At the weekend, my partner and I catered for a friend’s christening. We had the camera ready to fondly take pictures of our food, and exclaim over how great it all looked, but we seriously misjudged our timings. We didn’t have time to lift a camera, we barely had time to breathe - the evening [...]

I’m home alone for a few weeks, so I’ve doing a lot of cooking for one. Soups have become my staple: make a big batch and it lasts for a few days lunches and dinners.
With no less than three open bags of red lentils recently discovered in the back of my press, I was determined [...]

Dunnes are doing a great deal on organic chicken wings at the moment. For €4.99 there are enough wings for three to four people and married with a blue cheese dressing, this is one tasty dish.
I particularly like the ‘Spicy Chicken Wings with Blue Cheese Dressing’ recipe from the book ‘Falling Cloudberries’ by Tessa Kiros.
As [...]

At last! I’ve finally discovered the answer to making good chicken stock, and you’re not going to like it. It’s salt. Simply cover your chicken carcass with well-salted cold water. Add an onion chopped in half along with a stick of celery and a whole carrot (if organic, no need to peel). Bring it to [...]

For the month of January, The Sunday Times has been offering up a ten-point plan to a better you in the style section. A plan that encourages you to ‘Learn to relax’, ‘Find your purpose’, ‘Revel in strong moments’ and ‘Boost your chi factor’.
When reading it, I kind of zoned out and couldn’t help feel [...]

This is a simple comforting soup which will make you feel like you’ve just popped into Fort Worth and Miss Ellie has sat you down, poured you a large glass of scotch and then handed you a warm bowl of the eighties.
As celery is so low in calories, I’ve added some cream to fatten [...]

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a lovely Christmas. I’ve spent most of the last week eating, sleeping, and watching TV by the fire, punctuated by the occasional social gathering and repressed bout of guilt: January 4th would soon arrive and normal service would resume.
The day has arrived and the snow and ice [...]

Consumed by Consommé
On the way to pick up free tickets to an Elvis Presley and The Beatles reunion gig in the Olympia last week I started to thinking about making an Asian broth. So I went into the Asia market on Drury St and I picked up some ingredients what for to make some sort [...]

Soups are the ultimate in cheap eats. My partner makes me soup all the time, and it’s always from what’s leftover in the fridge - halves of vegetables we’ve used for roasts, or bits of pepper/squash/onion/celery that you haven’t finished up. Soup-making is a great habit to get into; it’s at least a couple of [...]

This year, I had an evil chest infection that would NOT go away. I am not normally ill, so lurching around feeling like my days were numbered really got me down. After trying all the usual weaponry - antibiotics, bedrest and weeping - my sister, over from New York to visit, imparted her solution. Garlic [...]