This week marks 12 months or 365 days of me being stuck in Ireland. No travel. No airports. No jet lag (there *is* an upside to this!). I got back from what was to be my last international trip on March 10th 2020. At the time I knew that things were getting bad in some parts of the world. but I did not expect to be sitting at home 12 months later in what has now become my … [Read more...] about 12 Months in Ireland
cooking
Getting Back to Outdoor Cooking and Living
The last week or so the weather has been moving in the right direction at last. The days are definitely longer, which in Ireland means that people talk about "the grand stretch". The sky has been lovely and clear some days! So it's only natural that I've started spending a bit more time outside and working on things that will end up outside when the weather improves. … [Read more...] about Getting Back to Outdoor Cooking and Living
Time to Grow my Own Ingredients?
Cooking is one of those things I do to keep myself busy. Over the past year it's become a very welcome escape, though at times I realise that I just don't have the motivation to cook and end up taking shortcuts. So yes I do order takeaway from time to time or just have something quick and easy. I've got a growing collection of cookbooks and while I've been cooking long … [Read more...] about Time to Grow my Own Ingredients?
Asian Cooking Experiments Update
As I said previously I planned to use the current restrictions as a time to hone my cooking skills. One cuisine that I've always liked to eat, but never been particularly good at making, is Chinese, so over the past couple of weeks I've been exploring it a little more. My sister gave me her copy of "Chinese Food Made Easy" and I also picked up a copy of Fuschia Dunlop's … [Read more...] about Asian Cooking Experiments Update
Which Cookbooks?
As I've mentioned a couple of times recently, one of the things I want to work on are my cooking skills. I've got quite a few cookbooks already and I have no need for "general" cookbooks at all, though if somebody thinks that a particular cookbook is a "must have" please let me know. You can never have too many cookbooks! What I am looking for, however, is more specific … [Read more...] about Which Cookbooks?