Bibliocook: All About Food

One of my major perks, on days I work from home, is having the opportunity to make myself something really good for lunch. If those days also happen to feature me making chicken stock or reconstituting a big bag of dried pulses – these things happen in the kitchen without me having to think about them – there's more of a treat in store. A couple of scoops of chicken stock get siphoned off to make a gutsy noodle broth, infused with slivers of ginger, garlic and chilli and eaten with relish. Freshly cooked butter beans can easily find themselves tossed with a sundried tomato dressing and some of the left-over roast pumpkin from last night's dinner.

My most successful recent impromptu lunch involved chickpeas. I cooked a few handfuls of the just-tender pulses in my cast iron pan with some olive oil, taking plenty of time, until they were toasty and golden, added some garlic and lemon juice while the pan was still hot then tossed them with plenty of freshly grated parmesan. Simple and delicious.

Continue reading "Warm Chickpea Salad with Parmesan" »

If you're around Dublin on Sunday 14 December, Slow Food Dublin are planning a pre-Christmas, open air roast at Meeting House Square in Temple Bar with chestnut-stuffed roast pig on a spit, mulled wine, hot cider and live music. They will also have a number of stalls from food producers around the square and are looking for any new producers in the Dublin area to contact them if interested in participating. More information below.

Continue reading "Slow Food Dublin: Winter Roast" »

Tuesday was not a nice day. As I drove down to Kilmackillogue pier in Kerry in the morning, the rain rarely stopped beating against the windscreen as the wipers battled to give me a view of the road. It was not the perfect day to go out on a boat yet that's exactly where I was heading, off harvesting mussels with Paul Kelly, who is a part-time mussel farmer as well a gold and silversmith. On a brief stop in Kenmare – Jam was calling for morning tea – I took a moment to admire Paul's rings, which combine gold, silver and both precious and semi- precious stones, in the window of his shop, before hitting the wet road again for the extra half-hour drive to Kilmackillogue.

There were a few fishermen already out on the sheltered pier, well-clad in bright yellow oilskins and debating the state of the markets as they readied their shrimp pots. Paul layered up his waterproofs – I just had my NZ raincoat which is generally very useful, but not in this kind of weather. It just took a few minutes on the small boat, zooming out to Paul's mussel farm, before I was wet through. At least the top half of me was someway dry but I've never regretted my lack of waterproof leggings so much before. At least the water was calm and I was somewhat sheltered from the worst of the rain by standing behind Paul as he steered the boat into the bay.

We went way out, through rows of buoys, rafted together, marking where the mussel-growing ropes are located. When we reached Paul's farm, he reached under a buoy and pulled up one of the ropes. It's still early in the season but it was loaded with full sized mussels, which he easily pulled off by hand, along with hundreds of little crabs and starfish and lots of random bit of seaweed. Mussel fishing in Kilmackillogue is done very simply: if you hang the rope, they will come. Tiny seed mussels attach themselves to the rope and grow there, in seawater that is six fathoms deep. They then look after themselves, staying open underwater, feeding constantly until they are large enough to be harvested.

With a brief stop at a sorting table on a raft near to shore to get rid of the smaller mussels and associated debris, we returned to the pier, me wet to the skin and starting to freeze. Paul exports the majority of his mussels to France, saving a few for local restaurants including The Lime Tree in Kenmare, where I first tasted them. He landed a large sack of the mussels we had collected in the boot of my car, warning me that they might be a little salty as they were still full of seawater. I nodded, teeth chattering, as I planned huge bowls of Steamed Mussels for supper, Mussel Soups and Seafood Stews, Paella or maybe some Mussels with Garlic Breadcrumbs...

Later that night, after I had distributed bags of mussels to my mother, aunt and half the neighbourhood, the Husband and I sat down to a feed of Mussels Steamed with Garlic and White Wine. Paul was right – the liquor released was saltier than I am used to – but it didn't spoil our appetite as we relished the chance to eat the plump, juicy morsels to our heart's content. I steamed the remainder, picked the mussels from the shells and froze them to eat another day – despite our best efforts, we're just not able to eat more than a couple of kilos at a time! I don't think I've ever had the opportunity to eat mussels so fresh and delicious.

During my first couple of years in Dublin, I worked on Great Denmark Street, just off the top of O'Connell Street. At that stage, there weren't many lunch-friendly places around the northside so, if catching up with friends for lunch, the usual thing was to meet outside Trinity (cue Caroline legging it down O'Connell Street, over O'Connell Bridge and up Westmoreland Street at the rate of knots at 12.55pm) and go from there. One of my favourite places to go with the Tax Advisor – if we could grab a seat – was Cornucopia on Wicklow Street. We would fill up on warming winter soups, my favourite Spanakopita or hearty quiches, always with a big debate over which salads to choose. After a feed there, the Tax Consultant used to be terribly impressed at the fact that he didn't get hungry all afternoon long.

