Libraries

Grow It Forward Campaign

The Grow It Forward campaign is underway!

Grow It Forward is a newly launched programme rolled out by Libraries Ireland in conjunction with the Grow It Yourself (GIY) movement and Healthy Ireland.

The campaign aims to:

Foster a love of the outdoors and promote the physical and mental health benefits of spending time out in the fresh air.
Show people how easy and rewarding it is to grow your own vegetables.
Promote awareness of the environmental benefits of growing your own food.
Encourage people to grow and eat their own delicious produce and connect with where their food comes from to promote healthy choices.

An incredible 50,000 free food growing kits will be given away over the course of the campaign. Each kit has lots of seeds, enough in fact to share with 9 others, be it in seed, seedling, plant or produce form, enabling half a million people across Ireland to enjoy the wide range of benefits that come from growing food at home.

Each food growing pack includes seeds for beetroot, carrots, salad leaves, peas and tomatoes; a growing guide and gift tags to help share them with others. Those who sign up will also receive regular e-mails with growing support and have a wealth of expertise knowledge and a growing community through GIY online supports and forums.

If you are interested in participating please contact your local library but be quick as the kits are flying out the door!

Online resources and events

Check out some of the videos on our YouTube Channel to cook along with:

Darina Allen’s fab Beetroot and Tomato Grow It Forward dishes.

Darina Allen’s divine Carrot and Radish Grow It Forward dishes.

Do you have some lovely Grow It Forward produce at home? Then you should try some of Darina Allen’s delicious Grow It Forward recipes below!

Booklet One Recipes (pdf):

Carrot and Apple Salad with Honey and Vinegar Dressing.
Roast Carrots with Labneh and Pistachio.
Radishes with Butter and Sea Salt.

Booklet Two Recipes (pdf):

Pickled Beetroot, Chorizo and Hen's Egg Salad
Pickled Beetroot
Homemade Mayonnaise
Tomato, Red Onion and Basil Salad

Emer from Midleton Library celebrates the Grow It Forward campaign by showing us how to make Donal Skehan’s delicious Dark Chocolate and Beetroot Cupcakes with chocolate frosting.

Go to Donal Skehan's website for the recipe.

Carrot Cake Muffins by Emer from Midleton Library.

Divine carrot cake muffins with cream cheese frosting, the perfect way to use up your Grow It Forward produce!

Recipe: Makes 12 Muffins

Ingredients:

For the Muffins

140ml Sunflower Oil

3 eggs

220g Soft Light Brown Sugar

250g Self Raising Flour

1tsp Baking Powder

2 tsp Mixed Spice

300g Grated Carrot

100g Sultanas

Zest of One Orange

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

300g Cream cheese

70g Butter

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

200g Icing Sugar

Equipment:

Cupcake tray and Muffin Cases

Mixing Bowl

Sieve

Wooden Spoon

Whisk

Spatula

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 180C/ 350F/ Gas Mark 4

For the Muffins:

In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk, then add the brown sugar and mix

Add in the grated carrot, sultanas and orange zest and mix together with a wooden spoon until combined

Place 12 muffin cases into your cupcake tray, spoon the mixture into the paper cases

Bake in the oven for approximately 30 -35 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean

For the Icing:

Beat the butter and the cream cheese together in a bowl until well combined

Add the vanilla extract and icing sugar and mix until the icing is smooth and thick

Using a palette knife, spread the icing over the completely cooled muffins

Place in the fridge to set.