ManicMammy’s Blog

Was in Formative fun shop earlier today in Cork and spotted this small sticky mosaic kit. Thought it’d suit the 4 year old down to the ground, arts and crafts the easy way for the artisticly challenged mother.

Its very simple containing a 8″ by 5.25″ cardboard which has the sunflower design marked out by numbered tiny squares. There are then 12 small coloured cards which hold the sticky felt small squares. The child then follows the pattern by selecting the correct number/colour from the felt and applying it to the sunflower drawing. Little by little with the addition of the felt squares the picture builds up. Very straightforward to use, the 4 year old ”got it” immediately and was happy to take her time applying the squares in the correct places.

It cost €6.99 and kids are already asking me to buy bigger versions of this kit. From the website, it appears there is a large choice of designs. Coolo, will definitely be getting more of them.

Despite living in Cork now for nearly 5 years last night was only the first time I’d been to the Boqueria tapas bar. We decided to do a midweek outing to the cinema and wanted to get something to eat before going there. With time of the essence, we didn’t want anything too formal and time consuming but weren’t in the humour for fast food either so tapas seemed perfect.

I liked the atmosphere of the Boqueria. When we arrived there were already a fair few couples, singles and groups eating and drinking. The tables are quite close to each other and I’d prefer if there was a bit more space but as the bar wasn’t overly full it wasn’t too big a problem. Its quite brightly lit too.

As we were under time pressure we decided not to do the usual tapas thing of ordering a course at a time. The menu offered a good selection of hot and cold dishes, aswell as a daily special of a venison dish.

 I ordered some marinated olives and the charcuterie. Conor went with calamari and aioli and an order of chicken liver pate. We both had a mini carafe of Rioja.

The mixed marinated olives were delicious, a few different sizes, tastes and shapes. The charcuterie was fab: Gubbeen salami, liver pate which was gorgeous, apple chutney, chorizo, manchego cheese, quince jelly, serrano ham accompanied by plenty of arbutus sourdough and brown bread. The Herencia Remondo Rioja went very well with the food. I liked the fact that there was plenty of choice of both white and red wine by the glass.

Conor’s calamari was plentiful and he seemed to enjoy it too, though felt the aioli could have been a bit more garlicky. I’m not a huge fan of squid so I left him to it. He also enjoyed his chicken liver pate which was accompanied with toasted arbutus sourdough and apple chutney. The chutney was very good.

Overall, the service was very pleasant and efficient and we left happy and in plenty of time for our stroll up the river to the cinema. The bill totalled around €58 which included food, drink and double espresso. I thought this was reasonable.

I look forward to returning and sampling more of their menu at a more leisurely pace in the near future.

We’re just back from a weekend in Rosslare spent hanging out with grandparents, aunt and cousins. As the weather was pretty cold and this new family entertainment centre had recently opened we ended up visiting it twice over the course of the weekend.

The first visit was to the bowling alley early on Friday morning. Grandad had booked two lanes so 4 adults and 6 kids took part. The facilities were very good. Plenty of bowling balls of different weights, guides available for the very young children. Before we started, the staff entered all the names and the depending on whether it was an adult or child’s turn, the gutter bumpers would automatically be raised or lowered. This meant that it was a bit more difficult for the adults but added to the  general excitement.

The cost was €35 per lane per hour which is expensive but fairly standard when it comes to bowling alleys as far as I know. 

The only thing that bugged me was the amount of sweet and drink vending machines in view. The kids had their grandfather badgered to buy plenty of sweets during the session.

There were also a good few arcade games. The diner/restaurant was also on this floor but we didn’t eat there on this visit.

The following day myself, Conor and our 4 youngest kids headed back. This time to the upstairs part of the centre. It was packed with people, as it was a Saturday afternoon. There were a couple of kids birthday parties in progress from what we could see.

We first had a wander around the pet centre. The children loved the snake, chameleons, giant toad and rabbits. Then to the main playcentre.

I liked the layout of this place. The food/beverage counter and admission area was all together at the entrance gate which was the usual buzz in/out. The toddler was free and the admission for the other 3 was €8.50 each for 90 minutes.

