Hurrah,  the Spicendipity site is open for business. It looks gorgeous and theres a great selection of spice mixes, sauces, baking mixes and gift hampers. In addition, a very helpful recipe section which gives plenty of serving/cooking suggestions and examples and is therefore excellent for people like me who are culinary imagination challenged. All the products looked great. So without delay, I ordered amongst other goodies one of their chocolate brownie mixes.

This is baking made very very easy. Oscar did most of the work. I melted the butter, he stirred the mix into it. Another advantage is that the mix doesn’t contain any artifical preservatives, colouring or additives. A teaspoon of vanilla extract was measured, poured and stirred in. We then cracked in the eggs and he whisked. He greased the baking tray and poured the mixture in. Oisín then appeared for the most important part of the baking experience: the licking of the bowl, whisk and spoon. All faces were covered but the mixture tasted yummy, very chocolately and gooey.

At this stage, due to the fact our oven doesn’t appear to uniformly heat and has hotspots, the brownies got slightly charred around the edges. The middle was still perfect: moist, chocolately and very rich. The next time we’ll take more care and keep a closer eye on the baking stage.

As they were very rich, we cut up the slab of cooked brownies in to small rectangles rather than the larger size shown above. Needless to say, they didn’t last very long in this house with both parents and kids loving them. They were delicious.

I’m looking forward to trying some of the suggested variations out. Maybe adding some chopped nuts or making them as small muffins as Deborah suggests and turning them into an easy to prepare, fun and delicious dessert. Yummy.

One of the many stalls we visited whilst at the Taste of Cork festival was Declan Ryan’s Arbutus bread one. After sampling the delicious bread we decided to purchase a few bags of his West Cork Brown Soda Mix to take home.

Finally got organised enough to bake one today. You just need to add 1/2 pint of water to the dry ingredients in the bag which include wholemeal wheat flour, pinhead oatmeal, dried buttermilk, bread soda and cream of tartar. Pop in the oven for 45 minutes or so and violá, its ready. This is what I love, its so convenient. I don’t need any extra ingredients here in the house.

It’s smell was fabulous and it tasted divine. I am a sucker for fresh bread with butter and this met my expectations.

It cost €2 per pack which makes a good sized load as can be seen above. I used a silicone bakeware container which isn’t as rigid as standard loaf tins and so its flatter a loaf than I’d normally expect.

I will definitely be keeping a few packs of this mix on standby in the cupboard and use on a regular basis. Excellent product. I’m not sure where else it is available to purchase, I am hoping I’ll be able to find it in the English market in Cork or in the other local farmers’ markets.

UPDATE: emailed Arbutus and discovered the mix is available at Mahon Point Market on Thursdays, Midleton Market on Saturdays or from Nash19 Restaurant.

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photo credit: houseoftext

My 3 primary school going kids got their book lists for next September a week or so ago and having learnt my lesson from previous years of leaving their purchase till August, I decided to get it all done and dusted now.

Our local bookshop will eventually get all the books in, but it usually entails a few visits to the shop as they tend to get them in bit by bit. I decided to go online.

The website is very easy to use. You select the class your child is in, then the subject and can then add the required books to your shopping basket. Shipping costs from €1.90 but as I was ordering over 2kg of books, it cost the maximum price of €7.95. I elected to get the books covered which cost 55c per book. It took about 30 minutes to select all the books, workbooks, stationary and copies our 3 kids required. Payment was by credit card, and the complete parcel arrived at our door a few days later.

I really couldn’t fault this service. The books cost the same as if I ordered them locally, just the extra shipping cost. The whole process was much less painful and very convenient, especially as I used the option of getting them covered too - that’s one less hassle to be dealt with before September and I can now forget about it and enjoy the holidays.

One of the presents that Oscar received for his recent 9th birthday was the Indiana Jones and the Lost Tomb LEGO set. Thanks to Auntie Emer, this was perfect as it combined his love of LEGO and the hype of the moment that is Indiana Jones. I love LEGO Indy.

As soon as the after party hype died down, oh yes siree, these 9 year olds sure can party, he set about building the Lost Tomb. By no means is this the most complicated or intricate LEGO set, but he really enjoyed putting it together. It was built in a relatively short time and without any assistance or queries to myself or Conor.

Voilà:

The main attraction of it for him is the fact that there are inbuilt booby traps: the Anubis statues topple, the back walls fall, the snakes land on Indy:

and all can be corrected and repeated ad nauseum. Perfect.

He loves it. Thanks again Emer.

What are the dishes and food that you remember from your childhood?

As the eldest of 7 children, with only 10 years between me and the youngest, I recall there always being a mad rush around mealtimes when we were younger. The main meals I remember are fried liver on a Thursday (my mother had an obsession with us getting enough iron so this was a regular dish), tuna in a cheese sauce with mashed potatoes which I recall loving and minced meat, beans and mashed potatoes which we would eat mixed together as a big cake on our plates.

Some of my siblings loved Chef brown sauce and to this day, its smell makes me ill. Myself and one younger sister insisted on YR sauce. Mam made a mean chicken curry also which we would be given in a large tubberware container on a Sunday evening when we were returning to Dublin to college. It would last at least a couple of days so she was happy we were eating well enough for at least that amount of time. It was very good.

