Now earlier in the week I did come down a bit heavy on Sweden and their food culture, but I do have a big fondness for many parts of Swedish culture and cuisine. Whenever you talk to a Swede about the best time to visit Sweden, I could nearly almost guarantee they would say the summer. After a long cold winter the Swedes go all out for the summer with the highlight being the midsummer celebrations which take place on the 25th of June every year.  Continue reading »

You couldn’t have asked for a better day for a cross-country trip in Ireland. I made the three-hour drive from the east coast to the Midlands under a brilliant blue sky with warm sunshine beating down, passing roadsides covered with wild daises, buttercups and poppies, tractors pulling trailers of turf in the bogs of County Offaly and farmers working to harvest the first cut of silage in fields all along the way.  Continue reading »

A new name is popping up in the food world and that name is Chuck Hughes.  Not only does he run and cook for Montreal’s Garde Manger restaurant, but he has a new series on the Cooking Channel called “Chuck’s Day Off.” We don’t know what you know about Chuck Hughes, but we know a lot.  Six things to be exact!

Here’s what we learned about Chuck from chatting on the phone with him:
1. He’s not afraid of unhealthy foods.  Continue reading »

Finely sliced Carrot marinated in Harissa dressing. Cumin seed, Paprika, Minced Garlic, Sugar, and Harissa heated in some olive oil. After a minute or two take off heat and add juice of lemon.  Throw over prepared carrot in a bowl and marinate.
Dry toast some Sesame seeds in a pan. Add to carrots with crumbled Feta and hand shredded fresh Mint leaves.
I added a pan-fried Chicken Thigh to finish.

Yum!  Continue reading »

While there’s no shortage of Celtic Tiger follies in Dublin and around the country, Donnybrook Fair is not one of them. Rather, it stands as a testament to the clear focus and hard work of owner Joe Doyle, our host for the Laurenz V wine tasting dinner.
Arriving a little early to my wine tasting dinner I spend the few spare minutes on the shop floor browsing the stars of the night’s show.  Continue reading »

Uh oh. June’s almost over. Wondering what that means? Drum roll please. Our Perfect Potato Salad Recipe Contest is almost over too – aaah! Get your recipes in soon before the winner is chosen. Still not convinced?
After the jump, check out the top 5 reasons to enter this contest now:
1. There’s a prize! The winner will receive an Oxo Good Grips Wire Potato Masher along with an Oxo Good Grips Potato Ricer.
2. Get your creative juices flowing!  Continue reading »

Food offers
Current food offers at Lidl include:

Stringless beans (500g)  - half price – now 99c
South African boerewors sausages (360g) – now €2.99
Magnum White/ Classic (3 pack)  - reduced from €2.99 t0 €2

There’s a new set of offers every Monday. Click here for details.
More specials on Saturday only, including half price orange juice and Finish dishwasher tabs (30 pack) reduced from €8.49 to €5.49. Click here for details.  Continue reading »

Feeling sporty? Special buys today at Aldi include:

Adult wetsuit – €35.99
Sports balls – €7.99
Ladies horse riding stable boots – €14.99

Click here for details.
Also at Aldi, the current Super6 includes pineapple, asparagus, and vine tomatoes for 89c (valid until July 3). Click here for details.
Related posts:

Special buys in Aldi
Special buys at Aldi
Special Buys at Aldi.  Continue reading »

If you are lucky enough to get your hands on some unsprayed strawberries then turning them into strawberry jam is a must. One of my favourite smells in the world would have to be the smell of strawberry jam bubbling on the stove. As a child my parents had half an acre of strawberries growing, which they supplied to the local shops.  Continue reading »

No, I’m not talking about an airborne or infantry unit! It’s our one hundred and second post here on notjunkfood.net

Prize draw Prizes

Yes, our one hundredth post slipped quietly past on Monday, we’ve never been ones to mark the round number anniversaries, it just seems so arbitrary.  Continue reading »

A quick Google tells me Black Diamond’s Peak XV has only been with us a couple of weeks at this stage. The 8% ABV imperial porter is made with fresh vanilla and California cocoa nibs. And, perhaps because it’s so young, is incredibly fizzy at first. Mountains of head piled up as I poured, though subsided relatively quickly leaving a layer of tan foam on the surface.  Continue reading »

The Big Move is upon us, with our spanking new Cork premises opening next Wednesday, 30th June.

The stock clear-out from our Bandon warehouse is nearly complete, but we’re continuing the sale right up to the last minute, and will continue to apply the across-the-board discounts on all internet orders received up to midnight Tuesday, 29th June.
Deliveries, however, will be temporarily disrupted during the move.  Continue reading »

The beginning of summer has officially hit! Monday marked the the summer solstice and the longest day of the year. Summer is my favorite season because of the hot weather and scorching sun. I need my tan! Summer is also an interesting cooking season.
There are fresh fruits, like peaches, plums and all types of berries. Delicious vegetables include corn, cucumbers, beans and tomatoes. Since it’s so hot in the summer, it’s also prime-time grilling season, with burgers, dogs and brats.  Continue reading »

My First Feta Cheese

There I was, proud as punch, admiring my first batch of feta cheese.
I knew that, before long, I would be all “feta this” and “feta that”, a salad here and a spanakopita there, and still enough feta left over to impress friends and family. It was a big, cheesy win.
Until I remembered that technically I’m not allowed to call it feta.
Not according to the European Union at any rate.  Continue reading »

My First Feta Cheese

There I was, proud as punch, admiring my first batch of feta cheese.
I knew that, before long, I would be all “feta this” and “feta that”, a salad here and a spanakopita there, and still enough feta left over to impress friends and family. It was a big, cheesy win.
Until I remembered that technically I’m not allowed to call it feta.
Not according to the European Union at any rate.  Continue reading »

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This July.. if you only have one internet bake off… let it be this one… (Read on!) Hello dear people. Welcome to the world of ‘This is what happens to my blog when I genuinely do stuff’… i.e. abandonment. Have been good and busy on the wards/in theatre (yay!) and studying for final osce of…  Continue reading »

This July.. if you only have one internet bake off… let it be this one… (Read on!) Hello dear people. Welcome to the world of ‘This is what happens to my blog when I genuinely do stuff’… i.e. abandonment. Have been good and busy on the wards/in theatre (yay!) and studying for final osce of…  Continue reading »

NASH 19 Lunch can be a pretty routine occasion, almost like a pit stop. Not though if you go to Nash 19. Different class.Friendly Rose took us through the menu in detail and gave a few recommendations. We liked the look of the Good Ford Ireland Plate at €13.95 and went for it. Served, tapas style, it was a mini feast of tastes and colours, including a Squash Soup taster, Smoked Salmon from.  Continue reading »

Banana Pudding

Ever since I tried the eponymous banana pudding at Magnolia Bakery in NYC earlier this year, I am absolutely obsessed with pudding.  American style pudding, that is.  You see, in the USA we have a pudding that is like no other pudding in the world.  Continue reading »