Person: Valerie O

A berry nice time of year for summer food

Valerie O’Connor can’t keep her purple-stained hands off the juicy berries in the garden and delights in converting them into mouthwatering drinks or deserts

Sat, 05 Aug, 2017

Take a break from the cooking and prep smart by making the most of beans

Valerie O’Connor on how to make the most of beans whether it’s with beer or burgers — even if the weather doesn’t play its part

Sat, 29 Jul, 2017

Six months on whole-food, plant-based diet doesn't need to be boring

Valerie O’Connor has spent the last six months on a whole-food, plant-based diet but finds that eating in restaurants now has become really boring — though tasty options are straightforward with a bit of imagination.    

Sat, 22 Jul, 2017

Zucchini flowers are nice and easy

Valerie O’Connor is at the start of the courgette glut and this week she foregoes the ubiquitous spiraliser in favour of chuny chips and delicious deep-fried flowers

Sat, 01 Jul, 2017

Peas, please, for a quick and easy treat

Valerie O’Connor says peas are easy to grow — shove them in soil and give them something to hold, water them well, and watch them go

Sat, 24 Jun, 2017

Wild things run free in Oonagh O'Dwyer's kitchen

Valerie O’Connor goes wild on a Wednesday with ‘Wild Kitchen’ owner and forager, Oonagh O’Dwyer.

Sat, 17 Jun, 2017

Des Kingston’s winning design is a supergarden of curiosities

Valerie O’Connor marvels at the sculptures and macabre placements that make up Des Kingston’s winning design for the RTÉ series at Bloom.

Sat, 10 Jun, 2017

Make the most of spinach and chard with these recipes

Valerie O’Connor has a garden full of green treasure and is working on recipes to use up a bountiful harvest of spinach and chard. 

Sat, 03 Jun, 2017

Val’s way with brilliant basil

A hottie herb used to make pesto has become a household favourite. Valerie O’Connor offers mouth-watering tips on how to grow this taste-osterone fuelled Italian.

Sat, 20 May, 2017

Quick and easy vegetarian meals using asparagus

Valerie O’Connor comes upon a forgotten clump of native asparagus and is prompted to make it the centre of a quick and easy, vegetarian meal.

Sat, 13 May, 2017

Unique flavours of this herbaceous perennial have a short and sweet season

Valerie O’Connor praises one of the first plants of the year, the humble rhubarb, and suggests some nice ways to use it

Sat, 06 May, 2017

Nettle beer and gorse wine are quick and easy to make

Plants such as gorse and nettle look sun-shiny and tempting and yes, they can be fermented into tasty tipples, says Valerie O’Connor.

Sat, 29 Apr, 2017

Small is beautiful with a herb garden

Valerie O’Connor enthuses on the many advantages of having your own herb garden, be it little or large.

Sat, 22 Apr, 2017

Making vinegar tinctures from weeds and herbs is easy

Valerie O’Connor discusses vinegar tinctures this week.

Sat, 15 Apr, 2017

What to do when meat is murder and dairy is scary

Valerie O’Connor wades into a current debate on farming practice. 

Sat, 08 Apr, 2017

When life gives you lemons; preserve them

The sun is shining and nothing gets you in the mood for summer like lemons, writes Valerie O’Connor.

Sat, 01 Apr, 2017

Tapping, or juicing birch trees has many health benefits

Valerie O’Connor is captivated by a new foodie trend — birch water harvested straight from the tree.

Sat, 25 Mar, 2017

Eggciting times lie ahead

Valerie O’Connor is in broody form - she’s looking at taking on an avian family.

Sun, 19 Mar, 2017

Chicken wing recipes that are full of flavour, texture and life

Getting young adults to cook sometimes means untying the apron strings and letting them fend for themselves, says Valerie O’Connor.

Sat, 11 Mar, 2017

Fermenting foods - it's more than just cababge

Valerie O’Connor says fermenting food is good for your gut and gives a personal view on the hotly-debated issues around ‘leaky gut’ diets.

Sat, 04 Mar, 2017

Pesto and soup recipes made from nettles

Sat, 25 Feb, 2017

Ordinary things now taste really amazing after a month of being a vegan

Former carnivore Valerie O’Connor  revels in new tastes after ‘Veganuary’.

