Saturday 29 September 2012

Foraging Course at Ballymaloe Cookery School


So I attended a wonderful foraging course at the wonderful Ballymaloe cookery school with Darina Allen herself, an advertisement for the lifestyle looking fab at 64.
As I had an early start, I didn’t have much of a breakfast before leaving home but as we were advised there would be tea and biscuits before the course began, I figured I’d fill up on a few digestives before the day started. I under-estimated the spread that was put before me! Tiny, beautiful cakes of all flavours and perfectly brewed tea leaves. Trying to be healthy, I went for the mini scones with cream and jam. All I can say is oh my god. Divine.
Anyway, wellies on and rain jacket at the ready, our group of 30 or so foragers headed out. The rain jacket was unnecessary as the sun beamed in a crystal clear September sky. The grounds and gardens of the school were the perfect locations for Darina to show us the various herbs and plants that can be found wild in the Irish countryside. 
Feverfew (used for alleviating migraines, although reading about the side effects would make me avoid this plant)
Tansy, which is a powerful insecticide and useful for warding off insects if planted near crops:
Display of various wild plants:
Red Orach is basically wild spinach.
Purslane has a sour salty taste which can be eaten raw, cooked in a stir fry or cooked as spinach.
Chickweed is called so because it is often fed to chickens. It is also commonly eaten raw by humans.
A few tips I picked up:
Daisies are edible. Usually, the petals are sprinkled over salads.
Dandelions are edible and the petals can be battered and fried.
Lavender is edible as are doc leaves.
Young ferns can be eaten (one you brush the hairs off) and tastes like asparagus.
Horse chestnuts are not edible but Spanish chestnuts are. 

Rosehip syrup can be made from:
  • 2.7 litres of water
  • 900g fresh rosehips
  • 450g granulated sugar
Bring 1.8 litres of water to the boil.
Meanwhile chop the rosehips.
Add to the water and bring back to the boil.
Remove from heat and allow to infuse for 15 minutes.
Strain through muslin.
Put the pulp back into the saucepan and add another 600ml of water and bring back to the boil, infuse and strain as before.
Pour all the juice into a stainless steel saucepan, reduce uncovered until 850ml of liquid remains.
Add the sugar, stir to dissolve and allow to boil for 5 minutes.
Pour into sterilised bottles and seal.
Can be served with ice cream or used as the basis for a drink.
Damsons can be used to make an alcoholic infusion with gin or vodka.
  • 700g damsons
  • 350g granulated sugar
  • 1.2 litres gin or vodka
Wash the fruit and prick in several places with a sterilised needle.
Put the fruit into a sterilised kilner jar and coved with sugar and gin.
Seal tightly.
Shake every couple of days to begin with and every now and then for the following 3-4 months.
Strain and bottle and leave to age for another few months.
For me, the highlight of our exploration of the grounds was the acre sized greenhouse. I could not believe my eyes when the door opened. So huge, so well laid out.
After exploring the grounds, we headed to a local beach to be shown edible plants, seaweed and shell fish. By lifting rocks we found periwinkles which can be boiled in sea water and picked out of the shell using a toothpick or such.
Then back to headquarters for homemade pizzas and salads tirelessly served up by Darina herself, giving a nice personal touch. The meal was finished off with a divine hazelnut and chocolate tart.
The evening was an impressive demonstration by Darina and another girl cooking a banquet from wild foods, all off which recipes were given to us. We each filled up a plate of tasters.
 
Local smoked salmon with beetroot, homemade horse radish sauce and wild leaves
Wild mushroom frittata using locally picked Chantarelles
Foragers salad
Various seafoods
Carrageen Moss Pudding
Dilisk (type of seaweed) bread with an array of jams
On leaving, we were all given a half dozen free range eggs from the farm. A nice touch to finish off a wonderful day.

