Many celebrities like wax lyrical about organic food. However, some don’t just talk about it, they produce it too.

Michelle Obama’s organic garden at the Whitehouse was perhaps the most high profile recent development in the organic celeb world.

Not since Roosevelt’s victory garden of the 1940s has there been a proper garden at Pennsylvania Drive’s most famous address.

The plot has a full 55 vegetable and fruit varieties, and was part planted by local school children.  Continue reading »

Rosehip syrup, recipe below…..  Continue reading »

As October has shortened it’s days, in these past few weeks, the hedgerows have become fat with berries. Sloes, purple dusted, clustered like unsung grapes……blackberries, bursting with sweet and apple flavours picked glistening with rain from the bushes, fat hips blushing in crowded communion on their thorny bushes….It’s been a good autumn, the late sun has brought out the best in them. We.  Continue reading »

Age is a constant challenge for wine lovers. When is the best time to open a wine? When is a wine too young, too old or at it’s best? How do I know if what I am tasting is representative of all this wine has to offer?

Bank holiday weekends rock, as there are a couple of extra days at the weekend to enjoy fine food & wine. I kicked off my weekly wine exploration in Dublin on Friday evening with a bottle of 2003 Sylvain Cathaird Nuits St George.  Continue reading »

COUNIHAN’S
Jazz and football overlapped at Counihan’s on Sunday afternoon. Dropped into the Pembroke Street bar to see the Mary Stokes Band but instead found myself watching the closing quarter of the Liverpool v Man U game on the big screen and not a seat to be had.
But soon the happy Liverpool bunch in front of us left and the six of us grabbed the table and chairs, right in front of the bandstand.  Continue reading »

Following on from Tuesday’s post on cookbooks.  Another one of my favourite books is ‘Just One Pot’ by Lindsey Bareham.
What I love about this book is the recipes cover a whole range of cuisines including – India, France, Trinidad, Spain and Thailand amongst others.
As you can tell from the title; all the dishes can be cooked in just one pot, making it all very simple.  Continue reading »

I was really quite disappointed with Meantime’s India Pale Ale when I tried it last year. Still, I’ve been roaring through their amazing London Pale Ale ever since, and they’re a brewery of considerable repute, so there was no hesitation when a bottle of Meantime London Porter crossed my path recently.
Like the IPA it’s an historical recreation, conditioned in a corked 75cl bottle, and weighing in at a respectably hefty 6.5% ABV.  Continue reading »

To celebrate the official launch of my very first cookbook “Good Mood Food” last week, I have a signed copy up for grabs! The book is now available in all good Irish bookshops and online for international visitors, via Amazon UK, Amazon US, and Play.com EU.
Good Mood Food is a cookbook that I hope will change your attitude to food, offering over 100 delicious simple, healthy home-cooked recipes.  Continue reading »

We’re excited to announce our first giveaway at Dinner du Jour! Thanks to Gill & Macmillan, I have a copy of From Brenda’s Kitchen: 100 Favourite Recipes by Brenda Costigan to give away* to a reader.
Brenda Costigan is one of Ireland’s most renowned cookery writers. A weekly food columnist for the Sunday Independent Life magazine, she has also written three other bestselling cookbooks.  Continue reading »

Run, run run as fast as you can. Autumn has always been my favourite season. I love the subtle, almost imperceptible change in the evening temperature detectable as soon as the Summer solstice has passed. Since I moved to the Northern Hemisphere, my awareness of the change in seasons is more pronounced.  Continue reading »

A story of hope and courage, of setbacks and success, of triumph and despair, of cheese and onion.

So says Mr. Tayto of his newly released autobiography – The Man Inside The Jacket – and he should know. For those not familiar with the legend that is Tayto Cheese & Onion, let me just say that these crisps are right up there with Barry’s tea as one of the must-have taste-of-home items for the Irish abroad.  Continue reading »

In Australia there is a lovely tradition of ‘Christmas in July’ largely celebrated by those expatriated from the British Isles who find the sweltering heat of Christmas at the height of Summer somewhat alien. Embracing Christmas celebrated the cooler weather in July makes quaffing mulled wine, roasting chestnuts on an open fire and tucking in to roast turkey (slightly) more palatable than the unseasonal 40 degrees C Christmas day often brings.  Continue reading »

I love one-pot meals that cover the four basic food groups. I love them even more if they can be prepared in less than 30 minutes, like this dish.  The only trouble with this dish was the cheese. I went to three stores before finding it at one of Milwaukee’s gems, Glorioso Brothers Company, an Italian grocer and specialty food shop on now-trendy Brady Street. If you can’t find ricotta salata, try substituting feta.  Continue reading »

Those of you who’ve been following me for a while (thanks!), you’ll know I’m a big fan of the one pot meals. I’ve made a variation of this stew a few times before with different flavours and also using flour to thicken the sauce. In this case I decided to keep it light and more of a broth than a thick(ish) sauce. One of my favourite variations is my Beef & Guinness Stew. This always proves a great hit especially on those cold winters evenings.  Continue reading »

Cork – Eating & Drinking – Pubs & Bars – Pubs
SCOTTS
They say the best time to test a pub is when it is under pressure. With the jazz weekend upping the numbers, Scott’s of Oliver Plunkett Street was packed this Saturday afternoon.
Food was flying downstairs while upstairs was packed for the jazz and the show by Ocean’s 6 in particular. The staff were busy but passed with flying collars. Service was top notch.  Continue reading »

Here are photos from Venice, starting with Róisín’s baptism…

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Apologies for the delay in this post, I am still try to get over all the excitement.  The launch of the cook book took place on Wednesday evening and it really got a great turnout, I was so thrilled!  So now it’s official the book is finally launched!  I have to say a huge thank you to everyone who came along on the night, it was so lovely to meet regular readers of the blog, and of course all my fellow Twits who attended too! 

With the help my lovely aunt, we provided the nibbles, inspired by recipes in the book.  We had Lemon and Poppyseed Cupcakes, Swedish Cinnamon Buns, and Roast Vegetables and Feta Crostini!  Continue reading »

This is a great meal to serve when dinner for six suddenly turns into dinner for nine. Cousin Alais came to visit and our casual supper turned into a casual dinner party when old friends from California came into town. The braised pork dish doubles well and rice can stretch a long way when you need it to. An Asian-inspired salad rounds out the meal well. We also ate an asparagus and bean sprout salad that my in-laws made. If I can talk my mother-in-law out of the recipe, I’ll add it later.  Continue reading »

Salsa verde makes a great accompaniment to fish or chicken. Absolutely addictive. Just blitz the following ingredients (apart from the grain mustard) in a food processor and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Ingredients

½ clove garlic
1 tbsp capers
2 handfuls flat-leaf parsley
1 handful fresh mint
1 handful fresh basil
juice of ½ lemon
extra-virgin olive oil (enough to give a sauce consistency)
2 tsp grain mustard.  Continue reading »

There are a couple of Farmer’s markets here in Houston. My favourite is the Bayou City Market, it’s a producers only market and everything must come from a 150 mile radius. As a result the produce is truly seasonal, on our first visit every veg stall was teaming with courgettes and squash of all shapes and sizes. This dish of summer grilled vegetables quickly became a favourite in our house.  Continue reading »