tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38602524558014002232024-03-14T02:13:13.629+00:00Foodie FanciesSharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11356192577740597438noreply@blogger.comBlogger150125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3860252455801400223.post-37137803852280247072016-09-07T09:59:00.000+01:002016-09-07T09:59:41.349+01:00Nosebleeds, twitchy feet and backache - dispelling the naiveté of the newly pregnant<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Before I got pregnant, I thought pregnancy would be a wonderful
experience. I thought I’d enjoy feeling my body change as a whole new life grew
inside me. How naïve was I?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Don’t get me wrong. There are lots of enjoyable moments. The baby
is kicking as I type and every kick makes me marvel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Yet there is still a lot that has come as a (not quite nasty but
not altogether welcome either) surprise about just what’s involved in growing a
baby. Actually, there are so many surprises that I’ve decided to list some of
them here so that other mums-to-be can be forewarned. I’ve also listed what I
do to remedy these unexpected symptoms of pregnancy. Where I haven’t listed a
remedy, I’d appreciate it if any of you could provide one…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">1: Very early on in pregnancy, you discover that getting out of
bed is no longer the simple task it once was. You can't leap out of bed as you
once did. Instead, you have to develop a get-out-of-bed strategy.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In the early days, this is so you don’t get light-headed and
faint. In the latter days, it’s more about hauling your increasingly heavy body
into an upright position.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Here’s what I do: I roll onto my right side and then push my feet
out of the bed and onto the floor. Then I manoeuvre the rest of my body into a
sitting position, hold that position for a moment and finally get up. Each of
these steps is completed pretty slowly as I can get dizzy if I try to do it too
quickly.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">2: You’ll get nosebleeds. This is because there is now up to 50%
more blood in your body and your blood pressure has increased as a result,
making your blood vessels work harder and making it more likely that the
delicate vessels in your nose will burst.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">My remedy: always carry tissues. Lots and lots of tissues. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">(Slight diversion: I was teaching a class of teenagers in July
when my nose suddenly started bleeding. At first, I didn’t realise it was blood
but the teenagers quickly informed me what was happening. “Ah, miss,” they
yelled. “You must be dying!”)</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">3: You shouldn’t sleep on your right side. I love sleeping on my
right side. It’s where I feel most comfortable. But it’s thought not to be best
for the baby as it can restrict blood flow by putting pressure on the vena cava
and increasing swelling in the legs – a factor in developing varicose veins. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Even if you do persist in trying to sleep on your right side
(which I must admit I sometimes do), it gets very uncomfortable and you’ll
eventually find that you end up turning over onto your left.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">What works for me: I get into bed and turn onto my left side. I
then ask my partner to jam a pillow behind my back. This doesn’t entirely stop
me from moving onto my right side (I have been known to push the pillow out of
bed!) but it makes it far less likely that I’ll do so.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">4: You may get twitchy feet. Beyond keeping my toenails in check
and exfoliating any dry skin, I didn’t used to spend much time thinking about
my feet. Now, I rarely stop thinking about them. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This is because they get sore and hardly ever stop feeling
twitchy, not even when I lie down to sleep at night.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The fact that I’m now carrying extra weight might have something
to do with this. So might the fact that I now have more blood in my body. But
what seems to be the main factor for me is that my default setting appears to
be crossing my ankles when I sit at my desk. (I’ve just checked and I was doing
it now so I’ve made myself stop doing it. But I’m sure that when I check again
in five minutes’ time, I’ll have unconsciously crossed them again. Sigh.)</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Crossing your ankles when you sit is bad for your circulation.
It’s also thought to be a contributory factor to developing varicose veins when
you’re pregnant. So try not to do it.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Also, having a pillow to prop your legs up on while you’re in bed
helps. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">So do foot rubs. Foot rubs are the best.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">5: I’ve mentioned varicose veins twice now. I might easily have
mentioned them many times more as they’re a huge worry for me. Both my mother
and father have them and I think their mothers and fathers had them too. I’ve
always feared getting them and now I think the time is nigh… At least, I saw a
little lump on my leg this weekend. I’m hoping it goes away.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In the meantime, I’m doing all I can to minimise the risk of
getting them. I’m not spending too long sitting or standing at any one time. I
try to get a moderate amount of exercise every day. I sleep on my left side. I
try not to cross my legs or ankles. And every part of me is hoping that this is
enough to spare me the fate of becoming a varicose-veined woman.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">6: Warning: this is slightly gross! At 15 weeks pregnant, I was
having a pregnancy massage and as I was getting dressed afterwards, I noticed a
yellow crust on my nipples. I immediately panicked and thought my nipples were
infected! I even imagined them falling off!</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">But luckily Dr Google came to the rescue and informed me that this
crusty stuff was completely normal. Your body starts producing colostrum even
at this early stage of pregnancy and this yellow crust is simply a sign that
all is progressing as it should be. There’s no need to panic!</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">What do I do with it? All I do is gently wipe it off with warm
water in the bath or shower.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">7: Your back becomes sore. So sore. As you get heavier, the
muscles and ligaments in your pelvis start to shift and become softer, in
readiness for the birth of your baby. This means that they are no longer
carrying as much of your weight as they once did so now all of that weight gets
shifted to your back - your unbelievably sore back.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It’s hard to know what to do to remedy this. I’ve started to do
some stretches, including one where I stand up, extend my arms above my head to
their full extent, clasp them together and hold them there for 30 seconds. I do
that whenever I go to the loo, which is usually about 10 to 15 times a day (see
number eight).</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">8: You get really thirsty which means that you drink a lot, which
in turn means that you have to go to the loo ridiculously often.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">There’s no cure for this. Your body and the baby’s need hydration
and because your bladder is forced to take up less space than it’s used to
(your growing baby is hogging all that space now), it no longer has the same
capacity it once had. Get used to it!</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">However, I have imposed a rule on myself. I drink constantly
throughout the day (approximately two litres of water and several cups of green
or herbal tea) but unless I’m really thirsty, I don’t drink anything after 9pm.
That way, I don’t have to get up too often during the night. My sleep
suffers enough as it is!</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I’ll
stop this list here but I have a feeling I might return to it as my body
changes more in the future. If you’re also a mum-to-be or if you’ve had a baby
in the past, I’d love to hear what tips worked for you. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sQLy7gbS7bM/V86knfoM4nI/AAAAAAAAB48/lLF4AATA9AIw2UspucDcNzXO2Z24g6xuACLcB/s1600/Pregnant%2BSharon%2Bsmall%2Bsize.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sQLy7gbS7bM/V86knfoM4nI/AAAAAAAAB48/lLF4AATA9AIw2UspucDcNzXO2Z24g6xuACLcB/s640/Pregnant%2BSharon%2Bsmall%2Bsize.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If any of you are curious about me and my bump, here's what we looked like during a spectacular sunset in West Kerry about two weeks ago.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11356192577740597438noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3860252455801400223.post-37890443081577904672016-08-15T10:33:00.000+01:002016-08-15T10:33:10.057+01:00The challenge that comes with eating for two and a recipe for pea and mint soup<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Pregnancy is a weird and
wonderful thing! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">We had our 20-week scan a
fortnight ago and saw what seems to be a happy and healthy baby boy moving
about on the screen. A baby boy! Imagine that!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">That little boy has begun to move about a lot recently. I first felt his movements as tentative little flutterings but lately there have been a few well-aimed wallops! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I’m beginning to relax into
pregnancy a little more now. I don’t know if it was because we tried to get
pregnant for so long and to no avail but I’ve found it hard to believe that we're about to have a baby. I still catch sight of myself in the
mirror and am startled at the sight of my growing bump. <i>Is that really me, </i>I
ask myself<i>.</i></span><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Is this really happening?</span></i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Eating remains something of a
challenge and I’m finding that my attitude to food is changing. Before I got pregnant, I used to eat
primarily for pleasure, choosing whatever looked good in the fridge and
composing a meal from that. Now, I eat much more strategically. I pause to
consider whether I’m getting all the nutrients I need (calcium and iron in
particular) before I decide what to make for dinner.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I’m also aware that the baby has
now begun swallowing amniotic fluid and so can taste some of what I’m eating. I’m
desperate not to have a fussy eater on my hands and want to do everything I can
to ensure this doesn’t happen. Right now, this
means trying to eat as wide a range of foods as possible.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Combine this with my dietary
restrictions, my quest to consume enough calcium and iron and the fact that
I’m often lacking in energy for cooking at the end of the day and you’ll see
why the culinary pressure is well and truly on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">This particular recipe isn’t
particularly bursting with calcium and iron but it is full of seasonal summery
flavour. On top of that, it’s easy and effortless to make and consists entirely
of ingredients that I always have to hand, which is a big bonus for busy
mums-to-be (and for anyone who struggles to find the time and energy to make a home-made meal at the end of the day).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><b>Pea and mint soup </b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 18px;"><i>This makes between eight and ten servings.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 18px;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">2 onions, peeled and chopped</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">1 large floury potato, peeled and
chopped (Rooster, Kerr’s pinks, Maris Piper, Golden Wonder and Queens are all
good varieties)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">2 tablespoons of olive oil<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">2 litres of vegetable stock <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">750g frozen peas<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">A bunch of mint, finely chopped</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Salt and black pepper</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">Prepare your vegetables.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">Sweat the chopped onion and potato in the oil over a very low heat for ten minutes, until the onion has softened but hasn't yet begun to colour.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">Add the stock. Bring to the boil. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes until the potato is tender.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">Raise the heat, stir in the frozen peas and simmer for four to five minutes.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">Remove from the heat, add the chopped mint and purée the soup using a soup wand or a blender. I always do this in stages, tasting as I go. For this amount of soup, I would use at least 10 grams of mint (leaves and stalks). Some of you may prefer your soup to take on a mintier flavour; others may prefer it less so.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">Finally, I add the salt and pepper. Again, I would urge you to do this to taste. I use at least 3 teaspoons of salt (and 2 teaspoons of freshly-ground black pepper) for this amount of soup but that's my palate, not yours. Start with 2 teaspoons. Stir it in and taste. Add more as you see fit. That's what 'seasoning to taste' is all about.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ci0EZLOnjLg/V628Z3aVkpI/AAAAAAAAB4M/a9v9hsZUWoI6oRZZrICexPV38nxaGRjCACLcB/s1600/Pea%2Bsoup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="470" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ci0EZLOnjLg/V628Z3aVkpI/AAAAAAAAB4M/a9v9hsZUWoI6oRZZrICexPV38nxaGRjCACLcB/s640/Pea%2Bsoup.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">All sorts of accompaniments go with this soup. I've been eating toasted bread slathered with hummus but those of you on an unrestricted diet might also opt for a bacon sandwich or a cheese toasty. Yum!</span></span></div>
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Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11356192577740597438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3860252455801400223.post-58669423486798754092016-06-21T12:37:00.001+01:002016-07-04T10:10:26.810+01:00I've got news. BIG news.<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Have you missed me? I’m sorry to
have left you in the lurch but rest assured that I did have the best of
reasons.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I’ve been exhausted and
completely lacking in motivation to do any sort of creative cooking for the
past few months. Luckily, it’s not because I’ve been experiencing an MS relapse
(I feel healthy and strong from that point of view). It’s because I’m pregnant!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Some of you who know me in real
life will know that this is something I’ve wanted for a long time – a very long
time.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Life got in my way. We had
difficulty conceiving. There were all the health worries associated with me
having MS. In fact, there were so many hurdles that I was beginning to come to
the heart-breaking conclusion that I would never be a mother.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">But… then came March and a
positive pregnancy test (actually three positive pregnancy tests as I couldn’t
believe what the first, or second, was telling me!). <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eqtqKTRfrBY/V2klmeH3UMI/AAAAAAAAB3M/mDom8r5b5dwVZ9S-hstWyvAf_GrGzYCWACLcB/s1600/pregnancy%2Btest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eqtqKTRfrBY/V2klmeH3UMI/AAAAAAAAB3M/mDom8r5b5dwVZ9S-hstWyvAf_GrGzYCWACLcB/s400/pregnancy%2Btest.jpg" width="375" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This is the third test - the one I finally believed!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">My reactions surprised me. I was
understandably shocked. I was overwhelmed with happiness. But I also felt
unexpectedly fearful, fearful for the future and the physical, emotional and
other challenges it would bring. It seemed that hoping for something for a long
time had in no way prepared me for the reality of being pregnant.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Nor did it prepare me for the
side-effects of early pregnancy. There were times when I felt entirely drained
of physical and mental energy. Lifting my limbs or thinking a thought through
to a logical conclusion (let alone crafting a sentence) proved to be beyond me.
