Pissaladière is hands down a summer favourite of mine! It shows off ingredients that are abundantly available, it’s so full of flavour, can be enjoyed warm or cold, travels easily & can be easily adapted to suit many palates. Originating from the Niçoise area of the south of France, today here in Ireland, its a delicious way of using up gluts of onions from the garden & makes a nice alternative to pizzas, quiche &
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Strawberries, Blueberries & Raspberries ready to go! It seems to me that the majority of soft fruit sold in large supermarkets is grown & imported from Europe & often times, further afield. Luckily here in Laois between Abbeyleix & Mountrath, there is a family fruit farm growing the most delicious soft fruit, giving us customers the choice of choosing locally grown seasonal produce, which is why to me, the Phelan family are very definitely Food
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Towards Bolus Head Bolus had been on my hit-list for 3 years before I eventually bagged it this August! Between weather and time, a walk up around this headland on the south westerly tip of Ballinskelligs had eluded me, and when I did get to do it, it was so worth the wait! As you come from St. Finian’s Bay back towards Ballinskelligs on the Skellig Ring, there will be a brown National Looped Walk
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Back down to Kerry for August and having been out of the country for the few months beforehand I was craving some of my favourite Irish foods; seafood, especially Kerry Crab and the goodies from the Real Olive Company market stalls. My first evening down in Kerry was a bit of a relaxed affair, there was unpacking and settling in after the long drive so supper had to be quick and easy. Along with eggs
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If you follow me on Instagram, you may have noticed I developed a bit of a thing for Spinach and Feta pie, or Spanakopita to give it its Greek name, over the summer. Every bakery and cafe will have warm slices of this for sale throughout the day and it became part of my morning routine, along with an espresso freddo and a swim in the sea. I asked my work colleague if she wouldn’t
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Spending a few weeks away from Ireland, I have been getting to know the produce of the Greek island of Corfu. It seems they do amazing fish, fruit and vegetables with most families growing their own vegetables in the garden along with keeping bees and a few chickens. One of the Greek dishes that I had a request for was Stuffed Aubergines and these are turning into a favourite of mine too. What is working
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Sometimes great plans don’t always come to fruition and so when that happens, I hope you will be able to find the silver lining to whatever dark clouded obstacle has come your way! Yesterday I picked a basket of gorse branches and had great notions of turning them into ice-cream and possibly a gorse vinegar had there been some left over. I went prepared with a pair of hardy gardening gloves and cut the branches
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With a nod to our neighbours in France who are celebrating Bastille Day today, I thought this recipe for Sablé cookies may leave a sweeter taste in our mouths than our recent soccer encounter! These are also ideal to make alongside the Pavlova featured before; the Pavlova requires 4 egg whites and this recipe just needs the yolk so I usually make these once I have the Pavlova in the oven and multiply the ingredients
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If you happen to be in the South-East of the country these few weeks, you will probably have pulled over to get a punnet of Wexford Strawberries from the huts along the side of the road. Trading for a few weeks now, the fruit on display and ready for sale at the moment have had the benefit of the sunny spell from the end of May to mid-June and so they are particularly sweet and
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Eton Mess must be one of the most popular summer desserts and with all the variations, you can really pick and mix to your own personal taste! One flavour combination that reflects this time of year in our countryside is Gooseberry and Elderflower. With the elderflowers lightening up our ditches at the moment they are free to pick and don’t require much preparation at all, except to look through them for any little creature still
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