Hello, hello. Yes, I am still alive. No, I haven’t fallen off the face of the earth. I’ve been a bit up to my tonskils lately trying to finish the book. My submission date is looming terrifyingly close. So close I have that constant feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach, but hey, I’ll get there. As you can imagine, other things have had to take a back seat for the moment, one of them being my much loved blog. I miss it. I miss you guys.  Continue reading »

Jelly only really comes in the usual boring flavours, so why not experiment with your favourite tea?
Having recently discovered my love for teapigs Super Fruit tea I couldn’t resist placing a large order online before Christmas. When it arrived I spent the whole day making cups of tea, until I realised I had a few boxes of gelatin in the press. I set off to brew a fairly large batch of tea, which took quite some time and then it was time to have some fun!  Continue reading »

Our Saba Cookbook winners have been picked.  The very lucky individuals Fionnuala Desmond and Stuart Lattimore will be receiving a copy each of the plush and gorgeous Saba cookbook.  Check your emails Fionnuala and Stuart – if you send us your addresses today, there’s a chance you’ll get the book in time for Christmas.
The Saba Cookbook is available from Saba, Saba To Go, Easons, Hightide in Westport and all good bookshops.  Continue reading »

Christmas dinner is coming up, and I have big plans for exciting food. Keep reading to see some of my favorite menu items for the season!
Herb Roasted Turkey – Wondering just how you’re going to cook that bird on Thanksgiving or Christmas? Here’s a deliciously easy, fail-safe recipe that ensures wonderful results!
Braised Pork Medallion with Apples – Pumpkin spice, apple cider, and freshly sliced apples create the perfect pork dish when the leaves start to fall.  Continue reading »

These Christmas Fruit Parcels are a lighter alternative to cakes and puddings which has no suet and very little fat, no eggs and can be prepared quickly. They can easily be adapted for vegans too.I’ll make this 8th post in the 12 Days of Christmas series quick and snappy because that’s precisely what the recipe is.  The beauty of the recipe is that it is great if you have a vegan/vegetarian/lactose intolerant guest.  Continue reading »

These Christmas Fruit Parcels are a lighter alternative to cakes and puddings which has no suet and very little fat, no eggs and can be prepared quickly. They can easily be adapted for vegans too.I’ll make this 8th post in the 12 Days of Christmas series quick and snappy because that’s precisely what the recipe [...]
The post Christmas Fruit Parcels appeared first on Wholesome Ireland.  Continue reading »

Rico’s new Italian restaurant opens in Cork City Centre
This weekend Rico Valleballa launched his new Italian Restaurant ‘Rico’s’ in The Mardyke Entertainment Complex, Sheares Street, Cork! People queued for over an hour before doors opened at 5.30pm last Sunday when Rico himself welcomed the guests and showcased his new Italian menu.
Guests were very impressed with the new eatery, the.  Continue reading »

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Aldi's Luxury All Over Iced Christmas Cake: €11.49 each

A few weeks ago, Aldi laid on a banquet for Irish Times consumer affairs editor Conor Pope:
Thousands of people blow unconscionable sums in Marks & Spencer, McCambridge’s, Morton’s, Donnybrook Fair, Fallon Byrne and all the other high-end food shops across the country that sell us the promise of a premium Christmas at a premium price.
But can a discounter reallly compete with these high-end retailers? Aldi said it could.  Continue reading »

I’m not really a fan of Christmas pudding. It’s not that it’s not tasty — it is. And lighting them on fire is always fun. But they’re also very heavy, and they need to be steamed for hours when stovetop space is at a premium with all the other things cooking for Christmas dinner.
Christmas pudding is perhaps better known abroad as fruitcake, which is laughed at in America but loved in Ireland. I have to admit that I don’t understand the appeal.  Continue reading »

A few ideas

When all the baking and cooking and running around is done, finding a stack of cookbooks under the tree is one of my favourite things about Christmas. It’s also one of the few times of the year that I have time enough to read through an entire cookbook at one sitting, eating my way through a box of truffles or plate of cheese in conjunction with bookmarking future feasts for the New Year.  Continue reading »

Ten thousand euro donation highlight of
Irish Examiner Christmas Coffee Morning
Clockwise from top left: Catriona Anderson, Michelle Darmody (Examiner),Darina Allen, UCC singers, dancing shoes!,  Irish Examiner editorTim Vaughan, cheque in hand, announces €10000 donation.
Irish Examiner editor Tim Vaughan admitted he wasn’t too happy with his public speaking role at the start of.  Continue reading »

Six days and in my opinion a good recipe to have to hand over the next few days. I don’t know about your family but this is the time of year that we buy a lot of puff pastry and mince meat, so there is always a little left. This recipe is so simple but looks lovely and tastes just as it looks. They are mini mince meat pithiviers (Pithivers being seen the british bake off this season!).  Continue reading »

Here at Shananigans base camp my head and my heart are teeming with memories of last Christmas which was very special. In Christmas week Shane arrived with Shan on her first visit to Ireland and it was also our first time to meet her. Claire and Mike came from Australia spending part of the holiday here and part with Mike’s parents in Wales. Christmas resembled a Six Nations convention as we were also joined by my young Italian teacher Solange and her Argentinian husband Agustin.  Continue reading »

This was too impossible not to share straight away.
I will keep it brief. I’ve been trying to make sense of Irish *spiced beef* ever since I bought a silverside of it on a whim one December afternoon in 2008. It’s meant to be boiled. I’ve done that. Both in water and in stout. It’s meant for Christmas. Why, I am not sure. It’s savoury and clove-y, but not really spicy nor evocative of the holiday season through my expat lens.  Continue reading »

This is too impossible not to share.
I will keep this brief. I’ve been trying to make sense of Irish *spiced beef* ever since I bought a silverside of it on a whim one December afternoon in 2008. It’s meant to be boiled. I’ve done that. Both in water and in stout. It’s meant for Christmas. Why, I am not sure. It’s savoury and clove-y, but not really spicy nor evocative of the holiday season through my expat lens.  Continue reading »

Wohlmuth Gelber Muskateller Steinriegel (Austria) 2011, 12.5%, €14.72 Karwig Wines
Yellow is the colour of my true love’s hair
In the morning when we rise..
Yellow (Gelber) is also the colour of this gorgeous aromatic Austria wine, the grapes for which are hard won from very steep slopes (up to 78%). The soil is a red slate in this vineyard which has been referred to, for centuries, as.  Continue reading »

I love giving friends edible gifts around this time of year. In the past, I’ve given Christmas spiced cupcakes and chutney, or simple bundles of cheeses and crackers. Finding myself a little stretched for time this year, I was looking for something simple yet special to help pals and colleagues ring in the festive season.  Continue reading »

I think you should take a little break. It’s the week before Christmas and you’re probably running around like a headless turkey.

Sit down there now and have some cheese and crackers with me. Sshh we won’t tell a soul. 

Let me see how can I make that even better for you? How about if the cracker was made from cheese too? Like a cheesy cracker, mixed with some leeks. 

I give you the cheesy leeky cracker. 

Christmas can wait for a few minutes.  Continue reading »