Where’s the Salt?

Hello gentle readers,

Sorry for the prolonged absence here, been busy falling down stairs, getting ambulanced off to hospital (nothing broken, just banjaxed neck), totally understanding why people get addicted to valium (they don’t call it mama’s little helper for nothing ), going to the States for what might be a life changing visit, returning to toooo much work, loosing (and finding again) all my email, and finally, spending last weekend learning great things from Carmel Somers at The Good Things Cafe in Durrus. (A full post to follow on the genius that is Ms. Somers).

I couldn’t make it to the Irish Blog Awards in the end, but big huge congrats to Conor & Kieran for their richly deserved wins on the night.

For now, I just wanted to point your attention to the upcoming showing of Baraka: The Film, which is being shown as a fundraiser at Arthaven Gallery in Crosshaven on March 23rd, at 8pm. It’s a Fair Trade Awareness event, as well as a fundraiser for The ATE Project (Irish people working with Peruvians in the slums of Lima) Tickets are €20 and include a galss of wine.

Perched overlooking the harbour in Crosshaven, Arthaven is a co-operative run by local artists and is well worth a visit if you are interested in Irish art. The regular knees up they host in the evenings are also legendary!

I’ve never done a pure links post yet (shame on me), but since link love makes the blogosphere go round … and tomorrow is all about warm happy feelings (if you can get over the way the greeting card industry has ambushed this day and made it their own) here, for your pleasure, is link love:

• Pim’s Pad Thai for beginners. I haven’t tried this yet, but yesterday bought light & dark Pearl River Soy Sauce, which has me in the mood for Asian food!

• Hat tip to Kieran for this link to recipes and chat about pierogis.

• I’ve been a fan of Lobstersquad’s drawings ever since unsuccessfully trying to win one of them in the Menu for Hope draw.
• This gingerbread reminds me of the one we had in Café Idaho before Christmas.
• Do you want pommes frites with that? Waiter rant is a blog by a former New York (I think) waiter, turned writer. Nice to dip into, from time to time.
• The Good Things Café in Durrus: My favourite place to eat in West Cork. I’m linking here, just because I’m starting to get excited about their 2 day Kitchen Miracle programme which I’m going on in March …and because I asked if Carmel would mind including some Lebanese dishes on the course (I promise I wasn’t trying to be a foodie pain in the a$$, she invites participant input) … and her response was “No problem”!

Thank you to whatever kind person nominated Where’s the Salt? to the long list for best newcomer award on the upcoming Irish Blog Awards.

Lots of the regulars here are also nominated in various categories: Bibliocook, Conor (personal and business - well done Conor!) Peppermint Tea and Random Walk Down Grub Street, as well as some of my favourites The Twink Tapes on Blogorrah, Sinead Gleeson, IQ Content and Tom Raftery.

So, please do vote for your favourites before February 16th, 5pm (just once though, or your vote won’t count).

One way or the other, I’m looking forward to meeting lots of you in person when the winners are announced at the Irish Blog Awards event in Dublin on March 3rd in the Alexander hotel.

I met Kineseologist Yoka Pauelsen at a Women in Business seminar last week. Together with her partner Ann Clare McCarthy, she is on a mission to empower families “to make gradual and permanent lifestyle changes, forming the foundation for a lifetime of optimal health and well being.”

Yoka offers advice on how diet and exercises can help with conditions such as ADD and asthma, she is also a distributer for food supplements and juices which help ensure kids get their 5 fruit & veg daily. Personally, I’d leave supplements like these as the very last resort for picky eaters, but according to Yoka, after taking them for a while, children start to crave brocolli!
The ladies are hosting 2 information sessions this week with plenty of tips on encouraging healthy diet and exercise in children. If you’re in the area, it might be worth checking out. Here are the details:

Date & Time: 10.30am & 7pm this Thursday 15th February. (each session is 1 hour long)
Place: Hamlets Café & Bar, just around the corner from the Blue Haven Hotel.

RSVP: 087 980 6689 / 087 962 6000

From Tom comes the sad news that the much loved Bodega Bar in Cork has been sold by Bellinter owner Jay Bourke. Apparently it’s to close this Friday, February 9th.

One less child friendly eatery and the loss of the best brunch in Cork.

[Update: according to the comments here, the building is to be developed as a department store … by the same guy who built the soul-less Mahon Point shopping centre. Depressing]

Since becoming a mammy, I haven’t had as many pints of Guinness as I used.

Back in the days before we had to push a buggy, carry her majesty, or dawdle along at a pace only slightly speedier than a snail, we used to spend whole weekends hiking around the hills, mountains and country lanes of Ireland. These treks always ended up in a lovely warm atmospheric pub. If it was a freezing cold day, it would be hot ports all round, otherwise, a pint of dark, creamy Guinness.

