It can come in dribs and drabs; all shapes and sizes. It might be an image from months ago that keeps cycling on your slideshow or it could be a funny story told table-side with the kids.

There is never a shortage of blog fodder in my head. And yet I have not blogged. This random fact was thrown in there for good measure because it has catapulted me into a new realm of self-doubt. As if the old realm was not doubtful enough.

This past weekend, with a few serious deadlines looming for my monthly magazine article contributions, I figured there’d be loads of blog fodder to choose from and my mojo would be back in full swing and I’d get to blogging. I was right. The only problem I have now, is what to do with all the blog fodder.

It all started with me being a dumbass. This story can only get better folks.

Velvet Crab – alive

Instead of going to the place where I usually buy my fish I decided to cut some corners, saving on fuel and time in the process, by shopping at a fish store near the grocery shop.

Spying their nice large fish tank I caught a glimpse of several different types of crab. The smaller and sassier of the bunch being right on top. I asked the fishmonger, a young fella, what they were and he said ‘Velvet crab’. I, loosing all sense and sensibility which could be the segway into explaining exactly how dumb I really am, queried with raised eyebrow and hopeful intonation ’Velvet crab as in soft shell crab?’ And he said ‘yep. Softshell’.

Six in the bag with care, because they are mean little buggers, along side a few firm pieces of hake and a few bags of mussels and clams, I drove home on cloud ninety nine dreaming of the po-boy sandwich I was going to get the Chef to make me for lunch. Salivating at the thoughts of the creole, cornmeal, and cajun flavours that were about to whirl around my (ha ha), ahem HIS kitchen, I could hardly wait to sit at the computer and start blogging-all-about it.

Except, and this is the important part showing my dumb-assed-ness, they weren’t really soft shell crabs, were they.

Velvet Crab – dead

The Chef, in his loves-to-humiliate-me kind of way, pointed out my grievous error as soon as I walked in the door. He may have even laughed a bit. Chef in his slow sarcastic drawl: ‘You’ve been had honey. These are hard as a rock. There ain’t no softshells in these cool Irish waters’. Me with my over-the-top-defensive-beeatch-tone :’ well ain’t is not a word and you can’t use ain’t no in a sentence as it is a double negative!

Sensing, and he is not very perceptive God love him, that I was on the brink of having a nervous breakdown over the crab disaster, he busied himself about the kitchen and put the little crabs to work.

First – he popped them into a bath of boiling saffron water and much to the childrens delight they turned a gorgeous orange colour. Then he fried some chicken. WTF?

Hey – I have to live with him so it is only fair that you be dragged along in his thought process.

The Fried Chicken

So, eh, Chef. Why the fried Chicken? He gave me one of those looks that every woman loves to get from their husband. You know, the ‘Jesus, how thick are you?’ look.  So there I was, already annoyed and humiliated over my lack of knowledge when it came to ‘obvious differences?’ between velvet and soft shell crabs, racking my brains to come up with something, anything, smart to retort back to the saucy Chef. I had to redeem myself.

I am a slow thinker lads. Way too slow. Nothing. I just stood there.

‘Jambalaya crawfish pie and file gumbo’ he sang and danced me around the kitchen.

Grrr….it might have been obvious to him in his own head but NO ONE else would have put those two together! I mean, there are no crawfish in the shopping bag or prawns! Apparently, if you are the Chef, you can use whatever you want when making Jambalaya.

I gave up and slunk off like a battered slinky to collect my thoughts. I did a spot of ironing and felt all the better for it.

The smell of the brown roux engulfed the house and before you say ’cause tonight I’m a gonna see my machez a mio’… we were all sitting table side eating Cioppino. Yes. I really did write Cioppino.

I mean, he was eating Jambalaya. Here – look. It was lovely.

Jambalaya

Yes. So back to the Cioppino. Well. This is how he works.

I have trouble digesting bell peppers. Not all the time, but when you cook ‘em in a hurry and do not roast ‘em they spend days trying to find there way out. So, I tend to steer clear of them. He knows this and is most sesnsitive to this.

Seeing as he had the saffron broth all set aside from steaming the crabs he decided to throw together a bowl of Cioppino for me. Because it is my favourite dish of all times. I was feeling the love.

Cioppino Love

This recipe uses a diavolo sauce. Click here for that recipe!

So anyway, to make a long story even longer, what exactly happened to all the crab meat? I mean, there was a bit in the Jambalaya, and a bit in the Cioppino, but not huge chunks of it.

Smoky BBQ Sauce

I was suspicious until all was revealed later that night for supper.  I am sure some of you have already guessed it.

Crabcakes

Yep. Crabcakes. Perfect, round, delicious, dare I say ‘velvety’ freaking crabcakes.

