ICA Cooking Competition in Toomevara

Last Monday night I attended the finals of the North Tipperary ICA Cooking Competition. Finalists, Ann Clarke from Ballingarry and Lily Maher from Thurles cooked in the showroom of Kinane Fitted Kitchens in Toomevara. The full article appears in The Guardian newspaper this week so here I'm going to post a few more images and also give you the recipes to Ann Clarke's winning recipes. The theme for the evening was a "Budget Meal for Two" so Ann's menu will also give you the breakdown of the cost for everything as well.

(Ann and her assistant, Noeline Brennan set up the table, above)

Ann Clarke lives on Sandymount Farm, an intensive sheep and suckler farm. During the winter months (or chilly spring days), Ann likes to always have a pot of nourishing soup simmering on the cooker. She makes her own brown scones and wholemeal bread. Vegetable soup and bread make a great meal or snack during the day and she'll often mix up a batch of her winning Smoked Mackerel Pate to spread over the bread.

On the farm in Sandymount, the main meal is had in the middle of the day since working outdoors generates big appetites. In addition to soups, Ann makes a lot of lamb and beef stews which are also warming and wholesome served up with vegetables or creamed potatoes.

Keeping budget constantly in mind, Ann is always on the look out for weekly special offers in the supermarket. When she sees an item on offer, she'll put it in the freezer and as a result she can produce hearty economical meals. Using fresh herbs from the garden in soups and stews makes a big difference. In her garden she grows her own rosemary, thyme, mint, parsley and lemon balm so they are readily available when cooking.

(Smoked mackerel pate with melba toast)




(Mediterranean Chicken)



North Tipperary Federation I.C.A
Cookery Competition
Ann Clarke
Ballingarry I.C.A



"Budget Meal for Two"


MENU
Smoked Mackeral Pate
With Melba Toast



Chicken Mediterranean Style
Served with Carrots Swiss Style, Broccoli
& Riced Potatoes



Menu Costing
Starter
Mackeral Pate 2.94
Melba toast 0.25
Main Course
Chicken Mediterranean style 4.75
Potatoes & vegetable 1.00

Total
€8.94

Budget
€15.00

Saving
€6.06
Why not buy a bottle of wine from your saving to create a really memorable meal!

Smoked Mackerel Pate
40 gms smoked peppered mackerel 4.00
Juice of 1 lemon 0.20
200 gms cottage Cheese or natural yoghurt 0.99
200 gms crème fraiche 0.69
Pinch of salt

Total for 4 persons €5.88
Total for 2 persons €2.94

Method:
- Remove the skin & bones off the mackerel.
- Put the smoked mackerel, cottage cheese & crème fraiche in a food processor.
- Squeeze the lemon and pour into mixture
- Season with salt & pepper
- Blend all ingredient into a pulb.
- Spoon into individual rampkin dishes
- Chill in the fridge for min of 1 hour
- Pour dessert spoon of melted butter on top of each rampkin dish to seal
- Decorate with bay leaf and return to fridge to chill prior to serving.
- Serve with melba toast

(This was absolutely delicious and you know how I like smoked mackerel! The next day I went out and bought all the ingredients myself to make it at home. Delish!)

Chicken Mediterranean Style
2 chicken breasts 3.00



SAUCE
Tin of chopped tomatoes 0.49
2 tbls of olive oil (plus some for brushing dish) 0.20
1 tsp chopped lemon balm
1tsp grated lemon rind
Pinch of sugar
Medium onion 0.10
2 tbsp fresh chopped basil 0.40
50 gms pitted olives (black or green) 0.40
1 tablsp tomato puree 0.10
200 gms mozzarella cheese 1.50
Salt & pepper
Dash of wine (optional) 0.30
Total sauce for 4 persons €2.49
Total sauce for 2 person €1.75
Total of Chicken Mediterranean Style
€4.75

Method:
- Chop onion finely,
- Heat oil in the pan and sauté onion until soft
- Add tin of chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, chopped basil, grated lemon rind & seasoning to onion mixture and cook for 15-20 minutes on med heat to reduce liquid.
- Take a ovenproof roasting dish with lid & brush with oil, lay the chicken breasts in dish.
- Pour the tomato mixture over the chicken & sprinkle with green or black olives
- Cook the chicken in a pre-heated oven 180 degrees for 20 minutes.
- Remove chicken from oven and sprinkle with the mozzarella cheese.
- Return to oven or brown under grill for 3-5 minutes until cheese has melted and brown.
- Serve with selection of fresh seasonal vegetables & creamed or rice potatoes.