I didn’t suffer from morning sickness but I was repulsed by food. I had a
disgusting metallic taste in my mouth no matter what I ate. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">(Surely when you take all of this
into consideration, you’ll understand why I haven’t been able to cook or write
anything about food for you here!)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I feel better now that I’m in my
second trimester. The metallic taste is gone and repulsion has been replaced by
ravenousness. However, the tiredness hasn’t gone away but recent blood tests
may have revealed the reason for that: my iron levels are low.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This poses a particular problem
for me. I have a condition that is common to Irish people called
haemochromatosis. It causes my body to absorb excessive amounts of iron, which
in turn puts pressure on my liver. In the past, I controlled this by not eating
too many iron-rich foods; something that wasn’t too difficult because the <a href="https://overcomingms.org/recovery-program" target="_blank">OMS diet </a>prevents me from eating red meat (or indeed any meat at all).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">But now the baby obviously needs
more iron than I have to give and because of my condition, I can’t take iron
supplements.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">So, I’ve started a new regime. I’ve
decided to eat red meat once a week and two weeks ago, we had lamb. We cooked it
on the barbeque so that most of the fat cooked out of the meat and on to the
coals and it was delicious. The following week, we had beef and that didn't go so well (but the less said about that, the better).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I’m eating sardines once a week.
I had them with red onions, broccoli and whole-wheat pasta for lunch today and
I’m still licking my lips.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I'm eating tofu once a week
too. I don't want to eat it more often than that as I'm a little worried about
soy products. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">(Those of you who are more
informed than I am: am I right to be worried?)</span></i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I’m also eating more
pulses.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I’m looking forward to
experimenting with all of these ingredients and I’m sure I’ll post lots about
it (and about the learning process of being pregnant) here.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">In the meantime, I’d love to hear
from any of you who followed the OMS diet or any kind of health-giving
exclusion diet while pregnant. How did you stick to the diet while making sure
your baby got everything it needed to grow strong and healthy?</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11356192577740597438noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3860252455801400223.post-64184774217990036762016-01-18T10:16:00.001+00:002016-01-18T10:16:46.978+00:00A recipe that will come to your rescue: pasta with broccoli, anchovies and garlic<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I couldn't tell you how often I've made this for supper. I discovered it in Jamie Oliver's <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Happy-Days-Naked-Jamie-Oliver/dp/0141042982" target="_blank">Happy Days with the Naked Chef</a> about 15 years ago and have probably made it more than a hundred times since then. I've adapted the recipe a little to make it <a href="https://overcomingms.org/" target="_blank">OMS friendly</a> but it still tastes as lip-smackingly good as ever.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The flavour combination isn't the only reason this has become one of my go-to recipes. It's also easy and quick to make and I always have the ingredients to hand. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I've even found that this recipe comes to the rescue if ever I'm hungover. There's something about the carbs in the pasta together with the saltiness of the anchovies and the head-clearing qualities of chilli that make it the ideal hangover buster!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">So, here's how you whip up dinner for a hungry woman in the space of 15 minutes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">100g dried pasta (I use wholewheat farfalle)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">One quarter of a head of broccoli, stem and all</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">1 large clove of garlic</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">4 anchovies</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">1 tablespoon of olive oil (if your anchovies come in oil, use some of that)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">1/4 teaspoon of chilli</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Salt and black pepper</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Bring a pot of water to the boil. Add a generous amount of salt and when the water starts bubbling again, add the pasta. Wholewheat pasta usually takes about 15 minutes to cook, which allows you plenty of time to get everything else ready.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Chop the stem off your quarter head of broccoli. Cut off the dried-out end of the stem and any rough edges. Then chop the remainder into one-centimetre pieces. Don't worry too much about being precise. This isn't that sort of recipe.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Cut the head of broccoli into small florets and add any chunky stems to your pile of stem pieces. In this recipe nothing goes to waste.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">You should end up with two piles that look something like this:<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0Y6O-2RLQ5s/Vpfd07fy89I/AAAAAAAAB1g/W9Nt5qxjW58/s1600/Broccoli%2Bpasta%2B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="306" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0Y6O-2RLQ5s/Vpfd07fy89I/AAAAAAAAB1g/W9Nt5qxjW58/s400/Broccoli%2Bpasta%2B1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Chop your garlic as finely as you can.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Add the oil, anchovies, garlic, chilli and broccoli pieces to a small saucepan. Cover the saucepan and place over a low heat for seven minutes. I recommend shaking the saucepan about every minute or so to make sure that nothing is sticking to the bottom. If you feel that there is a danger of this happening or that your garlic might burn, add a tablespoon or two of water to the pan to keep the temperature down and make sure your concoction doesn't fry to a frazzle. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Add the broccoli florets to the pan with the pasta in it five minutes or so before the pasta is due to be ready.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Then when everything is cooked, strain the water from the pasta and broccoli and toss them both into the pan with the broccoli pieces. Add some freshly-ground black pepper (be generous) and combine all of the ingredients thoroughly.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Pour everything into a bowl, making sure that you scrape out every last drizzle of the garlicky, anchovy-flavoured oil at the bottom of the pan. That's where all the real flavour is!</span></li>
</ul>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RLW1SFdQs54/VpfiYSdBirI/AAAAAAAAB10/tscNDyW43HQ/s1600/Broccoli%2Bpasta%2B3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RLW1SFdQs54/VpfiYSdBirI/AAAAAAAAB10/tscNDyW43HQ/s640/Broccoli%2Bpasta%2B3.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Enjoy!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11356192577740597438noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3860252455801400223.post-7621823828947668682016-01-08T10:43:00.000+00:002016-01-09T12:43:39.243+00:00Good food and box sets - the only way to recover from the excesses of Christmas <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Is it just me or are there others out there who think the festive season ought to be renamed exhaustion season? While it was lovely to catch up with family and friends over Christmas and New Year, the endless whirlwind of cooking, eating, drinking, socialising and staying up late wore me out and I'm only just beginning to recover.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The weather probably had its part to play too. Here in Dingle and all over Ireland, it didn't stop raining for days. And by rain, I'm not talking about a light shower. No, we're talking torrential downpours here. This meant that the only time I got out of the house was when I ran to the car to venture to the shops for more supplies or to the pub to meet up with friends!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Nor did I succeed in sticking to the</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><a href="http://foodiefancies.blogspot.ie/2014/04/just-like-starting-over.html" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" target="_blank">OMS diet</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> 100% of the time. It was next to impossible considering the amount of chocolate and mince pies in the house!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">However, I didn't stray too much. I'd taken precautions by preparing batches of OMS-friendly treats such as these <a href="http://foodiefancies.blogspot.ie/2015/02/honesty-and-emotion-on-lena-dunhams.html" target="_blank">cookies</a> and <a href="http://foodiefancies.blogspot.ie/2014/04/all-goodness-and-none-of-guilt.html" target="_blank">raw brownies</a> so I was able to tuck into those whenever I felt tempted. And I'm very much back on the wagon now, using the power of good food to help me get over the exertions of Christmas*.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One of the dishes I've been cooking a lot lately is this one: spiced cauliflower and leeks with green beans and freekeh.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QnSIm26alnM/Vo5-4hNI87I/AAAAAAAAB1A/O-txOJ8qypI/s1600/Cauliflower%2Band%2Bleeks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QnSIm26alnM/Vo5-4hNI87I/AAAAAAAAB1A/O-txOJ8qypI/s640/Cauliflower%2Band%2Bleeks.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's a dish that quick and easy to make. Its seasonal ingredients are affordable and widely available in the shops. It's packed with nutritional goodness. And for anyone who doesn't know what freekeh is, it's an ancient grain with a nutty flavour. Once confined to health stores, it's now stocked in many supermarkets. But don't worry if you can't find it. Feel free to substitute with any other wholegrain. I'd recommend bulgur wheat for its similar flavour and texture.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The following portions serve one.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">50g freekeh (or alternative wholegrain)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">150g cauliflower, approximately one quarter of a head of cauliflower</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">100g leeks, approximately one leek</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1/4 teaspoon turmeric</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1/4 teaspoon cumin</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1/4 teaspoon ground coriander</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1/4 teaspoon salt</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 tablespoon olive oil</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">5 tablespoons water</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">70g green beans</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Some chopped coriander</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Start by preparing your vegetables. Remove the tough stalk from the cauliflower and tear the remainder into small florets. Remove the hairy root from the leek, peel off its tough outer layer and then chop what remains into one-centimetre-long rounds. Top and tail the green beans and cut them in half.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Place your freekeh in a pan of salted water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 15 minutes.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Place the olive oil in a wok or frying pan (be sure to use one that has a lid). Add the spices and salt. Add the cauliflower florets and chopped leeks and toss so that the veggies are covered in the spicy oil. Add the water. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Place a lid on the wok/frying pan and place it over a medium heat. Cook for 10 minutes, shaking the pan frequently to make sure none of the vegetables are sticking to the bottom of the pan.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Five minutes before your freekeh is due to be cooked, add the green beans to the pan with the grains and cover with a lid.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Once fifteen minutes are up, toss the contents of the two pans together. Add some chopped coriander and combine thoroughly. Taste and add a touch more salt if necessary.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A fried or poached egg makes a delicious addition to this dish.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">May we all eat this well in the year to come!</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>* Now that the weather is better, I'm able to exercise more too. Long walks in the fresh air with my always enthusiastic dog Jimmy are just the thing to lift the spirits. </i></span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And so too are dark evenings curled up on the sofa with the latest season of the Bridge. I'm looking forward to watching Making a Murderer next. Have any of you seen it?</i><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You can also find me on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/sharondingle/" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DeliciousinDingle/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/sharondingle?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor" target="_blank">Twitter</a> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11356192577740597438noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3860252455801400223.post-56916376612317925732015-12-23T17:34:00.000+00:002015-12-23T17:34:04.490+00:00Christmas is...<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(a) A time of family harmony and togetherness</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(b) A source of stress and pressure</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(c) An opportunity to make and devour delicious food</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(d) A struggle to cover the cost of gifts and the price of the aforementioned feast and/or to find the time to get everything ready in time.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If
you’re anything like me, Christmas is a combination of all of the above. I think the festive season is a wonderful yet
fraught time of year. For me, it’s
already involved a heart-lifting evening listening to the Dingle choir and
orchestra as well as several frantic searches for Christmas gifts. And it hasn’t even really started yet…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For
the moment, I’ve succeeded in in juggling the various challenges that Christmas
brings and I hope you’re managing to do so too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Wishing you all a Christmas that is full of kindness and blessed with love,
laughter and good food.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Guím
Nollaig mhór mhaith oraibh go léir</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QbPBMn3q2tg/VnrZoK_WjOI/AAAAAAAAB0w/7j0g5H0dxdQ/s1600/Three%2Bsisters%2Bin%2Bthe%2Bsnow.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="288" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QbPBMn3q2tg/VnrZoK_WjOI/AAAAAAAAB0w/7j0g5H0dxdQ/s640/Three%2Bsisters%2Bin%2Bthe%2Bsnow.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The weather is very mild here so I don't think we're in for a white Christmas but this is what it was like during the cold winter of 2009</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11356192577740597438noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3860252455801400223.post-70729070828696831372015-09-30T15:38:00.000+01:002015-09-30T15:38:49.736+01:00The Dingle Food Festival is back. Are you coming?<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The </span><a href="http://www.dinglefood.com/" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Dingle Food Festival</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> is happening this weekend and for the first time in as long as I can remember, I'm going to be able to sit back and enjoy it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I've had a stall at the farmers' market since 2007 and as a result, the weekend of the food festival was always one of the busiest of my entire year. It was even busier when I had the café as I took part in the Taste Trail too. (I remember going to sleep at 1am on the Friday of the food festival in 2012 and setting my alarm to get up again at 4.30am - painful memories!)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This year will be different. I'm taking a sabbatical, which means I can attend all the cookery demonstrations and workshops I want, savouring the atmosphere on the streets and sampling deliciousness as I go.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Top of my agenda are cookery demonstrations from:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- Rory O'Connell of Ballymaloe renown</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- Mark Moriarty who recently won the title of San Pellegrino Young Chef of the year (which means he's the best young chef in the world!)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- French chef Michel LeBorgne</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- And spice supremo Arun Kapil of Green Saffron fame.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I also hope to attend the fermentation workshop. I'm intrigued by the sound of the TRADEIT project, which will showcase 20 food producers from all over Europe.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And then there's the Taste Trail. Seventy six of Dingle's shops, pubs, art galleries, cafés, restaurants and breweries will host food producers from all over the peninsula who will sell samples of their most delicious food. I'm already eagerly anticipating the likes of Dingle Bay crabmeat and monkfish thermidor tartlets, Derry Clarke's Dingle Vodka-cured salmon with pickled baby vegetables and sea herbs, porchetta with homemade bread and caramelised onions and adventures in Valhrona chocolate...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I can't wait for this year's festival. Will any of you be there?</span><br />