Then I moved jobs, out to the wilds of Donnybrook, quickly learning to bring my own lunches rather than depend on the vagaries of the RTÉ canteen, and Cornucopia lunchtimes were a thing of the past. Now, however, the very fine Atrium at Cork University Press have released Cornucopia at Home so that no one has to be deprived of their Cornucopia favourites – as a chickpea fan I'm looking forward to getting my hands on their Mediterranean Chickpea Salad recipe. I've already got several books published by Atrium on my shelves and in use, including The Creators from Dianne Curtin and Denis Cotter's first book, The Café Paradiso Cookbook. His A Paradiso Year: Autumn and Winter Cooking always gets hauled out as the days get shorter, especially when I have as many squash in the garden as I do this year. Watch out next year for the first cookbook from Carmel Somers of the Good Things Café in Durrus – from advance reports Eat Good Things sounds like something that should not be missed.

Any excuse is a good one to visit Dingle and when it involves a Food Festival and an invitation to participate in the judging of the inaugural National Irish Food Awards, also known as Blas na hÉireann, how could anyone resist? Certainly not me and Saturday found my tastebuds at the ready to sample some of the enormous variety of foods entered into a series of blind tastings. Without the context of packaging and placement, it was a real opportunity to see what was out there on the Irish market. And it wasn't all, ahem, work. I also got to meet fellow bloggers Val and Ollie, catch up with my former teacher Rory O'Connell, wander around the variety of food stalls scattered around the town, eat a first class meal at seafood restaurant Out of The Blue have several afternoon affogatos and sample a variety of the Mexican flavours on offer at Murphy's Ice Cream (the Guacamole was a very surprising hit.)

Amongst the winners are a lot of old favourites like Benoit Lorge's chocolates (his Rum Bitter won Silver in the chocolate category), Green Saffron's Rogan Josh spice blend (frequently used in this house), The Apple Farm's refreshing and classy Sparkling Apple Juice, East of Boston's Tantalising Toffee Sauce, David Llewellyn's intense Balsamic Cider Vinegar, Just Food's organic soups (as served in URRU) and breads from both the Blazing Salads Bread Company, a stalwart of my Dublin life, and the traditional Barron's Bakery in Cappoquin. All the results of this year's awards are below and are on the Blas na hÉireann website: congratulations to all the winners!

Continue reading "National Irish Food Awards/Blas na hÉireann winners" »

Who would have thought that garlicy guacamole ice cream could possibly equal gorgeousness?

Sadly URRU missed out at last night's Good Food Ireland Awards – we were nominated in the Top Regional Member category for the south of the country, along with The Blue Geranium Café at Hosfords Garden Centre, Café Paradiso, The Farmgate, Hayfield Manor Hotel, QC's Seafood Bar & Restaurant, The Poacher's Inn, The Tannery and the eventual winner – The Cliff House Hotel in Ardmore.

Still, there was more than enough good food, wine and company to keep us entertained in the Shelbourne Hotel and I got to catch up some old friends, including Anthony from Ummera Smokehouse – his award-winning organic gravadlax was on the menu, alongside Geraldine Bass' (Old Millbank Smokehouse) rich smoked salmon pâté – and Louise from Sowan's Organics, with her new spelt brownies. More information on the nominees and winners, highlighted in bold, below.

Continue reading "Good Food Ireland Awards" »

It's into the West for me this weekend as I'm heading out the door on Friday after work in URRU and straight down to Kerry with the Husband for this year's Dingle Food Festival. It all kicks off that night with a launch at the Dingle Bay Hotel from 10pm. If you're about on Saturday and Sunday there are a series of cookery demonstrations, taste trails (watch out for the Mexican Fiesta at Murphy's Ice Cream!) and farmers' markets throughout the town. And don't forget – at 5pm on Sunday the inaugural Blas na hÉireann/National Irish Food Awards ceremony will take place at Benner’s Hotel. Now, just got to make sure that my accomodation is sorted out!

Have you ever been to Dingle? Despite the best of intentions over the years – and the Husband visiting there regularly since he moved to Ireland – it's taken me quite a while to get round to visiting. But, when there's a pot of Murphys' Ice Cream at the end of the trip, how can you resist?

