The Ballymaloe Literary Festival of Food and Wine: food for thought, food for the soul and lots and lots of food to eat

I'm so sorry to have been missing in action for the past while. I had the enormous pleasure (and privilege) of attending Ballymaloe Literary Festival last weekend and have been playing catch up (and recovering!) ever since.

The festival was a wonderful celebration of all that is good about food. It featured illustrious chefs such as René Redzepi, Yotam Ottolenghi, Sami Tamini, Simon Hopkinson and the awe-inspiring Diana Kennedy. Food writers including Tom Parker Bowles, Joanna Blythman and John McKenna featured too as did food activist and fermentation expert Sandor Katz and food producers from all over Ireland such as the Diva Bakery, Silver Darling herrings and the Ferguson family with their Gubbeen cheeses, meats and more.

Food journalist Joanna Blythman

The doyenne of Mexican food and an inspiration to us all: Diana Kennedy

And that's just to list very few of the many inspiring people and personalities that played a part in what proved to be a very special weekend...

The highlights for me were:
1: Attending the Sunday morning talk with Yotam Ottolenghi, Sami Tamini and Ariana Bundy. Sometimes people complicate food too much, focussing overly on the nutritional aspect and what's good for you and what isn't or on creating a fine dining experience that is far removed from the simple pleasure of eating food.
Not these three. For an hour and a half on Sunday morning, they spoke warmly about what food means to them, how it connects them to their families and where they come from, how much they love eating and the joy they take in cooking for others. 
They reminded me of why I decided to open my own café and inspired me to continue my journey in food - wherever it takes me next.

2: A Sunday lunch in Ballymaloe House cooked by Rowley Leigh. The ajo blanco (almond and garlic) soup served with melon balls is the best thing I've tasted this year and I can't imagine anything beating its fresh and exciting flavours.

3: Bringing a smile to Simon Hopkinson's face when I told him that his were the recipes I trusted above all others. (I've never cooked a recipe of his that didn't exceed expectations and was pleased to get the chance to tell him so.)

4: Meeting so many wonderful people and creating new connections in the ever growing and always exciting world of food in Ireland.

See you next year, Ballymaloe, I'll definitely be back!

 


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Vote for Dingle - we all know it's THE Foodie Town of Ireland

People who visit Dingle are always very impressed by the sheer quality of its food.

The town has 52 (count them!) restaurants, cafés and other places to eat serving dishes made from the finest of local ingredients including fish freshly landed at Dingle Pier, meats such as the lamb raised on the Great Blasket Island, locally-made cheeses, black puddings, chocolates and even locally-brewed beers.

The streets are lined with fantastic food shops selling local and Irish cheeses as well as cheeses from all over Europe, award-winning ice cream and wonderful healthful foods.

Every Friday, the town hosts a farmers' market (to which I returned last Friday but more on that anon).

And early every October, there is the not-to-be-missed Dingle Food Festival.

With all of this and more, surely Dingle has to rank as THE Foodie Town of Ireland? To make it official, vote here

The Restaurants Association of Ireland, in association with AdMailer.ie from An Post, are on the search for Ireland’s premier foodie destination. Let them know that you've found it in Dingle by voting here before Sunday, May 18th.

Dingle: there's no place quite like it

Addendum May 20: voting has now ended and the judges are due to visit Dingle this Thursday. Here's hoping Dingle knocks their socks off!

Addendum number two: just in case you missed it: we won! It's now official. Dingle is THE foodie town of Ireland - at least for 2014!

Hummus - the snack of champions!

Hummus and I go way back. Our relationship started years ago when I first spotted tubs of what was then seen as this exotic Middle Eastern dip in the shops. It might have looked beige and boring but I tried it and immediately liked it. I still buy the occasional tub if I'm out and about and need to eat something healthy on the go. Hummus, bread and crunchy vegetables - that's my idea of the ultimate in fast food.

Hummus, crunchy vegetables, rice cakes and za'atar - the snack of champions!

When I had my café, my cook Kathrin showed me how to make her hummus, which positively sings with lemon and garlic, and we would make a batch of it most days.

I've even had an actual living-and-breathing Israeli make hummus for me. It was good but much more gloopy than we are used to here - more of a soup or sauce than a dip. 

