Features
Eating Organic
David Ashe has built himself an unusual niche in the organic food world. He grows bean sprouts for a living. Most growers will have the experience of sprouting some seeds like peas or beans prior to planting to speed up germination. David's system is similar and he will produce sprouts from any seeds the market demands. The beans are generally imported from organic sources around the world, as it would be difficult to produce the quantities and varieties in Ireland. The most popular sprouts are mung beans, alfalfa, and mixed lentils. These seeds are simply soaked in water, rinsed regularly and kept moist until sprouts appear. Alfalfa sprouts take the longest - about nine or ten days to grow and others take just two or three days. David describes these seeds as living food. There is no processing and the sprouts are full of vitamins, minerals and protein. The sprouts can be eaten raw, stir fried or added to soups, stews and salads. David packs his sprouts in 100 gram and 200 gram bags and distributes to wholefood shops, restaurants and other organic outlets around the country. My own favourite is a mixture of lentils, aduki beans, chickpeas and fenugreek seeds. I generally stirfry these with a dash of soy sauce and the flavour is wonderfully nutty with the fenugreek seeds adding a touch of spice to the mix. Served with rice, they make up a well-balanced and quick meal at any time.
David's other big product is wheat grass. If you've never heard of it don't worry - not too many in Ireland have as of yet. As the name suggests this is wheat seeds grown to about six inches high and resembling normal grass. David sows the seeds thickly in trays of organic compost and it takes up to three weeks to reach the right stage for cutting. The grass is juiced when cut but can be kept cut for up to a week in the fridge. Claims made for the health benefits of wheat grass range from reducing blood pressure to detoxifying the body to stopping hair loss. It is rich in A and C vitamins, minerals and contains 90% of the trace minerals available to plants from the soil. Of course I had to try this miracle food and David obligingly brought along a tray of wheat grass and his juicer. When juiced it is a dark green concentrated liquid and the taste.. well rather like grass I imagine - definitely an acquired taste. Slightly sweetish at first it becomes bitter on the tongue after a moment. Not to be deterred we tried it combined with carrot juice and then apple juice. The apple juice improved the flavour immensely and even though David tells me that many people prefer it neat I feel it would be much more palatable combined with other juices. Just two fluid ounces a day is recommend and this is said to be equal in nutrients to over two pounds of fresh vegetables. The interest in wheat grass is huge in the US and David recounts stories about people queuing around the block in San Francisco in the mornings to get a healthy 'hit' for the day from street vendors who juice the grass on the spot. Juice bars and Superquinn shops are David's main outlets here and he also sends wheat grass in the post to a few customers.
Innovation
Never a man to rest on his laurels David is always looking for a new venture. As he puts it himself, 'You are knocking on doors all the time, you can always supply more'. He is finding a growing market in restaurants for his dried fruit and vegetable slices that can be used as garnishes, in desserts and breakfast cereals. He is also considering another opening for marketing bottled water from the deep well on his land at Rathmore near Naas in Co. Kildare. The water is tested regularly in the course of his business and has half the sodium levels of the most sought-after French mineral water. So if you see Rathmore mineral water appearing on the market shortly, remember you read it here first.
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