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Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11356192577740597438noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3860252455801400223.post-60629213778301244762015-09-11T10:39:00.001+01:002015-09-11T11:12:44.302+01:00Memories of childhood Saturdays and a recipe for dairy-free ice cream <div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What were your Saturdays like
when you were a child? Mine would always begin with my sisters and I huddled
under duvets on the sofa, chomping on bowls of Rice Crispies with milk and
giggling at Saturday morning cartoons.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">They would end with mass. It
never mattered how much we resisted that weekly trip to church, we’d be washed,
scrubbed and dressed in our Sunday (or in this case, Saturday) best before
being dragged reluctantly along to the service.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our parents did try to sweeten
the deal though. In an attempt to ensure that we didn’t fidget or fight during
what often seemed like a never-ending service, our parents would promise us the
ice cream of our choice from the shop across the road from the church once mass
was over.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Peering into a freezer full of
ice cream, trying to decide between a Feast, Cornetto, Freaky Foot or Tangle Twister
became the Saturday night ritual of my childhood and I still associate ice
cream with a treat. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It’s a treat that I’ve
been unable to indulge in since I started to follow the <a href="http://foodiefancies.blogspot.ie/2014/04/just-like-starting-over.html" target="_blank">OMS diet</a>. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And boy have I missed it!</span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Despite the fact that there has
been a huge growth in free-from foods, I haven’t been able to find many ice creams I can eat. A lot of dairy-free ices are
made with coconut milk and because of its high saturated fat content, that’s
not an ingredient for me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Lately though, I have been hearing good
things about ice creams made with frozen bananas. So last week I decided to
experiment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I must admit that my hopes
weren’t high. Bananas may be sweet but I couldn’t see how they could also be
creamy… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">However, there’s magic in these ingredients. Combined, they create a flavour, a texture and a melt-in-the-mouth deliciousness that's just like ice cream. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And you don’t just have to take
my word for it. My partner Richard (who hasn’t had to abstain from regular ice
cream like I have) likes this ice cream too. In fact, he said it might just be
the best thing I’ve ever made.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So there you have it: it’s
possible to combine five simple dairy-free ingredients to create a truly decadent treat –
one that I think even my childhood self would have liked!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Sharon's mint-choc dairy-free ice cream</b></span></i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This makes two moderately-sized
ice cream portions. If it's the sort of evening where you want to sit on the
sofa, watch TV and gorge on ice cream, you're going to need a lot more!</span></i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3 frozen bananas</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3 tablespoons cocoa
powder </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2 tablespoons almond
milk</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 tablespoon date
syrup or sweetener of your choice </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">4 mint
leaves</span><br />
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Peel and chop the frozen bananas. I find this easier to do if I chop the bananas into two-centimetre/one inch thick slices first. Your fingers will get cold though so it might be a good idea to wear a pair of rubber gloves to avoid the chill factor!*</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Add the chopped banana slices and the other ingredients to a food processor or liquidiser. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Blitz until smooth and enjoy. </span></li>
</ul>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm
planning to experiment with more flavour combinations in the next few weeks.
I'm thinking chocolate and raspberry and rum and raisin. Do you have any other
suggestions? What's your favourite ice cream flavour? Or what was your
favourite ice cream when you were a child?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>* In response to this post, smarter people than me have said that they peel, slice and bag their bananas before they go in the freezer. I'll be doing this from now on to avoid frozen fingers!</i></span></div>
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Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11356192577740597438noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3860252455801400223.post-73841496026579647062015-08-27T10:25:00.003+01:002015-08-27T10:25:54.615+01:00Niceoise salad and memories of kindness <div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here's another salad recipe but this time it doesn't come with a side order of <a href="http://foodiefancies.blogspot.ie/2015/08/the-sun-has-gone-awol-this-calls-for.html" target="_blank">complaints about the Irish weather.</a> (Lest you think this means the weather has improved here on the Dingle Peninsula; it's done no such thing. We may have spent the past few weeks crossing our fingers for an Indian summer but those clouds have remained resolutely in our skies.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">No, this salad comes with a more personal story...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My partner Richard is quite a bit older than I am and when we first got together, there was some disapproval from our family and friends. With this as background information, you'll understand why I felt nervous the first time I met Richard's mother. By that stage, she was an old lady in her late seventies and I thought that if anyone were going to react in a judgemental way to our age difference, it was going to be her.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How wrong I was. I came to see that Anne was someone who prized love above all else in this world. She immediately saw and understood the strength of the love we shared. Her eyes shone with happiness for her son and from that moment on, she welcomed me warmly into her family.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">She prepared a Niceoise salad for us to eat on the evening of that first visit. It was the first time I'd ever tasted this clever combination of green beans, tuna, anchovies, black olives and eggs but it definitely wasn't the last. It's become one of my go-to recipes for simple suppers ever since.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Anne died in 2007 but whenever I make this salad, I think of her and how kind she was to me on our first meeting.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>My memory of Anne Smallwood's Niceoise Salad</b></span><br />
<i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This recipe feeds two greedy adults (with some leftovers for lunch the following day). Like all salad recipes, it's pretty adaptable. You can add more or less of any of the ingredients, according to your own preference.</i><br />
<i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></i></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">400g small baby potatoes</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">250g green beans</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 medium-sized green pepper</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">15 black olives, the small puckered ones are best for flavour</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">250g tuna in olive oil, brine or water</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">8 anchovies</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">4 eggs</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3 tablespoons olive oil</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 tablespoon cider vinegar</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 teaspoon honey</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 teaspoon Dijon mustard</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A pinch of salt</span><br />
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Wash the potatoes and place in a saucepan. Sprinkle with salt and cover with boiling water. Simmer over a medium heat until a knife passes through the potatoes with ease. This should take between 15 and 20 minutes, depending on the size of your potatoes. Strain out the water and set aside to cool.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Prepare your other ingredients while you're waiting for the potatoes. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Top and tail the beans and then cut them in half.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Place them in a saucepan and sprinkle with salt. Add a centimetre or two of boiling water to the pan. Cover with a lid and simmer the beans over a medium to high heat for four minutes or until they are tender but still retain a slight bite.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Cut the top off the pepper and scoop out the seeds and pith inside. Cut the flesh into bite-sized pieces.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Remove the pits from the olives and cut them in half.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Place the eggs in a small saucepan. Cover them with boiling water and simmer over a medium heat for seven minutes. Then place the saucepan in your sink and run cold water over the eggs until they become cool enough to handle. Set aside until it's time for assembly.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Make the dressing by adding the olive oil, cider vinegar, honey, mustard and salt to a jam jar, screwing on the lid and shaking the jar vigorously until all the ingredients have combined.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Your potatoes ought to have cooked at this stage. You could cut them in three and add them to the salad as they are but I like to fry them in a little olive oil to give them crispy edges. Simply heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add your potato slices and a sprinkling of salt. Wait for a golden crispy skin to develop before turning each slice over and doing the same again.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's time for assembly. Add the beans, potatoes, tuna, olives and green pepper to a salad bowl. Toss together until they are well combined.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Peel the eggs by tapping them gently against a chopping board or counter top until cracks appear in the shell. Carefully peel the shell off the egg and cut each egg into quarters. Arrange the eggs and anchovies on top of the salad.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's up to you whether you dress the salad before it is served or not. I usually serve the dressing alongside and allow everyone to add as much or as little as they like.</span></li>
</ul>
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<br />Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11356192577740597438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3860252455801400223.post-75902497022147174312015-08-20T11:13:00.000+01:002015-08-20T14:26:58.349+01:00My new adventures in seaweed<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I've always been intrigued by seaweed. I've taken seaweed baths. I've eaten lots of sushi. I've even purchased books by Irish seaweed gurus, <a href="http://irishseaweedkitchen.ie/" target="_blank">Prannie Rhatigan</a> and <a href="http://www.guides.ie/editors" target="_blank">Sally McKenna</a>.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I live by the coast and sometimes see neighbours foraging for seaweed along the shoreline. But I've always been nervous about gathering seaweed myself. I felt as though I lacked the knowledge I needed to identify what was safe to eat. I was convinced that I'd end up poisoning myself.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That was until I went on a seaweed foraging with Darach Ó Murchú, an outdoors guide who runs foraging workshops here in West Kerry. He opened my eyes to a whole new edible world along the shoreline. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I wrote about my adventures in seaweed in Monday's Irish Examiner. You can read all about it </span><a href="http://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/features/seaweed-a-nutritious-foodstuff-that-need-protecting-348493.html" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nAv0pHnM5Jo/VdWnYVe9l0I/AAAAAAAAByU/8YmOo3wBMOA/s1600/Carrageen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nAv0pHnM5Jo/VdWnYVe9l0I/AAAAAAAAByU/8YmOo3wBMOA/s640/Carrageen.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My hair may be windswept but at last I know how to identify some of Ireland's best edible seaweeds!</span></td></tr>
