I was down in the Hook Peninsula in Co. Wexford last week and I have to admit before I left I wasn’t even sure where it was. I associate Wexford with Rosslare and getting the boat to France each summer, but was pleasantly surprised to discover that Hook Peninsula is a lovely place with lots to [...]

Calling all soup lovers, today is Gorta’s “Soup for Life” day. This global event urges you to gather your friends, family and colleagues for a get together over a bowl and make a  contribution to Gorta’s work fighting hunger and malnutrition in Africa. If you would like to take part, you can check out details [...]

My sister has just informed me that she has become addicted to lamb. Consequently, she has been inventive in the kitchen again and come up with this little gem, perfect for a light Sunday lunch, if you are brave enough to eat out in the garden (well, for God’s sake it’s scorching outside).

A lighter soup for spring days, carrot and orange is a flavour pairing from heaven. It’s also, like many soups, a good way of using up those slowly dying vegetables. Ingredients 10 carrots, peeled and chopped 1 parsnip, peeled and chopped 2 sticks of celery, chopped 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped 2 cloves of [...]

Now’s the best time of year for lamb. Lovely, lovely lamb, so tender and juicy – and pricy. Last week, I picked up two lamb shanks for about €11.00 and made this recipe from BBC Food. It tastes as good as it looks, with the meat falling off the bone. I’m always loathe to throw [...]

Since being with my partner, I have put on one entire stone. There is no mystery as to why – it is because I have spent too many nights on the sofa with a glass (ahem) of wine and some really good food, which invariably contains all or one of the following: cream, butter and [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]