Articles

Castlefarm gears up for Christmas – the Farm Shop is open every day from 19th – 24th December, and Jenny Young explains how they then manage the workload to keep time needed on the farm to a minimum over the holiday.
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Red cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata f. rubra) is by far the most the most useful leaf vegetable you could have in the house over Christmas: when stored in a cool place it will hold almost indefinitely until you need it; it’s equally good eaten raw or cooked...
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A love of traditional food and recognition of the environmental impact of the business are the driving forces behind Michelle Darmody’s paradise for cake lovers in Dublin. But, for all its predictably pretty flower print table cloths and dainty mismatched china, this charming place is more down to earth than you might think and they have plenty of quality savouries on offer too.
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MARILYN BRIGHT talks to the folk behind Howth’s busiest and buzziest harbourside restaurant, The Oar House – a relatively new restaurant but part of along-established business, and one with its own fishing boat to boot.
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This dish is a great favourite in our house with the young and old. I am constantly being asked for the recipe - so here it is. The tagine is best made the day before allowing the wonderful warming aromatic flavours to develop. This is a wonderful dish to feed a crowd, I often serve it in bowls; hot tagine poured over cous cous at room temperature, lots of coriander, with a sprinkle of crunchy toasted almonds, and the surprise of pomegranate seeds.
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Neven Maguire has a special place in Irish food and in the hearts of Irish food lovers, and it is well earned. Whether through the family business, MacNean House & Restaurant in Blacklion, Co Cavan, his TV and competition work (including representing Ireland at the Bocuse d’Or in 2001), or the many events and individuals he has supported down the years, he has done many great services to Irish food – perhaps most notably through his dedication to his own area and the best of local seasonal produce, which (despite the fact that he is still a young man) he has vigorously supported for many years.
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Gubbeen Farmhouse Products are made by the Ferguson family at their beautifully located dairy farm near Schull in West Cork. Tom and Giana Ferguson are the fifth generation to care for this lovely place, which is now synonymous with their beautiful semi-soft Gubbeen cheese - and, increasingly, the Gubbeen Smokehouse products made by their son, Fingal.
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It was a Friday afternoon when I arrived in Austin, the capital of Texas. I was teaching an Irish cooking class at Central Market. I was early. The Capitol Building was calling me. I had visited once before, ever so briefly but had this urge to go back. Upon entering the building I noticed quite a few tour guides eagerly waiting to share their knowledge.
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As a restaurateur in Ireland it often happened that a customer would shyly come up to one and confide that they “Always had an ambition to run a restaurant”. This was always a moment which required supreme tact. Without somehow giving the idea that one was a total martyr to the cause I always felt obliged to deliver the message that the restaurant business is not at all the glamorous one that people imagine. It requires large measures of stamina, tact, stoicism as well as the more expected flair for entertaining and genius in the kitchen.
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This month Darina focuses on the value of growing your own fresh food – and the huge impact that Michelle Obama’s vegetable garden at the White House has had in a country where the connection between eating habits health is a particularly challenging issue. Following Barack Obama’s re-election, this small but mighty force for good is now set to continue for another four years.
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