bigfoodiemama

With great delight this morning ,I announced to GASP how delighted I was that ,due to some practical training I had to take part in, I had to wear tracksuit bottoms to work. This to me is quite an event as I normally wear suits or a uniform so the liberation of the tracksuit bottom was a much welcome change.GASP turned in horror to me and asked exactly which pair of tracksuit bottoms I was planning to wear."Don't worry" says I "they have not got writing across the bum". GASP thought for a moment and replied " you could make alot of money that way though". Stupidly I asked why for him to reply "think of all that advertising space !!!!!!! If you are affected by any of the references in the paragraph above, please join the Tracksuit Bottom Appreciation Society on Facebook x

So it has now been decided that the neighbouring counties of Meath and Louth will meet in the Leinster Final of the 2010 GAA championship. This is monumental as it is 50 years since Louth were in a Leinster Final and now it is against their greatest rivals. July 11th promises to be a great day but there is a clash of events. Yes, the "blessing of the graves" aka "cemetery Sunday" is on the same day. Now this is truly a clash of two religions, one Catholic, one sport. The interesting and fortunate thing is that the local parish priest is a major football fan, so the feeling locally is that he might have some of the blessings earlier in the morning or even the night before. I am somewhat disappointed as I find the blessing of the graves one of the most interesting days of the year. Whereas in some countries they have biggest vegetables competition, or the best Victoria sandwich or the best knitted jumper, the blessing of the graves is the " I can dress smarter th

Ingredients 1 whole chicken 5lb 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons salt 1 teaspoon black pepper 3 tablespoons of your favorite dry spice rub ( eg. Cajun) 1 can beer Directions Remove neck and giblets from chicken and discard. Rinse chicken inside and out, and pat dry with paper towels. Rub chicken lightly with oil then rub inside and out with salt, pepper and dry rub. Set aside. Open beer can and take several gulps (make them big gulps so that the can is half full). Place beer can on a solid surface. Grabbing a chicken leg in each hand, plunk the bird cavity over the beer can. Transfer the bird-on-a-can to your baking tray and place in the center of the oven, balancing the bird on its 2 legs and the can like a tripod. Cook the chicken at 180 gegrees Celsius ( or in kettle BBQ with the cover on), for approximately 1 1/2 hours or until the internal temperature registers 165 degrees F in the breast area and 180 degrees F in the thigh, or until the thigh juice runs clear when stabbed wi

Last night as we brought eldest son down to bed, we heard a strange noise from the boys room. Oh yes, the 7 month old was lying ,on his side, snoring ! GASP thought this was hilarious, but as a woman who now lives in a house with a 7 month old snorer, a 4 year old snorer and a 43 year old snorer, I did not find it particularly funny. GASP and I started off married life in the usual state of bliss newlyweds enjoy, unil the first night he snored. Now the problem was not that he snored, but that , when I nudged him and asked him to roll over because he was snoring, he answered with "No I wasn't, I wasn't even asleep" . I am always awake longer that GASP because I read and I therefore get to observe that 20 second process it takes for GASP to fall asleep on his back and immediately commence snoring.He seems to think that I nudge him for no apparent reason and make up the fact that he snores ???????? What possible reason would make a woman wake up in the middle of the nigh

The FA joined me on Saturday when GASP had chosen GAA over an evening in with woty....imagine ! Mond you he had just spent a week with me on holidays so deserved a break. The cupboard was well and truly bare, having not got around to the post hols shop so I was under pressure to produce a meal for someone who is a gourmet foodie. Thank God for GASP, as I strolled out to the garden to find large dew covered lettuces, vibrant green spinach and some scallions. I had managed to pick up a cooked chicken that lunchtime so I raided the bottom drawers of the fridge and the larder cupboard and managed to bring together the best salad I have ever made. I washed the lettuce and spinach and tore them roughly into the huge Nicholas Mosse bowl we got as a wedding present. I added the chopped scallions, some halved cherry tomatoes, the last 3 inches of cucumber and some sunflower seeds. I found a jar of artichoke hearts in oil, which I had bought some time ago in Aldi, drained them and added them on

