In the Caha mountain range, on the Cork-Kerry border, you’ll often find Kloë Wood Lyndorff somewhere on the side of a mountain called Esk. This isn’t just her home, where her family has been stewarding their land for many years – it is where she has created a meaningful living in the wilds of west Cork.
Kloë has spent her life immersed in and forging connections between people and green spaces. She spent a decade in the UK studying zoology, conservation, sustainable development and permanculture design; gaining hands-on experience in environmental education and community work.
Eight years ago, she returned to Ireland and founded Two Green Shoots with her partner at the time, Adam, where they focused on design, garden tours and provided botanical themed accommodation. In recent years, Kloë has been connecting visitors with the wider landscape around her family’s land. She has found this role challenging, but fulfilling.
“I became custodian to this site as my parents have moved into retirement; carving out some gentler, freer years,” she says. “I went from helping care for a garden of a couple of acres to 280ac of land, which is an incredible privilege, but also quite daunting.”
Kloë’s aim is to restore nature at scale through a blend of regenerative agriculture, continuous cover forestry and eco-food tourism. She runs foraging walks throughout the summer months; giving people the opportunity to see, taste and learn about the site’s diverse habitat.
“[The land] is really a large lump of rock which has been classified as ‘disadvantaged’ from an agricultural perspective,” she says. “I see it as an opportunity to do right by nature. Sheep have grazed this land for the last 20 years, and [this past] December, I welcomed eight Dexter cattle. I am using them in targeted conservation grazing through virtual fencing collars.
“There are no schemes, currently, that support landowners to restore nature as the key priority,” she adds. “While I’m actively diversifying and scaling income through eco-tourism, we still rely on agricultural grants to fund the management of the site. This isn’t a sustainable model, and I want to move towards a place where the land supports itself financially through a range of products and experiences.”
Two Green Shoots
This means the eco-food tourism element of Kloë’s business, Two Green Shoots, has become more important than ever. Her forage-and-feast tours not only supplement the farming income, but offer a freedom to continue to try out new ideas.
“People are so hungry to learn more about the landscape and what they might call weeds, which fill their local hedgerows,” she says. “I’ve just seen huge energy from people wanting to find out what these plants are.”
Kloë uses food and flavour as a gateway to the incredible world of wild Irish plants. For the summer months, she’s offering four wild food and foraging experiences for visitors.
People are so hungry to learn more about the landscape and what they might call weeds, which fill their local hedgerows
These include her original tour, which is foraging followed by a wild lunch feast; a new afternoon tea tour; and a three-course dinner feast. She has also crafted a package with Outdoors Ireland, which includes a kayak-guided foraging tour of Glengarriff Bay.
Her regular public tours run every Saturday and are open to anyone who wishes to join, while others can be booked privately for individuals or groups.
Kloë offers bespoke tours; tailored to guests’ particular interests.
“Some people are real foodies; they want to focus in on the flavour, cooking and processing of wild foods,” she explains. “For others, it’s more about the ecology and ways of working with the land.”
“I love the double take people do when they’ve been battling a plant their whole life and suddenly realise what they’ve been missing out on,” she adds, laughing.
twogreenshoots.com
Nasturtium "Cola". \ Philip Doyle
Makes approximately 1 litre: Ingredients
500ml water
500g organic sugar
50 nasturtium flowers (stalks and leaves removed)
1 sprig fresh lemon verbena
Method
1 Add the sugar and water to a heavy-bottomed saucepan and place over medium heat.
2 Slowly heat the mixture, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has completely dissolved.
3 Add the nasturtium flowers and lemon verbena and mix well to ensure the botanicals are completely submerged in the hot liquid.
4 Leave to infuse at room temperature for 24 to 48 hours. The nasturtium, despite being red and yellow in colour, will turn the mixture a stunning shade of pink.
5 Filter the mixture through a sieve lined with a muslin cloth, or through a jelly bag, into a jog or bowl to separate the liquid from the flowers.
6 Decant the mixture into cleaned and sterilised jars or bottles and store in the fridge for up to 2 months. Mixture can also be frozen.
7 To make the “cola”, add 30-60ml of syrup to a glass and add sparkling water to fill. Add plenty of ice and garnish with more lemon verbena and nasturtium petals. This syrup is also delicious drizzled over pancakes and whipped cream, or can make a delicious wine cooler as a cocktail.
Pineapple Weed Sorbet. \ Philip Doyle
Serves 6: Ingredients
For the pineapple weed syrup:
500ml water
500g organic sugar
100g pineapple weed, greens and flower heads
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
For the sorbet:
400ml pineapple weed syrup
800ml water
1 egg white
Method
1 Make the pineapple weed syrup: in a large saucepan, add the water and sugar. Bring to a boil.
2 Simmer this mixture until the temperature reaches 105°C and is a syrupy consistency.
3 Remove from the heat and add the pineapple weed, lemon zest and lemon juice. Let steep (covered) for 24-48 hours.
4 Strain the liquid through a jelly bag or sieve lined with muslin cloth. The syrup will keep in a sterilised jar in the fridge for up to two months.
