Bibliocook - All About Food

Award-winning blog of Irish food writer and broadcaster Caroline Hennessy.

Author: Caroline

Time for pancakes! Irish Pancake recipe 2

Cook / Storecupboard Specials

Time for pancakes! Irish Pancake recipe

I have loved Pancake Tuesday ever since I was a child, standing on a chair so I could reach the cooker to make stacks and stacks of pancakes. It sometimes took a long time before the family was satiated! Since those crêpe-making days, the thinner the better, I’ve become a fan of fluffy American pancakes and I’ve yet to decide which way the pancake batter is going to go this evening. Maybe both – I’ve always loved two course pancake suppers and Ricotta and Spinach Pancake Bake is my default savoury option.

50 of the world’s best food blogs 0

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50 of the world’s best food blogs

For anyone wanting more food blog reading, The London Times published a list of their top 50 food blogs which is well worth spending some time with. It’s got lots of old favourites – Chocolate and Zucchini is in there, along with 101 Cookbooks, Chez Pim and David Lebovitz – but there are plenty more to discover. Make sure you check out Dorie Greenspan’s baking, interior design in The Kitchn, step by step cooking on The Pioneer Woman Cooks, and amazing food photography from Cannelle et Vanille.

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Do / Food Events

Cork Food Web and Corrigan’s City Farm

Cork Food Web

If you’re based in or around Cork and interested in growing your own food, take a look at the Cork Food Web. It’s been described as “facebook for foodies” and is dedicated to encouraging and facilitating local food production, with a series of groups for members interested in poultry, seed saving, compost, growing vegetables and all things garden related. I missed their seed swap last weekeend but one of the very helpful organisers is going to send me some of the left over seeds, including my favourite pumpkins, as we try to get the garden up and running for 2009. With all the sunshine today, it really feels like a day for getting out and planting.

Irish Blog Awards: Food/Drink shortlist 2

Food Events

Irish Blog Awards: Food/Drink shortlist

Congratulations to the five who are shortlisted for the Best Food/Drink Blog at this year’s Irish Blog Awards. I’ll be looking forward to seeing who walks away with the award on the Saturday night! Click any of the links below for lots of good reading and there’s lots more in the other shortlisted categories over here.

Best Food/Drink Blog – Sponsored by Bord Bia

Peter Ward speaks up for small producers 1

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Peter Ward speaks up for small producers

Not having a television, I missed Peter Ward of Nenagh’s Country Choice on the Late Late Show but fortunately was able to catch it online here. Peter is a passionate man – passionate about the food he sells, the quality of produce available in Ireland and passionate when talking about how he sees the supermarkets driving farmers away from the land. His idea of a national online farmers’ market, linking the producer directly with the consumer, makes a lot of sense, but there will have to be some rethinking about the barriers of regulation first.

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Food Events / Grow

Gardening at the Glebe

The raised gardens at Glebe Gardens, Baltimore

After a relaxing, sunny weekend in Baltimore we’ve returned home with headfuls of ideas, lots of notes, a handful of mail order catalogues and lots of inspiration for our garden in 2009. Jean Perry, who owns the five acres and house at Glebe Gardens with her artist husband Peter, was our teacher for the two day course. They run a popular café on site, producing most of the organic vegetables, fruit and herbs that they use there from the raised beds and polytunnels in the gardens.

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Gardening for Valentine’s weekend

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Look at these, just waiting for something nice to be cooked in them! This Le Creuset set has to be one of the coolest wedding presents that you could ever get – very appropriate for this time of the year too. I have to say, though, that there’s not going to be any cooking, romantic or otherwise, done around here this weekend as we’re off in Baltimore, staying at Rolf’s for a couple of nights while doing a two-day gardening course in the Glebe Gardens. Having visited the gardens while on honeymoon in the area in 2007, I fell in love with their potager-style layout, vegetables, herbs, flowers and fruit all mixed in together. I’m hoping to get lots of inspiration from these two days!