Mar 28
I’ve always loved Fridays. From early morning there is a sense of joy at the impending weekend. By lunchtime you know the worst is behind you and by mid-afternoon you are really starting to unwind. Back when I had an office job, Friday was usually the only day when I could take my afternoon coffee break uninterrupted. I might even get to write a few personal emails or to catch up on social media. Finally a little “me” time. Read more
Our little beauty reflecting on life. What do you think is going through her mind? Chasing rabbits? Tasty meals? Who knows! Read more
Our beautiful girls have finally arrived. It feels like a monumental step in our self-sufficiency journey and I’m very, very excited. We decided to buy twelve chickens to start. We had the space so we thought, why not? Chickens are sociable creatures and love company. They will also keep each other warm in the cold Lithuanian winters. Read more
I must admit to being a little homesick today. How could I not be? St. Patrick’s Day was always one of my favourite days of the year. As a child it meant a day off school and a brief respite from the abstinences of Lent. In my college years and early twenties it meant finding a pub with good Guinness, music and craic. This day last we were up the Dublin Mountains in Johnnie Fox’s eating the finest Irish fare. Read more
Spring has come early here in Lithuania. The snow has cleared completely and snowdrops have pushed their lazy, drooping heads through the freshly thawed earth. Birds are chirping in blue skies and the damp, dreary depression that was February is a fast-fading memory. Read more
Pancake Tuesday was day of mixed emotions for an Irish child in the 80s. On the one hand we got to devour seemingly endless quantities of scrumptious pancakes. On the other hand it marked the beginning of a period drudgery and abstinence – being dragged out of bed for early mass and being presented with porridge for breakfast instead of the usual corn flakes. The masses did me no harm, but I was left with a very lasting dislike of porridge, which I viewed as a tasteless commodity associated with discipline and deprivation. It took me until my early twenties, when I started working at the 5-star Ashford Castle Hotel, where porridge was made with whole milk (no water) and served with double-cream and brown sugar, to rekindle my liking for porridge. Read more
Yesterday, for the first time in about 25 years, I made chocolate éclairs. My love for éclairs began with my paternal grandmother, a rotund and (mostly) jolly woman who loved her cakes. Whenever we’d visit her house she’d always provide a large spread. Usually the main course would be a simple but satisfying salad – a rolled slice of home-baked ham, a few leaves of butterhead lettuce (from her city garden), some sliced beetroot and onion, half a tomato and half a hard-boiled egg topped with a dollop of mayonnaise. This would be accompanied by copious quantities of thickly sliced batch loaf, country butter and more mayonnaise. But the pièce de résistance, and the part of the meal (and probably the visit) that my sister and I most looked forward to, was the plate of cream cakes that awaited for dessert. Read more
I don’t take many selfies. Mostly because I don’t really like how I look on camera. I have an asymmetrical face – my eyebrows are not aligned. My father once told me I had a chin you could use as a start-up handle for a Volkswagen. While said in jest (apparently), it has managed to stay with me. When I smile in photos all I can see is chin. In an attempt to debiggen the chin I have developed a “camera smile”, which simply manages to look fake. So, I tend to shy away from the front end of a camera completely. Read more
I like to keep things simple. The sheer volume of newness in my life right now demands it – other wise I would sink under and drown. When you ditch your regular life for one that is completely new, everyday tasks become complicated. I live in the country now so I can’t just pop to a shop when I run out of something. Ingredients that I would have used regularly in Ireland have become impossible to source. The supermarkets have 20 different sour cream options but no fresh cream whatsoever. Certain ethnic ingredients are unheard of and I can’t use Google to source them as my Lithuanian is just not good enough yet. Brands and packaging are unfamiliar and so I must spend longer deliberating over options rather than just doing a grab-and-go as I would have done back home. Grocery shopping has become a chore. Read more
Fair warning: This post contains descriptions and images of animal butchery that some readers may find offensive. Reader discretion is advised.
Meat. It’s delicious. I love it. I don’t, however, love how much of the world’s meat is managed. Anyone who has seen such programmes as “Food Inc.” will understand the impact that intensive farming of animals for meat has on the lives of the animals, the quality of the meat produced and on the environment. This is not the kind of meat I want to eat. Read more
I don’t do Januarys. Christmas lights have come down and with that a sense of greyness has descended. The coldest, dreariest and seemingly longest month of the year is not the time for the self-inflicted misery of restricted diets and sobriety. The summer months are prefect for salads and smoothies. January calls for hearty, comforting foods that wrap themselves around you like a warm blanket. Read more
Whether or not you believe in global warming or climate change, something strange is definitely happening to our weather. Wild storms are wreaking havoc across Ireland. All 50 US states have recently experienced temperatures below freezing, a rarity for the southern states in particular. The pyramids in Egypt have seen their first snow in 100 years. Read more
At this time of the year many of us are busy making New Year’s resolutions. After the indulgences of the holiday season, these often include promises to cleanse the body by eating wholesome food and consuming less alcohol, or to get fit by going to the gym every single day. (We’ll see how long that lasts!)
My own resolutions revolve around a number of projects, the most sizeable of which is “Project: House”. Read more
My Food Odyssey 