bigfoodiemama

The Foodie in me had a real treat the other night. No Longer Single kindly invited GASP and I over to attend the Boyne Valley Series event being held in Sage and Stone. We decided that this constituted a perfect date night as it involved food and other people to talk to, as The Blonde, Victor Meldrew and the Financial Advisor were also due to be in attendance. We arrived to find Mixologist Mick out in the sunshine whipping up Negroni's so the Blonde and I happily took one and found ourselves to be quite merry after that one potent little drinkie. The Duracell Bunny was also in attendance , proving herself as always, to be a lady who can put a smile on your face without even trying. We headed into the restaurant to the strains of beautiful Irish music and sat down for what proved to be an absolute feast of local produce. Boy oh boy did we eat like Royal County Kings ! Our starter of Hugh Maguire's smoked Black Pudding with elderberry dressed salad and a large crouton was simply...

Right, here we go again ! Sunday, I had decided was going to be a family day out, to the Food and Wine Christmas Show. I was keen to go for a few reasons, 1. Food, 2. Wine, 3. Santa and 4. the chance to see my cousin the Pastry Chef of The Cake Stand ( not necessarily in that order).I donned the new underwear (again) under some warm clothing...just in case ! My plans were nearly thwarted by 2 inches of snow and the AA advising people not to travel unless absolutely necessary. I had a job convincing GASP of the "absolutely necessary" part of a Food and Wine Show, so I used language he would understand and said " this is my Leinster Final".....job done !Off we set with enough stuff in the car should we have to sleep in it overnight, but the M1 was clear keeping a smug smile on my face....until we hit Dublin ! The city was immersed in 3 inches of snow and the roads were a disaster but since we'd got that far , we ploughed ( literally) on to the RDS. Items 3. and 4....

Today I had the pleasure of attending the Artisan Food and Craft Fair at Sage and Stone ( www.sageandstone.com). The promised Indian Summer didn't arrive but the rain stayed off and they came in droves to sample the fayre. The blonde was manning the Callan and Harte stall next to the Porn Star's art, my first stop. She was wrapped in layers of wool and scarves while he sported a pale yellow polo shirt. We commented on his attire but realised it was all part of his ploy as one after one the women came over to first admire his biceps and then fall for the sales pitch. The blonde was seriously considering exposing some cleavage but I felt it was inappropriate next to the Old Mc Donald framed children's poem. She was consoling herself with the truly great pizza's from the pizza oven aboard "street pizza" as I continued to browse. The chicken and sweetcorn soup I had as a starter was fantastic but then it was on to the Aruna stall for Chicken Roganjosh and rice.......

I had a lengthy conversation about ice cream with someone at work today. I asked them ( in advance of my inflicting some pain on them) to imagine their favourite scene, in order that they would relax. She imagined she was on the beach in Bettystown on a sun bed with a huge ice cream cone. I was surprised admitting I would have had a glass of Sauvignon Blanc in my hand. She informed me that she rarly drank but her weakness in life was always ice cream. She particularly loved the old tubs of ice cream you used to get in the cinema, with the green bit in the bottom, you had to try to get with the supplied wooden paddle-shaped spoon. She reminisced about a local newsagent who, for a while, had the green syrup to pour over cones.Now although this woman is about 75, she admitted to loving "Ben and Jerry's " which surprised me, I opting for Carte D'Or and fantasising about trying the new Rum and Raisin, my favourite flavour. As a child and teenager I was loyal to the "B...

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 ...