Now, we all know why they are called ‘Velvet Crabs’.

Go home. Eat dinner with someone you love and laugh about this.

I remain, still clueless, on most topics.

Those are all the WiseWords I have for today and thank you all for being here!

WiseMóna

Job security, money, oil/gas prices, education costs, health insurance. I would venture to say, on a global scale, these are at the forefront of most peoples ‘things to worry about’ list.

Right now my list of things to worry about is very very long and fairly serious. I thought it would be wise to let you know I am worried too because you know as well as I do ‘a problem shared is a problem cared’.

I find that instead of getting bogged down by all the things everyone else is worried about, it is best to have a mooch around the house and find things that make you happy. Like this:

A photo of my beautiful hen and duck (and possibly guinea fowl) eggs. Imagine, in the dead of winter we are still reaping the most beautiful rewards of our (obviously) very happy birds.

Beautiful 'Wise' Eggs

Now back to the worrying …..

Oh. I worry about the fact that I will never be a good baker. Mostly because I am too heedless when it comes to all that measuring and timing of things in the oven. Daydreamers rarely make good bakers. Fact.

Breaking my heart….baking.

 
I worry that sooner or later the clothes will just fold themselves and march up to their respective rooms rendering me useless. I have had this worry for years and thankfully the clothes have refrained from taking the initiative to do so, just yet.

A nightmare of a worry that just grows daily

I worry, and this is real, that people with all their healthful filled notions will start eating more beans and less meat (which is a-ok with me) but not treat them properly and suffer the consequences because of it.

Soak overnight and boil for a good few hours, low and slow.

Here is a quick how to guide for beans:

Dried beans (uncooked) need to be soaked in A LOT of water overnight and boiled the next day in fresh water for at least two hours. If they are undercooked they play havoc with your stomach and cause other gestational problems that are not pleasant to discuss or experience. If you are wondering whether or not they are cooked enough just smush one between your thumb and fingers and if it disintegrates easily then they are cooked. If there is still a bit of firmness to it put them back on the stove and cook some more.

Tinned Beans are already cooked! Just open the tin and consume or heat ‘em up a bit if you need to eat them warm. You can make BBQ beans (which requires a bit of baking) but only to meld the sauce and seasonings together. One of the things we like to make on a regular basis around here is bean salad. The Chef, being from Alabama where this is a tradition, likes to start of the New Year with a big pot of Black Eyed Peas and this year we ended up making one of my favourite salads for lunch.

Give it a try. Remember with the kids maybe a bit less heat and more fresh herbs but make sure you get plenty of colour in their diet. This is a winner every time with ours and a nice (refreshing) change from the old bachelors beans or van de kamps pork n’ beans.

Lots of vibrant colour to brighten up your plate!

Blackeyed pea salad

Now after you have made this salad – which takes no time at all by the way – you should think to yourself ‘how can I incorporate a lot more salad and healthy stuff into my diet this year?’

Eat more colour on your plate – add garlic too!

Isn’t it time you stopped procrastinating and started ‘doing’ instead of just talking about it. Beets, and they are easy to grow, come in the ready to go packages at every grocery and convenience shop in town. A little bit of garlic, diced chili and balsamic vinegar with salt & pepper to taste and you have the fastest salad in the west. And pretty too. The kids like to eat their beet salad with cottage cheese. This is not so pretty. Hence no photo.

These mate well together

I find that you can get stuck in a salad rut using the same bagged salad and bottle of thousand island dressing. Another quick and very tasty salad that we love is tomato and pomegranate. Cut the tomatoes in quarters and toss in olive oil. Drizzle with balsamic, salt & pepper and add a few little crumbles of Cashel Blue Cheese. Go to bed very happy.

The seven layered salad – this is not for amateurs.

Once you get out of the salad rut you are stuck in then the world is your oyster. Left over lentils become eye candy. The remnants of an almost empty bag of grated cheese – food confetti. That half dead bag of lettuce in the fridge that you are holding onto for emergencies – picked over – can give oompf to a side salad. And frozen peas, fresh from the freezer and  still a bit frosty, add a delicious cold contrasting bite to your evening meal.

Isn’t it time you started to think outside the salad box?

NOW – seeing as you have stuck with me to the bitter endive (hee hee) here on WiseWords you may squeal with glee to discover that this is indeed a ‘goody giveaway’ blog post.

But first the rules. You must be signed up via email to receive WiseWords updates via email. You can do that right here. If you end up signing up and then dropping off after the giveaway that is fine with me – but you will not be allowed back on the mailing list for the next giveaway. Think of it as you being put on the bold step for a few weeks, ok? AND the second rule is you need to leave a comment of course because I am using that cool plug-in called ‘And the winner is‘ so get chatting!