5 Make the sorbet: in a large mixing bowl, combine the syrup, water and egg white. Mix well to combine.
6 Add this mixture to an ice cream maker. Churn for 30 minutes, or until an ice cream-like consistency is achieved.
7 Place the sorbet in a freezer-safe container with a tight-fitting lid. Store in the freezer until ready to serve.
Dandelion root latte. \ Philip Doyle
Serves 2: Ingredients
For the dandelion root powder:
1kg dandelion roots (the larger the better, as they shrink when roasted)
For the latte:
2 tsp dandelion root powder
500ml milk or Irish oat milk
2 tsp Irish honey
Method
1 Make the dandelion root powder: preheat your oven to 200°C and line a large baking tray with parchment paper.
2 Scrub the dandelion roots clean with a stiff vegetable brush under cold running water. You want to make sure you remove all of the dirt from the roots.
3 Once the roots are clean, ensure they are all roughly the same size. If they are different sizes, they will not roast evenly. Take the larger roots and slice them down the middle to ensure they are a similar size to the remaining roots.
4 Place the cleaned and trimmed dandelion roots on the prepared baking tray and roast in the oven for approximately 20-30 minutes. The roots need to be crunchy and brittle, but not burnt. They will smell sweet once ready.
5 Cool completely, then break the roots into coffee bean-sized pieces. If any roots are still bendy and not snapping, you need to roast them for longer. Add the pieces to a coffee grinder and pulverise into a powder.
6 Sieve the powder to keep out any larger pieces, and store in an airtight container at room temperature until ready to use.
7 Make the lattes: add the dandelion powder to a milk frother and top with the milk of your choice. Froth this drink until hot and creamy, then add the honey and divide into two mugs.
Foraging advice:
1. Always get a landowner’s permission on other people’s property.
2. Only forage plants you are 110% sure you’ve identified correctly.
3. Be mindful of pollution – where you are foraging may have recently been sprayed.
4. Make sure whatever you are foraging is abundant and only take what you need.
Read more
Food for thought: should we have a legal definition for sourdough bread?
George Lamb: ‘we have to find the sweet spot [in agriculture]’
In the Caha mountain range, on the Cork-Kerry border, you’ll often find Kloë Wood Lyndorff somewhere on the side of a mountain called Esk. This isn’t just her home, where her family has been stewarding their land for many years – it is where she has created a meaningful living in the wilds of west Cork.
Kloë has spent her life immersed in and forging connections between people and green spaces. She spent a decade in the UK studying zoology, conservation, sustainable development and permanculture design; gaining hands-on experience in environmental education and community work.
Eight years ago, she returned to Ireland and founded Two Green Shoots with her partner at the time, Adam, where they focused on design, garden tours and provided botanical themed accommodation. In recent years, Kloë has been connecting visitors with the wider landscape around her family’s land. She has found this role challenging, but fulfilling.
“I became custodian to this site as my parents have moved into retirement; carving out some gentler, freer years,” she says. “I went from helping care for a garden of a couple of acres to 280ac of land, which is an incredible privilege, but also quite daunting.”
Kloë’s aim is to restore nature at scale through a blend of regenerative agriculture, continuous cover forestry and eco-food tourism. She runs foraging walks throughout the summer months; giving people the opportunity to see, taste and learn about the site’s diverse habitat.
“[The land] is really a large lump of rock which has been classified as ‘disadvantaged’ from an agricultural perspective,” she says. “I see it as an opportunity to do right by nature. Sheep have grazed this land for the last 20 years, and [this past] December, I welcomed eight Dexter cattle. I am using them in targeted conservation grazing through virtual fencing collars.
“There are no schemes, currently, that support landowners to restore nature as the key priority,” she adds. “While I’m actively diversifying and scaling income through eco-tourism, we still rely on agricultural grants to fund the management of the site. This isn’t a sustainable model, and I want to move towards a place where the land supports itself financially through a range of products and experiences.”
Two Green Shoots
This means the eco-food tourism element of Kloë’s business, Two Green Shoots, has become more important than ever. Her forage-and-feast tours not only supplement the farming income, but offer a freedom to continue to try out new ideas.
“People are so hungry to learn more about the landscape and what they might call weeds, which fill their local hedgerows,” she says. “I’ve just seen huge energy from people wanting to find out what these plants are.”
Kloë uses food and flavour as a gateway to the incredible world of wild Irish plants. For the summer months, she’s offering four wild food and foraging experiences for visitors.