The hummus I now make at home is based on all of these different taste experiences. I've distilled them to create hummus just the way I like it - a hummus with distinctive flavours that develop in the mouth and a hummus that is smooth but also has some textural surprises. That's why I always set aside a handful of cooked chickpeas before I process the rest. I mix them into the smooth paste and scatter sunflower seeds on top. The smoothness of the paste, the tender bite of the chickpeas and the crunch of the seeds - now that's what I call hummus.

200g dried chickpeas
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
3 tablespoons of dark tahini paste
1 lemon
2 large cloves of garlic, crushed
100ml reserved cooking water 
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sunflower seeds

• Soak the chickpeas in lukewarm water the night before you are going to cook them. The chickpeas will expand in size so make sure you allow enough water for this. Three or four centimetres will be plenty. 
• The following day, drain the water and pour the chickpeas into a saucepan. Add the bicarbonate of soda and cover with a litre to a litre and a half of cold water.
• Bring to the boil. I find that the first boil brings a certain amount of scum and some chickpea skins to the surface of the water. I skim these off the top as the chickpeas cook. (When the water comes to the boil for the first time, it often creates a lot of scum. If this happens, I tip the chickpeas into a sieve and rinse under a cold running tap. I then pour them back into the saucepan, add more cold water and bring it back to the boil again.)
• Reduce the heat to medium. Chickpeas vary in how long they take to cook. Some cook in 20 minutes. Others take 40 or even longer. To check, squeeze one between your finger and your thumb. It should be tender and crush very easily. 
• Once they are ready, drain the water, reserving some of it for later use.
• Tip the chickpeas into your food processor, setting a handful aside.
• Add the tahini, the juice of the whole lemon, the crushed garlic cloves and some of the water.  
• Process until you have a smooth paste. You may need to add more water for optimum smoothness and creaminess.
• Add the salt and taste. 
• Mix the reserved whole chickpeas into the paste and scatter the seeds  over the top.

This is how I like to make my hummus but seeing as it's become such a favourite with so many of us, you may have your own recipe. How do you make yours? And what's your favourite way of eating it?

A beacon of hope for those with multiple sclerosis: Please share

I've already told you how my head went into a tailspin when I was diagnosed with MS. I had so many negative associations with the condition. All it conjured in my mind were thoughts of wheelchairs and progressive disability. I couldn't accept that this was what life held in store for me.

When I initially started to research the condition, all I found were negative stories too. So many that after a while and once my symptoms subsided, I put all thoughts of MS to the back of my mind. I focused on living my life, ignoring the fact that I had received this serious diagnosis.

However, those negative thoughts would sometimes creep back in. I don't know if you've noticed (and those of you lucky enough not to have any personal experience of the condition probably won't have) but in Ireland in recent years, the only time MS was mentioned in the media was in relation to Marie Fleming.

If you haven't heard of Marie, she was a brave woman who suffered a lot as a result of her MS and fought a long-running battle with the Irish State in order to absolve her husband of criminal responsibility were he to help her to end her life. While Ireland definitely needs to have a debate about euthanasia, it wasn't helpful that this was the only context in which MS was ever mentioned. It reinforced the idea of it being a debilitating condition, so debilitating that it might ruin your quality of life to the extent that you don't want to live it anymore.

Negativity at that level is hard to take. Which is why I am so pleased to share a positive MS campaign called 'You've Got This'. It aims to help people who have been newly diagnosed by giving them inspiring examples of people with MS who are living full and happy lives. I wish I had found such a site when I was struggling to find a way forward with my diagnosis but I'm delighted that such a place of hope exists today.

I'm hoping to make a contribution of my own to the site once the weekend is over (we've got a festival in Dingle this weekend and I'm back at the farmers' market so it's going to be busy). But in the meantime, I hope you'll share this post.

There are many more people with MS out there than you realise. A great many of them live with their condition in silence as I did for the past number of years. However, just because they are silent doesn't mean that they aren't struggling. A site like this could offer them some much-needed hope.

 

Good Things: April

I love Heidi Swanson of 101 Cookbooks. I love her food, which always emphasises health without ever losing appreciation for flavour. And I also love her occasional posts about her favourite things. I love those so much that I've decided to follow her lead. Every month or so, I'm going to look back and highlight the people, places, foods and experiences that have impacted upon me and would like to recommend to you.

Here's a taster of some of the good things that have happened to me recently: 

I had a whirlwind visit to London at the end of March, during which I ate at Song Que Café and Babur. Song Que is a long-established Vietnamese north of Shoreditch and I would recommend its huge bowls of fiery pho and freshest-of-fresh spring rolls. Babur is an Indian in out-of-the-way South London but its sophisticated modern twist on traditional Indian food makes it well worth the trip.

Authentic Vietnamese food in Song Que

I also shopped at Brindisa in Brixton where I was blown away by the quality of the food and drooled over the many wonderful offerings at Brixton Village (which is now one of my favourite places in the world).

On a mission to tempt with their vegan cupcakes

All the best markets have their own cat

In non food-related London tips, I took a tour with these people. These are tours given by artists that offer a completely different and totally local insight into lesser-visited parts of the city.

Some of the great street art we saw on our tour of Shoreditch

I read this and finally read this. Both were powerful stories that revolved around how your childhood experiences shape you for the future; families and how they understand, support and damage each other; and what people will and won't do for love.

I am now reading this and it's making me reassess just how I should use fat in my diet.

I am getting excited about this. Féile na Bealtaine is a great festival that takes place in Dingle every year and is an event that brings the entire community out onto the streets of the town to celebrate. 

My god-daughter Hannah enjoyed an Easter egg hunt at our house.

And most importantly of all, I took a step into the open with my post about MS. So many people have reacted in such a warm and supportive way. I should have done it years ago.

What about you?  What good things have you liked or learned this month?

All the goodness and none of the guilt

Anyone familiar with my eating habits will know how much I enjoy my sweet treats. Made with butter, sugar, chocolate and lots of billowing whipped cream; they used to be my reward of choice at the end of a long day or hard-working week. So how have I managed to cope now that I can no longer eat such foods?

At first I must admit that I sulked and simply avoided sweets altogether. I went from being someone who baked every day in the café to being someone who when my boyfriend asked me to bake a cake a few weeks ago couldn't remember where I had stashed my cake tins and baking ware!

I just couldn't get enthusiastic about baking without what I thought were the absolutely vital ingredients of butter, chocolate and cream. Nor could I muster excitement about what I saw as the 'fake' ingredients many people use as substitutes. Margarine instead of butter? Yuck.

But slowly I began to realise that there were other options and that's when I came across this recipe by Deliciously Ella. It seemed quick. It looked easy. It only had four ingredients, all of which are real and natural. It was surely worth a try.

And do you know what? It was good! But seeing as I'm a recovering chocolate addict, I was bound to find it not chocolate-y enough. So I added more cocoa and some cocoa nibs*.   

And do you know what? It was better!

My boyfriend liked it too and suggested adding some fruit. So I added some raspberries to the mix. 

And do you know what? It was best of all.

Try this. It's healthy. It's sweet. And most importantly, it's delicious.

Raw brownies (adapted from a recipe by Deliciously Ella) 

2 cups (160g) dates

1 cup (90g) pecan nuts or walnuts 

5 tbsp cocoa powder

3 tbsp cocoa nibs

2.5 tbsp maple syrup

20 raspberries

• Remove the pits from the dates.
• Place the nuts and cocoa nibs in a food processor and grind until they resemble breadcrumbs.
• Add the dates and blend.
• Add the cocoa powder, maple syrup and raspberries and blend again.
• Press the mixture into a lined baking tin and place in the fridge for three hours or until set.
• Cut into squares and enjoy. These will keep in the fridge for four or five days (but that's presuming you don't devour them all at once!).

*Cocoa nibs are cocoa beans that have been roasted then separated from their husks and broken into small pieces. They do contain some saturated fat – which is what I have to minimise as part of my OMS diet – but it is much lower than that of finished chocolate and because cocoa nibs are unprocessed, the fat is safer for me too. Others following the diet may prefer to avoid cocoa nibs altogether but I need my occasional chocolate fix – even if it does come with a little guilt! Those of you following a less restrictive diet than I do can eat this with no guilt at all!

