Ballymaloe

Ballymaloe Day 76: Cough and splutter

Carrageen moss as a drink would definitely not be one of my beverages of choice.

Unable to sleep until 3am and then rising at 8am, my body was floating in a wave of drained energy and exhaustion.

Forcing myself up, the house was quiet and I patiently waited for the kettle to boil and give me my morning green tea.

With regular intervals every 45 minutes, I got down to work and attempted to go through the long list of what we needed to know next week in our final written exams.

Coughing and spluttering, I could still feel in the coldness in my chest that wouldn’t seem to shift. In a bid to move it to one side, I headed to the shop for some carrageen moss which is said to help tackle colds.

Now I love seaweed, I could even eat dillisk all day, but drinking carrageen was a massive challenge. The texture is of a gloopy syrup that coats your mouth and you end up trying to wash it away with your tongue (I still have half a cup left).

Still feeling my shoulders aching, I’m looking forward to seeing Mammy Kavanagh tomorrow, who’s coming down for a quick visit and to collect a suitcase worth of stuff.

Keeping it short and sweet, Sunday will be much of the same with showers of paper decorating my kitchen table. Ciao!

Some random things I learned today (in truth the list is much longer than this – I just don’t want to repeat myself – hopefully – while I revise!):

  • When reheating food, a core temperature of 70 degrees Celsius should be reached so that it is safe to eat.
  • Detergents are products that clean and remove grease and food particles but they don’t kill bacteria.
  • Disinfectants are products that reduce the number of bacteria to a safe level.
  • Sterilants are substances that kill all microorganisms both good and bad.
  • Sanitizers are a combined detergent AND disinfectant.
  • How tofu is made in a nutshell: soybeans are ground with water, cooked and strained and they produce soy milk – then when coagulants are added and heat is applied, it can become tofu (it solidifies the curds!).

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