Kieran

Pretty in Pink?

3tubs1pink-sm For the last six months or so, we’ve been considering doing a pink tub in support of marriage equality. For those of you who are unaware of the issue, there will probably be a civil partnership bill working its way through the Dail in the new year.  While it’s a big step in the right direction (if it happens), there are those who wish it to go further. The following video,  I think, makes a good point:

Now, of course Ben & Jerry bravely celebrated Vermont’s passage of a marriage bill with their flavour Hubby Hubby, and there might be those who say we’re simply aping them.

However, I think it’s different since they were celebrating something that happened (and the tub was only released in Vermont), where we’d rather be hoping to support something that might happen with enough awareness and support (and I’ve been told the Marriage Equality folks are looking for support from the straight community).

As always, we’d be delighted for any feedback from everyone, but especially from customers… There is a poll below, or please comment.

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Note: The original poll here was on twtpoll.com, but it was seriously slowing down the site, so I transferred the data to this poll.

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Last of the Blackberries

Blackberry2 We went blackberry picking, because we’ve decided to offer up a special of Baileys ice cream and Dingle blackberry sauce for the Food Festival. Blackberry picking is one of the most relaxing activity I can think of.

BlackberryI went with my partner and the little baby, and Róisín gave us enough time without fussing to gather a kilo or so. I hope that will be enough!

At least we’ll have some other specials in case we run out.

A couple of years ago I posted a recipe for blackberry coulis (here). Last night I cooked the blackberries for much longer and didn’t strain them at all.

I have to say I liked it better that way.

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A Job Well Done

09 I am back in the Kingdom of Kerry where there is a deep satisfaction as a sense of order has returned with Kerry once again winning the All Ireland Senior Football Championship. There are a lot of tired people around, but their eyes are lively and there’s not much interaction needed beyond a knowing smile.

This will not go down as one of the best years in Gaelic football, but neither will it be forgotten in these parts as our two Dingle men played extremely well and the mighty Ó Sé family collected another trio of All Ireland medals. I can only imagine the disappointment in Cork.

The weekend was a good one – our seats were great, the result was right, and we had a fabulous meal in Pearl Brasserie. It’s a restaurant that has shot to the top of Dublin’s culinary scene, and the accolades are well deserved. If you don’t know it, seek it out!

There was, however, an event that marred the weekend – a couple who were to join our party for dinner lost their eldest son, a 16 year old boy with a bright future. Our thoughts and condolences go out to the entire Ashe family.

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Plain or Chunks? Is it a Gender Thing?

ManWoman The Ice Cream Journal put me on to the story that Mintel, a food research company, conducted a study that showed that 70% of men prefer plain flavours of ice cream such as chocolate or vanilla, while 74% of women like their ice cream with chocolate chunks or candy bits. However, that seems to be just a first preference since 66% of women also eat plain flavours and 63% of men also indulge in the fancy stuff.  

The only real loser is fruit – only one in three of either sex would choose fruit ice cream.

What do you think?

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Another Country

Doonsheen It’s amazing how, after a long summer of rain, a bit of sunshine can make such an incredible difference. The sea suddenly looks inviting instead of angry, the landscape softens and the horizons widen.

Those of us living here, I think, appreciate again just how beautiful this country is and many of us have hastened to take advantage of this last gift of summer – a warm spell as delightful as any we’ve seen in recent years.

Barbecues have been rediscovered, swim wear retrieved from the back of the closet, sunglasses dusted off, and ice creams brazenly enjoyed by people who don’t normally indulge. It doesn’t take long to remember how to make the most of a sunny day.

Killarney

While this all might sound like escapism, given the weighty issues that abound at the moment, escapism is what Ireland offers to the millions both from here and abroad who use it as a holiday destination. And why not? The world’s problems will still be around in a week or so, but at least those of us lucky enough to bask in the Irish sunshine, to swim in our seas, and to feel that stored-up cold and dampness evaporate from our very cores, will feel that bit better than we would have done without it.

Buíochas le Dia!

Dingle Food and Wine Festival, 2009

One of the things that has made the Dingle Food and Wine Festival (October 2nd-4th) such a standout over the last years has been the taste trails – pairing shops and cafes with food producers to offer food beyond the usual places – restaurants and supermarkets – and put it all around the town. It’s worked a treat – fun and unexpected.