My father was always partial to steak, fried onions, finely cut chips and gravy just made with water added to the frying pan once the steak was out. Christmas cake with butter and marietta biscuits also come to mind. Though my mother didn’t often buy confectionary, we had apple trees in the back garden, so when I got a sweet craving, I’d make 5 or 6 apple tarts as 1 or 2 would never last long. I remember once when my parents were away, finding a tub of icecream in the freezer and making a baked Alaska. Delicious. I loved to bake which is something I haven’t really done since then.

photo credit: jspatchwork

Which brings me to this series, currently running on BBC2 in the weekday evenings. Its hosted by Nigel Slater and is a real feelgood programme. Each episode revolves around a different guest and starts with their taste of childhood, progressing to taste of their college or young adult years to foods they now love as an adult who’s successful in their career - foods that have a special meaning for them. Its part interview, part cookery/food programme and the style is very easy going and laid back. Nigel seems to have a talent for putting people at their ease and the talk takes place whilst they’re enjoying the food and so it tends to be more informative, entertaining and interesting than other standard talkshows or interview style tv.

I missed the first couple of episodes, it slipped under my SKY+ radar, but have managed to catch Timothy Spall, Jo Brand and Neil Morrissey amongst others. The interviews have been great, sometimes funny and sometimes touching. The part where the guest is given a challenge is a bit naff really: cooking blindfolded etc. But the section where someone close or related the the guest cooks for them is entertaining and often gives a deeper insight into them.

The recipes vary from complicated to basic student favourites of Spaghetti Bolognese or cheese on toast. Some are the guests’ and some are Nigel’s versions of the food they love. Definitely worth watching, I’m looking forward to the rest of the series.

Since Sibeal inherited her brother’s repackaged, that is, case changed to a pink one, Nintendo DS, we have been on the lookout for a game that would suit her. As she can’t read yet, many of the console games out just didn’t work for her. I bought the Imagine Fashion Designer initially, as she loves playing the dressing up games on nickjr.com or webkinz etc. This didn’t work for her though as there is alot of reading involved and she hasn’t reached a stage where she could competently follow the games and tasks so that DS game was abandoned and she was peeved.

I then spotted ‘I did it Mum’ online. I was unable to track it down locally but purchased one on ebay for approximately 23 euro. Initial impressions were great. You record a parent’s voice saying an encouraging or congratulatory sentence. This is then what is heard by the child as he/she completes a task or game. She was delighted with this, as I did one and Conor recorded a second one.

The basic layout is very graphical with keywords and she is able to navigate it easily. The games are fairly basic: colouring, puzzles, dress up, find the difference, a couple memory games: one cards, one sounds, counting, drawing and a tiny piano keyboard where you can record and play back.

So far she has enjoyed having her very own nintendo game and the independence of being able to tackle it alone and not needing reading assistance from us. My only complaint is that the games are very basic and she is tiring of them at this stage so I can’t see its appeal lasting much longer which is a pity.

I do think the whole layout and especially the touch of being able to customise the recording of the parent’s voice to praise the child is excellent.

On Wednesday afternoon, we were driving from Bandon to Ratoath in Meath when we decided to stop at the Midway food court in Portlaoise as both adults and the 5 kids were hungry, tired and in need of a break.

We have stopped there previously and enjoyed a decent meal for us all at Tapenade, its just off the motorway so very handy with plenty of parking. However recently all of Tapenade’s main courses have tended to be too spicy for the children and so they have elected just to eat O’Briens filled bread rolls. I would much prefer if Tapenade would offer at least one non-spicy/hot main dish like they used to and therefore keep all happy. Our gang previously loved their meatballs.

However on this visit we were pleasantly surprised to see that a Little Caesars Pizza outlet had opened.
The kids all decided there and then that they’d love some pizza. First, I must say we ordered way too much food. The pizzas come in one size, 14″ and they’re huge. Definitely one to share between 2 people is more than enough.

The service was very friendly and efficient and the pepperoni, hawaiian and cheese pizzas were fairly good. Thin crispy base and a fine serving of toppings. The kids and adults happily ate them. Conor also ordered some hot chicken wings. To be honest, he didn’t really like them: not hot enough and badly cooked, one side burnt.

The italian cheese bread was universally abandoned. No one liked the taste or consistancy of it.

Overall, I would say that the pizza outlet in this foodcourt is definitely a welcomed addition as it gives more choice to adults and children alike. The pizzas are huge and good value at €9. The staff were helpful. We’ll probably be stopping by again on our next journey from Cork to Dublin but this time we’ll be more selective in what and the amount that we order.

Just 3 episodes in and I’m really looking forward to the next instalment of this drama series. Set in an advertising world of New York in 1960, it centres on Don Draper, the creative director of the Sterling Cooper Advertising Agency.

Initially we see the facade of a suave, goodlooking, stylish man working in this fast paced, pressurised world with his picture perfect wife and 2 kids to go home to. Then the cracks begin to appear: his mistress, drinking, alternative name and we begin to realise all is not as it seems and the snap analysis of this man that we made on initial viewing may not be the real one.

The first episode also heralds the arrival of his new secretary, Peggy Olsen who initially appears very naive and out of her depth as she hears a barage of advice on what to wear, how to act, who to placate from Joan, the office manager. The whole typing pool is something to behold.

The New York of 1960 is incredibly well portrayed here. It looks fabulous, the costumes, scenery and feel faultless. Every scene seems to have the majority of characters smoking, which is really odd to see now. Pregnant women drinking, drink driving, sexism, racism: all subjects that are now not tolerated are shown and it does really strike home how much has changed in the intervening years. It does make uncomfortable viewing at times.

The dialogue is sharp and the rivalry and subterfuge between the ad execs is entertaining as they struggle to come up with the next winning slogan and ad campaign. Their certainty that Dickie Nixon is a shoe in for the upcoming election and the wives’ bewilderment at why the new single mother on the block just likes to walk to clear her head without having a purposeful destination adds to the humour.

Worth keeping an eye out for, I’m looking forward to seeing how the story unfolds.