My mum used to work in Guinnesses, so we grew up listening to stories about the brewery at James’ Gate in Dublin and how they used to offer a glass of Guinness to new mothers in Irish maternity hospitals. “A great source of iron”, by all accounts

Anyway, I’ve long had a fondness for the stuff, and without really noticing, I’ve been missing the way the first mouthful tastes after a long walk in clean fresh air.

This Sunday, hubby, toddler & I set off on the Scilly walk in Kinsale - without buggy. The 2 year old has just mastered the entire “We’re going on a bear hunt” saga, so recited it for us all the way, getting especially excited when a tiny stream crossed our path “A river, a swirly whirly river. We can’t go over it, we can’t go under it. Oh no! We have to go through it!”

Anyway, the perfect pint: The Bulman Pub sits on the waterfront at the end of the Scilly way in Summercove. They have 2 huge fires blazing in winter, generally a couple of dogs lying about and you can glimpse fishing boats heading out to sea through the windows.

The bar food is pretty good, but on Sunday, as we had dinner bubbling away at home, we just had drinks. Milk for the toddler, 7-up for hubby and a wonderful pint of Guinness for me! What wonderful memories that first mouthful evoked…I floated home on a Guinness induced high!

The Bulman Bar & Restaurant,
Summercove, Kinsale, Co. Cork. + 353 (0)21 477 2131

My gran is 93 and lives in a nursing home. She’s still very much up to date with world (& nursing home!) politics and while she’s quite stiff these days, she manages to get around with the help of her walking stick.

There’s not much she hasn’t already experienced, but she always loves an outing and has a fondness for the great houses of Ireland. So, the Saturday after Christmas, we brought her and my parents out for lunch in Eden restaurant, at the newly opened Bellinter House.

One of the owners, Jay Bourke (well-known in Ireland for his “The Mentor” tv show) greeted us and showed us where to park on arrival. He popped up again through our visit, and always added to our experience.

Eden restaurant is located in the basement of Bellinter. There is no lift. A problem for a 93 year old lady, but we got there in the end. We were the first to arrive and there was no-one to greet or seat us for a couple of minutes, but once someone arrived they were very friendly and efficient. They had set a special place for our toddler, but she was quick to point out that she is “a big girl and sits on a big girl’s chair now”. They happily left the high chair for Winnie the pooh instead.

I loved the decor & style of Eden. Very funky, and very low key. My gran and parents loved it too. Everyone, toddler included, enjoyed the food. The wild boar and apple sausage which I had to start was one of the taste highlights of the entire Christmas period. Our waitress didn’t know where the boar was from and although said she would ask the chef, we still don’t know if they found it wandering the grounds of Bellinter, or if it had come all the way from it’s natural stomping ground of Central Europe.

Jay popped his head in during the meal and a couple of minutes later, our waitress arrived with a huge colouring book and pencils to keep the toddler entertained while we finished our meal. Little touches like this mean the world to parents. If children are welcome, parents feel comfortable. Since Ireland has one of the highest birth rates in Europe, if restaurants want customers to come, it makes sense to welcome little people too.

We decided to take our coffees in the Drawing Room upstairs, a beautiful bright room which overlooks the Boyne River. According to our waitress, the best way to get there was via the servants stairs, a tight spiral staircase which was nearly the end of my poor gran. She’s very determined, but was exhausted by the time we made it to the Drawing Room.

Alas, the only chairs available were high bar stools, definitely not suitable for gran. Cue Jay’s second appearance, carrying a low chair for her.

Other customers were just leaving, and kindly offered us their sofa, so in the end we didn’t need it. But it’s easy to see why Mr. Bourke is so successful in the hospitality industry, he has a great eye for detail and the comfort of his guests. It would be great if that extended to installing a lift though!

Things slightly unraveled at this stage. Teas arrived promptly, however we waited at least half an hour for coffees. When I asked if they had forgotten our order, I was told they “ran out of coffee” and had to go to get some more.

We then had to send the bill back twice before everything we ordered appeared. The first bill didn’t charge for any of our mains!

There are obviously some chinks which need to be ironed out at Bellinter (probably the reason for Mr. Bourke’s omnipresence) but the food and ambiance are really special and I’m sure will develop a loyal following in Meath.

My parents since tried to book Saturday dinner there with some friends. Even though they were booking 3 weeks in advance, they could only seat them at 7, or 9pm. They reserve most of the 8pm tables for hotel guests, so if you’re planning Saturday dinner in Bellinter - book early, and bon appetite!

Last year (2005), the hubby and I did our Christmas shopping in Kinsale. We took a day off work and went on a gentle stroll through the quiet, picturesque streets, picking up books, local crafts and other goodies before heading off for a boozy lunch in Fishy Fishy. Martin Shanahan was working his magic in the kitchen, so we lingered, maybe a little longer than we should, given the main task of the day.