Now should you think that this further attack on the lack of generosity in New Zealand is as a result of the Fit Ones husband ( BBB - big bald bloke) texting me the rugby score last weekend, you would be right ! Yet again the Kiwis have made the National news over here in the Northern hemisphere. You will remember the guy who went around to various funerals just for the food ....the Grim Eater! Well this time, one of their government ministers has been found to have used his ministerial credit card to pay for the porn movies he watched while staying away in hotels on government business....the tight and stupid git ! Fantastic.....make our guys expenses look tame.Now this in itself is a great story,but added to that the fact that he is a married father of 7 and it turns into a comedy sketch !I do remember going to a wedding in the UK along with some of my male friends, some years ago. I couldn't understand why their hotel bills were exactly £6.70 more than mine, until someone pointe

In the glorious sunshine today, the eldest son and I attended the birthday party of the third daughter of Newly Single. Now to me this was a big event, as Newly Single and I attended each others birthday parties in the 70's. Now we are the big 40 and our children have taken over the mantle. The great thing was, nothing had really changed. The same things I remember with fondness were repeated today much to the delight of the boys and girls. Pass the Parcel and Musical Chairs were the order of the day and food was cocktail suasages, sandwiches, crisps, homemade buns ( plain, iced and rice crispie )and cake....just lovely. Back in our day BMM used to bring us over to Newly Singles Mamas ( who will from now on be known as the Duracell Bunny (DB) !) and they had an extra game.....the tasting game. I think this particular game began my foodie personality.DB would blindfold us and then get us to taste 4 items of food on a teaspoon and we had to guess what it was. Now, in case you have vi

What is it about men and packing. After a week of sitting looking at the view to the left, the time had come to leave Dunmore East and return home.Now the eldest son was devestated that we were going home particulary because his room at home does not have an ensuite bathroom and that our humble bungalow has no stairs....poor child....deprived....wouldn't be surprised if social services are on to us !The time came on Friday morning to commence the packing, with a view to finishing off that evening when we returned from the beach. Yes, I pack for my husband ! The reason I do so dates back to our first holiday together and his first out of the country. The MIL had very kindly bought him two tee shirts and seven, yes seven pairs of WHITE thick socks. I caught GASP packing all seven pairs into his case for Gran Canaria....needless to say I had to take matters in hand and have continued to do so, because basically GASP works out how many days we are away and packs 7, 10, 14 of everything

http://www.the-berkeley.co.uk/fashionista_tea.aspx I insist that you open this link ! The Tall One sent this to the FA and my good self and single handedly it is the reason that London is now being condidered for the 2011event of the year...the FA's 40th ! Yes, I realise that I have spilled the beans on her age before she even turns 39 but it gives her about 14 months to get used to the idea and to book the afternoon tea !Preggers will be delighted that we are joining her in her country, Newly Single will find a whole new playing field, the Blonde will be returning to her roots ( only her cultural ones !), I can spend a year googling London restaurants and the ambassadrice can take the channel tunnel....hurrah !Now may well also be the time to open the "we're going to London fund"...all donations welcome and you can be confident that all monies will go straight to the provision of food !

It still amazes me how the presence of a beach and some sun can make the worlds simplest picnic seem like a gourmet meal. The ham sandwich and packet of crisps served up, in these circumstances, yesterday were sublime ! Now I must point out that the freshness of the bread and quality of the ham does count, and the crisp must have the perfect crunch so when you put them into the sandwich they add the desired texture....along with the few stray grains of sand !Now we went posh yesterday, becasue we were in the Marbella of the South East...Dunmore East.....and brought a bottle of 7up instead of the Orange Squash....very risque considering the state of the nations finances. I did notice one group bring full plates of dinner with knives and forks from the pub overlooking the strand, but quite frankly they looked ridiculous. When we went up to the playground afterwards the classic Granny picnic was in evidence,the own brand packet of rich tea biscuits, Tayto and Coke. This old favourite was