Sat, 04 Feb, 2017

Sweet on Sauer - the benefits of fermented foods

Valerie O’Connor experiments with fermented foods.

Sat, 28 Jan, 2017

Velvety hummus and crunchy falafels look good and taste great

Valerie O’Connor goes Middle-Eastern this week with velvety hummus and crunchy falafels that are simple to whip up at home

Sat, 14 Jan, 2017

Recipes to see you through 'Vegan January'

Sat, 31 Dec, 2016

Two deliciously decadent dessert recipes for Christmas

Valerie O’Connor offers up a couple of dessert recipes for Christmas — one is healthy and delicious — the second is just deliciously decadent.

Sat, 17 Dec, 2016

Croquettes - They're the perfect Christmas gravy-train

Valerie O’Connor shares her family recipe for home-made croquettes — the perfect Christmas gravy-train.

Sat, 10 Dec, 2016

Real bread: The reasons why you should make and eat this quality staple

Valerie O’Connor opines on the wisdom of using one’s loaf — and suggests forgoing ‘Satan bread’, the chemically-treated ‘pseudough’ product implicated in gut, allergy and other serious health problems.

Sat, 19 Nov, 2016

Watch: Demand is high for hot Irish peppers from Tribal Foods in Co Galway

Valerie O’Connor talks to Tribal Foods owner, Liam Heneghan, on the healthy demand for spicy and vibrant fruits.

Sat, 05 Nov, 2016

Watch: Beeactiv honey scoops sweet award at Blás na hÉireann

Conan McDonnell is buzzing about his ‘magical’ and ‘precious’ ivy honey, writes Valerie O’Connor.

Sat, 22 Oct, 2016

This book inspires ideas from free foods like mushrooms, berries, and seaweed

Valerie O’Connor goes foraging and uncovers a book which inspires new ideas from free foods which go unnoticed under our very noses.

Sat, 15 Oct, 2016

It's pumpkin time again, here's how to have a smashing time in the kitchen

Valerie O’Connor makes tasty Thai pumpkin chicken curry, pumpkin brownies and shows us how to make a face mask from leftover pumpkin.

Sat, 08 Oct, 2016

Autumn is the season of mists, mellow fruitfulness and preserves

Valerie O’Connor says Theresa Strorey’s book, Fruit on the Table provides the perfect recipes for making the most of autumn’s harvest bounty.

Sat, 01 Oct, 2016

Time to get nuts about gathering berries

Sat, 24 Sep, 2016

Cures for ails can be found in nature and woodland places close to home

Sat, 10 Sep, 2016

Baked abundance — how do you like them apples?

Core values: Valerie O’Connor enjoys the fruits of nature’s bounty, with apples at the very top of her foraged and found food pile. 

Sat, 03 Sep, 2016

Welsh Rarebit: The perfect cheese on toast recipe, for tea time

Valerie O’Connor has a Proustian moment when a simple question prompts a trip to the land of dinner in the middle of the day and a time when tea was had at teatime.

Sun, 28 Aug, 2016

Get out and about for National Heritage Week

Valerie O’Connor looks at some of the things the family can do in the great outdoors from today.

Sat, 20 Aug, 2016

WATCH: Meet the couple who gave up the rat race to breed rare pigs

Caroline Rigney tells Valerie O’Connor about how she and husband Joe moved to a farm to make highly-prized pork products from rare-breed pigs.

Sat, 06 Aug, 2016

VIDEO: Shopping with the best of locally produced food at a thriving urban co-op

Valerie O’Connor packs her shopping basket with the best of locally produced food at a thriving urban co-op.

Sat, 23 Jul, 2016

Galgorm Resort and Spa is a gorgeous newly-designed Garden Spa in Co Antrim

Sat, 16 Jul, 2016

Untreated, unpasteurised, raw milk helps with a range of health problems

Valerie O’Connor talks to Mimi Pierson and Owen Crawford about compassionate dairy farming and supplying raw, healthy milk to locals.

Sat, 09 Jul, 2016

Slip, Slop, Slap is the motto for using sunscreens

Following Valerie O’Connor’s recent column on sunbathing, the president of the Irish Association of Plastic Surgeons, Margaret O’Donnell, warns of the dangers of not using sunscreens.

Sat, 02 Jul, 2016

You'll find an abundance of free food if you forage