I want to know why you want this and what you intend to do with it.

What is it I hear you say……..

A little pot of love ….. from Le Creuset. This is not a big pot folks. Dinner for two adults and a small child at the most.

The winner will be chosen at random sometime on February 5th giving us plenty of time to get it delivered for a Valentines supper. Good luck to y’all and thanks thanks thanks so much for reading WiseWords.

OH – and before I forget -

I am giving a few talks in February. First one is on Thursday February 2nd 2012 (at high noon) ‘Blogging for Business‘ at GMIT’s first (and annual I hope) Foodie Forum 2012 and the second one is for KLCK Bloggers network on Monday February 13th (7:30pm) at Kavanaghs Pub in Portlaoise where I will be talking about having fun with food blogging!

And finally .. . . because I think this is waaay cool….. check out this list of ‘Incredible Irish Food Blogs‘ paying close attention to number five.

Ok – thats all for today folks, Back to the writing and editing I must go.

Thanks for reading and staying tuned!

WiseMóna

A bunch of flowers for all my friends

Day three of the new year and not a peep out of me. My tweets are flabby, my facebook presence is vapid and my blog posts are non existent, but every stitch of clothes in my house is washed, ironed, folded and put away and my floors are clean. The children are also relatively clean and have me run ragged. You can thank them for my absence.

The Chef was underfoot for the last two weeks here at home and we enjoyed a quiet family Christmas and a bit of a rowdier New Year. We have eaten, we have drank and we are very merry. Because he firmly believes that the internet and social media is a passing phase, he, and quite a few of our friends, have no time for tweeting. This means that I have had to turn of the Twitter and occasionally upload a Facebook status from the loo. I’m just saying that my life can be very complicated. I am sorry for not being around more to chit and chat. I have missed you all – A lot.

I toyed around with the idea of doing a blog recap of the last year, but you have read it already.

I also thought about writing a really depressing piece about how freaked out I am over where the next few months will take me and how I am lying awake at night sweating bullets over the big ‘F’ word that lingers and looms. Failure. Yep. What if, when I finish this beautiful book, no one buys it or reads it? But why would I write a blog post about that? Depressing, right?

Then, I thought, well seeing as everyone is detoxing and dieting and starving themselves I should bake a nice big pie and eat it. That way, at least I would feel better for all those starving people. And the Chef, who was feeling a bit poorly over the last few days, is feeling much better now too, all from having a slice of this pie.

December is a month that delivers such a flurry of emotions and I think most people feel a little run down and wrecked from all the celebrating. January rolls in and the feeling of ‘meh’ hits you and it is usually followed by a nice bout of  ’aaaaargh’ and even a spell of ‘@4&*%’ until you start chatting with your friends and realise that everyone is going through the same thing and there is no need to pack your bags and move to Australia.

So. What are you waiting for? Have a slice of pie!

Oh – one a side note and worth mentioning – I actually did make this pie. All he did was eat it. You should know that I used frozen pastry. That is why it looks a bit wobbly.

Pecans are pricey here on the island ..

So pricey one would not be running out to make this pie every week.

Pecan Pie – Oven ready

We made a double recipe pie this time around, and only used Maple Syrup. We gave half the pie to our friends when they left to go home on New Years Day. A nice treat for their breakfast the next day!

Pecan Pie – Pass me a fork …

So now that you have had your pie, tell me all about your Christmas. Did you make (or already break?) New Year Resolutions? What are you lying awake at night worrying about? Do share.

Looking forward to hearing from you xx

WiseMóna

The item most photographed at our house this year (2011) was Salad. Lots and lots of salad. More than 300 (different) salads.

In a few weeks, when everyone is full from all the Christmas food and festivities, you will welcome this blog post with open arms and feel inspired to add a few more leafs of green to your diet. Other blogs will start down the road of ‘New Year Resolutions’ or ‘Slim down for Spring’ or ‘Trim the holiday fat’ but not me.

I just want y’all to look at the photos and come to the understanding that you can, and should, eat more salad and there is no time like the present to get started.

Just out of curiosity, how many of you are serving a nice salad with your Christmas dinner?

Spring will be here before you know it….. are your seeds ready?

And while we are going all 'green thumb' why not plant a bit of Garlic too…

It does help to have a very cute 'salad harvester' at your disposal…

Rocket ready to go ….

Sometimes, the sunshine makes things taste better….

It is ok to eat your salad on a pizza…

Sunshine and salad seems to be a reoccurring theme in my photos…

Or shadows and salads …. yes, that seems popular too…

Layered salad seems to be a favorite … and shur why not?

A pretty salad

Tuna fish salad….

