Posted on Jan 31, 2012 in Brewing and beer, Do, Life | 6 comments

Memorable food of 2011: Eight Degrees Beer, Inishfood, Irish flavours

Memorable food of 2011: Eight Degrees Beer, Inishfood, Irish flavours
2011? Phew! A crazy, crazy year. Still, after a relatively calm January, I’ve finally had a chance to gather together my favourite food memories of the last 12 months. *** Eight Degrees Beer: the first sip of our Howling Gale Ale at the Franciscan Well Easter Beer Fest – declared ready just the...
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Posted on Jan 27, 2012 in Print, Work | 0 comments

Food producer profile: Declan Ryan of Arbutus Bread

Food producer profile: Declan Ryan of Arbutus Bread
Artisan baker Declan Ryan of Arbutus Bread, and winner of the first Michelin star in Ireland, talks to Caroline Hennessy for SilverCircle.ie about the resurgence of interest in good quality bread and his grandmother’s recipe for brown soda bread. First published in 2009. Head along to Middleton Farmers’...
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Posted on Jan 23, 2012 in Do, Eating Out | 8 comments

An afternoon in Dublin… The Bakehouse, Silk Road Cafe, Skinflint

An afternoon in Dublin… The Bakehouse, Silk Road Cafe, Skinflint
…during which I ate creamy, chive-flecked seafood chowder in an large bread bowl (€9.50) at the friendly Bakehouse (6 Bachelors Walk, Dublin). I arrived in the door with a pushchair full of squawking Small Girl - she’s not a fan of late lunches – and the helpful staff were very much...
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Posted on Jan 17, 2012 in Food for Friends, Lovely Lunches | 2 comments

Taste #5 Umami Paste, Lentil and Bacon Soup

Taste #5 Umami Paste, Lentil and Bacon Soup
Parmesan, tomato puree, garlic, balsamic vinegar: all kitchen staples that we use, almost unthinkingly, every day when cooking. They are also four of the ingredients in Laura Santtini‘s intriguing Taste #5 Umami Paste. Named after the delicious savoury taste common to these foods, along with the others...
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Posted on Jan 10, 2012 in Bake, Life | 3 comments

Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Cinnamon Raisin Bread
It’s January. Time for just a little indulgence. Yes, I know that we’re all supposed to be on a hair-shirt-fun-free-detox-diet but on a dark, dreary school/work morning it’s no harm at all to have a little something that will lift the spirits. This Cinnamon Raisin Bread, born from a love...
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Posted on Jan 1, 2012 in Do, Eating Out, Life | 17 comments

Ten years on – and eating around Cork: The Castle, L’Atitude 51° and Gort na Nain

Ten years on – and eating around Cork: The Castle, L’Atitude 51° and Gort na Nain
Early morning, 31 December 2001. That was the moment when I made a decision that set my life on a totally new path. Rather than go home, as planned, to hang out with the Small Sister and Brother for New Years Eve, I made a spur of the moment phone call and headed for Cork to stay with the Sports Editor. As...
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