I was under deadline pressure, so my husband threw the wellies into the car and took the kids out of the house on a recent Saturday so I could get some work done. They came back a few hours later, running in to where I sat at my computer, saying, “We got you a surprise. […]
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I have a confession to make: I don’t like Guinness. When I first moved to Ireland, I tried to like it. I was determined to like it. It was practically my patriotic duty to like it, wasn’t it? At my first publishing job in Temple Bar in Dublin, the five of us who worked there […]
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In Ireland, people don’t say How are you?, they say, What’s the story? They say, Sit down. Have a cup of tea. Come here to me, wait till I tell you. Because people want to hear the story. There’s always a story. Ireland is a country in love with language, with words, with writing. The Long […]
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I’ve never been a fan of Valentine’s Day. When I was 17 years old and working in the town grocery store, I remember the line of men in the express checkout lane, all clutching their last-minute bouquets of tired-looking roses, picked-over cards and a box of Fannie May chocolates, bought in a rush on their […]
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From Inchydoney to Italy, Sally McKenna’s sea grass and lemon butter on the beach in Inishowen to Sarajit Chanda’s Indian feast at Fuchsia House, 2012 was defined by food and friendship, travel and new opportunities. I continue to be amazed and humbled at the possibilities blogging has opened up and the inspiring, creative, dedicated people […]
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I’m not really a fan of Christmas pudding. It’s not that it’s not tasty — it is. And lighting them on fire is always fun. But they’re also very heavy, and they need to be steamed for hours when stovetop space is at a premium with all the other things cooking for Christmas dinner. Christmas […]
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December was made for baking. Holiday visitors, the long, cold nights and evenings spent in front of a crackling fire all call for something sweet and comforting. Not a week goes by now where I don’t buy a fresh supply of sugar and flour, eggs and butter, and one of the first things I bake […]
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A few weeks ago I was in Galway for my annual freelance editing talk at the university. As a change from the hotel we usually stay at we went to the Heron’s Rest B&B instead, which is famous for owner Sorcha Malloy’s breakfasts. The menu is seasonal, but when we were there in October it […]
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Colcannon (cál ceannann, “white-headed cabbage”) is a traditional Irish potato dish eaten at Halloween. Frank Bruni, former food critic at the New York Times, might be perplexed by the Irish love affair with spuds, but here, they’re the stuff of poetry and song. Did you ever eat colcannon, made from lovely pickled cream? With the […]
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What’s hotter than Irish craft beer this year? The Restaurant Association of Ireland launched the first Irish Craft Beer Week in August, the first Apple and Craft Cider Festival took place last month in Tipperary, organised by Slow Food Ireland, and John McKenna said at the launch of the 10th edition of the Irish Food […]
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