Articles

Like most GIYers I did a little rain dance with the arrival of rain after nearly a month of drought conditions. What a fickle bunch we are! Don’t get me wrong, I’d much prefer a little heatwave to our more standard climate, but the daily watering outside was somewhat of a chore. I suppose that beautiful warm sunshine by day followed by a decent shower of rain at night would be the ideal weather pattern for this time of the year. That’s not much to ask is it?
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Our “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for MAY is.
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This month Darina talks about getting that whiff of Spring at last, enjoying the early harvest of cultivated crops and foraged foods - and there’s her Summer Foraging Course at Ballymaloe Cookery School too: “Where you previously saw weeds, you’ll now see dinner!”
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"Tell me what you eat and I will tell you what you are" (Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin) is a telling choice for the first of many well-chosen quotations in Margaret Hickey’s new book, Ireland's Green Larder (Unbound, Hardback £20; online sellers), summing up as it does the role that daily food choices play in the development of individuals - and the societies of which they are part.
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It’s a nice surprise to discover that what you have considered a real nuisance in the veg patch, could in fact turn out to be a blessing. I’ve been plagued with chickweed for well over a year now in the small polytunnel.
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Donegal has gained a reputation as one of the coolest places on earth of late, but there are plenty of people who have known that all along - and that includes the well known chef and teacher, Brian McDermott, who lives and runs his cookery school on the beautiful Inishowen Peninsula.
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This month Darina talks about eggs - preferably from happy lazy hens.
Eggs are truly a super food, every cook’s best friend. Unsurprisingly they are having their moment again, particularly in the US. This was very evident on recent visits to both the West and East coasts of America. In virtually every restaurant and café, eggs were starring on the menu in some shape or form, not just for breakfast and brunch. Even food carts and food trucks were serving eggs in many guises.
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It is fair to say that it has been a long and thoroughly miserable winter, with almost 6 months of grim weather at this stage. The impact has been minimal enough for the home-grower but we should of course spare a thought for the people who make a living from food production, particularly commercial growers and farmers.
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After nearly two decades on Lower Main Street, the Molloy family's popular restaurant in the centre of Letterkenny moved around the corner in 2017, to spacious new premises at the Courtyard Shopping Centre. Thankfully it was a case of "Same staff same food, just new location" and their many fans are happy to observe the three brothers - Thomas, Gary and Euro-Toques chef, Christopher Molloy - at work on their modern Irish cooking in the new semi-open kitchen, and to enjoy the buzz.
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From Five Star Hotel to B&B or Visitor Attraction - It’s The Irish Breakfast At Its Best!
It’s shaping up to be a great year for Irish hospitality and with accommodation bookings well up everywhere and eating out for breakfast and brunch now hugely popular - especially in cities - the quality of The Irish Breakfast is playing a new part in showcasing the stellar standards of our food and hospitality industries.
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