The sun shone for our drive there as we toasted pleasantly in the car, admiring the strand at Inch and the fact that we could see right across Dingle Bay. Scenary looks much more pleasant in sunlight, somehow. The tourists that wandered around the town had an air – not often seen this summer – of satisfaction, of being perfectly happy to briefly visit a few shops before getting back to the wilds and views, unlike last week's bedraggled lost-looking wanderers in Kenmare. And everywhere you walked there was someone eating ice cream. Ice cream in cones, ice cream in small blue tubs, groups of people standing outside Murphys' Ice Cream shop, swapping tastes of their chosen scoops, old couples walking on the sea front, making sure they didn't lose any last drops of their ice cream and ice cream all over babies' faces.

So, you make your way to the distinctively blue and white shop for your own ice cream – but which one? Will you go for an old-school classic like Vanilla or Chocolate, something with a bit more texture – Honeycomb, Cookies and Cream, perhaps? - or will you have to go straight for the latest unusual flavour that's arrived behind the counter: Guinness and Chocolate, anyone? Maybe the best way of deciding is to try them all – and then there's the small matter of figuring out which coffee or hot chocolate to drink, whether you actually need to buy a slice of one of the delectable cakes on offer and how many different bars of Valrhona chocolate you need to take home with you when you reluctantly leave. Whole days can be lost here.

Kieran Murphy – for the man who makes the ice cream is always the best judge of how to eat it – persuaded me, not with too much difficulty, into trying an Affogato al Caffè. A shot of espresso over a scoop of chocolate whiskey ice cream: can you think of a better way of getting a caffine hit? It's a sophisticated take on an ice cream float, just for grown-ups, as long as the kids don't see it while you're gobbling. And then a little later, to finish, it's time for an Extreme Hot Chocolate. Kieran told me it was very healthy, not at all heavy, made with cocoa, and served wth a dollop of cream on the top to balance it all out. Try it – and then see if you can leave without the Ghirardelli cocoa that they use to make it. See? I'm a sucker. And Kieran is a bad influence. One large 1lb tub of the cocoa – after all they do have a Chocolate Frosting and a Brownies recipe on the back – and a box of 70% chocolate (for cooking with, I swear!) and I finally tear myself away. But I'll be back – after tasting a few of Mexican ideas in production for the Dingle Food Festival I'm not sure I could stay away.

I came across a post on Rose Levy Beranbaum's baking blog about her baking essentials and it got me thinking. This is her list on the left in bold, with my additions on the right.

A hand-held mixer – which I have and use regularly, although I do love and use my KitchenAid a lot too!
A weighing scale – after years of using regular scales, I have become an electronic devotee. It's small, it's slim, it takes up no room on my worktop and I can use it to measure everything, normally in the pan that I will mix or melt it in (saves on washing up too) in either grams, ounces, fluid ounces or mililitres. I don't know how I lasted so long without it.
A set of measuring cups – essential if you do a lot of cooking from American or New Zealand/Australian recipes. Remember that those cup sizes are different, however.
A cup for measuring liquids – I normally use my electronic scales but I do find my pyrex jug very useful for any ingredients that need to get melted in the microwave.
A set of measuring spoons – always in use.
A sifter or strainer – I have the one that I bought about ten years ago, a green plastic thing that has seen me through many house moves and refuses to die.
A 9 inch by 2 inch cake pan – I'm not entirely sure what she's talking about here. I have a 9-inch springform tin that I use for all cakes.
A 10 cup fluted tube pan – I have one of these but I rarely use it. I've found that it's too easy to overbake a cake in the pan, especially if you are stuck with a fan oven, as I am.
Two wire cooling racks – I can and have managed with one, using the grill tray from the cooker or a cooker shelf if a second one is necesary. These days, since joining my Dublin and cottage kitchens together, I've two for those days that I get fits of baking and one is just not enough.
An instant read thermometer such as a Thermapen or CDN – not yet and I'm not bothered.
A silicone spatula reserved for baking – I had two lovely red spatulas and used them all the time but since one broke I'm doing fine with just the small little one that's left.
A baking spray containing flour – not something I find necessary when I can just dip my hand in the bag and sprinkle.
A reliable recipe – always! Sometimes this cook is not entirely reliable, though...

And, if you're as into making Flapjacks and tray bakes as I am, you need at least two 23 x 30cm/9 x 12in Swiss roll tins. Mine are ancient battered old things that I picked up for a couple of quid years ago in Dunnes or Tesco. They have been used so much at this stage that the patina of age that has developed does duty as a non-stick layer but it's always best to do a considerable amount of greasing if you're cooking anything that might stick in them.