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<br />Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11356192577740597438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3860252455801400223.post-14108643397380320542015-08-19T10:21:00.002+01:002015-08-20T14:27:16.706+01:00The sun has gone AWOL - this calls for an emergency panzanella salad<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This summer has been a little too Irish for my liking. I know it's supposed to rain in this country but does it have to rain so much that we've only been able to have dinner outside three times in the past three months?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I know we're not supposed to swelter under the sun either but did July really have to be one of the coldest on record? Or did it have to be the case that I never once took a walk on the beach without bringing along a fleece-lined jacket for fear of encountering biting Arctic winds?</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BeUvldmyHHw/VdHw1b8d2UI/AAAAAAAABxY/s_WgdM8pGCA/s1600/Beach%2Bwalk%2Bis%2Bthis%2Bsummer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BeUvldmyHHw/VdHw1b8d2UI/AAAAAAAABxY/s_WgdM8pGCA/s640/Beach%2Bwalk%2Bis%2Bthis%2Bsummer.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is what my walks have looked like this summer. Nice, I know, but where's the sunshine?</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This weather has had consequences. Not only is everyone in Ireland at risk of vitamin D deficiency, we've all started to feel grouchy too. We need some sunshine!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm not a miracle worker. I can't compel the sun to shine on Ireland. Nor can this recipe promise to make up for our lack of sunshine. All I can do is assure you that its ripe tomatoes, charred red peppers, wrinkled black olives, salty anchovies and heady fragrance of basil will look, smell and taste just like summer on a plate.</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--b7CbLiyu98/VdMRJD-_k_I/AAAAAAAABxw/A1-CspfZ3Jc/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--b7CbLiyu98/VdMRJD-_k_I/AAAAAAAABxw/A1-CspfZ3Jc/s640/5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sharon's thrown-together take on a panzanella salad</b><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>The following quantities serve two adults. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Feel free to adjust according to your own taste. If, for example, you don't like anchovies, just leave them out. The salad will still be full of flavour. It may however need a pinch of salt. </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">200g of stale sourdough bread (or any other stale bread you've got lying around)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2 medium-sized red peppers</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 tablespoon olive oil<br />14 plum tomatoes</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">6 large sun-dried tomatoes</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">12 or so wrinkled black olives</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">6 anchovies </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">6 large basil leaves</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Salt and freshly-ground pepper </span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Pre-heat your oven to 200C/400F.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Wash the peppers, place them on a baking tray and put them in the oven for 25 minutes. Set a timer for 15 minutes so you can use the oven to toast your croutons for the last ten minutes of cooking time.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Remove the crust from the bread and chop what remains into chunks measuring approximately 1.5cm squared. (Don't worry too much about accuracy. This is a rough and ready salad.)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Pour a tablespoon of olive oil onto a baking tray, tilting the tray so that the oil covers the entire base. Bung in the croutons. Toss them in the oil and give them a liberal sprinkling of salt and pepper.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Your timer should have gone off by now. Place the croutons in the oven and bake for ten minutes. By then, you should have crunchy croutons that still retain a satisfyingly chewy texture in the middle. Your peppers should be ready too - charred on the outside with yielding flesh underneath. Set both the croutons and peppers aside to cool and turn off your oven.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">All that remains to do is chop up your remaining ingredients and add them to your salad bowl. Chop the tomatoes into quarters. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Roughly chop the sun-dried tomatoes.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Remove the pits from the olives and cut them in half.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Roughly chop the anchovies.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Tear up the basil.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Peel the charred skin off the peppers and roughly chop the flesh.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Add all of these ingredients to a salad bowl, along with the croutons.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Add at least half a teaspoon of pepper (about six twists of a pepper grinder) to the salad. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Use your hands or some salad servers to make sure that all of the ingredients are well combined.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking. Depending on the quality of your ingredients, you may need more pepper, a touch of salt or a few more basil leaves. (If you like olive oil, you can drizzle some over the salad. Personally, I don't think it needs it.)</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">{I know that, like the sunshine, I too have been absent from this blog. My apologies. I hope to check in here on a much more regular basis from now on. In the meantime, I wish you sunshine!}</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11356192577740597438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3860252455801400223.post-12201023625110771522015-02-23T13:44:00.000+00:002016-01-09T12:41:44.994+00:00Honesty and emotion on Lena Dunham's Girls and the much-needed comfort of cookies<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I've been a fan of the TV series Girls from the very beginning. There have been many moments when Lena Dunham's (sometimes brutally) honest depiction of just how self-absorbed and unaware young women can be struck a chord and made me realise how much I've grown up since my early twenties.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I haven't enjoyed this latest series as much. Or at least I wasn't enjoying it until I watched episode 5.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">{SPOILER ALERT}</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is the episode when Hannah returns to New York to find that her boyfriend Adam has moved in with another girl, that she has been replaced in his heart and that his life has moved on without her in it. She reacts in typically over-dramatic Hannah fashion (although, to be fair, I think we'd all be just as dramatic if we discovered that our boyfriend was living with someone else and hadn't bothered to tell us that our relationship was over).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This episode culminates with Hannah and Adam having a heartfelt conversation where they discuss their past relationship and where they now stand with each other in a very open and rational way. They talk about what they had and how it's gone and how they both need to leave it behind and move on to something new - although Adam is obviously more ready to do this than Hannah is.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This entire conversation felt so real to me (though it must be acknowledged that life rarely affords us the opportunity to say exactly what we feel and think at exactly the right time as it does on TV). It touched upon the sadness we all feel when letting go of something that was special; how difficult it is to recognise when the moment is right for us to do this; the loss and heartbreak we feel when someone is no longer a part of our lives; and yet how vital it is that we make that break and move on to better and happier times.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">These feelings lived on in me long after I finished watching the show and I needed the comfort of cookies. So I made these almond and ginger cookies.</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-O5G7-fP7azw/VOssnZs2EiI/AAAAAAAABv8/VuudRF50nLE/s1600/three%2Bcookies%2Bfrom%2Ba%2Bdistance%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-O5G7-fP7azw/VOssnZs2EiI/AAAAAAAABv8/VuudRF50nLE/s1600/three%2Bcookies%2Bfrom%2Ba%2Bdistance%2B2.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">They're adapted from a <a href="http://www.lillyhiggins.ie/" target="_blank">Lilly Higgins</a> recipe. (She's a Cork lady and a great baker.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Makes 10 regular sized cookies</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">50g olive oil</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">60g light muscovado sugar</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">75g almond butter</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">100g plain flour</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1/2 teaspoon bread soda</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1/4 teaspoon ground ginger</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">40g ginger nuts (stem ginger)*, roughly chopped</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2 teaspoons of the syrup from the stem ginger</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">40g almonds, roughly chopped</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">30g sesame seeds </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Preheat the oven to 180 C/350F.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Line 2 baking trays with parchment paper.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mix the olive oil, sugar, almond butter, flour, soda and ginger in a bowl until well combined.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Add the chopped ginger nuts, syrup and chopped almonds and mix again.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Roll teaspoons of the dough into balls and then roll the balls in the sesame seeds until they are coated. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Place on the baking tray and flatten slightly. (These cookies don't spread out much while baking.)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool on the tray and then dig in.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ig8yweDtuFc/VOst9TtMCqI/AAAAAAAABwM/7_1_gUGQlmg/s1600/One%2Bcookie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ig8yweDtuFc/VOst9TtMCqI/AAAAAAAABwM/7_1_gUGQlmg/s1600/One%2Bcookie.jpg" width="542" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Episode six of Girls shows in Ireland tonight and I've only got one cookie left. Perhaps I need to get baking?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">*Some of you have expressed confusion about ginger nuts/stem ginger. They are pictured on the spoon in the photo above and are essentially preserved, candied ginger bottled in a sweet syrup. You'll find them for sale in an increasing number of supermarkets but I often find mine in Middle Eastern stores (where they are cheaper too). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11356192577740597438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3860252455801400223.post-46036409288415102852015-02-10T10:41:00.000+00:002015-02-10T10:42:37.598+00:00My week in dinners<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I don't know if there was ever a time when food was simple. The ingredients we cook with, the way in which we cook them and how we eat have always been indicators of status. Here in Ireland, the high society who lived in grand houses dined on the finest foods for centuries while peasants subsisted on potatoes, oats and hardy vegetables such as carrots, parsnips, cabbage and kale.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">However, I think food has become more complicated in recent years. Turkey Twizzlers or tofu, chia pudding or Coco Pops, sliced pan or artisan sourdough; what you eat has never said more about who you are and how you want others to see you.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Food bloggers have certainly had a part to play in this. We all work hard to style our food photos to make them look as appealing as possible. Everything from the dish the meal is served in to the artfully-placed green herb placed on top has been carefully considered. The words and images we use convey a message about food and it's not always a helpful one. And nor does it necessarily represent the way we eat every day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">While I'm lucky in that I love cooking and experimenting with new flavours and dishes, I don't always have the time or energy to cook at the end of a long day. And while I certainly pay some attention to how I present the food when I plate it up, the pressure to put food on the table means that I don't style it to within an inch of its life. For one thing, the food would be stone cold by the time I was satisfied with how it looked!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is why I was intrigued by an idea suggested by fellow food blogger <a href="http://bumblesofrice.com/2015/01/19/a-week-in-dinners-the-first-of-2015/" target="_blank">Bumbles of Rice</a>. She called on food bloggers to tell their readers just what they had for dinner for five consecutive days. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So, here is <b>my week in dinners</b>:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Wednesday: Minestrone soup</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--m5401oZZIQ/VNTJB4rjlbI/AAAAAAAABuU/NaLjkBgIAi0/s1600/week%2Bin%2Bdinners%2B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--m5401oZZIQ/VNTJB4rjlbI/AAAAAAAABuU/NaLjkBgIAi0/s1600/week%2Bin%2Bdinners%2B1.jpg" height="400" width="395" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A solo dinner: which explains why I'm eating early and reading the paper</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I usually try to make a batch of soup for dinner once a week. I always make extra as I mostly work from home during the day and a bowl of soup makes for a quick and easy lunch. It's also a good fall-back option if I'm too tired to cook dinner on another evening during the week.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You can find the recipe for this soup <a href="http://foodiefancies.blogspot.ie/2014/06/a-recipe-for-super-summery-soup.html" target="_blank">here</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thursday: Jamie Oliver's cauliflower risotto with anchovy breadcrumbs</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3ChwfK5nAwY/VNTJotA5RHI/AAAAAAAABuk/4JJel3dJ7hM/s1600/week%2Bin%2Bdinners%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3ChwfK5nAwY/VNTJotA5RHI/AAAAAAAABuk/4JJel3dJ7hM/s1600/week%2Bin%2Bdinners%2B2.jpg" height="400" width="368" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Forgive the god-awful picture but this is what it looks like when you use your camera phone and there is no natural light - it is dinner time and February in Ireland after all!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Friday: grilled miso salmon, brown rice and veggies</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3EG8oUyqWrI/VNitW5I8gFI/AAAAAAAABu0/5Ynir68Xrak/s1600/week%2Bin%2Bdinners%2B3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3EG8oUyqWrI/VNitW5I8gFI/AAAAAAAABu0/5Ynir68Xrak/s1600/week%2Bin%2Bdinners%2B3.jpg" height="400" width="358" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Once again: the evening light is rubbish</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I eat at least three servings of fish every week, with a focus on oily fish such as salmon, mackerel, tuna, etc. This ties in with my </span><a href="http://foodiefancies.blogspot.ie/2014/04/just-like-starting-over.html" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" target="_blank">OMS diet</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> which prioritizes intake of omega 3 fats, which </span><a href="http://foodiefancies.blogspot.ie/2015/01/the-big-fat-misunderstanding-and-recipe.html" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" target="_blank">we should all be trying to get more of</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Saturday: <a href="http://www.olivemagazine.com/recipes/potato-and-cauliflower-curry/3990.html" target="_blank">Potato and cauliflower curry from Olive Magazine</a> - I adapted this to suit my diet and added <a href="http://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/palak-mushroom-spinach-mushroom/" target="_blank">this mushroom and spinach dish</a>, some flat breads and yoghurt. (</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I know it's cauliflower again but it's cheap at the moment and I had lots of it in the fridge!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sunday: Pork roasted in the oven with onions, apples and wholegrain mustard served with mashed potatoes, crushed carrots and parsnips and brussel sprouts </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Because my diet means I can't eat meat, my boyfriend rarely eats meat during the week. To make up for this, I usually cook him something meaty on Sundays, serving myself something that is easy to rustle up alongside. On this day, I had a baked mackerel dish with the same sides.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But I forgot to take a picture as we were rushing out to the cinema.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Monday: I had some mashed potato and mackerel left over from Sunday as well as some tuna in olive oil in the cupboard so I used them to make this:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KVTNfv02OCM/VNnf2i9wTqI/AAAAAAAABvM/-WRfdEWOud4/s1600/week%2Bin%2Bdinners%2B5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KVTNfv02OCM/VNnf2i9wTqI/AAAAAAAABvM/-WRfdEWOud4/s1600/week%2Bin%2Bdinners%2B5.jpg" height="400" width="337" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.olivemagazine.com/recipes/tuna-fishcakes-with-parsley-and-caper-salad/3899.html" target="_blank">Tuna (and mackerel) fishcakes with parsley and caper salad</a> from Olive Magazine again</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(I know this is six days of dinners. But because I forgot to photograph one, I thought you deserved one extra!)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Your daily dinners are probably different to mine. They may not focus as much on fish and vegetables. Maybe you don't have the same amount of time or inclination to cook as I do . You might also live closer to a good takeout or a restaurant where you can eat cheaply and well (8 miles from Dingle town - where most good restaurants are pricey - I don't have such luxuries). Whatever the case, I'd love to hear about your week in dinners.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11356192577740597438noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3860252455801400223.post-6222002868017546382015-02-06T11:54:00.000+00:002015-02-09T09:24:19.830+00:00A good movie, a bad memory and a great cake<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I went to the cinema to see <i>The Theory of Everything </i>last weekend.
