Posted on Nov 29, 2005 in Eating Out, Return to Ireland | 3 comments

Bad coffee at Verona

Last Friday night in Dublin was miserable. Cold and raining, it was a night for staying by the fire but, with an impromptu cousin get-together happening, we were all out in town looking for a place to find a bit of food. A booking in Frank’s Bar and Restaurant had to be abandoned when our party...
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Posted on Nov 26, 2005 in Do, Return to Ireland | 4 comments

Irish farmers’ markets

In the twelve months that I spent in New Zealand, most weekends of which were involved in exploring a variety of markets, there seems to have been a mushrooming of farmers’ markets in Ireland. Or maybe it’s that I’m more aware of it now! Last Saturday, after just two days in the country,...
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Posted on Nov 24, 2005 in Do, Living in New Zealand | 6 comments

Goodbye to New Zealand

Well, all good things come to an end at some stage. I’ve left New Zealand – with many regrets – to return to my job in Ireland. I will continue writing about food from this side of the world with, perhaps after my 12 months away, a new perspective on what I may have formerly taken for...
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Posted on Nov 22, 2005 in Cook, Storecupboard Specials | 5 comments

Chickpea and Chorizo Stew

Coming across some raw chorizo sausage recently at Verkerks‘ butchers I decided to try out one of the recipes from the Mediterranean Café’s Tapas Evening. I also wanted to try out the Spanish smoked paprika that Chef Nik had used with such success that night but, naturally, the recipe sheet had...
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Posted on Nov 20, 2005 in Food Books, Read | 4 comments

Last Chance to Eat: The Fate of Taste in a Fast Food World by Gina Mallet ****

Last Chance to Eat: The Fate of Taste in a Fast Food World by Gina Mallet ****
Although cursed with an uninviting cover, Last Chance to Eat, with its investigations into the history and eating of a variety of foodstuffs, is a fascinating read for anyone with even the barest interest in food. For foodies, it should be essential. Toronto-based Gina Mallet uses her particular memories...
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Posted on Nov 18, 2005 in Cook | 0 comments

Fast-breaking soup: Harira

The Middle Eastern soup Harira has cropped up in several of the different cookbooks and magazines that I’ve been reading lately. It’s a thick, near solid, nourishing soup (it can be so thick that it’s close to getting called a stew!) which was traditionally served to break the Muslim fast...
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Posted on Nov 16, 2005 in Cook | 0 comments

A one-pot meal for a wet and wild day: Pork Hock with Beans

There are days in winter – and spring, and autumn – when you wake up to wet and wild mornings and the only thing to do is spend the day indoors, with occasional rain-coated excursions for walks to avoid claustrophobia. Digging through Tamasin Day Lewis’ Weekend Food on one such day, I...
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Posted on Nov 14, 2005 in Cookery Books, Read | 2 comments

Unwrapped: Green and Black’s Chocolate Recipes edited by Caroline Jeremy

Unwrapped: Green and Black’s Chocolate Recipes edited by Caroline Jeremy
Since I first saw this book in our local Oxfam shop in Dublin I’ve been having lustful thoughts about it. Green & Black’s produce fabulous organic Fair Trade chocolate – their spice/orange Maya Gold bar heading the list of my all time favourite chocolates – and the photos that I...
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Posted on Nov 13, 2005 in Bake | 0 comments

Irish Brown Soda Bread revisited

Irish Brown Soda Bread revisited
I put a recipe for Irish Brown Soda Bread on this site several months ago after the first time I cooked it and since then it has become part of our staple diet. Of course, the more I cook a recipe, the more I end up fiddling with it so here is my latest variation. The first change to my basic recipe was...
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Posted on Nov 11, 2005 in Food for Friends, Storecupboard Specials | 0 comments

Mexican moments: Mexican Beans

Mexican moments: Mexican Beans
I’ve been having more than a few Mexican moments lately with my chocolate and chilli experiments and I’ve also cooked several Mexican meals. The first was for a pot-luck dinner for eight in our house when some of the Boyfriend’s college friends and their wives were about. This was only...
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Posted on Nov 8, 2005 in Cook, Kitchen | 2 comments

Focaccia – the lazy way: Rosemary Focaccia from your Breadmaker

Looking at Sunday’s entry about flatbreads and focaccia, I just realised what was missing – I forgot to write up my focaccia recipe! What I give here is just the basic recipe but there are countless variations. You can always add different herbs or some crushed garlic, top the dough with...
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Posted on Nov 6, 2005 in Cook, Kitchen, Lovely Lunches | 0 comments

Flatbreads from the Breadmaker

Flatbreads from the Breadmaker
Even though I haven’t been mentioning the Breadmaker very much recently, it does get a regular workout. Every so often we’re out of Brown Soda Bread and it’s just too much hard work to go down to the shop so I just throw ingredients into the Breadmaker bowl and it makes one of its little...
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Posted on Nov 3, 2005 in Read | 0 comments

2005 World Food Media Awards winners

2005 World Food Media Awards winners
I was really delighted to see that a New Zealand book that I really enjoyed and have written about here – Taste: Baking with Flavour by Dean Brettschneider and Lauraine Jacobs – took gold in its category (Soft Cover Recipe Book under US$25) at the 2005 World Food Media Awards in Adelaide last...
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Posted on Nov 1, 2005 in Cookery Books, Living in New Zealand, Read | 0 comments

Simply Irresistible French Desserts by Christelle Le Ru

Simply Irresistible French Desserts by Christelle Le Ru
Why is it that recipe names look so much more evocative when written in French? Gâteau au chocolate et à l’abricot seems so much more sophisticated than just plain Chocolate apricot cake. Still, from the look of this slice of this moist dark cake pictured in Christelle Le Ru‘s Simply...
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