Award-winning blog of Irish food writer and broadcaster Caroline Hennessy.
Last night I was at the launch of the Good Food Ireland Week Cork in, naturally enough, the English Market. An array of Good Food Ireland producers had teamed up with restaurant, hotel and café members to showcase their products and there was a multi-course feast lined up on the Farmgate Café balcony overlooking the fountain.
…and all our new friends at the noodle stalls just around the corner from where we were staying. Three mornings of breakfasts there and we were regulars. With a choice of Pho Ga (chicken noodle soup), Pho Tofu (noodle soup with, yes, tofu) or Banh Cuon (rolled rice pancakes) from the three ladies cooking at the stalls and a bar for coffee across the road, this was good eating. Porridge breakfasts back in Ireland are just not the same.
A cup of hot coffee with milk at Café Mai, 79 Le Van Huu Street, Hanoi. Dark, strong and very sweet – there’s a layer of condensed milk at the bottom of the cup – Vietnamese coffee is just the thing to get you going in the morning, and for the rest of the day.
On a cold, wet, miserable day, there’s nothing better than coming home to a big bowl of piping hot, homemade soup. Pick from Chicken Noodle,Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato or White Bean and Cabbage Soups and make a meal of it with Caroline Hennessy’s recipes for pots of pleasure on SilverCircle.ie.
…but we’re not heading home just yet. Next stop – via a brief overnight in Kuala Lumpur – Vietnam!
Flowers on a feijoa tree at Stafford Lane Estate when we visited on a wine tour of the Nelson area. Feijoas are very popular in New Zealand, I loved them when we were living...
Nicola Galloway may be based in Nelson, New Zealand, but this no-nonsense, practical cookbook will appeal to parents in any hemisphere. From first tastes and flavors to school lunches and dinnertimes, there are plenty of ideas here for feeding children of every age group as well as recipes you can adapt for the entire family.
Without television, radio or mobile reception, heading off to the Husband’s family bach, or holiday home, at Lake Rotoiti always entails packing lots of books. The use of the Husband’s Mother’s library card is always very much appreciated and gives me a chance to pick up a few cookbooks from the great selection available (did I ever mention that I love NZ libraries?). Between occasional walks and trips down to the small village of St Arnaud for coffee at the Alpine Lodge café – fresh baked muffins (favourite: raspberry, pecan and chocolate) and scones every morning, great looking brunches and lunches, with long blacks worth walking miles for – there is plenty of time for reading.
