The Food in Northern Ireland

Pavlova, a favorite dessert in Northern Ireland.

Why are you not surprised that one of my first blogs about my recent trip to Northern Ireland would be about "food"?  After all I am a "foodie" (I seek new food experiences as a hobby rather than simply eating out of convenience or hunger.)  Okay I do sometimes eat out of hunger or convenience. 

The Ryandale , a restaurant in the small village of Moy, was where I had my first meal (and several more) in Northern Ireland.  I opted for the traditional meal of bangers and mash.  The sausage was prepared by the local butcher and was made of pork and leeks---very tasty.  All of the meals we had there were very good and quite reasonably priced.

Bangers (sausages) and mash (mashed potatoes) with gravy.

The best meals were those we had at Brookvale, the home of Thomas and prepared by Thomas' mother Ann.  A typical dinner was roast beef  (or chicken) served with gravy, a green vegetable such as broccoli, carrots and parsnips, and always Irish potatoes mashed or baked (or both). 



One of Ann's marvelous dinners.  Roast chicken with gravy, mashed potatoes, broccoli, carrots and parsnips.

Thomas' dad, David, mashing the potatoes. 

At the wedding dinner after the ceremony at the Parkanaur, a Caprese salad was followed by a traditional dinner of roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, roast potato and peas. A bowl of mashed potatoes was passed around as well. 

A traditional Irish dinner of roast beef, gravy, baked potato, green peas and Yorkshire pudding.

Sweets are very popular in Northern Ireland.  On one of our day excursions we happened upon the Donut Tree (their version of our Krispy Kreme) where fresh donuts were available.  Most of our group had a donut (I later regretted that I didn't).  Elizabeth had an apple filled one that looked mighty good. 


Elizabeth at the Donut Tree. 

Elizabeth's apple cinnamon donut. 

One evening at the Ryandale, I ordered Honey Comb Ice Cream for dessert.  I am always up for a new flavor of ice cream, and boy this one is good.  I want to share this with our local ice cream vendor with the hope that he can duplicate it. 

Honey Comb Ice Cream, a favorite in Ireland

I have always thought of Pavlova as the national dessert of New Zealand and Australia, but it sure is popular in Ireland as well.  At every turn there seemed to be Pavlova available.  It was the first dessert at the wedding dinner, and it was as scrumptious as it looked. There always seems to be two desserts at every meal.  After the wedding cake* was cut, slices of both the top lemon layer and the bottom chocolate layer were served. 

Pavlova at the wedding dinner at the Parkanour. 



The wedding cake at Thomas and Rebecca's wedding. 

The absolute best dessert I had during my week in Northern Ireland was the rhubarb pie made by Ann.  Rhubarb is a favorite of mine, and this one was to die for---and the best pie crust I have ever eaten.  I must get the recipe from her.  I was so busy devouring the pie I didn't get a photo of it : (. 

*The wedding cake was made by Ann's nephew in England and brought over to Ireland by boat.  The marzipan "bride and groom" atop the cake are so appropriate.  Thomas is a photographer who often takes pictures of Rebecca, the fashion blogger, for her blog. 

A "French" Brunch This Morning

A "French" themed brunch on a lovely May morning.

What a wonderful way to start the Memorial Day weekend with a "French" brunch courtesy of our friend Jeanette.  She brought the most beautiful and delicious croissants that we warmed and served with Bonne Maman strawberry preserves.

Jeanette arrived with a basket of goodies.

"French" croissant with strawberry jam.

Bonne Maman jam.

Jeanette had stopped by the Lyon Farms Strawberry Stand to get a basket of beautiful and tasty fresh strawberries to which I added blueberries for a fruit cup. 

Fresh strawberries from Lyon's Farm.

Jeanette and I made coffee using the new Verismo coffee maker out in the guest suite---once we figured out how the machine worked.  Dan and I aren't coffee drinker, in general, but with this new machine that will make a cup at a time I may become addicted.


A cup of coffee hot from the machine.

In addition to providing brunch, our friend brought us a selection of tea napkins.  The Carolina ones for when I have one of the UNC grands over, and the Keep Calm and Carry On ones that are appropriate as I frantically prepare for a trip to Ireland.  The others are reminiscent of France. 

Cute collection of tea napkins.

Dan particularly enjoys visits from Jeanette who is fluent in French.  He can have a bit of conversation in French when she's here. 



Dan and Jeanette enjoying brunch.

After brunch, we sat out on the back patio, and it was a near perfect May day.  By mid-afternoon, we decided to have another cup of coffee (I enjoy my new toy) and I happened to remember I had these little chocolate crepe cookies that carried out the "French" theme for the day.


These are delicious little cookies.

Thank you Jeanette it was a perfectly delightful day!

A May Wedding

The bride, the groom, and the groom's mother.

This has been a great spring for weddings among my friends and family.  There was an April wedding, this May wedding, and there will be a June wedding.  At this stage of my life, I am attending weddings of my grandchildren's generation.  And it is quite a bit of fun. 

My friend Boguska's son Kamil married Sarah on Saturday night at The Sutherland in Wake Forest.    What a lovely venue for a wedding. 

The Sutherland in Wake Forest (Photo from their website.)

Seating of guests. 

Ceremony.