With this list to hand, I think I could certainly start going through my kitchen cupboards and seeing what excess I do have in there. But everybody needs some antique rabbit and tortoise jelly moulds, don't they?

A short trip to Kenmare earlier this week unearthed plenty of good food. Dinner at the Lime Tree was worth waiting for, as we arrived late, stepping into the lively, convivial atmosphere of the restaurant from a cold, damp night. There was plenty to choose from on the menu but my eye didn't go too far and I gladly devoured a dish of the sweetest Kilmackillogue mussels, steamed open in a in a lemon, garlic, ginger and corriander broth. Tempted though I was by the Kerry lamb on offer, I stuck with the seafood and enjoyed the monkfish instead. A portion of well-flavoured pea and chorizo risotto surrounded medallions of the fish, in a rosemary butter sauce, topped with long, curly parsnip crisps. There wasn't a lot left on the plate by the time the friendly waiting staff came to clear and I didn't even get to touch the, for me, superfluous side dishes of vegetables and potatoes. After all that, desert didn't even get a look in and I finished with a pot of peppermint tea.

Next morning, after breakfast, I took a quick trot into town to check out the farmers' market. The stall holders seemed to be busy, despite another rotten day and lots more rain. I just had enough time to pick up a bottle of olive oil from Toby's Olive Stall, along with a couple of purple-streaked heads of French garlic. Ever since the garlic that I brought home from France ran out, I've been desperately trying to find French, or at least European, garlic but most of the bulbs on offer seem to be sad old imports from China so I was delighted to come across garlic in Kenmare. I also grabbed some 2008 Wild Beara Honey and a chunk of honeycomb from a laid-back Californian who had all the time in the world to tell me about his wares. Unfortunately, I didn't have quite as much time to spend there – this time – so I had to grab the honey and go!

After a trip to Kilmackillogue pier, I ended back in Kenmare before heading home. Anxious to grab a bite to eat, I went into Jam and got a bowl of their Carrot and Ginger Soup. In the wrong hands this could have been disastrous but who ever was in the kitchen had a sure hand with the spicing and the soup was delicious, the perfect antidote for the miserable day outside. On my way out I couldn't resist one of the Chocolate and Nut Flapjacks – it's a self-service counter so you are totally tempted by a range of cakes and slices ever before you get to see what's on offer in the savoury side of things. I resisted initially but I was no sooner back in the car than half the Flapjack disappeared.

On my brief wander around town, I also liked the look of the Kenmare Food Company – great coffee smells and lovely books to browse through in the back – the mixture of fine wines, greeting cards, newspapers and quality chocolates in Vanilla Grape and the range of foods available at Truffle Pig. Plenty to investigate next time!

It's food festival season at the moment in North Cork with Mitchelstown holding its own festival this weekend, kicking off with a gala evening with Clodagh McKenna at the Firgrove Hotel tonight. You can see the menu below – it's got fantastic Clonmore Goat's Cheese from Tom Biggane, Nano Nagle organic eggs and apples, Araglin trout and David Lee’s honey, fresh from the bees that spent the early summer buzzing around our cottage garden. There's also a market taking place on Sunday from 12pm at the Mitchelstown Business Park.

Continue reading "Mitchelstown Food Festival" »

After I had been busily extolling the virtues of slices and bars available in New Zealand cafés while at work last week, my German Colleague asked if I had a recipe for Lemon Bars. Tan Slice and Ginger Crunch are things that I bake regularly but I had to admit that I had never tried to make the ubiquitous Lemon Slice as a lot of recipes involved separating eggs (I'm a lazy cook, I don't do separated eggs given half a chance or another recipe) or condensed milk or too many lemons at a time when I didn't have them.

Monday morning, after four eggs arrived back from the girls and I realised, post-cold recovery, that I had a bowl of lemons in the house, I decided to try out Julie Biuso's recipe for Sticky Lemon Slice. This fitted all the criteria – easy to make, uses up plenty of eggs from my stash and I had enough lemons, although next time I may add an extra lemon-worth of zest. If you're cooking this in a fan oven, I would recommend that you cook it about 20°C lower than the regular oven temperature as mine was a little dried out on top and I would have preferred more luscious lemon-ness. Also, if you have some of the topping left over as I did, pour it into a couple of expresso cups, and sit them in a bain-marie in the same oven for approximately 20 minutes until set – it makes a fantastic cheat's desert, especially served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.

Continue reading "Sweet Treats for Work: Sticky Lemon Slice" »