There are a few dishes that are well known Irish dishes: bacon & cabbage, Irish stew and the old reliable potato (in any form). This soup has one of those staples and is probably one of the easiest soups to make. I had all the ingredients in my CSA box and I promise, making this soup with recently picked fresh ingredients makes it really delicious. The earthiness of the thyme works a treat here and if you’re still looking for a quick appetizer for Santa Day, look no further.  Continue reading »

As I might have mentioned on the blog before I absolutely LOVE Donna Hay, her stylish magazines and her beautiful books.  Continue reading »

Organico Cafe is closing on the 23rd of December and re-opening on the 14th of January
Organico Shop will be open from 9am-4pm on December 24th and re-opening on Tuesday December 29th.
Organico Bakery will be baking on Tuesday the 29th, 30th and 31st of December. Then again on the 4th of January.
Have a Happy Christmas!  Continue reading »

We’ve had a Camphill Community here in Dingle for a few years now, and I wouldn’t be the only one who thinks having such a wonderful place for special needs people here in our midst has made Dingle a better place. Yesterday I went along to their Christmas Shepherd’s Play, and it was heart-warming and a perfect way to get into the spirit of Christmas.
I hope you enjoy the photos above.
Happy Christmas and/or a festive and happy holiday season to all!  Continue reading »

It’s not only Cork that’s been affected, but it’s a chilly day throughout Ireland with temperatures hovering around the 0°C mark. Getting about this morning was like taking your car onto an ice rink that had just been rained upon. In fact, that’s pretty much what it was.
No matter, there’s another kind of Chilly that will be passing my lips this Christmas.  Continue reading »

Christmas dinner, tins of sweets, lots of cheese, Christmas TV, shiny wrapped presents, boxes of crisps and biscuits, the post-meal walk: it’s that time of year again.
I’ll be going to my parents for Christmas dinner as usual, and as usual I’ll spend the day topping up the hot ports and arguing over TV by the fire while they prepare a feast: three types of meat, three types of potato, no less than ten different vegetables, stuffing, Yorkshire puddings.  Continue reading »

The Guardian’s Word of Mouth blog offers it’s best food books of the past ten years. The reader panel, which includes Matthew Fort, Tim Hayward and Jay Rayner have picked some great titles: HFW’s “River Cottage Meat Book”, Anthony Bourdain’s “Kitchen Confidential” and Jeffrey Steingarten’s “It Must Have Been Something I Ate”.
Link: Best Food Books of the Decade.  Continue reading »

On Monday I took the train up to Jonkoping to visit my best buddy Jonathan and his lovely family!  Jonathan and I were in a boyband together a few years ago and we always had similar interests so ever since the band went its separate ways, we have always been in touch!  He was in the Swedish version of Eurosong and released his second album this year so he’s a bit of a celebrity over here!  Continue reading »

Here’s a great cocktail to serve at Christmas. I made this recently after discovering the recipe in GoodFood magazine. I like to serve cocktails in pitchers – it saves all that faffing around with measures and cocktail shakers.  Put plenty of ice in a pitcher and add 150ml gin, 300ml cranberry juice, some mint leaves and a bottle of sparkling wine (or champers if you’re feeling flush). Add some mixed berries for an attractive garnish. Very tasty and no fuss.  Continue reading »

ODD FOOD BITS

“It is not uncommon for a bottle of Lafite ’96 to fetch a couple of thousand dollars more at auction in China that it would in Europe. Many (?) Chinese enjoy the showmanship of presenting important guests with this kind of celebrity wine, and my favourite aspect of it all is that many prefer to take it with a splash of coke.” From Around the World in 80 Trades by Conor Woodman.

“Wang Long’s mother works in a foreigners’ hotel…..  Continue reading »

Ok so promise you won’t tell Santa Claus!  I had to do it, for the sake of my continuing food discoveries, it was essential!  One of the biggest tourist attractions in Gothenburg at Christmas time is the famous Liseberg theme park, which transforms itself into an amazing expanse of Christmas related attractions, going as far as wrapping every single tree in the park with twinkling Christmas lights and pumping Christmas tunes over loudspeakers.  It may be cheesy and it may be a little corny but I can guarantee that you won’t leave the place without getting a heavy dose of festive cheer!  One of the other things the park has which I can’t help smirk about is what can only be described as Sweden’s version of Hollywood’s “Walk Of Fame” which features many of their Eurovision winners, entertainers and actors.  Wouldn’t it be great if Ireland had one of those!  Continue reading »

GUBBEEN SMOKEHOUSE

Many of you will be familiar with Gubbeen cheese products. But how about the sausages from their smokehouse?
Bought a couple of packs from their stall in the Mahon Point Farmer’s Market today and tried out the ones with Sun Dried Tomato, Basil and Garlic. Absolutely lovely. Great texture, great flavour, all preceded by a lovely smell while cooking.
Looking forward to the second pack – tomorrow!  Continue reading »

If you’re like me you’re knee deep in the throws of everything Christmas, especially food. Every Christmas, without fail, I get my annual side of smoked salmon sent over to me by the matriarch of the Murphy clan. For me it’s like getting a little piece of home every year, which is important. Sometimes it’s hard living so far away from home.
My fondest memories of Christmastime of course revolves around food and along with that goes the odd scoop or tree.  Continue reading »

MAHON POINT FARMER’S MARKETBeen a regular visitor to the Mahon Point Farmers Market but it continues to surprise. It was very frosty today, the start of a 3 day market stint up to Christmas Eve.Some of the Thursday regulars were missing. Ballycotton Seafood were there with some fine fresh fish. Moved on then to the nearby cheese stall and settled on the cheddar by Hegarty’s of Whitechurch.  Continue reading »

New research led by Dr Jeremy Spencer of Reading University suggests that a couple of glasses of Champagne a day are good for your heart and blood circulation. Further research is expected to see similar positive results for the less expensive alternatives, such as Cava and Prosecco.
The team found positive effects on the walls of blood vessels, helping to reduce the chance of stroke and heart disease.  Continue reading »

The lovely Elisabeth Ryan from Sheridans has passed me on some interesting notes on each of the cheeses she suggested for the Christmas cheese board the other day.  To be honest I have just discovered an appreciation for cheese myself and I am finding this latest food discovery absolutely fascinating, there is so many back stories to each one, so have a quick read!

Stilton

Alongside Cheddar, Stilton is the best known of all English cheeses.  Continue reading »

This makes a subtly spicy cranberry sauce, with a little added port for some festive cheer. I made a couple of batches of this last week which are sitting happily in the freezer, waiting for the big day. Vastly superior to the ready-made version.
Put 500g fresh cranberries in a small saucepan along with 100g golden caster sugar, 100ml water, 100ml port, zest of 1 orange, 2 cloves and 1 star anise.  Continue reading »

Plenty of enticing offers this Christmas week at SuperValu, including:

Ham fillets (2-4kg) – half price
Selected fruit and vegetables including brussels sprouts (750g), parsnips (950g) and pineapple – all just 50c each
Pierre Darcy’s champagne (75cl) – half price – now €19.99

SuperValu for the Christmas ham? What’s the meat like there?
Offers are valid until Saturday, St. Stephen’s Day.  Continue reading »

I’m publishing this at the time by which you ought to have got your web orders in for delivery before Christmas.
If you care to live dangerously, our couriers will be collecting from us  tomorrow, Tuesday 22nd and also on Wednesday 23rd, for delivery on the following day in each case.  Everyone in the chain will do their level best to deliver on time – but please bear in mind that from now on we’re all cutting it a bit fine.  Continue reading »