age children in the UK. "If anything, the nursery children are at an even more critical stage; this is the time when eating patterns are set for life," Dorman says. Moon and Spoon, 048-41754646 (028-41754646 from Northern Ireland). Marie-Clarie Digby