World Bread Baking

The ever enthusiastic band of World Bakers are organising another challenge, the deadline being the 1st January 2011.

An incentive to learn new recipes.

This Year I Tried to Grow Lettuce...

It still has not moved beyond the seed leaf stage.

This, seen in a West Cork garden is an inspiration
to do better next time.

Eating Out in West Cork

Spent two days seriously eating our way round West Cork last week.
While official restaurant reviews are not my brief here, I'll make
this short and sweet.

West Cork is Heaven for anybody who likes fresh fish.
There are many mid-week special deals in chi-chi hotels
that make a trip away from city smoke very appealing indeed.

I think I've gained weight...

Giving Oneself and Fellow Bakers a Pat on the Back

Recently I was asked not to put myself down in a chat room.
Little did the poster know me.
Anybody who has lived in France for more than five days develops
a glorious attitude known as "La Frime".

Je suis frimeuse et j'en suis contente.

In fact I have been patting myself on the back all week,
as I finally mastered photo link code for various blogs.
At last I can send congrulations to friends an fellow
bloggers around the Internet.

Hope they are "Frimeurs" too...

Irish Blog Awards 2008,

Guten Tag!




The Internet has made photography a very sociable activity.
Many people have helped me over the past few year and I've
brought tips and ideas together here:


http://shortsights.blogspot.com/







moderntwist2.blogspot.com/


Irish Blog Awards 2008 Congratulations to the Winners

Irish Blog Awards Best Designed Blog

Updates for Irish Blog Awards 2008



Photos Tagged iba08


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Irish Blog Awards Best Designed Blog Sponsored by BB Gardens

www.bbgardens.ie/




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SuperbMacroFlowers

Pain et Chocolat

Irish Food Blogs

The short list for the Irish Blog Awards (Best Food and Wine Blog)
has been given a preliminary airing.

Well done!

Roughage

We got over the Christmas in jig time this year.
After almost a month of hearty eating I'm back making
simple scones.

Today adding some Pinhead Oatmeal produced a very
chewable Afternoon Tea Treat.

If you put some dessicated coconut over scones or bread
just before they are fully baked, the kitchen becomes
a scented haven, helping to forget the roaring winds
at the windowpane.

Coconut burns easily, so turn the over off quite soon
after you have dredged the bread and leave for a few
minutes before taking the tray out of the oven.

Happy New Year and Good Eating for 2008

Pumpkin

A drab, colourless soup can be improved in
both texture and colour by adding pumpkin.

Steam pieces of pumpkin about the size of
the palm of a small hand. Leave the skin on,
as firstly, it is a horrible vegetable to peel and
secondly, it keeps the flavour better.

Work the cooked vegetable into the soup
and liquidize.

If the original soup contains red lentils and
red peppers, the final colour is expecially appetizing.

Fine Words May not Butter Turnips, but Very Dark Sugar Certainly Makes Parsnips Edible

At last I get round to sharing the
one and only way to get parsnips
past the discerning noses of those
who hate them.

Slice them lenththwise, the thickness of a little finger.

Steam them very lightly, just to the
point where they are "al dente".

Put in a hot oven, dabbed with butter and dark
demerara sugar.

Use honey, if sugar is a dietary problem,
or oil instead of butter, for that matter.

Bake until an appetising golden colour.

Sit back and admire the contented faces.

Ballymaloe Cookery Books, A Must for the Good Foodie

Over the years I have collected some cookbooks
from the Ballymaloe writers, several generations
of lively minded ladies who know how to entertain
and delight every palate.

I've given the book on Fish to a French friend.
It's one way of spreading good cheer in the World.

This post is in answer to a question on Caroline's
post on Bibliocook. She is one of the lucky students
who is taking a course in the cookery school in County Cork
as I write. She wondered when I had visited the restaurant,
so here is the story.

In 1980 we cycled round the South of Ireland
with a baby and all the necessary camping equipment
to stay dry and warm. The gentle landscape of East Cork
made travelling easy. Not too many hilly experiences and
lovely afternoon teas, if you knew where to look.
The numerous potteries, now World renowned names,
were pleasant stopping posts. They were usually set in
pretty gardens full of flowers, fruit and even colourful
vegetables. The climate seemed milder than the one I was
used to in Dublin.

I never got to Ballymaloe at that time but discovered Myrtle Allen's
wonderful book which has been entertaining me ever since.
It includes a recipe for ice cream that does not need to
be churned... very useful for busy mothers who can't afford
to spend hours in the kitchen.

Finally, middle-aged and able to drive in comfort,
we visited the Ballymaloe Restaurant a few years ago
and ate in the sunny conservatory resaturant.
The wood-fired pizza oven, imported specially from
Italy, I think, was a talking point and I remember the
delighted grin on the young chef's face when, not really
thinking about what I was saying I almost yelled "Absolutely Delicious"
when I went to give a positive report on the excellent meal we had just
enjoyed.

A leisurely walk in the "potager" followed and we have
warm memories of that day.

Carbohydrates and Hibernation

Since the weather has got colder,
everybody is lashing into the carbs.

Fruit cake is a tasty source of
fruit
sugars.

You can almost feel a few slices
warming the cockles of your heart.

It was a strange and exotic luxury
to the French families I lived with
years ago. They had me baking happily
for hours, translating recipes and perfecting
my "Afternoon Tea Time" French conversation until
I sounded like a native.

Happy Days, as our dear Nobel Laureate
would say.

A recent visit to the
National Ploughing Championships
reminded me of all the work
that goes into producing
prime beef
for the table.

Cuisine Locale

To understand the cuisine of Northern
and Western Europe, you only have to look
at the climate.

It rains. A lot.
Ireland is very green, almost preternaturally so,
because of the rainfall. This should be a blessing,
but this Summer was not encouraging for anybody trying
to grow vegetables in the Kitchen Garden.

Not one radish or lettuce came to maturity in
my little space. An army of tiny slugs, one-fifth
the size of an average little finger's nail,
saw to that.

Slug bait tips would be welcome.

Damsons

This is almost an
Artist's Impression
of this year's Damson Crop.

The Lettuce Connection

There is a moment for photographing lettuce.
Unfortunately, the moment is not yet right in
our garden. A wretched wet Summer has left
most vegetables languishing in pots, sulking
in the ground or looking pathetic in the
greenhouse.

Here's looking forward to some warmth before
September arrives.