An Irish Summer

My mother always said she had blood from the Spanish Armada in her veins.When we were children she was frequently described as being "black". The reason - she was a sun worshiper and lay out for hours in our back garden - like a lizard basking in the sun.

I inherited her love of the sun. Friends always joke that as soon as the sun pops out, I am stretched in it.

The sun most definitely affects my mood.

I hate to waste a minute of it and that includes having to do anything other than soak it up when it appears. I always envy the peoples of the Mediterranean who just take it for granted.  How they sit by choice in the shade. How they can plan an outdoor meal or a barbeque and never have to worry if it will rain. I envy how they wrap up to walk on the beach when it's eighteen degrees as if it was below zero.

I don't want to appear negative but we have just had over a week of Irish summer. For more than seven days we woke to blue skies and balmy temperatures. For the first time in years I sat in the shade as a preference. We ate out without thinking about it. We had a barbeque and didn't worry about rain.

It took us collectively as a nation, completely by shock. Two years with no summer to speak of and the coldest spring in decades yada, yada, yada . The statistics go on and on....... 

For the first year in absolutely ages I have planted nothing in my garden. No herbs, no vegetables, no salads. After how disastrously they all grew last year I decided that without a poly tunnel there really was no point. Now it is catch up and I am heading off to buy vegetable plants and some bedding and praying to the sun god that it continues at least warm enough to make it worth while.

The animals here, completely unused to it quickly adapted. The pigs in particular slept for the hottest part of the day and when they eventually ventured out again, most of the field was in shade. The rose early and retired late. They became Mediterranean.


I often wonder what other nationalities think of our collective obsession with the weather. But you know when you can afford to take something for granted you have no need to comment on it.

A cold cider in the hot sun

Maybe and just maybe we will get a few more days and then the statistics will again be quoted. The warmest summer on record.....

If wishes were promises.
















Tags: An Irish summer 

Oregano Pesto

I was weeding this morning and discovered that my oregano plants had gone into overdrive.

I wondered could I make pesto with it. Now I'm beginning to wonder is there any herb you can't use for it.

Oregano pesto is really delicious. So is rocket pesto, parsley pesto and of course basil pesto.

At this time of year the leaves are really soft and almost downy. Later in the year they go slightly darker and tougher.




















Remove the leaves from the stems and add a good handful into blender, a garlic clove, a tablespoon of pine nuts, a good piece of Parmesan, salt, pepper and enough olive oil to make it all come together.



Taste and add more of whatever ingredient you think it needs.

If you are a sucker for punishment you can always make it in the traditional way in a morter and pestle.

Toss into drained pasta and add a selection of summer vegetables lightly sautéed (I used courgette, oyster mushrooms, mange tout, cauliflower and spinach).

Add in a few pieces of fresh Mozarella and you have a delicious, summer meal.














Tags: Oregano pesto  Oregano Summer meals  Irish food  Summer recipes

Egg Overdrive

Decorated egg boxes for Alzheimers fundraiser

Rearing chickens and ducks for eggs, is truly either a feast or a famine. In the depths of winter what I wouldn't give for dozens of eggs instead of having to use them sparingly. Then in summer it's the reverse. How do I think of ways to use them up?

I don't think I would ever tire of my own eggs. They are free range, organic, fresh, deeply yellow and full of deliciousness and goodness. The insipid stale offerings from supermarkets quite literally pale in comparison.

To see poultry living the way mother nature intended, rooting about, dust bathing and sunbathing is good for my soul.  I inherited from my father a deep distaste of animals being confined and reared in unnatural environments. I would rather not eat the eggs at all from intensively reared birds.  Apart from the cruelty, the eggs are not healthy coming from chickens fed a diet laced with antibiotics and genetically modified cereals.

Apart from the obvious use in baking how many other ways can you think to use eggs?


Here are a few ideas.

Delicious brunch - poached eggs served on sourdough toast and wilted spinach with Parmesan shavings. The best hangover cure ever.

Spanish omelette with wilted chard and wild garlic.                                                                          


















Carbonara with my own bacon and eggs. Parmesan from Rome courtesy of my sister.
















Spinach, bacon and Parmesan quiche with a spelt and buttermilk pastry. Green lentils cooked in chicken stock and a green salad.


















Eggsellent (sorry, couldn't resist)



















Tags: Eggs, Egg dishes, Spanish omelette,  Irish Carbonara,  Irish food,  Free range eggs, Poached eggs