It’s the story of a young woman who falls in love with a young Stephen Hawking
and the struggles she faces as they build a relationship, a family and a life
together as his body deteriorates and eventually gives way to severe
disability.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The two central performances are wonderful and
this film is enormously affecting on a personal level. So, I’d recommend that
you see it. But I’m not really here to give a film review. I’m here to write
about a scene in the film that brought back memories of one of the worst times
in my life with MS.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Most of you will know </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">that Stephen Hawking has
motor neuron disease, a disease of the central nervous system that leads to
progressive disability and ultimately to death. Early in the movie, when he is
being tested prior to his diagnosis, he is asked to do a simple task – to touch
the thumb of his right hand to each of the fingers on that same hand.</span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Eddie Redmayne (who plays Hawking) is so
convincing at portraying the confusion he feels when he realises he can’t do
this. Later, there’s a look of
sheer anguish on his face as he tries to do it again at home. He suddenly
understands he can no longer bid his body to do as he wishes. He’s losing
control of his physical self.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">My </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">stomach churned as I watched this scene and
I can feel it churning still. It could have been a scene from my life because
my neurologist asked me to complete that same task before I was diagnosed with
MS (I suppose it’s a standard diagnostic tool) and I remember the sense of shock I felt when I wasn’t able to do it. Although my brain was thinking
the thoughts that had always previously resulted in moving my fingers, I couldn’t
make them meet my thumb. My disbelieving eyes saw them miss every time. Despite
trying over and over and over again, I couldn’t get them to do what I wanted.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">This </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">persisted for the six weeks that the
attack lasted. At random moments of every day, I would try to complete the task
again only to have my heart sink when I saw that I still wasn’t able to do it.</span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">However, I did eventually recover and was once
again able to make my fingers and thumbs do exactly what I asked of them. But I
have never forgotten how frightened I felt when I lost control of
my body. Sometimes, when I’m sitting at the dinner table or watching TV or
being driven in a car, I absentmindedly find myself touching my fingers to my
thumb, as if subconsciously reassuring myself that all is still well – that I
am still well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">And so far, I have been.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I attribute my continued good health to <a href="http://foodiefancies.blogspot.ie/2014/04/just-like-starting-over.html" target="_blank">my diet</a>. And whenever I feel tempted to eat butter, cream and chocolate, I remind myself what it felt like not to be able to use my right hand properly.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I used to have to remind myself of this quite often, especially when I would think</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> of </span><a href="http://foodiefancies.blogspot.ie/2012/01/great-british-bake-off-challenge-how.html" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Mary Berry's banana bread</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- which was once my go-to banana bread in the café and at home. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But I don't have to control myself with such mind games anymore - at least not when it comes to banana bread. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I've come up with a recipe that is not the same as Mary Berry's but it's just as delicious and it packs a much bigger nutritional punch.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ozgRIPU_ruc/VNSqPz6IcrI/AAAAAAAABt8/-13d2vkpJUk/s1600/Banana%2Bbread%2B1%2Bsmall%2Bsize.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ozgRIPU_ruc/VNSqPz6IcrI/AAAAAAAABt8/-13d2vkpJUk/s1600/Banana%2Bbread%2B1%2Bsmall%2Bsize.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I thought I'd share it with you today.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">200g mashed ripe bananas* (this will require two to three bananas, depending on their size)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 tablespoon almond milk</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">50g olive oil (choose one with a mild flavour)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">25g cocoa powder</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">50g plain flour</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1/2 teaspoon baking powder</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1/2 teaspoon baking soda</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">75g sugar</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">60g walnuts, chopped </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">20g banana chips, chopped (optional)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3 tablespoons cocoa nibs (optional - especially if you are strict about OMS)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 egg</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Preheat your oven to 170 C/340 F.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Line a small loaf tin with some baking parchment. I find that the easiest way of doing this is rubbing a left-over butter wrapper over the inside of the tin, scrunching the parchment into a ball with my hands and then using my fingers to shape the parchment to the bottom and sides of the tin. The scrunched-up nature of the paper makes it much more pliable.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Combine all of your ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Pour into the lined tin and place in the centre of your oven.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Cook for 30 to 35 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G_PVT4s0c2w/VNSqXPW-haI/AAAAAAAABuE/jKz10m-NTEk/s1600/Banana%2Bbread%2B2%2Bsmall%2Bsize.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G_PVT4s0c2w/VNSqXPW-haI/AAAAAAAABuE/jKz10m-NTEk/s1600/Banana%2Bbread%2B2%2Bsmall%2Bsize.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Enjoy the cake with a cup of tea (and if you can, go to see the movie!)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">* There's no such thing as over-ripe bananas. The blacker they are, the better they will be for baking, producing super-moist cakes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11356192577740597438noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3860252455801400223.post-30873025899050026642015-01-20T10:38:00.000+00:002015-01-20T10:38:08.754+00:00The simplest of pleasures<div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HY4DAGM-qB8/VLvwF0jow2I/AAAAAAAABtg/4Qd4HmF6qis/s1600/Lemon%2Band%2Bginger%2Btea%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HY4DAGM-qB8/VLvwF0jow2I/AAAAAAAABtg/4Qd4HmF6qis/s1600/Lemon%2Band%2Bginger%2Btea%2B2.jpg" height="640" width="464" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There are times when you come across something so obvious that you can't help but slap your forehead in disbelief. You ask yourself how come you'd never thought of it before.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">is what I found myself doing while teaching a cookery class late last year. We were preparing the ingredients for a Thai curry and because some of the students had never used lemon grass before, I passed a blade (</span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">is this what we call a piece of lemon grass?</i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">) around the room so that they could all see - and sniff - it up close.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I then showed them how to peel off the dry outside layer, bash the remaining layers with a rolling pin to release flavour and fragrance and then chop it up finely for use in the curry.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">At which point, someone piped up that they didn't throw the outer layer away. Instead, they added it to ginger peel and water and brewed a tea.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I immediately stopped in my tracks and did as she suggested, brewing a simple and refreshing cup of tea for everyone.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I've been brewing this tea ever since because not only does it have sharp, clear flavours, I've also found it works wonders on winter colds. A drizzle of honey takes it up another notch in the flavour - and health - stakes too.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So, this blog post isn't really a recipe. It's more of a suggestion. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The next time you're using lemon grass and ginger, don't throw away the peel.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Put it in a saucepan instead.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Cover it with cold water.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Bring it to the boil and simmer for five minutes. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Allow to cool. (The flavours will infuse even more)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Reheat for a cup of warming and restorative tea.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A cup of tea: it's one of life's simplest yet greatest pleasures. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ieeMjZGkxac/VLvxaUqEKDI/AAAAAAAABts/pMRD-gPDl6A/s1600/Lemon%2Band%2Bginger%2Btea%2B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ieeMjZGkxac/VLvxaUqEKDI/AAAAAAAABts/pMRD-gPDl6A/s1600/Lemon%2Band%2Bginger%2Btea%2B1.jpg" height="486" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">It's up to you whether you choose to strain the peel from the liquid or not. It makes no real difference either way.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11356192577740597438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3860252455801400223.post-39816811885631151912015-01-12T14:21:00.000+00:002015-02-11T15:32:31.182+00:00The big FAT misunderstanding and a recipe for figgy flapjacks<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Fat and the role it plays in our diet and in our bodies has been in the news a lot lately. From the way it's been reported in the media, the current prevailing wisdom is that fat is no longer a culprit in the fight against obesity. We've been getting it wrong all along. The new villains are sugar and refined carbohydrates.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Sigh of exasperation.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There is some truth to this but, as per usual with the way the media pounces on any stories relating to food, it's over-simplified. For years we were told to replace butter with margarine spreads (<i>yuck!</i>) and now we're being told to eat butter to our heart's content. The true nutritional understanding lies somewhere between the two. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I don't claim to be an expert but because my Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis diet is all about fat, I've done a lot of research into this issue. Based on what I've learned, here's what the general population should know about fat:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1: Saturated fat (the fat found in foods such as meat, cheese, butter, cream, milk and coconuts) is not bad. In fact, a little of it is actually very good for you. But there's the rub: I do mean a little. As always, it's a case of everything in moderation.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(If you've got MS, the advice regarding saturated fat is VERY different but that's another blog post entirely.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2: Very few of us get enough omega 3 fats from the food we eat. These fats are vital to our body's overall health, especially the strength of our immune system. Most of us know we can get omega 3 by eating oily fish such as mackerel, sardines, salmon and herrings. But with the world's fish stocks under severe pressure and the health and environmental risks associated with eating farmed fish, it may not be possible (or even desirable) for everyone to get their omega 3 by eating fish.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There are other options. Flaxseed and flaxseed oil are both high in omega 3. Flax is grown here in Ireland and it's a sustainable healthy product. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Chia seeds and walnuts are good sources too.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3: Sunflower oil, vegetable oil and oils that come in clear plastic containers are generally to be avoided. Although they have been sold as healthy alternatives for years, this is not the case.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In pre-industrial times, oil was perishable. It deteriorated quickly because it reacted to light, heat and air so traders would sell small quantities of oil which would be stored in ceramic sealed containers in the home. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(You know those pretty ceramic oil dispensers you see for sale in gift shops in the south of France? Well, they had a practical purpose as well as an aesthetic one. The opaque container meant the oil wasn't exposed to light. The seal prevented it from being exposed to air. And the heavy insulation of the ceramic material meant it never got too hot either. It wouldn't go rancid before it could be used. The same thinking is behind the reason why all good brands of olive oil - and other oils - are sold in dark bottles of thick glass.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So, how come oils can be sold in clear plastic containers, exposing them to light for months on end while they sit on supermarket shelves and kitchen counters? It's because they have been chemically treated so that they are no longer perishable. This is good for the companies who sell these oils but not for the people who consume them. The chemical treatments destroy any health-giving nutrients originally contained in these oils and, in many cases, create dangerous toxins instead.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There's a huge amount of reading you can do on this topic. If you're interested, I'd recommend starting with </span><a href="http://www.udoerasmus.com/fatsmain.htm" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Fats that Heal: Fats that Kill</a>.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I don't want to turn into a ranting evangelist so I'll leave it at this.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- Saturated fat is good for you IN MODERATION.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- Most of us need more omega 3 in our diet.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- Be careful what oils you use when cooking. Oils that come in clear plastic containers and are able to sit in your kitchen for months without spoiling are not beneficial to good health. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now as a thank you for putting up with my lecture, here's a delicious recipe for fig-filled flapjacks. It's packed with good fats and naturally unrefined sugars.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The ingredients are simple:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">225g oats</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2 tablespoons sesame seeds</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3 tablespoons pumpkin seeds</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">60g chopped dried figs</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">60g chopped almonds</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">100g walnut oil</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">75g maple syrup</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Uld6u4hLalY/VLPJ0G8KnwI/AAAAAAAABsQ/xBvxbXqbXgg/s1600/Ingredients.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Uld6u4hLalY/VLPJ0G8KnwI/AAAAAAAABsQ/xBvxbXqbXgg/s1600/Ingredients.jpg" height="593" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You will also need a rectangular baking tin measuring 23cm by 28cm (or 9 inches by 11 inches)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Pre-heat your oven to 160 C/320 F</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Chop the figs and almonds.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mix all of the dry ingredients in a bowl.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Pour in the oil and the maple syrup and combine all of the ingredients thoroughly using a wooden spoon.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Tip the mixture into the baking tin and flatten it with the palm of your hand.</span></li>
