Jun 6
This ice cream is a cinch. An absolutely cinch. No cooking, no cooling, no churning, no icy lumps. It’s in the freezer within 15 minutes and ready to eat just two hours later. It’s incredibly soft and creamy while being rich and decadent from the dark chocolate. And all that with just four simple ingredients. This is a win-win ice cream. Read more
Friday night is movie night here in our house. During the week we each tend to do our own thing – reading, listening to music or watching YouTube videos relative to our areas of interest. Come Friday, though, we like to curl up together to watch something a little trashy. Earlier in the evening we treat ourselves to one of our favourite Friday dinners – burgers (which we had today), pizza, fajitas or such like. Then I like to make a big bowl of popcorn to munch in front of the TV. Throw in a few beers and I’m in heaven. Read more
I’ll never forget the first time I had fajitas. I was living in Texas and was brought to a restaurant by one of my colleagues to sample the local Tex-Mex cuisine. I had, of course, heard of fajitas but hadn’t tried them and decided to give them a go. The sizzling platter of meat and vegetables, along with a selection of cold toppings such as sour cream, guacamole and grated cheese, that was delivered to each individual diner fascinated me. I absolutely loved the idea of building my own fajita my way, with my chosen ingredients. Read more
I absolutely love garlic as an ingredient. I use tons of the stuff – pretty much every savoury dish I prepare contains at least one clove of garlic, probably more. Garlic seems to add so much to a dish – rich aroma, warmth, luxury, a touch of heat and a depth of flavour that seems to linger on the palate long after you’ve finished eating. For me, no other seasoning comes close to garlic. Read more
One of my chief ambitions in life is to rid my kitchen of all commercially processed foods and make everything myself from scratch. While I’ve made some good progress over the past year I still have a way to go. It’s an ongoing journey – I’ll get there little by little. I appreciate that I am fortunate in that I have time to spend in my kitchen preparing my food. Back when I had a full-time job I did my best most nights, making speedy reliables such as pasta dishes or stir-fries, keeping the ingredients as fresh and healthy as possible. But come Friday evening I wanted a treat – something sticky or gooey that could be eaten curled up on the couch in front of a good movie, perhaps with a cold beer on the side. Read more
They say that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. In my case, this was particularly true. In the early days of our relationship I remember plying my man with rich stews of lamb shanks in red wine sauce served with super-creamy mashed potato, mixed seafood platters served on a lazy Susan with a big bowl of chips and a selection of dipping sauces set in the middle and regular full Irish breakfasts. He still jokes about how he could hear the “chitzzz” of a fresh beer being opened as soon as he set an empty bottle down on the table. 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 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
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
As Halloween is just around the corner (where on earth does the time go?!) I thought I’d share these creepy and delicious pumpkin cupcakes. Making the spiders is fantastic fun and will keep the kids occupied for hours! Read more
As part of my ongoing quest to make everything on my plate I recently started to make my own pickled cucumbers. We had been given a huge bag of organic cucumbers, maybe 2 or 3 kilos, and it was about 30 degrees outside so I needed to move quickly to preserve them or they would wither & be wasted. I had never made pickles so I did a quick search for recipe ideas, then threw together a quick brine & hoped for the best. Read more
Growing up I was never a big fan of beetroot. I think this was due to the highly acidic pickled stuff you get in jars, which was pretty much the only type of beetroot available back then. My grandmother used it on all her salads and everything else on the plate would be tinted purple and tainted with its earthy, sour taste. Read more
In recent weeks we have seen the slow, steady demise of a faithful friend, a sizzling companion who asks nothing more of us than to be enveloped in a soft, squishy bun, smothered in a piquant or spicy relish and devoured with gusto. A friend who has been with us through everything – family gatherings, summer barbecues, late night munchies and lazy-day lunches. The humble burger. Read more
Homemade peanut butter is so simple to make and far superior to anything you’ll find in the supermarket. There are just two ingredients – peanuts and a pinch of salt. Once you’ve tried this recipe you’ll never buy processed peanut butter again.
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My Food Odyssey 