We all know that blackberries grow freely throughout Ireland in late summer and early autumn, but some other foods also cost nothing. I got the LUAS to Kilmacud Road last week and walked up towards the Beacon Hotel in Sandyford Industrial Estate. It was impossible not to notice: the side of the public footpath was [...]

In my potentially never-ending quest to use up a large amount of mint, I prepared this Split Pea and Mint soup. I was on holiday in California a few years ago and this soup seemed to be bizarrely popular. “Yes, we have split pea soup!” declared the enthusiastic signs. Since then, I always have a [...]

I’ve done a pretty terrible job on my herb garden: shamefully, I still haven’t even started it. A friend of mine planted mint, but it soon colonised his entire garden. A few days ago, he arrived at my door laden down with mint leaves, dumped it on my kitchen table and said: “Here. It’s your [...]

Each trip to the supermarket brings a fresh disappointment.  I arrive in naive anticipation of new and interesting fruits and vegetables, only to be confronted by more of the same. Always the same variety of carrots, onions, broccoli, cabbages, leeks, oranges,  bananas, and apple, plums, pears…. Peppers, mangoes, pineapples, the same selection of berries. Leeks, [...]

The great potato recipe blog The Daily Spud has a really interesting recipe for Glamorgan Sausages, also known as Poor Man’s Sausages.  They were popular during WWII as a meatless alternative to sausages…they’re basically a tasty mixture of herbs, breadcrumbs and polenta. They sound like a great vegetarian alternative to pork sausages, certainly better than [...]