There was a indoor soccer pitch and a large climbing area, ball pits, slides for the older kids. The baby had a separate area which I thought was great as there were plenty of seats right next to it, so we could have a coffee and relax in her full view whilst she played. This younger kids area had a couple of slides, a small ball pit and some large plastic building blocks. She loved it and was happy out to play away.

The highlight of the playcentre though for the 6, 4 and 2 year old was the karting ring. Basically 4 karts had a circuit around the larger  kids playarea. Each kart could take 1 adult and 1 child together, 2 kids or singletons. It cost €1 a go for approximately 5 minutes or so racing around.

Our 3 absolutely loved it and spent most of their time queuing or taking part in the karting. The 2 older ones had no hassle driving and the 2 year old was happy to be a passenger.

It was a pity it incurred the additional cost but maybe its just aswell as otherwise I don’t know if we’d have ever gotten the kids away from it.

There were Bewleys coffee, lattes, teas, scones, buns, juice, soft drinks and the usual confectionary on sale. Plenty of staff were visible throughout the centre, and the bathroom was clean. 

Overall we really enjoyed the time spent here. Its very handy to have somewhere like this to visit on rainy, cold or dull days, when the beach isn’t too pleasant for the younger children. Somewhere they can expend some energy and run about.  Will definitely be returning.

I’ve just finished reading this book, the autobiography of Clarissa Dickson Wright, who I had just previously just known as one of the “Two Fat Ladies” cookery programme on BBC.

There is no doubt Clarissa Dickson Wright has lived an interesting life with many ups and downs. She was the youngest by far of four children, her closest sibling 13 years older than her. She goes into her family history which is quite interesting. Her mother was an Australian heiress, her father apparently a very well known and gifted surgeon.

Her family life was not good. By all accounts, her father was an alcoholic who physically and mentally abused his wife and children. He comes across as a very damaged man. Clarissa idolised her mother.

To spite her father who presumed she’d enter a medical field, she studied law and became the youngest woman to be called to the Bar aged 21. Her life disintegrated when her beloved mother died and she abandoned her law career and started drinking heavily.

The autobiography narrates her recovery from alcoholism and her career changes. From cookbook seller to caterer to TV personality in “Two Fat Ladies” to countryside champion.

Some of her escapades and tales are very amusing. She’s not afraid to speak her mind or voice her opinions on well known personalities.

What disappointed me, I guess, was that lack of personality in the book. Much of the narration seemed “I did this, I did that…” with not alot of emotion involved. Some of the chapters I found quite tedious to get through as it was just one fact after another.

That said, overall there can be no doubt that she has lead a rollercoaster of a life and is to be admired for surviving all its ups and downs.

The first two episodes of this series I have to admit bugged me a bit. Kevin Dundon and Denis Cotter are both chefs who I think are great at what they do and the food they produce fabulous. But their episodes were a bit cringeworthy to say the least: Kevin cooking a boxing ring and Denis in a cattle mart. There just wasn’t enough of a focus on the food in my opinion which was a pity.

This week, it was Kevin Thorton’s turn. We had eaten in his restaurant a few years ago so I was looking forward to seeing how he fared and what food he served.

The setting was interesting, the Rock of Cashel in Kevin’s hometown, a place I have passed on many occasions but have never been in. It looked great, but the challenge was to get the food served quickly so that the freezing temperatures of the outdoor kitchen would not lead to cold food on the plate. The waiting staff were under pressure.

The menu started with sea urchin, scallops and included rabbit and poached pears. The programme showed him scuba diving for scallops off the West Cork coast and catching rabbits with the aid of ferrets and a large net. All quite interesting and entertaining. The food looked delicious. There was a bit of reminiscing about growing up in Cashel and some cajoling of locals to spend the €150 required to experience the meal at the site.

He stressed he wished to use local ingredients and couldn’t be faulted with the pears apparently harvested off a neighbour’s pear tree and the locally caught rabbit.

I hope this trend continues and that the rest of the series continues to show the chefs at their best, cooking excellent food. Fingers crossed.