Ann and Noeline's table was set quite simply as you can see here. There was an overall blue and white theme using a white tablecloth and napkins. Blue placemats defined each space and gorgeous antique silver cutlery, salt and pepper shakers and serving pieces gave it a special feel. For the centrepiece, there was a low round vase filled with fresh picked blue bells, a couple of votive candles and the china was all white which showed off the dishes.
I'll be writing more about tables in the future but here are a few things to keep in mind. Keep flowers low so your guests can see each other across the table. If using candles, never use scented candles as they'll interfere with the scent and taste of your food. Introduce colour through flowers, placemats or small candles. Keep china simple, while I love white I also love beautiful borders on plates with the centre of plates white. (More examples of that to come)

An additional note: The showroom at Kinane Fitted Kitchens is open daily (Mon - Fri. 8:00-17:00, Sat - 10:00-15:00) and has over 25 kitchens on display. The company was established in 1973 and their range includes contemporary to traditional set ups with a huge assortment of specialty items including hot water taps, Insinkerators, Neff ovens along with an assortment of work surfaces including timber, stainless steel and granite. But stop in and see for yourself, I guarantee you will be inspired! http://www.kinanefittedkitchens.com/.

Sequoia Lane in Limerick

One of my favourite new shops in Limerick, which opened toward the end of 2008, is Sequoia Lane. I stopped in this past Tuesday to pick up some bunting I'd put aside earlier for my daughter's Holy Communion party.

It's a lifestyle store with a great mix of things for your home, your kids, your man and yourself! The front of the store focuses on home accessories and as you can see from some of these photos, spring is in full swing!

Their home range includes everything from a colourful assortment of tableware including jugs, teapots, and plates to tins and decorative boxes, insulated picnic baskets, photo frames and stylish oil cloth for outdoor entertaining. As you move through the store, on the next level they have a really great children's department with a wide range of colourful clothes but most importantly great educational toys and charming gifts for christenings and new babies.

Towards the back of the store are clothes for men and women and they stock stylish raincoats from Joules and colourful wellies from Hunter. They've got a great selection of jewellery as well - great for gifts or to splurge on yourself.

Next time you are shopping in Limerick, be sure to stop into Sequoia Lane.It's a short walk up from Penneys and BT at 28 O'Connell Street.Tel: 061-414017 or http://www.sequoialane.com

11 Years On

(as a child on my grandmother's lap)

Today is the 11th Anniversary of my grandmother's death. It seems to have gone in a blink of an eye but thankfully (not to sound like a Hallmark card) we do have our memories. My maternal grandmother was alive for a good portion of my adult life (as was my maternal grandfather). They lived in England and almost every summer we'd be lucky enough to go and visit them from the States. Those memories of our carefree summers in a tiny town in Hertfordshire are etched in my mind and from those experiences developed many passions I now hold dear as an adult.

My passion for gardening would definitely be something I got from my grandmother. I don't know all the Latin names or have all the right solutions for making things work but I do love it. My garden here in Nenagh is the first I've had in my life so I immediately planted things that evoked memories for me. At the front of our house on either side of the drive are two Butterfly Bushes (Buddleia, I do know the Latin name!). My grandmother had them all along the front of her house, Bull's Farm, when we were growing up. Below is a photo of me with my younger brother in front of Bull's Farm. The trunk of the car (an old American Volvo) is filled with Buddleia and in the back you can see the bushes that attracted a flurry of butterflies in the summer months.

The other thing I have is a tub with two rhubarb plants (and believe it or not I have already harvested a handful of stalks this year and cooked with apples for a delicious yogurt topping to). As a child, my brother and cousins and I would cut stalks from my grandmother's enormous plants and she'd give us an egg cup full of sugar and we'd dip them in and take a bite. Yes, you can eat them raw but it's certainly an acquired taste. (do be sure to cut the leaves off as they are poisonous!) When we all came to visit my grandmother would give us gardening tasks such as trimming the edging of her expansive borders. There was an old pear tree in the back garden with a rusty old swing that consumed a lot of our time and if the weather permitted the sprinkler got set up on the lawn and the four of us would have a great time jumping through the spray. Upon occasion my grandfather would bring out this wonderful toy clown that rode a unicycle with two balancing bars and he'd go along a sort of zip line which you could attach to the tree and hold the other end.

Of course, I have many more memories and you can be certain I'll be writing about them in future posts. In the meantime, my thoughts are on you my dear Granny and thank for the memories.