Addendum 09 June 2014: I made these last week and because I knew I wasn't going to eat them all in one go (not even a chocolate fiend like me could do that!), I put the cut-up squares in the freezer. Going back for a chocolate fix this weekend, I discovered that this made them even more delicious. They don't really freeze; they just become a lot firmer. And if you give them a minute or two to warm up (really, you don't need to wait longer than that), they become melt-in-the-mouth delicious! 

(Just Like) Starting Over

Today marks a new beginning.You may already have noticed that there have been some changes around here. The blog has a new name. There's a new design across the top.  And there are other bits and bobs you'll notice as time goes by.

Why all these changes? It's mainly to do with changes I've been making in my life, changes I felt had to be reflected here.

So here goes... I've got a lot to tell you.

Four years ago this coming November, I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). There had been an occasion three years prior to that when MS was suspected but the symptoms were too inconclusive for a definite diagnosis. No such luck in 2010. That summer, my right side stopped working properly. It was weak and didn't do what I asked of it. I couldn't drive. I couldn't carry things without dropping them.  I often missed the key I was aiming for when typing. And I was in constant pain.

Following a series of tests, I got the diagnosis I'd been dreading and was suddenly very frightened. I've been pretty healthy for most of my life and had always assumed I'd live to be one of those old ladies who inspire you with their vim and vigour. This vision of my future was displaced by images of wheelchairs and of me being looked after by others and I began to panic.

Telling others made me panic further. When I told my family and friends I could see shock and pity reflected in their eyes. I'd never been on the receiving end of pity before and it was not a place I wanted to be.

So I decided to keep my diagnosis relatively secret. Dingle is a small town where everyone talks about everyone else. I didn't want to be thought of as someone who was sick. I wanted to be seen as the same person I'd always been: someone strong, not someone weak and definitely not someone to be pitied.

I didn't have a lot of professional support at that time. My neurologist responded to all my questions with the exact same answer: 'the outcome is different for everyone; nobody can tell what will happen to you'. Everything seemed beyond my control.  My future - which had always shimmered brightly and enticingly in the distance - suddenly became a much darker and more ominous place.

When I turned to the internet, what I found there frightened me even more. Worst case scenario after worst case scenario: people in pain, people who were disabled, so many stories of suffering... I couldn't bear to read about it and didn't want to think that this could be me.

Instead I waited for my symptoms to subside, started taking medicine and put MS to the back of my mind. I carried on as normal and willed myself into forgetting about my diagnosis.  

Life allowed me to do this too. In fact, it allowed me to become busier than ever; even opening a café. So busy that I didn't have time to think about being or becoming ill.

That was until I got a wake-up call from a friend who rang one day to tell me that she too had been diagnosed with MS. She was devastated. I could see fear in her eyes. She could hardly speak for crying. And in her face were all the worries I'd been repressing for so long.

As she struggled with her diagnosis I too started to accept my own and I am so grateful for her example. Her symptoms at that time were worse than mine but her attitude was so much better. She discovered Dr George Jelinek and his diet and lifestyle changes which have been proven to minimise the long-term impact of MS (and a whole host of other conditions too). The changes are all super healthy ones, combining a whole-food plant-based diet with regular exercise and positive mental and emotional health.

So, for the past year or so, I've been trying to implement these changes. It hasn't been easy but it's why I'm writing this post today. For months now, I've been cutting out dairy, meat, certain types of oil, fried foods and chocolate (I still sob inwardly at the loss of chocolate) but I haven't reflected that here. That's felt dishonest and because I'm feeling healthy and full of hope for the future, it's also felt unfair. 

When I first started this diet, I saw it as restricting the choice of foods available to me and for a while, I didn't have the same sense of enthusiasm about what and how I ate. But slowly, a whole new world of food came into view. There are so many different ingredients out there and from what I've sampled so far, the fact that they are healthier than what I ate previously doesn't mean they are any less delicious.

So, it's a time of new beginnings. Because my diet is changing, what I post here will inevitably change here too. But don't imagine that things will change too much - it's still delicious in Dingle!

These changes start today and as always, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Sharon x

Spring has sprung in Dingle and it's a time of new beginnings for us all