We ate a lot of tomato salad….

Ah – one of my favorites…. Beet salad

And it is totally ok to drink your 'fruit' salad….

Oh – sweet spring pea salad

Occasionally

 we added salad to our dinner – right at the last minute.   

Or maybe a few loaves of bread. Ah go on….

Why not put an egg on your salad? Everything tastes better with an egg on it.

And sometimes we let little artists have their way with the salad bowl and we pleasantly surprised at the outcome

We even stole nasturtiums from Dad's grave to put in our salads. Happy Anniversary Dad. We miss you so much and wish you were here with us to enjoy all this salad.

A few more Salad photos right here on our Facebook page.

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year!

Móna xx

Now that you are all the wiser, you should give this sauce a try.

The original dish serves the putanesca sauce over pasta but in our ever increasing efforts to force ourselves to eat potatoes at least once a week, we are in Ireland after all, we decided to serve this alongside some redskin mustard mashed potatoes and a side of swiss chard (from Oldfarm) sautéed with garlic and olive oil.

Find a nice piece of fresh Hake

Buying a piece of fish whole is recommended for a few reasons (a) it is much cheaper (this whole guy cost €12) and (b) you can use the head and pieces to make fish stock which you need for this dish and (c) OMG your hens will love you all the more because They.Love.Fish. Cooked or raw. They are like vultures when we give them the leftovers.

Count his teeth…..

After you have the fish all filleted and skinned (if you choose to) then cut it into a few nice size portions. We got 12 pieces out of ours. He was a fine fish, all the way from the waters off the coast of Kerry mind you.

Sauté gently in olive oil….

Once the fish has a bit of colour on the flesh then it only needs about ten minutes in a medium heated oven to finish it. A little knob of butter would not hurt but that is entirely up to you.

Line up your ingredients

This is one of those dishes that can be explosively hot or you can keep it middlin’ hot if you are expecting company.

It is best if you get everything you need lined up because this is a very fast sauce to make and you do not need to be fustering around looking for a can opener when the anchovies start to sizzle.

 6 cloves of garlic, finely diced (more if you are a garlic nut)

500 g kalamata olives, pitted and chopped  (packed in oil but drained)

2 teaspoons of capers

5 anchovies (even though I hate odd numbers)

Parsley

1 tablespoon of Chili flakes (dried) as much as you like

2 tins of tomatoes (crushed)

1 cup of fish stock

Get someone to get it all ready for you …

Start by sautéing the anchovies in some olive oil and then add the garlic to the pan. The anchovies will dissolve pretty quickly. Do not let the garlic get any colour. Just soften it a little. Add the chili flakes and mix well.

Cook some worms…… no, I mean anchovies….

 Next Add the tomatoes, fish stock capers and parsley and olives.

Putanesca sauce…..

Pour over your (already cooked) fish and return to the oven for a few minutes while you ready your side dishes. Do not leave it in the oven for a long period of time or the fish will turn to mush and dry out.

Pour sauce over fish and bake for a few minutes

This time of year we are fortunate to be still getting greens from the ground. Our friends at Oldfarm had brought us a beautiful bunch of rainbow swiss chard. A quick spin around the pan with a huge amount of raw garlic, black pepper and olive oil, our supper did not take long to materialize.

Swiss chard from our friends at Oldfarm …

The first time I tried this dish I fell in love with it. The richness of the tomatoes coupled with the saltiness of the olives and anchovies makes for a delicious sauce and we have found many interesting ways to use it.

Let me know if you try it!

Those are all the WiseWords I have for today,

WiseMóna

Excerpt taken from the Tuam Herald the week of December 7th 2011.

Try some Cherry Pie for Christmas this year!

Some new twists on the traditional feast

By Siobhán Holliman

APART from Santa’s never-ending wish list, the other inventory that seems to incite equal amounts of panic and excitement over the coming weeks is the Christmas shopping list.

Trolleys towering with everything from bread to Brussel sprouts slowly move through the supermarket aisles as their despairing drivers sink deeper and deeper into the vinyl tiles. Yes, we do have a tendency towards shopping for Christmas like we’re stocking the kitchen in the ark – even Noah had the sense to take just two of everything – we choose the multi-packs.

The absent-minded few who dare breeze around with a mere hand-basket receive scornful looks from those fighting over the last aluminium roasting tray, and are forced to leave in shameful record time through the ten items or less checkout.

Even if you’ve edited your list to within an inch of the last lemon, the peer pressure of others wielding a trolley in either hand while they nestle ten litres of milk next to the super-dupersized 50-pack of assorted crisps, and boxes of luxury Belgian chocolates for when starving visitors call, can’t be fought off and you succumb to picking up a tub of brandy butter that you know no one at home can stand.