Right so here we are in Waterford and it is due to be 20 degrees today.....by Irish standards HOT !Apparently the weather is not the only hot thing though. GASP, as arranged travelled up to the Golf Club on Sunday evening to catch up on the GAA, only to find the clubhouse closes at 9.00 on a Sunday evening. Not to be put off his mission, GASP walked up to the Castle and enquired off the "blonde" at the desk if there was a bar where he could watch the Sunday Game. "Unfortunately not" she replied. Thats when it happened. She reached down behind her desk and handed my husband the keys to a room !Yes, a "blonde" handed my husband the keys to a hotel room, told him he could go watch the game there and asked if he would like a drink !!!!! Now you would have thought that I, woty, would be somewhat concerned by the Tiger Woods nature of this, but no, my reason for anger is that GASP got into a room in Waterford Castle before I did....the injustice of it all !In th

Once there were three dinner party divas, Big Mamas Mama, The FA, Newly Single and Tall Ones Mama and the Lady...that's not to say te other two weren't ladies ! In the 70's and 80's they were dinner party divas and taught us, their daughters all we ever needed to know. They showed us how to lay a table, arrange the flowers for not only the centrepiece but for the rest of the house. Napkin folding, butter rolling, wine decanting, nothing was left to chance. They served prawn cocktail, melon boats or pate as a starter and Boeuf Bourgignon, Chicken Veronique or Hungarian Goulash as main courses, but when it came to dessert, they really excelled. Mind you rules had to be followed, if you had chocolate you had to serve lemon, to cleanse the palate, so Chocolate Mousse was matched with lemon souffle, Sherry Trifle was a winner as was Pavlova, Baked Alaska and home made ice cream ( before the dawn of the ice cream maker !)They drank Blue Nun, then Black Tower, then Mateus Rose

There is no need to be envious of us right at this moment. Ok so our holiday home is fab, the location perfect, the island idyllic, the beds comfortable and the weather great....big deal ! Waterford delivers every time. Mind you the techno moron in me has been asked to deliver. First, I had to work out how to open the front door of our lodge on Waterford Castle Island. I know I was told to just hold the card in front of the door and the light would go green but I did have a couple of dud attempts before the front door swung open on our ultra modern home for the week. Now we live in a standard bungalow at home but now I am faced with flat screen tv, Neff kitchen, Miele appliances, Smeg fridge and a wall mounted gas fireplace thing with a remote control ! Blimey ! There is apparantly a non touch system for something in the bathrooms but it is obviusly not the lights as I sat in the pitch dark on the loo this morning waving like a US fan at the world cup !Eldest son is entrhalled that his

Gino D'Acampo is devastated.Deep in his Italian loins he senses that I would attend the Taste of Dublin this afternoon. The fact that I had to miss the event due to two sick boys has ruined his trip to Ireland. Rumour has it Kevin Dundon and Nick Meunier are nearly as upset but the show went on. I had my route all planned, an early stop for bubbly at Jacobs Creek and a nibble from Jaipur to wake up the tastebuds before making my way over to see Gino at 1.30 knowing the hob wasn't the only thing that would be HOT in that kitchen !After exchanging glances with Gino I had intended to Diep Le Shaker and Pichet for two more main courses before the statuatory Roly's dessert.After that I planned a petit fours from Danucci, more drinks courtsy of my Irish Independent vouchers and then shop for the best food there is...sadly it was not mean to be. I was represented however by the Mad One, BMM, The Financial Advisor, Fabulous and The Butcher Girl, who at this stage are probably three

Yes another reason to celebrate food....yes it's National Strawberry week ! Like most of the population, I love them ,but cannot understand why they cost so much. They are so good however that we all indulge in this luxury especially when the sun shines or when we wnat it to shine. They make a great gift, hence they are ready in my fridge to bring to dinner to my foodie friend The Baker tomorrow night. I am seriously excited about going to her house as she is one hell of a cook (she used to work for the Barefoot Contessa !!!) but as she is pregnant with number 3, the usual bottle of bubbly is not a suitable gift...hence the fab fruit! Now although the strawberry is perfect unaccompanied, I like to do two particular things with it. Firstly, I like to add halved strawberries to freshly cubed pineapple for a simple but great fruit salad. The other is a strawberry pavlova ! Ingredients 4 free range eggs 8 oz caster sugar 1 tsp cornflower 1 tsp white vinegar Separate the eggs and whisk