The wedding was outdoors and the ceremony was performed against a lovely green background.

Drinks and hors d'oeuvres were served on the patio before dinner in the pavilion. 

The patio.

After the bride and groom's first dance, the bride danced with her father and Kamil danced with his mother. 

Boguska dancing with Kamil.

Boguska was beautiful, and she and her husband enjoyed the festivities. 

Leslaw and Boguska parents of the groom.

Boguska with the bride and groom. 

The after dinner music was a mixture of American and Polish, and there was a lot of dancing. 
One guest removed her high-heeled silver shoes and switched to something a little more comfortable as the dancing began. 

High heel shoes taken off before dancing.

These are more comfortable.

Boguska and Leslaw were lively dancers to a Polish tune.  I didn't realize Boguska was so talented.

It was a fun wedding, and I wish Kamil and Sarah the very best of happiness.   

Homemade Lemonade Weather

Homemade lemonade.

It's been hot here in Raleigh this week, over 90F one day, so it was time to make some refreshing homemade lemonade this evening when Patrick was grilling dinner for us---a belated Mother's Day treat. 

One of the kitchen gadgets that is my favorite is the lemon juicer.  For many years I used a reamer and picked out the seeds from the juice, and then I discovered the right tool for the job---the lemon (or lime) juicer. 

Lemon squeezer or juicer.

Cut the lemon in half and put the CUT side down into the well of the juicer and then press the juice out, the seeds stay in the rind.

Cut side down.  I usually cut off the pointed end of the lemon to make it easier to squeeze.
 

The seeds stay in the rind and not in the lemon juice.

So easy, and tomorrow when I make guacamole I will squeeze lime juice over the avocado using this gadget too.

Here's my favorite lemonade recipe:

1 cup of sugar
1 cup of lemon juice
6 cups of water

1. In a small saucepan combine the sugar and 1 cup of water.  Bring to a boil and stir to dissolve sugar.  Allow to cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate until chilled.

2. Remove seeds from lemon juice, using lemon juicer (or reamer).  In pitcher, stir together the chilled syrup, lemon juice and remaining 5 cups of water.  Serve over ice.

Makes 8 cups of lemonade.

I also made Southern sweet tea, because we also like Arnold Palmer's (half lemonade/half sweet tea).

I can't remember where I got my lemon juicer, but one like it is available here,

Our New "Garage" Living Room/Kitchen

Renovated garage.

We have finally put the finishing touches on the garage renovation where we converted our two-car garage into a WOman Cave or guest suite.  On what had been "my" side of the garage where I stored "stuff", we now have a living area and a "kitchen-like" area (no real kitchen). 

One of the first things we did was to install a nice television.  It is super for watching sports and cooking shows.  The TV we have in the house is quite old, and we have never upgraded it. We don't watch a lot of TV, but it is nice have a better TV in the garage..  The entertainment console has an electric fireplace which is a comfort in cold weather.  It puts out a good amount of heat. 

Electric fireplace.

I have always been fond of this 1930s chest of drawers that belonged to my Aunt Jewel.  Patrick had it in his townhouse, but was happy to let us have it for the garage. 


Aunt Jewel's 1930s chest and recliner from our bedroom.

The green recliner had been in our bedroom, but we needed to get a safer chair for Dan so we moved the recliner out to the garage.  The green became one of the accent colors in the suite, and it just so happened when I was in LAZBOY looking for a chair  I spied this beautiful vase with the perfect colors..  Kelly and Brian, our neighbors, of  Kelly Odom Florist, designed the arrangement in the vase---I particularly like the use of "open cotton bolls" because I grew up in cotton country. 

Interesting piece of pottery from LAZBOY.

In the front corner I used a photo screen to obscure the broom, mop, dustpan, etc.  that sits in the corner. 


Photo screen hides items in corner.

We had looked at love seats and even sofas, but decided the space would be too crowded so we settled on a nice cushy chair with ottoman.  The ottoman adorned with a tray makes a nice coffee table, but when I'm out there I use it for a footstool. It can be used for extra seating as well.


Great place to watch tv or read.

At the back end of the room we already had a fridge and by adding a microwave and a coffee maker the "kitchen" makes a nice place for a continental breakfast.  I also keep microwave popcorn in the fridge for popping when watching basketball. 

Kitchen area at end of living area.

Coffee maker.

To keep the kitchen area separate from the bedroom, we hung a painter's drop cloth over the doorway between the two. This is very nice fabric and I was thinking what pretty curtains it would make. 


Painter's drop cloth serves as curtain between kitchen area and bedroom.

The bookcases are cast offs from Patrick.  With all the books, we can retire to the garage and spend a rainy afternoon reading. 

Lots of books to read.

Finally we decided to install a bamboo Roman shade that could be used to close off the bedroom from the living area. 


Roman shade (Select Blinds) that separates living area from bedroom.

Texture and color of bamboo Roman shade blend nicely in the room.

All in all, this has been a delightful project---harrowing at times---but we are quite pleased with the result.  We now have extra room for company---we had a couple staying there for the weekend.  And when we need to have a live-in-caretaker, the suite will provide supplemental living area.

Should we sell our house and move to an assisted living facility, the garage suite should be a plus for someone needing a mother-in-law suite or a suite for a grown kid.