</ul>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tOWqlzY8apI/VLPMaRHB20I/AAAAAAAABsc/B_rKWBEjkSk/s1600/Flattening%2Bingredients.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tOWqlzY8apI/VLPMaRHB20I/AAAAAAAABsc/B_rKWBEjkSk/s1600/Flattening%2Bingredients.jpg" height="523" width="640" /></a></div>
<ul>
<li><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Cook in the oven for 25 minutes or until golden on top.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11356192577740597438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3860252455801400223.post-74140672806592508412015-01-06T12:27:00.000+00:002015-01-12T16:09:47.561+00:00The Great Escape: Christmas in Prague<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Well, how was your Christmas?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As you may remember from my excitement before the festivities, I decamped for the holidays this year. Normally, Christmas is a high-octane time in my house with my partner's children, their assorted boyfriends and girlfriends and other friends and family members joining us for a few days. It's always lots of fun but there's inevitably stress involved too. Because last year had been overly filled with stress already, my partner and I decided to run away this year. We shirked our responsibilities and decided to take time out for ourselves, somewhere far away.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We went to Prague for a week and had lots of self-indulgent fun and much-needed rest and relaxation.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It was our first visit to the city (and indeed to the Czech Republic) and I would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone contemplating a few days away.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here's why: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1: The city is very beautiful. Situated on the Vltava River, most of the medieval buildings that line its narrow winding streets miraculously escaped the devastation of WWII and there are architectural delights everywhere. From a fairytale castle that dominates the entire city to Art Nouveau buildings that rival Paris and even Communist and Cubist styles; your eyes will constantly boggle. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2: The people are friendly. Prague relies hugely on tourism, which means that people in bars, restaurants, hotels and shops speak good English and everyone we met was super smiley and eager to chat.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3: It's very affordable. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Even though Prague has got more expensive in recent years, it's still possible to enjoy good food and great beer and to stay in a quality hotel for a fraction of the cost that you would pay in Ireland.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you're thinking of visiting, here are some of the things that we enjoyed best while we were there:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Wandering around the Jewish Quarter of the city</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Tip: if you're planning on visiting the Jewish Cemetery, don't queue at the main entrance. There's an office just around the corner where you'll be served much more quickly. You can buy a seven-day ticket here which covers entry to the Spanish Synagogue as well as several other locations. We visited the cemetery and the synagogue and enjoyed both.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Jewish Cemetery: a place that resonates with history</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Spanish Synagogue</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Relaxing in our lovely hotel</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We stayed in the </span><a href="http://www.maximilianhotel.com/" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Hotel Maximilian</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> in the Jewish Quarter where we enjoyed a fantastic standard of service. Our rooms were comfortable. The staff couldn't have been more helpful. The breakfast was amazing and served until 11.30am every day (12.30 at weekends). We also booked one of their pamper packages which meant that we enjoyed a massage followed by champagne on one of our evenings there - bliss!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Taking a tour with <a href="http://www.newpraguetours.com/" target="_blank">Sandeman's Free Prague Tours</a></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our tour guide was an experienced theatre actor with a passion for Kafka and he brought the history of this centuries-old city vividly to life. (Just in case you think these tours are free: they're not. It's simply that there is no set fee. You pay what you think the tour is worth.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Visiting the John Lennon Wall, cooking sausages over a brazier and exploring the Kampa area</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We both love John Lennon and the Beatles so we made a pilgrimage to this wall which has assumed great significance in Prague over the years. In 1980, when John Lennon died and Prague was still behind the Iron Curtain, someone posted Lennon-inspired graffiti promoting peace and freedom. This was seen as a challenge to the authorities and was quickly painted over, but just as quickly replaced. The tradition continued and people add their thoughts and images to this day. We both made sure to add some artistic creations of our own. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It was cold as we made our way to the wall and we saw a café with braziers outside selling sausages. So, we bought a sausage and cooked it on a fork over the fire. This was actually at lunchtime on Christmas Day, so you could say that charred sausage was our Christmas lunch!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Spending a few hours in the <a href="http://www.mucha.cz/index.phtml?S=home&Lang=EN" target="_blank">Mucha Museum</a></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Czech artist Alphonse Mucha was one of Europe's most respected and creative Art Nouveau artists and this simple museum contains many captivating examples of his work. If you like Art Nouveau, prepare to be inspired!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>The food and the beer</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As you might have already anticipated, we made sure to treat ourselves to lots of good food. We tried Czech specialities such as Prague ham, goulash and dumplings from food stalls at the Christmas markets and from some of the many excellent restaurants in the city. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">These are the ones we liked best:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.sansho.cz/en" target="_blank">Sansho</a>: this trendy eatery is a casual place where the emphasis is on creative cooking using fresh Asian-inspired flavours. We loved all the savoury food but weren't as impressed by the desserts</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.cottocrudo.cz/" target="_blank">Cotto Crudo</a>: this fancy Italian is located in the Four Seasons Hotel, which gives you some indication of the fine dining on offer.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.kampagroup.com/en/restaurants/kampa-park/" target="_blank">Kampa Park</a>: we went here for dinner on Christmas Day (well, we needed something substantial after our lunch of shared sausage !) and absolutely loved it. The food is fantastic. The service is professional and friendly. And the views (make sure you get a seat on the terrace under Charles Bridge) are stunning.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This was the view from our dining table</span></td></tr>
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<a href="http://lokal-dlouha.ambi.cz/en/#index" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Lokal</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">: a modern take on a traditional Czech tavern - great food made from quality ingredients, lots of good beer on tap and plenty of raucous conversation.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">These are some of the many things we loved about Prague - a city that made Christmas 2014 truly special.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And because we skipped Christmas this year, I'm hoping that the excitement and novelty of next year's festivities will override any potential stress involved!</span></div>
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Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11356192577740597438noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3860252455801400223.post-58262795594071830162014-12-21T13:49:00.001+00:002015-01-06T12:45:43.239+00:00Wishing you all the merriest of Christmas holidays<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Nollaig faoi shéan agus faoi mhaise daoibh go léir.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">This is an Irish saying which loosely translates as a blessing of hope and happiness at Christmas and it's something I'd like to wish everyone who takes the time to visit my little corner of the internet. I hope you all enjoy something delicious to eat and the convivial company of family and friends this festive season.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Christmas is going to be a little different for me this year as my partner and I are shirking all of our usual responsibilities and running away to Prague for a week. (We're leaving tomorrow - eek!) I'm very excited and rest assured that I'll tell you all about it when I return.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">In the meantime, stay well and happy.</span><br />
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<br />Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11356192577740597438noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3860252455801400223.post-47081201994583864392014-11-18T15:02:00.002+00:002015-01-06T12:51:02.340+00:00Comfort eating, vegan style<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our house is right by the sea. There's just one small green field between it and the Atlantic Ocean. It might sound idyllic and sometimes it is. But other times, it can be ferocious.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here's what it has looked like from my office window a lot lately. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That's rain lashing at the window. Those are the white crests of waves pummelling the shoreline all along the bay. And that reflected light on the right side of the photo is a lamp on my desk, the illumination from which was badly needed as the sky was dark and heavy with clouds outside. (To shatter your idea of the idyll of living on the coast even further: this photo was taken at 12 noon!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On days like this, a body calls out for comfort food. But when you're following what amounts to a vegan diet that includes fish, comfort food can be hard to find. (Think about it: don't most of our most comforting dishes include dairy? Mac and cheese, fish pie with creamy mash, apple crumble, chocolate cake - now I'm just torturing myself!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thankfully, my experiments in the kitchen have turned up some alternatives that are just as comforting and yet follow the principles of the OMS diet. This vegan cottage pie with North African spicing is one of them. It doesn't try to be a substitute for a classic, it just feels like a whole new dish to enjoy in the dark days of winter.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Vegan cottage pie with Moroccan spicing - serves 4</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">200g dried green speckled lentils*</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">500g sweet potato, peeled and chopped into 3 to 4cm cubes</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 red onion, peeled and finely chopped</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2 sticks of celery, finely chopped</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 large carrot, peeled and finely chopped </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2 garlic cloves, chopped finely (I used smoked garlic but regular garlic is fine)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 red chilli, finely chopped</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 large red pepper, cut into 1cm chunks</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 leek, peeled of its outer layers, halved lengthwise and chopped into 0.5cm slices</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2 tablespoons rapeseed oil</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2 teaspoons ras al hanout*</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 teaspoon cumin</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 400g can of chopped or peeled tomatoes</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1/2 teaspoon salt</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Start by preparing the vegetables (sweet potatoes, red onion, celery, garlic, chilli, red pepper and leek).</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Pre-heat your oven to 200 Celsius/400 F/Gas Mark 6.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Cover the lentils in cold water. Bring to the boil and simmer for ten minutes. Reduce the heat. Cover the pot and simmer for a further 15 to 20 minutes, until the lentils have softened.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Meanwhile cook the sweet potatoes. Cover with lightly salted cold water. Bring to the boil and cook for 15 minutes or until soft.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Place a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the rapeseed oil, chopped onion, carrot and celery. Cook for three minutes.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Add the garlic and chill and cook for a further two minutes.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Add the red pepper, leeks, cooked lentils and spices and cook for another three to four minutes. (If you're using canned lentils, they get added at this point too.)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now add the can of tomatoes and the salt and cook for a further ten minutes. (If you're using whole tomatoes, you'll have to make sure you break those down using your wooden spoon.)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Get to work on your sweet potatoes while your lentil mix is bubbling away. Mash them with a 1/2 teaspoon of salt.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Taste both the lentil mix and the sweet potatoes to make sure you're happy with the seasoning and then pour the lentils into an oven-proof dish. Top with the sweet potato, spreading it out evenly with a fork.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Place in the oven and cook for 20 minutes.</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">* Tinned lentils work in this recipe too.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">* Ras al hanout is a Moroccan spice blend that you'll find for sale in the spice section of most large supermarkets.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">PS: Just in case you think living along the Irish Atlantic coast is all about darkness and harsh weather, we get days like this too.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Those days demand a different dinner!</span><br />