When it comes to the calorific feast itself, those who fail to produce some type of previously feathered form on the plate obviously are undercover alien invaders, and while a legless turkey might be acceptable as a new-age Christmas craze, a suggestion of steak will have the traditionalists calling the Croí ambulance on speed-dial.

No matter how many ways or twists the celebrity chefs offer us with the traditional feast; whether they suggest cooking the bird inside out, upside down or drowning in Guinness – we don’t stray too far and tend to release our experimental side elsewhere on the menu.

How you cook yours (bird that is), is really up to you and while it may be tried and trusted, a family secret, or more often, a mystery to yourself, as long as it doesn’t end up in flames you’re doing pretty well.
Instead we’re offering a little inspiration for the before and after – to liven up those pale melon balls or give the stodgy pudding a miss for once.

If you’re going to really challenge your digestive system on December 25 with a possible 6,000 calories, at least give it a surprise from last year’s menu.

So here are some suggestions. (for the entire article please click here).

Cherry Pie

Christmas would not be the same without it, says Claregalway-based food author Móna Wise.

“I know. Not terribly Irish, right? Being married to a Yank has opened up a door to a whole new world of food tradition in our house. With myself hailing from Claregalway where Christmas would not be right without Christmas pudding smothered in rich, yellow custard, and him, the chef, hailing from Alabama where Christmas cannot be had if it is not finished with a nice cherry pie.

“We have ‘Christmas compromise’ down to fine art here at the Wise household; it is easy. He makes it, we eat it and I do the dishes. Cherries are not the easiest fruit to come by at this time of the year but you can find them in the freezer at most of the larger grocery shops. The good ones mostly come from Belgium and it is best if you use the sour (or tart) cherries. We have used the tinned (in syrup) variety you can find at the shops but always find the fruit to be a lot nicer with the frozen variety. Seeing as we are preparing for Christmas, you can take it easy on yourself and get the pre-made pastry.

Ingredients:
1 box of pre-made pastry, ready to roll.
Filling
360 g sour cherries
90 g sugar
Arrowroot, for thickening

Glaze:
1 egg
Sprinkle of light brown sugar

Method:
• For the filling, put the cherries and sugar into a heavy-bottomed pot and allow to simmer for ten minutes.
• Mix a spoonful of arrowroot into a cup with a little water until it has dissolved. You could use cornflour (with water) also but arrowroot is better with fruit and cornflour is better in stews.
• Add the arrowroot (liquid) into the cherry mix in the pot and stir until the mix turns clear (not cloudy). Once thick, you are done. Take the cherries off the heat and set aside for a few minutes.
• Butter a tart pan (or pie dish) and set aside.
• Roll out the pastry to a nice thin size and line the tart pan.
• Trim off the extra dough and roll it out into a square.
• Cut the trimmed or extra pastry into thin strips (half inch) and use them to top the pie in a criss-cross fashion.
• Glaze, using a beaten egg (with a drop of water) and brush liberally over the pastry. Sprinkle with brown sugar.
• Bake for 45 minutes at 190˚ C.
• Serve with a nice dollop of vanilla cream and a spring of mint.

The end.

Ashford Castle in all its glory on a cool bright day in November.

Ok. There might be a bit more to this story, considering the day after our visit here with friends, I found out that that Ashford Castle is now indeed gone into receivership. 

 * sigh * I know they say ‘open for business’ while all this reorganizing is going on, but for once, just once, I would like a place like this to be able to survive. Alas, that is not possible because the operation costs are outrageous, I am sure.

Ashford Castle should be on everyones list of places to visit when in Ireland. Roguishly handsome tourist not included.

A few weeks ago, while flitting about the countryside with our American friends, we headed in the direction of Ashford Castle, in Cong, County Mayo and decided to pop in for a lite bite of lunch. Ah, shur, why not. The folks at Ashford no longer offer a fancy or formal luncheon experience on a Sunday, so one is relegated to the plush drawing room for a very relaxed dining affair. We were wearing jeans and boots, incase you are wondering. No dress code at this castle.

Feel the heat and warm welcome from the hearth of the fire

We have eaten at Ashford a few times over the last four years and I can’t say I have ever been unhappy with the food (which is ok) and the service (which is always over the top excellent).  As it was nearing the end of November, and quite brisk outside, I was immediately struck by the waves of heat coming from the hotel reception area as the white gloved doorman led us in from the cold.  (Worry not, we played the part well and our ‘abduction van’ was well hidden o’er the hill near Cullens.)

Although I was happy that the castle was so (incredibly) warm my immediate thoughts were ‘how in the heck can they afford to heat this giant?’

Fancy a game of chess anyone?

