Posted on Nov 30, 2010 in Grow | 2 comments

The end of turkey

The end of turkey
Turkey all eaten, apart from the best bit: the leftovers to be had on toast, with plenty of stuffing, Cranberry Relish and some Cooleeney camembert (from the Tipp Producers night) melted on top. That’s all I’m going to say – watch out for my final turkey article in the Irish Examiner on...
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Posted on Nov 26, 2010 in Grow | 7 comments

And then there were none

And then there were none
The deed has been done and it’s much quieter in the garden now. No more turkey gobbling in response to Little Missy’s shouts or the hens’ triumphant I’ve-just-laid-an-egg crowing. They’ve been hanging at Pruntus, my parents’ house, since Wednesday night. Tomorrow...
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Posted on Nov 26, 2010 in Print, Work | 2 comments

The Irish Times – Christmas supplement: Food glorious food

The Irish Times – Christmas supplement: Food glorious food
If you happened to pick up a copy of yesterday’s Irish Times, you might have come across the Christmas supplement with an article on food-related gifts by one Caroline Hennessy. If you didn’t, then you can take a look at a scan of the piece from the link below. Irish Times Christmas 25 Nov...
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Posted on Nov 25, 2010 in Food Events | 0 comments

Tipperary Food Producers and the Twitter Panel

Tipperary Food Producers and the Twitter Panel
Two weeks ago, on 10 November, the Tipperary Food Producers put together a spectacular Cookery Extravaganza in Clonmel. I was there as a member of a Twitter Panel who, as well as Tweeting and recording – both audio and video – on the night, also blogged about it afterwards. My account of the...
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Posted on Nov 23, 2010 in Grow | 4 comments

Turkeys: tick, tick, tick…

Turkeys: tick, tick, tick…
Time is running out for our terrible turkey twosome. They’re much larger than when they arrived – a little bit taller than a Little Missy at this stage – and strut about the garden as if it is their own especial fiefdom. They were eight weeks old when I picked them up from poultry...
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Posted on Nov 23, 2010 in Grow, Print, Work | 2 comments

Irish Examiner: A turkey for the table

Irish Examiner: A turkey for the table
As published in the Irish Examiner on 2 October 2010. “They’re rather…ugly,” said Scott, aka the husband, gazing intently at the pair of awkward-looking eight-week old turkeys that he had just wrestled from the boot of my car into their new home. All long legs, ruffled feathers and...
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Posted on Nov 23, 2010 in Grow, Print, Work | 0 comments

Irish Examiner: Turkeys – really, really stupid or just misunderstood?

Irish Examiner: Turkeys – really, really stupid or just misunderstood?
As published as a sidebar to A turkey for the table in the Irish Examiner on 2 October 2010. Barbara Kingsolver may be responsible for propagating the myth that turkeys are so suicidally dumb that they can drown just by gazing skywards as it rains but a quick online search will soon see you right. In 2003,...
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Posted on Nov 22, 2010 in Food Events, IFBA | 3 comments

IFBA Milk Market Meet

IFBA Milk Market Meet
When artisan preserve-maker Theresa Storey of The Green Apron first set up stall at the Limerick Milk Market, geese were still being killed and plucked to order and there were always piles of feathers in the corners. This was in 1977 and she was there helping her mother, the family’s first “jam...
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Posted on Nov 18, 2010 in Grow, Storecupboard Specials | 2 comments

Winter Warmers: Sloe Gin

Winter Warmers: Sloe Gin
A winter warmer? It’s just got to be Sloe Gin. The first time I tasted it was in 2002 when the then Boyfriend and I were staying with the IT Specialist near Cambridge and an unlabeled bottle was produced late at night. I savoured every last drop and remembered enough the next day to ask our friend for...
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Posted on Nov 15, 2010 in Cookery Books, Read | 5 comments

Kitchen: Recipes from the Heart of the Home by Nigella Lawson 

Kitchen: Recipes from the Heart of the Home by Nigella Lawson 
Kitchen arrived at the cottage just before a recent weekend where I was the kind of unwell that makes you want to curl up on the couch with a mug of hot chocolate and a good book. I picked up Kitchen – carefully, I didn’t want to drop the hot chocolate, and it is a Big Book – and it was the...
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Posted on Nov 11, 2010 in Food Events | 2 comments

Local food: Tipperary Food Producers

Local food: Tipperary Food Producers
It was all about buying local at last night’s Tipperary Food Producers Cookery Extravaganza in Clonmel. Tipperary produce – local cheese, preserves, meat and fruit – was used for the elegant nibbles on offer at the start of the night, during the cookery demonstrations and for the rapidly...
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Posted on Nov 7, 2010 in Food Events, IFBA | 8 comments

Playing with your food – and eating it: IFBA in Dublin

Playing with your food – and eating it: IFBA in Dublin
“He burns his nuts, I bake my rocks” Sharon Hearne Smith on the tricks (and Donal Skehan‘s occasional mistakes!) of the food styling world. Donal came out about his love for Cath Kidson, Sharon admitted that she was an OCD control freak and twenty food bloggers got tips on playing with...
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Posted on Nov 5, 2010 in Food Events, IFBA | 11 comments

Building a community: the Irish Food Bloggers Association

Building a community: the Irish Food Bloggers Association
Belatedly, my presentation from the IFBA launch at Savour Kilkenny‘s FoodCamp. I thought, on the eve of our second launch in Dublin (come meet us in L. Mulligan Grocer tomorrow night, Saturday 6 November!), it might be a suitable time to let you know the thinking behind Kristin and I setting up the...
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