It's a very exciting week this week, as it sees the start of the Taste of Dublin Festival, which, in it's 5th year, just gets better and better and bigger. Year one , mid Celtic Tiger, we saw this advertised and we great glee purchased three VIP tickets, for myself, Big Mamas Mama and the Mad One. On the day, one of the Mad Ones brood got sick so BMM and I were forced to attend without her, but with her compliment of Florins ( the currency they use). We ate and drank our way around Dublin castle before hitting the VIP area for a cocktail and glass of bubbly each and then another due to the fact that we had the Mad Ones Ticket! Now we did talk about her and say how much she would have liked it and we did bring her home a goodie bag and some Gluten Free bread for the Spud Farmer, but for that day she was the Mad Jealous One. Year 2 saw the Mad One join us but on this occasion we only purchased mid rabge priced tickets, and then, of course bought more Florins by the tonne when we

The Bank Holiday weekend is upon us, so Friday evening and Saturday morning involved me purchasing enough meat to feed a third world country, burgers, sausages, steak, side loin lamb chops, spare ribs and pork steak.Now I am aware that the forecast gave good weather for Saturday only but we Irish need to have weather optimism or we would never get out of bed.The temperature hit 23 degrees Saturday lunchtime, so out came the paddling pool, barbecue and sun loungers.Factor 50 was slathered all over the boys and two of thier cousins arrived to spend the afternoon paddling, splashing and water pistolling. The Financial Advisor joined us in her shades around 5.oo and GASP set to cooking on the gas BBQ. Now you would think that GASP would , like all men, be kken to exert his authority over the the barbecue, but in fact it took me questioning his sexuality, for him to take to outdoor cooking without gay abandon! He doesn't wear an apron or drink beer but it definitely does something for m

Yes, there is a character called the "Grim Eater" according to todays news. He lives in New Zealand and has spent the last few weeks travelling to, on average four funerals per week, simply to eat the food, even removing some in plastic containers !Now I may have accused my sister who lives in NZ, the Fit One ,on occasion of being tight, but now I realise by New Zealand standards she is positively generous !To my knowledge, she has never attended a funeral simply to partake of the food...in fact she is so fit she has never attended anything simply to partake of the food. While I clock up miles in the "Renault I will always hate", she runs 10 k daily....hard to credit we are related in fact, except when she arrives home to Ireland and requests Bacon, Cabbage and Spuds as her first meal. Having survived on dried fruits, nuts and fruit up until that point, she loses all control and lashes the butter onto the spuds before mashing it all together and devouring it with a

I feel the need to wax lyrical about the free range egg. This could be due to the fact that two people I know now supply me with them on a regular basis,the scone queen and the godson. The scone queen brings them into work whereby I leave out 2.50 for half a dozen. On the occasions I visit the godson, a far greater investment is required to support his back garden industry and I have been known to part with a fiver!Now I realise that this inflated offering is probably teaching the 13 year old a bad business lesson but I feel very virtuous and it does appear to make these eggs taste even better....or so I tell myself. Now the fact that I have these suppliers means that I don't have to go as far as keeping chickens myself...the latest must- have accessory.I reckon the Mad One would be great as a chicken breeder as lord knows every egg that goes past her gets fertilised ! Newly Single has a few interesting hen stories by the way, one including the kidnap and solitary confinement ( in

OMG the excitement...today we picked our first produce from our vegetable patch. The Butterhead lettuces have grown a treat and GASP asked me to pull a couple of young heads in order to thin them out. I was delighted that he chose this very day to make his request as I had invited my friend Candlestick for tea. Now GASP was under the impression that he could stroll in mid tea as usual, chat, eat and retire to the sitting room for soap watching while Candlestick and I chatted endlessly, but I gave him strict instructions to be home by 6.00 so that the presence of the two samll boys would not jeopardise my chances of producing meal.My Chicken Veronique without the Veronigue was heating, the rice cooked, the garlic bread browning and in the middle of the table stood "The Salad", a mix of supermarket iceberg with our tender, perfect Butterhead lettuce.I felt like Felicity Kendal. Candlestick arrived promptly at 6.30 and immediately endeared herself to the 4 year old by producing