Country Walk

It's been another fabulous day here in Ireland and in the morning I had my walk for the day with my faithful companion Sugar (our yellow Lab). Today, being Sunday, I took a longer route than normal which winds along a lovely country road with little traffic and the only noise is the singing of birds. There were lots of cows in the fields with their newborn calves lying as flat as pancakes next to them soaking up the morning sun and a plethora of dandelions along the roadside and in the fields. I know they're weeds but the looked really pretty today in mass quantities.

A field of dandelions over a wall.

(back in town)
When I returned home, I hung up the washing on my new clothes line which I could finally install as my husband cemented the base into the ground for me yesterday. Every little bit counts when trying to live a little bit greener. And the scent of air dried laundry is another thing I appreciate.

I'm still relishing the smell of fresh cut grass from yesterday as I just love it. I don't usually shop for my home from catalogs or online as I love the thrill of the hunt going to a variety of stores. However, I recently ordered some room mist from Virgin Vie at Home. It is both an online service but you can also invite a consultant to host a party in your own home (kind of like Avon or Tupperware parties). Anyway, they have this Fresh Grass Linen & Room Mist which is pretty good. I bought 4 bottles to have in each of our bathrooms in preparation for the onslaught of guests coming in May. The range also included candles, hand wash and hand and body lotion. Great for guest bathrooms! Virgin Vie at Home also has lots of other great accessories, bedding, tableware etc. for your home. Be sure to check out their entire offering online or see if you have a local consultant who can come and host a party for you and your friends, they also have cosmetic and jewellery lines. (http://www.virginvieathome.com/).

Simple Spring Dinner

It has been an absolutely gorgeous day here in Ireland (at least in my part of the country). Literally not one cloud in the sky all day and warm sunshine giving our pale winter skin a boost. The hum of lawnmowers surrounded our house and the scent of fresh cut grass wafted in the windows.
So, inspired by the spring day, for dinner I made a delicious risotto with spring asparagus and smoked mackerel. I know risotto can somehow seem like a time consuming meal but I feel just the contrary. Within 15-20 minutes you have the base and then you just add the extras, let it sit for a few minutes and Voila!


Ingredients:
1 cup risotto (from Country Choice, Nenagh)
1/2 onion
4-5 cups of chicken stock (or vegetable or fish)
2 small mackerel fillets (ALDI)
1 bunch asparagus (ALDI)
1/2 - 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan (Tesco)
pinch of fresh thyme
2 T of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Heat up the olive oil, chop onion into small pieces and add to oil. Saute until they start to get soft. Add the risotto, stir for about a minute and start adding the stock about 1/2 cup at time. Continually stir. As it cooks down, add more stock.
While risotto is cooking quickly blanch the asparagus in boiling water. Cut into 1 inch size pieces and pop into the water for 1-2 minutes.

Chop up thyme and add to risotto so flavours can mix together. As risotto gets close to being cooked, skin the mackerel and roughly chop into small pieces. Add to risotto and stir. Add the asparagus and stir. Finally sprinkle 1/2 cup of Parmesan onto risotto, stir in. Cover and remove from heat. Let sit for a minute or two and then serve. Put in a bowl and sprinkle a bit more Parmesan over top and add salt and pepper to your liking. Then dig in!!

(served in a Corallo bowl designed by my mother)

Just a note: this dish was inspired by a delicious lunch I had at The Sage Cafe at 67-68 Catherine Street in Limerick (http://www.thesagecafe.com/). I popped in there earlier in the year for lunch and ordered a starter size bowl of mackerel risotto. Now I'm hooked and just went home and figured out how to make it myself. Be sure to stop into The Sage Cafe if you are in Limerick. They have outdoor tables for days like today and a wonderful selection on their menu in a clean simply designed space. I'd say 90% of my business meetings in Limerick take place in there!

Postcard Passion in Memory of My Grandmother

I'm not sure where I picked this series of postcards up but I've always been a fan of postcards and I found these particularly charming. The artwork has been done by HUGH WEIR and two in conjunction with Tomas Purcell. When I moved to Ireland I was determined to send postcards back to friends and family in the States because I think everyone appreciates a bit of snail mail these days. My grandmother wrote lots of postcards in her lifetime and somewhere in an attic back in Connecticut I have a box full of many of the ones I received. What I love about postcards is that they offer just enough room to jot down a few lines of important news plus they give the receiver a fun glimpse at some place you've just visited. I buy certain cards for certain people and often save them until I go on a mad postcard writing campaign and send out a whole bunch at a time. Unfortunately, I seldom get return letters or cards, however, for some reason whether I hear or not, I believe the people that receive mine get moment of joy and surprise out of it.

.