We spent some time rambling around the castle, exploring the dungeon bar and all the little nooks and crannies where one could easily while away a few hours curled up with a book or playing a game of chess, if one was so inclined.

Not us. No lounging about for this group.

Refreshing was one of the words used to describe the bloody mary we had…

We were seated in the drawing room infront of the window (as requested) and decided to order a few Bloody Marys to get started. Now, I know I am not easy to please, but this was not a good way to start our little dining affair a Ashford. To me, a good Bloody mary must have a lot of flavour. There was no fresh horseradish to be found (even when we asked for more, they just gave us the creamed horseradish out of a jar). This tasted like a (somewhat refreshing) glass of ‘lite’ tomato juice with a lot of lemon juice. There was no evidence of vodka, no hint of worcestershire and not a grain of black pepper or celery salt on the rim. Oh – and there was no garnish either; not a stick of celery to be found. The problem here folks is that I make a great bloody mary. Also, I have had the bloody marys at Lynns Paradise Café in Louisville, Kentucky; theirs might be the best in the world.

We soldiered on, because the waitress tried to help us out as best she could, and we ordered some white wine.

The sun was causing all kids of trouble that day . . .

It was well one o’clock in the afternoon by this stage and we were in need of sunblock. It was musical chairs for a few minutes until all of us were seated in the right positions, or on the right poofy chairs, in order to be in – or out – of the heat and glare of the Irish November sunshine. I make mention of this, because a lot of readers think that it always rains here in Ireland. It does rain a lot. But in between all that rain, that makes everything so green and beautiful, we get what we like to call ‘watery sunshine’. And we love it.

What pretty stems, no?

The lunch menu for the drawing room is ok. Nothing to exciting. I always think that places like this have to play it safe because they depend so heavily on a revolving door of tourists. I wonder, do the tourists like the boring and safe menu options? The prices for soup, sandwiches and salads ranged in price from €7 to €18.50. Initially, I thought this did not sound too bad. You would not mind spending a bit more for lunch with friends, given the ambiance, service and location. Right?

Everything neat and orderly, polished and perfect.

We ordered our food and waited an appropriate amount of time before it came to our table. Our waitress was attentive and made sure we had what we needed and gave the occasional glance in our direction to ensure no one was trying to catch her attention for any extra items needed. The chowder, while it was nice, did not compare to the chowder we had had a few days prior at O’Gradys on the Pier in Barna.

Such nice service for the seafood chowder

The Chef ordered the fish n’ chips and was quite happy with it but I could tell it was not as good as the fish and chips we had the week prior in Kettle ‘o Fish in Galway.

The fish and chips…….lets face it lads, Kettle of Fish in Galway is the best. Hands down.

I had ordered the seafood salad. This sounded fairly straightforward on the menu. Connemara Smoked Salmon and Prawns. I was not wild about the creme fraiche that the prawns were (hard to find!) in. It was supposed to be a tomato-orange sauce but had no flavour. The salad, and this is one of my per peeves, had no dressing on it and it was one of those bag salads. You know how I know? Because a few of the pieces were all soggy and black and slimy. I left those off to the side and started to wonder why in the heck they were not growing and using their own salad greens, which grow all year round in Ireland!

Prawn and Smoked Salmon Salad

Now, anyone reading this might think that we had a shockingly horrible time, but the truth be told, it was a lovely affair. We ate, drank and were merry. Afterwards, we strolled into the village of Cong and paid homage to the houses and pubs used in the making of one of our favourite movies ‘The Quiet Man‘ starring John Wayne and Maureen O’ Hara

Some of us, intent on finding leprechauns and the likes, searched high and low for a rainbow. But on this particular day, there was none to be found.

There was the next day though, right outside our front door!

Slated.ie has given us one of their beautiful cheese boards. You know you want one and you definitely need one!

This is a giveaway blog post. The lovely folks over at SLATED donated one of their cheese boards (with cheese knife) and we are offerring it up to one of our readers.I have installed and am using a new toy called ‘And the winner is‘ which will randomly pick one of the blog comments as the winner for this beautiful Chrismas present.

All you have to do is leave a comment here on the blog stating ‘I like Slated‘ and other witty clever things that I know you are dying to say! This giveaway will run until midnight on Friday (December 9th) and the winner will be chosen and notified via email no later than Sunday (December 11th), ensuring we have  enough time get this to you (or a friend or family member) before Christmas.

This is open to everyone (worldwide) as long as you are signed up to receive WiseWords updates via email to enter the competition.

Go on now. Enter for a chance to win!

Those are all the WiseWords I have for today!

WiseMóna

AND the winner of this contest is Caroline O’Sullivan! Congrats Caroline. I hope you enjoy the cheeseboard from Slated! Please email me with your home shipping address and I will pop it in the post for you! Thank you for reading WiseWords.

O’Gradys on the Pier

Barna, County Galway

(0)91-592223

http://www.ogradysonthepier.com/

O'Gradys overlooks this pier in Barna

Truth be told, when friends come to visit, we rarely take them out to eat. We have only found one or two restaurants locally that check all the boxes when it comes to having excellent standards in food and service (combined) for the right price. A few weeks ago, while touring around Galway with our American friends, we decided to pop into O’Gradys on the Pier (in Barna) for a bit of lunch. It was high noon and the rain had held off so we parked the car and strolled into the restaurant ready for a bit of fish. Supposedly this is what they do really well here.

Smiling works up a fierce thirst!

We were met at the door, of the warm and cosy interior, by one of the waiters who asked us to go for a quick walk because they did not start serving lunch until 12:30pm. Ok. I know. This is Ireland, and in particular Galway, where we all have a little bit of a relaxed thing going on, but really, no lunch until 12:30pm? The tone in which this was delivered was very pleasant even a little playful,  so we took off to explore our surroundings and worked up a fierce hunger. Just as well too.

Cosy bright inviting interior

Upon our return to the restaurant, all rosy cheeked and filled with fresh sea air, we were offered our choice of tables as there was not a soul in the dining room. I always worry about places that are quiet and do not have a line of people out the door waiting to get in a lunch time. I start to think about all the reasons people are not eating lunch there. We chose to sit right infront of the open fire in a very cosy booth (which ordinarily might seat five people) and were presented promptly with the menu and wine list.

We were eating light on this particular afternoon as it was ‘Thanksgiving‘ and we had a fine feast prepped and planned back at the house so we chose soup, chowder and mussels and shared the lot. I was happy to see that their soup of the day was a creamy tomato basil soup and not the standard vegetable soup that most restaurants offer.

Best damn chowder

The chowder was just as it should be. Filled with fresh fish swimming in a delicious creamy soup. There was no aftertaste of dried herbs at all and even when we reached the bottom of the bowl, and had had plenty, it was the kind of chowder that food memories are made of and now other chowders will be held to its standard.

The tomato basil soup, for such a basic soup, was a nice piece of work too. The seasoning was just right, the basil was put in at the last minute so it taste like basil and there was very little cream. Just enough to give it a beautiful richness but not making the lunch too heavy at all.

The mussels, which we shared between the three of us, came out in a cream and shallot and white wine sauce. I prefer my mussels to have heat but in this case they were delicious. We asked for extra bread to mop up all the sauce. I love sauce like that, where even when they give you pretty little finger bowls with lemon slices to wash your hands off after your meal you are quite happy to lick your fingers instead.

Mussels . . we licked the bowl clean.

The service.

When I moved back home to Ireland (almost 4 years ago) I was very worried about the state of ‘service’ offered by restaurants and hotels to our tourists. I found that there was a huge influx of ‘not-so-local’ employees in the service industry, and while they are doing a damn fine job, the lilt and laughter was missing. The jokes and bit of Irish wit was nowhere to be seen. Call it a language barrier issue, differences in culture, or just plain ‘its a job and I am just here to make money’ issue. It saddened me greatly because I started working as a waiter at the age of 14 and was trained to bartend-like-the-best-of-them in McSwiggans - another fine establishment in Galway – and the thing that was drilled into our heads from the start was to take care of the customer. Taking care of them means so much more, to me, than just ‘greet, seat and eat’. I have high expectations. I want my monies worth, so to speak.

Our waiter was not Irish. I am not sure where he was from but possibly of eastern european descent. From the minute we got there, he smiled like a champ, he joked around with us and chatted with us and took care of us. We wanted for nothing. He was there to do his job, and then some. We had one of the most memorable fabulous fun foodie experiences at O’Grady’s on the pier because they have taken great care to have the right people cooking and taking care of their customers.

I can’t wait to go back. And although you can see it from looking at the photos, you really do need to go there yourself and experience the views and the comfort of sitting in that little nook by their cozy cast iron fireside.

Go there, eat lots and leave a nice big tip for your waiter.

Those are all the WiseWords I have for today.

WiseMóna

* Full disclosure *

We were not given any freebies and paid for everything out of our own pockets, as we always do. 

So, first I was distracted when our friends came to visit and then one of the kids had an allergic reaction to the mountain of American candy that they were force fed.

Blogging? When? This was a real crises.

Oh – and it was contagious.

The next distraction I was struggling with was the list of things that needed to be polished and ironed.

Sometimes, I just want to play house.

So I did.

Next up was the arduous task of making the best cranberry sauce in the world.