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Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11356192577740597438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3860252455801400223.post-87143516981050126402014-10-21T11:21:00.000+01:002015-01-06T12:46:13.794+00:00An immodestly good cake<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was always good at school and did well in exams. Growing up in the 1980s, the Dingle Peninsula was a much more tightly-knit place than it is today. So tightly-knit that a lot of people were curious as to how well I would do in my Leaving Certificate (the final exam we sit at secondary school and the one that determines our place at university here in Ireland).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was delighted with my results when I received them. Years of hard work and study had paid off. Yet I was a little confused when various neighbours commiserated with me in the following days.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Where were the congratulations? Why did they think I needed consoling?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My mother was getting the same reaction and was confused too. However, she eventually figured out that it was all my father's fault...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My father is the most modest man I have ever met. Nothing in his being will ever allow him to boast about anything. When people asked him about my exam results, his response was to say that I had done 'alright'. Understandably, they interpreted this to mean that he (and therefore I) was disappointed. After all, proud parents shout about their children's achievements from all available rooftops, don't they? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That's definitely not the case with my almost-pathologically modest father...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You're probably wondering what this has to do with cake. Well, I'm about to commit a cardinal sin in my dad's book by saying that this is one of the best cakes you'll ever make.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's inspired by a trip I took to <a href="http://brotherhubbard.ie/" target="_blank">Brother Hubbard Café</a> on Capel Street in Dublin at some stage last year (a café that is well worth checking out if you want lunch or a snack made from quality, Irish and seasonal ingredients the next time you're in town).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When I visited, I tried their almond and orange buns topped with dark chocolate. These burst with citrus flavour and the chocolate added a touch of luxury. They were moist and gluten free and I immediately set about making my own version as soon as I got home.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After some experimentation, I came up with a cake instead of buns and put it on the menu in my café. It was a hit with customers and <i>(whisper it)</i> I think it's just as good as the buns in Brother Hubbard's. <i>(Sorry for the immodesty, Dad!)</i></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bK-ZXh7MSAA/VEUQQpNy15I/AAAAAAAABlY/BwD6Regbo80/s1600/Close%2Bup%2Bof%2Bcake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bK-ZXh7MSAA/VEUQQpNy15I/AAAAAAAABlY/BwD6Regbo80/s1600/Close%2Bup%2Bof%2Bcake.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Don't worry: there's a reason why it's only decorated on one side!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here's what you need to make it:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2 oranges,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">5 eggs,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">300 grams caster sugar </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">250 grams ground almonds </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 teaspoon baking powder</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Place the two oranges in a saucepan. Cover with cold water. Bring to the boil and simmer for one hour.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius/350F/Gas mark 4.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Butter the base of a 26-cm round tin and line with parchment paper.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Chop your cooked oranges. I prefer to do this in the food processor but if you'd like chunkier pieces of orange in your cake, it's best to use a knife. Just be careful you don't lose too much of that precious juice!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Beat the eggs and the sugar for approximately two minutes, until well combined and frothy.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Add the chopped oranges and beat again.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Then add the ground almonds and baking powder and combine thoroughly.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Pour your mixture into your prepared tin and cook for 30 to 40 minutes. Check after 30 minutes as some ovens will bake this cake more quickly than others. The cake should be golden brown in colour and set in the middle. An inserted skewer should come out damp, not sticky.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Allow the cake to cool in its tin while you prepare the topping.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To decorate:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">100 grams chocolate (I find 50 to 60% cocoa best )</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">60ml cream</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Zest of half an orange</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Flaked almonds</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Break the chocolate into a heavy-bottomed saucepan and add the cream.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Place over a low heat and stir with a spatula. Don't be tempted to leave the stove while this is cooking. It could burn before you know it.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Once the chocolate has melted and combined with the cream into a glossy ganache, remove the cake from its tin and take off the parchment paper. Place on a cake plate and spread the ganache over the top. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sprinkle the flaked almonds and the orange zest over the ganache and leave to set before digging in.</span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Some people prefer this cake without any icing at all. They do so for several reasons. The absence of chocolate and cream makes it dairy free. And those who like pure clean flavours enjoy the strong orange taste without the distraction of chocolate.</span><br />
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<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Because I don't eat dairy and because I was bringing this cake to my sister's house where her daughter also avoids dairy, I only decorated one half of it.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OoEmrqbm1Cs/VEUUdt5twWI/AAAAAAAABlk/7ZIJd9Kgmmo/s1600/Cake%2Bin%2Bthe%2Bbox.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OoEmrqbm1Cs/VEUUdt5twWI/AAAAAAAABlk/7ZIJd9Kgmmo/s1600/Cake%2Bin%2Bthe%2Bbox.jpg" height="292" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A cake to suit all tastes</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">However, when we got there, my niece was much more interested in playing with our dog Jimmy than she was in eating cake.</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-do6BL8e-sc0/VEUU8hhC1PI/AAAAAAAABls/0nKyBClozs8/s1600/Hannah%2Band%2BJimmy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-do6BL8e-sc0/VEUU8hhC1PI/AAAAAAAABls/0nKyBClozs8/s1600/Hannah%2Band%2BJimmy.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Jimmy and Hannah: besties - at least some of the time!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Meanwhile, the adults got momentarily sidetracked by the prospect of meeting the newest addition to the family, my one-week-old nephew Conor.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SeNjED2GRDw/VEUVVFy1mEI/AAAAAAAABl0/5NBqyNAwbCw/s1600/Conor's%2Bfinger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SeNjED2GRDw/VEUVVFy1mEI/AAAAAAAABl0/5NBqyNAwbCw/s1600/Conor's%2Bfinger.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Can you believe anyone's hand could be so small?</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The lure of the cake did eventually drag us back though. It's that good! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>(Sorry, Dad!)</i></span><br />
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<br />Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11356192577740597438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3860252455801400223.post-12927749913792299102014-10-14T11:50:00.000+01:002015-01-06T12:53:01.535+00:00Bye bye Dingle Food Festival and the last days of summer. Hello winter and French onion soup.<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Phew! The whirlwind that was the <a href="http://www.dinglefood.com/" target="_blank">Dingle Food Festival</a> is finally over and having baked hundreds (upon hundreds) of cupcakes, brownies and sweet treats and then manned my stall selling them over the course of three days, my tired body and frazzled mind have eventually recovered.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This year's food festival coincided with a definite change in the seasons. Before the festival, we were still wearing summer clothes and sandals but a storm hit on Sunday afternoon. The wind rose. The canopies covering our market stalls threatened to take off and had to be weighed down. Rain poured out of the skies. Thunder and lightening joined the fray. And since then, everyone has wrapped up in their winter woollies.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As the seasons change, so do our appetites. We yearn for foods that comfort, warm and nourish us through the cold days of winter. French onion soup is just such a food. I know there are lots of recipes for this soup out there but this one is suitable for my diet (and therefore for vegetarians and vegans too). It's not quite the same as the classic version that uses beef stock but rest assured that it's just as delicious!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This soup is traditionally served with melted cheese toasts but because I can no longer eat dairy, I find that anchovy toasts made an equally savoury accompaniment. The deep saltiness of the anchovy works really well against the sweetness of the onions.</span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: Verdana;">French onion soup <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: Verdana;">6 large yellow
onions, thinly sliced<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: Verdana;">3 tablespoons olive oil<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: Verdana;">¼ teaspoon of
sugar<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: Verdana;">2 cloves
garlic, minced<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: Verdana;">8 cups/2 litres of vegetable stock<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: Verdana;">½ cup/125ml of dry
vermouth or dry white wine<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: Verdana;">1 bay leaf<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: Verdana;">¼ teaspoon of
thyme<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: Verdana;">At least one teaspoon of salt and lashings of freshly-ground pepper<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: Verdana;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">At least one slice of good bread and two anchovies per person</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Place a heavy bottomed saucepan over a medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the olive oil and then the onions.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Sauté the onions for ten minutes.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Add the sugar to help with the caramelisation process.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Sauté for a further 30 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Essentially, what you want is for your onions to be browned, but not burned.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Add the minced garlic and sauté for one minute.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Add the stock, vermouth, bay leaf and thyme. Partially cover the saucepan and stir until the flavours are well developed, about 30 minutes.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Season with salt and pepper. You'll have to trust your judgment on this. Add the teaspoon of salt and several grindings of pepper; mix; then taste. Add more if you think it will benefit the soup. Remember that salt works by bringing out flavour so a little extra might be just the thing.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana;">To make the toast, brush the slices of bread with a little olive oil and toast both sides under a hot grill. Lay the anchovies on top and cut into soldiers.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Enjoy</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">This makes more than two litres of soup but I've found that you can almost never make enough soup. Having a pot on the go means that you're sorted when it comes to quick weekday lunches and snacks and most soups - especially this one - benefit from sitting around for a day or two. The flavours get deeper and richer and better and better.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11356192577740597438noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3860252455801400223.post-27968694868692147582014-10-02T11:08:00.000+01:002015-01-06T12:48:58.146+00:00I'm back! And so is the Dingle Food and Wine Festival!<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Oops! It seems as though I unintentionally took a summer break from blogging! This makes it sound as though I spent the months of August and September lying on balmy beaches, sipping cool drinks and soaking up sunshine. If only it were so....</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Nope. Instead, these past two months were two of the busiest of my year so far. August is always busy in Dingle, what with being the height of the summer season. Throw a family wedding into the mix and you've got the perfect recipe for a stressed-out and exhausted Sharon. I had so many things to do and places to be that there was never any time to be here.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But that's about to change. This weekend, Dingle celebrates its annual Food and Wine Festival, marking the end of the tourist season in the town. Everyone starts winding down once the festival is over. The farmers' market closes. The long evenings start to draw in. Some of the town's businesses close for winter. And instead of catering to tourists visiting Dingle, many of the town's residents head off on holidays of their own. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Basically, everyone draws a breath after the frenetic pace of summer. That's what I will be doing too. I'll also take advantage of the quieter months to come to share some new recipes and thoughts with you here on a much more regular basis.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the meantime, I'm preparing for the food festival. I'll have a stall at the farmers' market where I'll be selling... <i>Sharon takes a deep breath before she recites what is a VERY long list</i>... brownies, double chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies, Black Forest gateau cupcakes, lemon meringue cupcakes, ginger and lime cupcakes, banoffee cupcakes, Guinness cupcakes with Bailey's icing, carrot cupcakes with orange cream cheese icing, white chocolate and raspberry cupcakes, chocolate cupcakes with creamy peanut butter icing, chocolate cupcakes with chocolate ganache icing, cookies and cream cupcakes and mini mixed berry cheesecakes! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Call to my stall to say hi if you're in town. And try a cupcake! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now, I'd best start baking.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To see what else is happening as part of the Dingle Food Festival, visit </span><a href="http://www.dinglefood.com/" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" target="_blank">www.dinglefood.com</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11356192577740597438noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3860252455801400223.post-28583359836175123222014-07-31T10:35:00.001+01:002015-01-06T12:47:27.934+00:00Dillisk Food Project: a very special trip to Connemara<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Why, hello there! It's been a while. </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I've been absent without leave these past few weeks but it wasn't because I forgot about you. As if that could ever happen! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">No, I often thought about how I was neglecting my poor food blog. It's just that I didn't know what I could do about it.</span><br />