Tuesday 18 September 2012

Sweet Courgette Relish



Ingredients:

900g finely chopped courgettes
1 large onion finely chopped
500ml cider vinegar
350g granulated sugar
2 tbsp English mustard power
1 tsp tumeric
1-2 tsp chili flakes
2 tsp cornflour
2 tsp coriander seeds
Mix ingredients together:
Bring to the boil, reduce heat and cook for an hour:

Fill sterilised jars and leave to mature for a few weeks before opening:

Monday 17 September 2012

Everybody Can Bake Bread


Bread, you can buy it cheap so why make it at home? Well, just look at the ingredients on the back of a generic white sliced pan and compare it with the following recipe and you’ll see that there is no need for those E numbers and other artificial evils.

The recipe I used:
450g Strong White Flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
25g margerine
7g bakers dried yeast (in all supermarkets)
300ml tepid water
Seeds for the crust (optional)
Sieve the flour and salt in to a bowl
Add sugar and rub in margerine
Stir in yeast, add the water and mix to a pliable dough
Turn on to a flat surface and knead for ten minutes until dough is stretchy and elastic (you’ll need flour for dusting the surface)
Shape and place in greased 2lb loaf tin. Cover with tea towel and put in the hotpress for an hour or so, until dough has doubled in size.
Sprinkle seeds on top and bake in a preheated hot oven (Gas 8/230c/450f) for approx 30 mins and until golden. Use a skewer to pierce the bread and it will emerge clean if bread is cooked.
Pic of my creation:
And tastes divine. Try it!

Sunday 16 September 2012

Never Mind Blarney Castle, Check Out Blarney Gardens





So I decided to take two days off work this week and was poxed with a gorgeous sunny day to kick it off, just reminding me why September is my favourite month. One of my aims this month is to see more of my local attractions, starting with the famous Blarney Castle.
The castle sits on 60 acres and is most famous for the legendary “Blarney Stone” which upon kissing, grants you with the gift of the gab.
I have no interest in this. Apparently, the stone is covered in the locals’ piss anyway so I wouldn’t be putting my lips anywhere near it.
Now the gardens are something else. The deserve to be part of a double headling bill, not a supporting act.
The view as you enter, showing the castle in the distance and River Martin (loaded with trout):
A tower sits by the castle:
The Castle:
And now down to the interesting business of the gardens. Each area seems to lend itself to a particular atmosphere and theme. 
The Fern Gardens was a beautiful wild and shady area in the woodland.
With interesting paths and steps leading to curious places:
And some friends hiding in the rocks:
Some huge trees about the place:
Making some weird tree shapes:
Then back into the open for some decorative flowers at the Herbaceous Border:
Decorative flowers bring alot of insects. I’ve never seen so many wasps and butterflies in one place before:
My favorite place was an area called Rock Close, which included some beautiful parts of the river, wandering steps and mystical rocks.
The Kissing Steps:
The Waterfall:
Like something from the Blue Lagoon
Archway:
Looking at the photos makes me want to visit it again, and I will soon as I didn’t realise there was a lake on the grounds (should have looked at the map they gave me on entry, no good examining it when I got home…). We spent over two hours there (and didn’t even bother to venture into the actual castle and Im sure there is at least two hours more wealth to be seen.

Wednesday 5 September 2012

Fishing in Fountainstown


On one of finest days of the year, what better way to spend a few hours than fishing in a beautiful spot. Many others had the same idea as the rocky shore was littered with families catching mackerel for their supper.
The setting:
Rods positioned and ready:
Bait ready:
A lot of sprats meandering in the shallow water brings some hungry bass. You can see them from the shore but they’re clever. They see my lure but at the last second, swim away. Even this cool tshirt isn’t bringing us luck…
Finally the first fish of the day is caught, a chirpy energetic mackerel:
Mackerel didn’t stay energetic for long. He was destined for bigger better things e.g. bait. It was a good decision because before long this monster was pulled from the deep. A lovely Thornback Ray:
We pack up around half eight and make our way over the rocks back to the car. On the way, we pass a line of anglers dotting the shoreline and making for a nice picture. With the shoals of mackerel visibly breaking the surface, hopefully everyone went home with a few.
Evening sets: