foraging, survivalism and a good dollop of mischief.
A bright and sunny day, the brisk air whipped my face as I brought the recycling out of the Coach House. I spied two feral cats sauntering through the bushes, and my wellies crunched through some of the last of the autumn leaves. Cleaning up the house with Sophie, we tucked into an early breakfast …
After a week of no wine, I treated myself to a glass of French chardonnay last night and slept like a baby. Up at 9am to get a few jobs out of the way, I nabbed the hen bucket and bins and wandered down to the dairy to feed the chickens. Brienne (my cheese), was …
(Edited November 2020) With the funnel firmly in hand, I picked the fruit slivers out of the saucepan and poured hot syrup into the jar – my candied peel was finally done. Up at the crack of dawn for stock duty, I slipped into my chef whites after a rather rough night’s sleep. Though the …
The jar was tightly shut with the chocolate contents teasing my stomach. My eyes wandered towards the seal and I whimsically gazed into the glass on the shelf – this was the disadvantage of being short! It was pasta-mania here in Ballymaloe Cookery School today, and the kitchen was abuzz with energy long before 8.30am …
I tapped the sourdough’s bottom and listened to the hollow sound. Alfred was ready. A busy day in the kitchen, on the menu today was a Ballymaloe Irish Stew, as well as buttered cabbage. There’s a big difference between making a stew at home and making one in Ballymaloe – with a million different steps, …
The sun fell through the curtains and hit the side of my face. It was time to get up. Feeling refreshed and almost back to being 100% – I arose and ate breakfast. Last night I had a wonderfully long Skype session with my other half while people were out partying, and it was pretty …
After a turbulent sleep – I woke up feeling more shattered than I had in weeks. Yesterday I had been battling with sickness and though I had been taking regular medication and attempting to take it easy, it didn’t seem to plan on leaving any time soon. In a bid to get some fresh air …
The Rioja slid across my tongue and left a tingling sensation around my cheeks. With hints of spice capturing the senses, it was a perfect way to finish a long day! Today was very much about burgers, but since they were something that I could do close to serving, I decided that it was a …
Alfred churned around the bowl, licking up the sides and claiming the dough hook with gloopy glee. He was ready! As our usual theory day commenced, myself and Sophie fed our sourdough starter and plonked him down in between the rows of seats. Today Darina was prepping a Thanksgiving feast and assisted by Tracie and …
“What am I doing to my body?!” I exclaimed in amused exasperation as I gave my dishes up for washing, “I think I’m going to explode”. Back in the kitchen in Ballymaloe, and into the normal routine of living in a culinary bubble, I was tired but happy to be back. As well as cooking …