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My problem was (<i>as I take a sharp intake of breath</i>), I had lost my enthusiasm for food. If you've been hanging around here for a while, you'll have gathered that I love food. I love cooking it, eating eat and sharing it with friends and family. I've enjoyed sharing it with you here too.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But lately, I've fallen out of love and it was all because of my diet. We've had great weather here in Ireland this summer and I wanted ice cream but wasn't allowed to eat it. Everyone cooked barbeque dinners when the sun shone and I couldn't tuck into any of it. Suddenly, I became fixated on all that I could no longer eat and lost my enthusiasm for food.</span><br />
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But that was until I went to Connemara. Or to be more precise, until I visited this little boat shed in Connemara.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A very special food event called <a href="http://www.dillisk.com/" target="_blank">Dillisk</a> is taking place in this shed every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night from now until early September. A team of chefs, cooks and people who are enthusiastic about food have created a kitchen and dining room in this abandoned shed and are using the food that is produced in the local area to put together very exciting menus. Think smoked seaweed broth and chocolate fudge made with sea salt harvested from the coastline outside the front door. This was just what I needed to reawaken my interest in food.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">They had made the interior so pretty...</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ON5VP8wB7gg/U9kZ2meCZtI/AAAAAAAABhA/pNuiHHN7a0k/s1600/Dillisk+interior.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ON5VP8wB7gg/U9kZ2meCZtI/AAAAAAAABhA/pNuiHHN7a0k/s1600/Dillisk+interior.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">...and built a tandoor oven for cooking.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">They even had their own resident dog</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0q63neikuAo/U9ka2JtKd1I/AAAAAAAABhY/eEF04L9nqG4/s1600/Dillisk+dog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0q63neikuAo/U9ka2JtKd1I/AAAAAAAABhY/eEF04L9nqG4/s1600/Dillisk+dog.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We were given gin and tonics with horseradish and lemon balm sherbet when we arrived.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And then most of us decided to go for a walk on the beach</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We didn't want to miss any dinner so it wasn't long before we walked back.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5qAVxLl3mCM/U9kcAQneAFI/AAAAAAAABhw/aImrLp1cZC4/s1600/Dillisk+back+for+dinner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5qAVxLl3mCM/U9kcAQneAFI/AAAAAAAABhw/aImrLp1cZC4/s1600/Dillisk+back+for+dinner.jpg" height="282" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And then the fun really began. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We had some fabulous food. There were onion bajis with Toonsbridge mozzarella and pickled shitake mushrooms; a deep smoked dillisk broth brimful of garden greens served with perfectly cooked mussels; some char sui Connemara pork dumplings with kohlrabi and purple carrots; a dish of peas with herbs and fresh goats' curd; pollack cooked in that tandoor oven with barley and beets; poached rhubarb, fennel meringue, homemade clotted cream and spiced brown bread; Cloudpicker coffee and chocolate and Aughrasbeg sea salt fudge; and pickleback whiskeys to finish.</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pDbpxVUtOBM/U9keWHga9vI/AAAAAAAABh8/FPxRCHWNRHE/s1600/Dillisk+chats+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pDbpxVUtOBM/U9keWHga9vI/AAAAAAAABh8/FPxRCHWNRHE/s1600/Dillisk+chats+1.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The conversations were just as good. My partner and I had travelled up from Dingle for the event and everyone else had come over from Dublin (some as couples, some with groups of friends). Everyone was interested in food and because we were all seated at a communal table, everyone chatted to everyone else. We exclaimed at what we were eating and discussed everything from the goings-on at the International Criminal Court in the Hague to birds of prey and everything in between. (I'm telling you: despite everyone apart from us being from Dublin, it was a very mixed crowd!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So, I owe the wonderful team at <a href="http://www.dillisk.com/" target="_blank">Dillisk</a> a huge thanks for helping me rediscover my enthusiasm for food and all of the pleasures that go with enjoying a good meal. </span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-25oqH0_0N-k/U9ksVyEcvaI/AAAAAAAABi0/PCbzwF7X4sE/s1600/Dillisk+team+drinking+their+picklebacks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-25oqH0_0N-k/U9ksVyEcvaI/AAAAAAAABi0/PCbzwF7X4sE/s1600/Dillisk+team+drinking+their+picklebacks.jpg" height="282" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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If you happen to be anywhere near Connemara this summer, I would wholeheartedly recommend that you eat at this unique pop-up restaurant. I promise you'll have lots of fun. You may even end up juggling in the kitchen at the end of the evening!</span><br />
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Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11356192577740597438noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3860252455801400223.post-61759244086131578832014-07-01T10:06:00.002+01:002015-01-06T12:49:30.835+00:00What Sharon did next <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Closing the café left me with a huge hole in my life. I've filled that hole by spending more time with family and friends, focusing more on my journalistic writing (something has to pay the bills!), relaxing and thinking about where I want my life to take me in the future. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It sounds crazy but I actually still have a lot of time left over after doing all of that, which goes to show that running a café is <a href="http://foodiefancies.blogspot.ie/2013/05/running-cafe-all-you-do-is-saunter.html" target="_blank">a whole lot more work than anyone realises</a>. It may also sound crazy to anyone who knows how burned out I was when the café closed that I still yearn to work with food, not just writing about food, but actually producing food for people to eat. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is why I've returned to Dingle Farmers' Market where I have a weekly stall selling baked goods every Friday from 9 am until 2 pm. I've been back since the beginning of May and have been experimenting with different flavours and options to suit my customers' tastes ever since. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I've brought back old favourites that people loved when I last had my stall there three years ago and I've started introducing some gluten-free, dairy-free and sugar-free treats to cater for the growing number of people who are careful about what they eat for health or philosophical reasons (<a href="http://foodiefancies.blogspot.ie/2014/04/just-like-starting-over.html" target="_blank">a growing number of people that now includes me</a>).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's been great to be back. I've re-engaged with old customers, met new ones, enjoyed the banter with fellow stall holders and I'm really appreciating once again doing something with food.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here are some pictures I've taken of my cakes and my stall in the past few weeks, just to give you an idea of what I've been doing:</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chocolate cupcakes with a creamy peanut butter icing - these contain butter, chocolate and cream (all things I shouldn't eat) and I seriously struggle not to scoff the lot!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The most adorable marzipan bees to go on top of my spiced honey cupcakes</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T4tmqZfh80k/U7GJV-8zMBI/AAAAAAAABgM/G3Abo4j8lxY/s1600/chocolate+cupcakes+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T4tmqZfh80k/U7GJV-8zMBI/AAAAAAAABgM/G3Abo4j8lxY/s1600/chocolate+cupcakes+.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dan Lepard's chocolate custard muffins topped with chocolate ganache - chocolate on chocolate; it's a classic!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jW5InjQ1ZB4/U7GJceND9XI/AAAAAAAABgU/vwOk3-fXaZc/s1600/Lemon+meringue+cupcakes+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jW5InjQ1ZB4/U7GJceND9XI/AAAAAAAABgU/vwOk3-fXaZc/s1600/Lemon+meringue+cupcakes+.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zingy with lemon and always a winner</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-frHayeusMAY/U7GJjn-maZI/AAAAAAAABgc/gzvM9lWjWjo/s1600/orange+and+almond+cake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-frHayeusMAY/U7GJjn-maZI/AAAAAAAABgc/gzvM9lWjWjo/s1600/orange+and+almond+cake.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No flour, no dairy yet oh-so deliciously good</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-63fX36d-95k/U7GJocPVyiI/AAAAAAAABgk/nUpMeav19K8/s1600/My+stall+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-63fX36d-95k/U7GJocPVyiI/AAAAAAAABgk/nUpMeav19K8/s1600/My+stall+1.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My white chocolate and raspberry cupcakes are on the left at the back and they have once again proved to be my bestsellers. The mini cheesecakes and banoffee cupcakes are pretty popular too!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have some questions for you before I bid you farewell today:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1: Based on your own experience of cake eating, what flavours and combinations would you like to see for sale at farmers' markets? I'd be particularly interested in hearing about options that are gluten, dairy and sugar free.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2: I'm also thinking of signing up with <a href="http://www.eatwith.com/" target="_blank">EatWith</a> and hosting supper club evenings in my home. Do you think people would be interested in this? Being at the market is not really enough to satisfy my cravings to feed people while enjoying their company and I think this new concept could be just the thing for me. Has anyone tried it out before? Or do you have any thoughts or suggestions?</span></div>
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Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11356192577740597438noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3860252455801400223.post-91856612204708254282014-06-25T11:00:00.000+01:002015-01-06T12:49:51.649+00:00A simple dish to make me better<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-IE"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I haven't been feeling all that strong lately. In fact, if I'm being truly honest, I've felt weak and unable to face the world and its challenges.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-IE"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My health has been fine (thankfully) but I've taken a few emotional knocks and as a result, I've lost some of my zest for life. I've retreated into myself as I redefine who I am and what I want from what I know (deep down) is a wonderful world of opportunity all around me.</span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-IE"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I turn to comfort food when I feel like this. Not comfort food as in chocolate; comfort food as in a bowl* of something nourishing that truly gives my body what it needs. Knowing that my physical body is being looked after allows me to divert my energies to improving my emotional and mental health.</span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-IE"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is food that makes me better.</span></span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UhfPe_6tAf4/U6meHrNpY0I/AAAAAAAABfs/QSApY9mc9PY/s1600/Noodles+in+ginger+broth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UhfPe_6tAf4/U6meHrNpY0I/AAAAAAAABfs/QSApY9mc9PY/s1600/Noodles+in+ginger+broth.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-IE"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Soba noodles with grilled salmon and spring onions in a ginger broth</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Broth ingredients: (this will make much more than you need for one serving but lasts well for a few days in the fridge and freezes well too)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">4 tablespoons freshly minced ginger</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3 medium sized cloves of garlic, very finely chopped</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2 litres of water or vegetable stock</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3 to 4 tablespoons of soy sauce</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Other ingredients:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">150g fillet of salmon per person</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3 spring onions</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">50g soba noodles per person </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1/4 teaspoon toasted sesame oil</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Begin with the broth. Mince the ginger and chop the garlic and add to a heavy-bottomed saucepan over a medium heat. Add a tablespoon of water to the ginger and garlic and stir for three to five minutes or until the ginger and garlic have softened but haven't yet changed in colour. Add another tablespoon of water if needs be to prevent the mixture sticking to the bottom of the pan.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Add the water or vegetable stock if using and bring to the boil.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Simmer for five minutes and then add your soy sauce. Taste and add more soy if necessary.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Set aside</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Heat your grill to medium. Season your salmon with salt and cook underneath the grill for six minutes on either side.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Boil some water and cook your noodles according to the instructions on the pack.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Peel the outer layer from the spring onions and cut into 4cm lengths. Then cut in four lengthwise.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Drain your noodles once cooked and coat in the sesame oil.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Place these at the bottom of the bowl. Place the salmon fillet on top. Pour over the ginger broth and garnish with spring onions. </span></li>
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<span lang="EN-IE"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">*In a complete aside: don't you agree that for food to be truly comforting, it should always be served in a bowl? Why is that, I wonder. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/en/blog/6089171" title="Follow Foodie Fancies on Bloglovin"><img alt="Follow on Bloglovin" border="0" src="http://www.bloglovin.com/widget/bilder/en/widget.gif?id=6089171" height="29" width="173" /></a> </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11356192577740597438noreply@blogger.com0