On Christmas Eve, we realised that thanks to the Fishy Fishy / wine induced haze, we had only half our shopping done and a last minute dash round Grafton Street was all that could save us!

This year, (2006, really) things were different. We took a day off in early December, gave up on our dreams of leisurely shopping combined with boozy lunch, and head for Cork city. This time we were equipped with lists and a plan of military precision. The hubby had already made 2 trips to stash bags in the car before we decided to stop for lunch.

We were lucky to get a table at the tiny Cafe Idaho on the corner of Caroline St. They had added special Christmas touches to their menu, such as gingerbread cafe latte, with lumps of crystallised ginger which added gingery subtlety to the coffee and which was served with a lovely moist gingerbread.

The highlight was my lunch of Gubbeen and smoked salmon potato bake. They probably could have sourced a better smoked salmon, given the abundance of great suppliers in Cork, but it was such a simple, easy dish, I’ve recreated it a few times at home.

Well fortified by a warm Chilean red, which induced a feeling of goodwill towards all, we head back out to the mean streets of Cork, ready to do battle once again. The hubby suggested that as we were making such good progress, we sneak into the cinema, to check out Daniel Craig in Casino Royale. Unfortunately for him, I was a woman on a mission, determined to get all the consumerism over and done with in one day.

And so we did.

Happily, over Christmas, my mammy took charge of the toddler and we saw Mr. Bond on the big screen. Never a huge 007 fan, I’ve nonetheless rather unwillingly accompanied the hubby to every single one of the Pierce Brosnan episodes. Casino Royale I loved.

Happy New Year everyone!

Gubbeen & Smoked Salmon Potato Bake

To serve 4

8 medium sized potatoes
100g Frank Hederman or Ummera Smoked Salmon cut into strips
1/2 a baby Gubbeen broken into bite sized chunks
Salt & Pepper
Olive oil / butter

1. Boil the spuds till just done. Add to an oven proof dish and toss in a little olive oil or butter.
2. Mix in the smoked salmon and dot the Gubbeen over the top.
3. Pop under the grill until the cheese is bubbling and turning golden.

Pim over at Chez Pim is hosting the 3rd Menu for Hope, where food bloggers from all over the world get together for a fundraising campaign. This year, it’s in aid of the UN World Food Programme, a cause close to my heart, for both professional and personal reasons.

A multitude of amazing foodie prizes are up for grabs: Food experiences in cities allover the world, cookery books, wonderful wines, heavenly hampers are just some of the items being raffled off. As Pim says

The rule is pretty easy. For every US$10 you donate, you may claim one raffle ticket toward a prize of your choice. The more you give, the better your chance to win. The campaign is scheduled to run from now until Friday 22nd, 6PM PST. So get a move on!

At this time of year, many of us are busy planning Christmas menus and the best gifts for our loved ones. Unfortunately, not all. By buying some tickets, you will be in with the chance of winning some great gifts and hopefully do something small to help.

Here are the prizes on offer, according to region in the world

US West Coast: Becks and Posh
US East Coast: The Amateur Gourmet
US (the rest): Kalyn’s Kitchen
Canada: Cardamom Addict
Europe and UK: Davidlebovitz.com 
Asia Pacific/Australia/New Zealand: Grab Your Fork

And last but not least, our special wine blog host: Vinography

And here’s how to donate:

1. Choose a prize or prizes of your choice from our Menu for Hope.

2. Go to the donation site at http://www.firstgiving.com/menuforhopeIII and make a donation.

3. Each $10 you donate will give you one raffle ticket toward a prize of your choice. Please specify which prize you’d like in the ‘Personal Message’ section in the donation form when confirming your donation. You must write-in how many tickets per prize, and please use the prize code—for example, a donation of $50 can be 2 tickets for EU01 and 3 for EU02. (Please use the double-digits, not EU1, but EU01.)

(see Pim’s site for more details)

Your Recipe Book is a beautifully designed personalised recipe book, full of recipes and messages from family and friends.

The idea is simple: Choose from four different book styles before inviting family and friends to submit their recipes and good wishes through www.yourrecipebook.ie Four weeks later, a stylish, hard backed and uniquely personal recipe book is on it’s way.

If time is of the essence in the lead up to Christmas, vouchers make a great alternative. What food lover wouldn’t relish the thought of beginning the new year by creating their very own recipe book, packed with favourites shared by family and friends?

Priced at €149 / £99, I think it’s a great gift idea for anyone who loves food and pottering around the kitchen.

[Disclosure: The publishers of Your Recipe Book, Lynn & Tim Elliott, are friends of mine, and I’m helping them spread the word, but honestly, even if I had never heard of the excellent Elliotts, I’d love this!]