Boo! Swine flu sucks hot death. Between this blog and other bits of journalism, I’m self-employed, so lying in bed for a week isn’t really an option. At least it’s put an end to my unsustainable eating out splurge. Yesterday, I made a hearty and nutritious soup to make me feel a little better. This [...]

Trout fillets at Superquinn are currently just €1 each. And they’re very good. I picked up four yesterday and used them to make a quick, easy, and healthy Chinese meal. It takes about 5 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to cook. And for an optional side: about three minutes before the fish is ready, [...]

I had a long weekend in New York last December, and as always when in New York, ate like a king.  Not one bad or disappointing meal over five days, thanks to my NY-based friends who know all the best spots.  The very last meal I had before flying home was in a quiet Japanese [...]

Huevos Rancheros are a classic Mexican breakfast dish, and if you’ve ever had a breakfast burrito, you’ve probably had something a bit similar.  While there are many variations, the basic recipe is a fried egg on a flour tortilla, covered with cooked salsa.  I made them for the first time ever last weekend after an [...]

I found this recipe in an old edition of the Observer food magazine, and I’ve been living off it for the past two days. So incredibly quick to fling together, it’s great comfort food while still being light enough for these lovely summer days. I varied it a little by adding some fresh chopped chilli [...]

Last Saturday, our very kind BBQ guests brought their own meat and forgot to cook it, leaving us with a freezer full of mince. I’ve made the usual suspects: Cottage Pie, Spaghetti Bolognaise, and Home-Made Burgers, and still have some left. My burger recipe comes from my friend Phil Broadberry, purveyor of amazing curries, home-made [...]

This is the very definition of a cheap and easy meal. Throw things in a dish, blend them up, and mix with some cooked pasta. This sauce is quite versatile so could possibly be used with cold meats or in a sandwich. For me at least, it was a good way of using up excess [...]

These recipes appears in today’s LoveFood Magazine in the Irish Independent.  Perfect for a picnic with a twist, or for a summery Wednesday Wind-down. Asian Tuna Salad This is a really versatile salad. Apart from the rocket, don’t worry if you lack some of the vegetables specified here. The salad is all about the dressing!

I just looked out the window and nearly got hit by lightning. Yikes. What with all the fire and floods in the sky, Smoked Haddock Chowder will be the perfect dinner this evening. You’ll find that smoked haddock is one of the cheapest pieces of fish around: I got two big fillets for under €5 [...]

Minestrone soup is a really simple recipe, but I still don’t know any restaurants where I can get a really good version of it.  Very often the vegetables are overcooked and the pasta a little soggy.  It’s not something I bothered with very often until I came across a recipe for healthy Minestrone in a [...]