I’ve just received the list of this year’s taste trail, and it’s impressive!

2009 Dingle Food and Wine Festival Taste Trail:

  • Adam’s Bar – Spinach Pancakes
  • An Canteen – Neil’s Homecooked Delights
  • An Grianán – A Taste of Organic Snacks
  • An Moncaí Ocrach Youth Café – Sweet and Savoury Pancakes
  • Ashe’s Seafood Bar – Scallop and Prawn Kebabs & Seafood Soup
  • Bee’s Tea’s – A Taste of Their own blend Fine Tea’s
  • Benner’s Hotel – A Taste Of Old Ireland
  • Blue Zone – a Taste of the Zone
  • Charthouse Restaurant – A Sample of Karwig Wines
  • Cúl Gairdín Wholefood Café – A Taste of Their Fine Produce
  • Curran’s Bar – A Seafood Counter with Ballyhea Seafood Soups, Ted Brownes, Wild
  • Side Foods & Glenbeigh Shellfish
  • Deirdre’s Café – Seafood Chowder
  • Dillon Gallery – A Taste of Ninth Island Wine
  • Dingle Bay Hotel – Longs Smoked Salmon pâté
  • Dingle Crystal – Wattle Tree Wine’s
  • Dingle Reel Fish and Chip Shop – Fishy Fishy Treats
  • Doyle’s – A Taste Of The Sea
  • Finn McCools Surf Shop – The Dingle Dingo’s Aussie B.B.Q.
  • Fish at the Marina – Crispy Chilli Squid and sesame fried ricecake.
  • Fitzgerald Centra – Medal winners from Blas na hEireann ’09
  • Foxy John’s Bar – A Taste of Ashe’s Black and White Pudding
  • Gallery Beag- A Taste of Ted Browne’s
  • Garden Café – Ruggero’s Italian Delights
  • Garvey’s – Medal winners from Blas na hEireann ’09
  • Global Village – Porter House Irish Pale Ale and Asian Scallops
  • Goat Street Café- The Wine Buff and Sweet Things
  • Greenlane Gallery – Wine tasting with Bubble Brothers
  • Half Door Restaurant – Fishy Bites
  • Hannie Agnes’s Bar – Piog Pies
  • Irish Artman Gallery – A Wine Tasting with Pallas Foods
  • Jerry Kennedy Butchers – Samples of their Excellent Produce
  • John Benny’s Bar – Oysters and Guinness
  • Lantern Town House – A Taste of Sweet Things
  • Marina Bar – Steamed Glenbeigh Mussels w Homemade Brown Bread
  • McCarthy’s Bar – A Taste of the German Butcher
  • Murphy’s Bar – A Taste of Murphy’s Bar
  • Murphy’s Ice Cream – Pride of Place – A Taste of Irish Ice Creams
  • Novocento Gourmet Shop – Fernando’s Excellent Pizza Slices
  • O’Cathains Fish Shop – Seafood B.B.Q.
  • Out Of The Blue- Tim’s Taste of the Sea
  • Paudie Moriarty Butchers – A Taste of his Fine Produce
  • Paul Geaney’s – Paddy’s Cottage Seafood Paella & Stuffed Mussels
  • Quills, Strand House – Spiritual Chocolate
  • Sheehy’s Spar – The medal winners from Blas na hEireann ’09
  • Ti Koz – A Festival Crepe
  • Tir na Rí – Taste of China
  • Waterside Restaurant – Suckling Pig and Crab Toasties

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Live Longer, Eat Chocolate!

ChocSquares I’ve written several times about studies that show the health benefits of chocolate, including here and here. None of those studies, however, were as dramatic as a recent study in Sweden that shows that eating chocolate at least twice a week cuts the risk of dying for heart attack survivors by a factor of three. That’s right! You’re three times less likely to die if you’ve suffered a myocardial infarction, recover, and then gobble chocolate.

The study, which was published in the Journal of Internal Medicine, was led by Imre Janszky at the Karolinska Institute. It also shows that chocolate cuts the mortality rate in healthy older men and post-menopausal women. So, if you’re in your golden years, make them a bit sweeter with a regular dose of chocolate.

As for me, any thoughts of tackling my chocolate addiction have been brushed well to the side. I’ve a good 70% bar staring at me that needs attention, so that’s all for now!

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