You might think you’re looking at a map of population density in the United States but what you’re actually looking at is a map of U.S. McDonald’s locations.  Yes, if McDonalds headquarters knows what its doing (and clearly they do), these two metrics should geographically mirror one another. But, when you actually see the quantity and the distance from one McDonalds to another mapped out visually like so, it’s a little bit nauseating.  Continue reading »

A.  Continue reading »

Just a quick little post to show you some pics from the food demonstration I did to camera on Monday.  I will be using some of the footage as promotion for the book and we managed to cook 9 dishes in the one day, which I was pretty impressed with!  Recipes from the book were on the menu including mixed berry smoothies, herby roast chicken, spicy sweet potato chips, mushy roast garlic cherry tomato pasta, hasselback potatoes and a few more!  Here’s the pics:.  Continue reading »

Water hardness and alkalinity are some of the trickier aspects of brewing to get a grip of but the benefits and improvements it can bring to your brewing make it well worth looking into. Suitable water improves every step of the brewing process. I already outlined the importance of calcium in a previous post. This post is a guide to assessing the hardness of your water supply and its suitability for mashing.  Continue reading »

I’m finally coming back to my senses after a week of fun and frolics all in the name of celebration. My brother got married at the weekend in the Ritz Carlton Powerscourt, and I took a few days off in advance to prepare for the festivities. It just so happened that my good friend Fionn arrived over just in time to help me. We kicked off on Wednesday evening with some nice food and a few good bottles.  Continue reading »

AN SPAILPIN FANACH

(The itinerant labourer)
An Spailpin Fanach is a traditional music venue in Cork City; not surprising then that some of its lunchtime food is traditional.
Tomorrow it will be bacon and cabbage in this city centre pub but today (Wed 23 Sep) Irish Stew was high on the lunch menu.
We had started with a smashing vegetable soup, tasty, straight from the pot and no extra salt added. Then came the stew, a plateful of smashing food.  Continue reading »

We went blackberry picking, because we’ve decided to offer up a special of Baileys ice cream and Dingle blackberry sauce for the Food Festival. Blackberry picking is one of the most relaxing activity I can think of.
I went with my partner and the little baby, and Róisín gave us enough time without fussing to gather a kilo or so. I hope that will be enough!
At least we’ll have some other specials in case we run out.  Continue reading »

Speaking at yesterday’s Good Food Ireland Awards, Minister for Food and Horticulture Trevor Sargent made the point that restaurants and hotels are ambassadors for Irish farmers. This is something which can be simply ignored, taken for granted – or, more proactively, celebrated, with those in the hospitality industry becoming directly involved with the producers.  Continue reading »

One of my favourite comedians, Maeve Higgins, has a new show on RTE which combines cookery and standup comedy: Fancy Vittles.  Maeve and her sister Lilly prepare meals for guests, such as Those Girls We Went To School With (who’ll “probably just throw it up afterwards,” says Maeve).  Continue reading »

Now that the summer is over and we are well into autumn. I
have just being picking the Pears 
from the Garden,
 
The first of the White Truffle (Turber Magnatum) have
arrived this morning and it is really fantastic. When I opened the Box the  scent filled the kitchen with this
fantastic aroma. ~This is what really excites me about the season. When you
think of all the goodies that are about to arrive.
I have cleaned the Truffle  and marinated them in the eggs for later.  Continue reading »

Well, what would you do if you were invited to a Finlandia vodka cocktail masterclass? Why, you’d go, wouldn’t you? Yep, thought as much. No need to ask twice.

That’s a lot of bottles to get through, best get started

So there I was, with a few lucky others, being enlightened in the ways of vodka by Mike and Kevin from The Soul Shakers, London-based bar consultants and cocktail meisters.  Continue reading »

Photo: Bock the Robber

I just had to link to this brilliant post from one of my favourite bloggers, Bock the Robber.  Continue reading »

We’re delighted to be joined this week by another new face to CheapEats: top chef Garth McColgan. Every month, Garth will be contributing an exclusive column to CheapEats.ie, full of top tips on feeding your family on a budget.  Continue reading »

1998 – Take a Bow Son, Take A Bow !
Anyone who follows me on twitter may have noticed that I was in Cork last weekend. I love visiting Cork, it is a fantastic city and I have been fortunate enough through twitter to get to know some very cool people there. Hopping in the car straight after work on the friday I hit the road armed with some tunes.  Continue reading »

Photo from www.sxc.hu

When I moved to the countryside a couple of years ago it was assumed that I would be baking tarts, making doilies, and hand-rearing lamb in the living room – or at the very least cultivating my own vegetable patch.  Continue reading »

It’s that time of year again. The results of Decanter World Wine Awards 2009 have been released, and we’re delighted to see, of our current vintages in stock, one Gold, one Silver, five Bronze and four commendations awarded. All can be seen below.
This adds nicely to our medal collection from last years awards, most of which we still have in stock (including a lovely gold medal winning Albarino, which is one of many).  Continue reading »

I always drop into these three, as I like what and how they write.

I have to say that George Monbiot’s site is always an interesting read. However the article about toxic dumping is revelatory. Especially in relation to Somalia.

The link entitled make wealth history is also always worth checking out.

Marion Nestle is that perfect combination of nutritionist and power-aware realist.

Importantly, these blogs/sites seem to be updated regularly, while also being thought provoking.  Continue reading »

A.  Continue reading »

Even though it’s currently 75 degrees, humid and ready to storm here in Chicago, our calendar tells us that Fall officially starts today! And with favorite Fall goodies like apples, squash, pears and more  hitting the markets, it’s time to start Fall cooking!  Continue reading »

I haven’t brewed nearly enough over the last few months. It was time to remedy this with a bang, so last weekend I planned to brew an American IPA. It got away from me a bit  thanks to some overly zealous hopping (is that possible in an American IPA?) and a better than expected extraction of sugar from the mash.  Continue reading »