People are so hungry to learn more about the landscape and what they might call weeds, which fill their local hedgerows
These include her original tour, which is foraging followed by a wild lunch feast; a new afternoon tea tour; and a three-course dinner feast. She has also crafted a package with Outdoors Ireland, which includes a kayak-guided foraging tour of Glengarriff Bay.
Her regular public tours run every Saturday and are open to anyone who wishes to join, while others can be booked privately for individuals or groups.
Kloë offers bespoke tours; tailored to guests’ particular interests.
“Some people are real foodies; they want to focus in on the flavour, cooking and processing of wild foods,” she explains. “For others, it’s more about the ecology and ways of working with the land.”
“I love the double take people do when they’ve been battling a plant their whole life and suddenly realise what they’ve been missing out on,” she adds, laughing.
twogreenshoots.com
Nasturtium "Cola". \ Philip Doyle
Makes approximately 1 litre: Ingredients
500ml water
500g organic sugar
50 nasturtium flowers (stalks and leaves removed)
1 sprig fresh lemon verbena
Method
1 Add the sugar and water to a heavy-bottomed saucepan and place over medium heat.
2 Slowly heat the mixture, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has completely dissolved.
3 Add the nasturtium flowers and lemon verbena and mix well to ensure the botanicals are completely submerged in the hot liquid.
4 Leave to infuse at room temperature for 24 to 48 hours. The nasturtium, despite being red and yellow in colour, will turn the mixture a stunning shade of pink.
5 Filter the mixture through a sieve lined with a muslin cloth, or through a jelly bag, into a jog or bowl to separate the liquid from the flowers.
6 Decant the mixture into cleaned and sterilised jars or bottles and store in the fridge for up to 2 months. Mixture can also be frozen.
7 To make the “cola”, add 30-60ml of syrup to a glass and add sparkling water to fill. Add plenty of ice and garnish with more lemon verbena and nasturtium petals. This syrup is also delicious drizzled over pancakes and whipped cream, or can make a delicious wine cooler as a cocktail.
Pineapple Weed Sorbet. \ Philip Doyle
Serves 6: Ingredients
For the pineapple weed syrup:
500ml water
500g organic sugar
100g pineapple weed, greens and flower heads
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
For the sorbet:
400ml pineapple weed syrup
800ml water
1 egg white
Method
1 Make the pineapple weed syrup: in a large saucepan, add the water and sugar. Bring to a boil.
2 Simmer this mixture until the temperature reaches 105°C and is a syrupy consistency.
3 Remove from the heat and add the pineapple weed, lemon zest and lemon juice. Let steep (covered) for 24-48 hours.
4 Strain the liquid through a jelly bag or sieve lined with muslin cloth. The syrup will keep in a sterilised jar in the fridge for up to two months.
5 Make the sorbet: in a large mixing bowl, combine the syrup, water and egg white. Mix well to combine.
6 Add this mixture to an ice cream maker. Churn for 30 minutes, or until an ice cream-like consistency is achieved.
7 Place the sorbet in a freezer-safe container with a tight-fitting lid. Store in the freezer until ready to serve.
Dandelion root latte. \ Philip Doyle
Serves 2: Ingredients
For the dandelion root powder:
1kg dandelion roots (the larger the better, as they shrink when roasted)
For the latte:
2 tsp dandelion root powder
500ml milk or Irish oat milk
2 tsp Irish honey
Method
1 Make the dandelion root powder: preheat your oven to 200°C and line a large baking tray with parchment paper.
2 Scrub the dandelion roots clean with a stiff vegetable brush under cold running water. You want to make sure you remove all of the dirt from the roots.
3 Once the roots are clean, ensure they are all roughly the same size. If they are different sizes, they will not roast evenly. Take the larger roots and slice them down the middle to ensure they are a similar size to the remaining roots.
4 Place the cleaned and trimmed dandelion roots on the prepared baking tray and roast in the oven for approximately 20-30 minutes. The roots need to be crunchy and brittle, but not burnt. They will smell sweet once ready.
5 Cool completely, then break the roots into coffee bean-sized pieces. If any roots are still bendy and not snapping, you need to roast them for longer. Add the pieces to a coffee grinder and pulverise into a powder.
6 Sieve the powder to keep out any larger pieces, and store in an airtight container at room temperature until ready to use.
7 Make the lattes: add the dandelion powder to a milk frother and top with the milk of your choice. Froth this drink until hot and creamy, then add the honey and divide into two mugs.
Foraging advice:
1. Always get a landowner’s permission on other people’s property.
2. Only forage plants you are 110% sure you’ve identified correctly.
3. Be mindful of pollution – where you are foraging may have recently been sprayed.
4. Make sure whatever you are foraging is abundant and only take what you need.
Read more
Food for thought: should we have a legal definition for sourdough bread?
George Lamb: ‘we have to find the sweet spot [in agriculture]’
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