Beautiful berries with a cup of sugar, the zest and juice of one orange. Simmer for an hour and viola..cranberry sauce at the ready.

OR plop one out of a tin can all the way from America and watch it slip n’ slide all over the plate.

And there were a few more, eh, distractions……..

Really Chef?………… Why?

There was all that picking of green beans and then their was the turkey to pluck. (we totally had one in the freezer).

Oh. And there was Pie.

Sweet divine sour cherry pie….. this is a memory worth reliving.

And a new tradition was born………..food coma for the morning after Thanksgiving… Turkey Crêpes.

Sounds fancy doesn’t it. It was. The hollandaise made it so.

I hated being away from Blogtopia. I missed the banter of Twitter at telly time in the evening and all the Facebook fun in the mornings.

I realise the errors of my ways and hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me. It was, after all, only for a few days. Mere hours, really.

Recipes for the terrific turkey crêpes is coming out in the Nuacht Chláir Christmas issue and the Cherry Pie recipe was picked up by the Tuam Herald. Both will be available on line next week ish and I will be sure to guide you in the right direction once they are made available to the viewing public.

Having spent the last week with our friends who traveled so far to be with us for a lovely Irish Thanksgiving, we are truly thankful for all our friends, real or virtual, and hope to hear from you all over the holidays be it online or a good old fashioned Christmas card!

Also and on a much more important note, our WiseWords Christmas Newsletter was emailed out to all subscribers today.

Are you on our mailing list? Sign up right here and the newsletter will be on its way to you shortly!

Those are all the WiseWords I have for today,

WiseMóna

Initially, when the chef & I started this challenge, we were aiming to make dinner every day for ten euros. I thought it would be manageable and we have, so far, come up with a few nice and healthy options and 80% of our consumables are organic. If you want to see a few of the other recipes you can see them right here and from my friend Simones website right here!

We have noticed that our own eating habits have changed a lot of the last three weeks. Mostly because we are watching the prices of food a lot more closely but also because quite a few people felt that they could manage to feed their family on ten euros per day. For everything. This is not something we would be able to do. Even on a good day with just cereal and milk as opposed to eggs and toast for breakfast, or sandwiches as opposed to leftovers for lunch, the cost of feeding a family of six in our house would be at least €15 or more. If you can feed your family for less than ten euros per day, please send me a copy of your meal plan and purchases and I will happily share it with our readers. In the meantime, lets have dinner, shall we?

Cool clean clams

You get home from work, you are tired. All that is in the fridge is a bag of mussels and a half dead bulb of garlic in the veg box. No need to worry, you have the makings of a great supper all ready to go. A few sprinkles of dried chili flakes and a splash of white wine later, a loaf in the oven and the fire is blazing in the hearth.

You need a lot of garlic

Dinner is prepped and ready to go in ten sweet and short minutes. And you will be licking your fingers for the rest of the night. Trust me, it is that good.

Magnificent Mussels

Start off by cleaning your shell fish. Scrub them with a potato brush and make sure you de-beard the mussels and knock off any loose barnacles that might be growing on their shells. Pour a little olive oil into a large pot and add in a few shakes of dried chili flakes and a whole bulb of garlic, crushed. The garlic is vital. Do not gloss over this ingredient.

Make sure you clean and de-beard the mussels.

Add in your shellfish (clams and mussels) and pour in a half wine glass full of white wine. Use the white wine sparingly when cooking,  you will need to be drinking the rest of it later with your supper.

In the pot ready for action

Now, put the lif on the pot and wait for a few minutes until the shellfish steam themselves open. Add in a half a tin of crushed tomatoes. Mix well with a nice large wooden spoon and finish with a small knob of butter and some fresh flat leaf parsley. If you have a few prawns, (our luxury item this time) then throw them in at the last minute. Do not let them overcook. They need only two or three minutes in the pot to cook and will be lovely and moist and tender when you eat them if you treat them right.

A few loaves of bread cooling on a cloth

Insist that the bread be eaten warm right out of the oven. Who wants it when it is cold?

Bean salad

Throw your leftover beans from last nights supper into a little vinaigrette with some shopped tomatoes. Now, you have a salad too.

Shellfish Diavolo….. Spicy as all get out and good good good

The succulent shellfish and sauce will have you licking your plate for the whole evening. Use the bread sparingly to mop up all the left over sauce. Or, freeze the sauce for emergencies. There will always be an emergency that can be fixed with this sauce.

Ok, so tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the US. Our friends have just arrived to spend an Irish Thanksgiving with us and due to scheduling etc. we are celebrating on Friday. Stay tuned for a few photos and recipes from our Wise Irish Thanksgiving.

Those are all the WiseWords I have for today,

WiseMóna