Articles

This month I have been very busy planting up the Castlefarm garden and polytunnel. My onions sown last month are now clearly visible in organised green lines. Now that I can see them I can hoe the onion bed before the weeds take hold. As an organic farm we cannot use weed killer or chemicals. I find the best method of keeping down weeds is literally spending 5-10 minutes each day hoeing.
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This month we will be harvesting the first of our new season beetroot - OK, so they will be no bigger than golf balls and will have been grown in the polytunnel, but they will be all the tastier and more tender as a result.
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Lucy Madden reflects on the damage that copy cat operations can cause – and suggests that many events in Ireland (including festivals) may be at saturation point, or beyond... We’ve all seen the photograph, two celebrities arriving at a party and – shock, horror – they are wearing the same outfit.
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There’s been a great shortage of quality cider in Ireland until recently, especially south of the border – but, fortunately, this gaping gap in the market is gradually being closed with the introduction of a number of artisan ciders in the last few years.
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The aubergine (also known as eggplant) is related to the potato and tomato. Native to India, this exotic looking fruit with its beautiful glossy deep purple skin and fleshy texture, is a popular import but it has never been commercially grown in Ireland – until now. This year - in March 2012 to be exact – the north Dublin producers Keelings harvested their first crop of Irish aubergines.
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The therapeutic nature of baking is well known - we all know that it’s a cosy and all-consuming activity that demands concentration, involves all the senses and rewards you with much more than delicious things to eat, as, above all, it gives a wonderful sense of satisfaction in a job well done.
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Happy the food lover visiting Ireland’s western capital who happens on Aoibheann MacNamara’s trio of restaurants at Spanish Arch. A wonderful stone-built medieval customs house overlooking the Claddagh Basin is home to Ard Bia (literally ‘High Food’) and its sister restaurants, Ard Bia Café and Nimmo’s, plus a constantly changing exhibition of modern art.
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Artisan producers are the unsung heroes of the food industry in Ireland, but need support from the commercial sector to ensure their survival. This was the view of Myrtle Allen, one of the pioneers of the movement to promote locally produced Irish food, who addressed guests at the Irish Food Writer’s Guild Food annual awards last month (March 2012).
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The best things in life are free – this is certainly true for wild garlic, which is growing like a carpet under the trees in Glenshelane woods near Cappoquin –where its pungent garlicky whiff fills the air.
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In New York, I lost track of the number of people who told me that the most exciting and diverse food scene was out in Brooklyn, so needless to say I sped over the bridge in search of the super cool foodie set. Brooklyn is all about graffiti, galvanise, peeling paint, iron grills and salvaged furnishings. Everyone seems to be 150% into food in that brilliant intense American way.
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